New state laws take effect Wednesday
New state laws that ban text messaging while driving and get tougher on drunken drivers take effect this week.
In a 46-day session, the General Assembly approved 879 bills, most of which take effect Wednesday.
The session will probably be best known for a measure prohibiting smoking in most restaurants and bars in Virginia. This measure will not take effect until Dec. 1 to give restaurant owners more time to prepare for the ban.
Here's a look at some highlights of laws that take effect this week:
State budget -- The revised $77 billion budget uses about $1.4 billion in federal stimulus funds to keep the spending plan in balance.
Texting while driving -- Those who text or e-mail while driving can receive a $20 fine or $50 for a second offense. Drivers can be cited only if pulled over for another offense. Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving.
Drunken driving -- People twice convicted of drunken driving within 10 years will be required to use ignition interlock devices, electronic devices installed in motor vehicles connecting a breathalyzer to a vehicle's ignition system. The devices prevent the starting of a motor vehicle if alcohol is detected on the operator's breath.
Payday lending -- Lenders will be required to choose between offering payday loans, whose fees are fixed, and open-ended loans, which can carry sky's-the-limit interest rates. Lenders getting out of the payday business would lose their licenses to offer such loans in Virginia for a decade.
Voting -- Voters will be allowed to go to the polls wearing clothing such as T-shirts or buttons that back a candidate. Before the presidential election last year, the State Board of Elections -- interpreting a state law that forbids electioneering within 40 feet of the polls -- said voters should not wear such clothing to the polls. After the General Assembly approved the new legislation, three free-speech organizations dropped a lawsuit against the elections board.
Novelty cigarette lighters -- Stores will not be allowed to sell novelty cigarette lighters to juveniles. Such lighters must be kept out of reach to the public, and any clerk who sells one to a minor will face up to a $100 fine.
Health insurance -- Health insurers will be allowed to offer group health-insurance policies that do not include state-mandated health benefits to employers with 50 or fewer employees.
Concealed weapons -- Those applying for a concealed-weapons permit may complete the required firearms training online or by video. Legislators overrode Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's veto of the bill.
Tax amnesty -- The State Tax Commissioner is authorized to operate a tax-amnesty program during the 2009-2010 fiscal year, which begins Wednesday.
Tax credit -- The amount of the land-preservation tax credit that may be claimed in 2009 and 2010 is reduced to $50,000 from $100,000.
Inmate fees -- The amount that a sheriff or jail superintendent may charge an inmate per day to defray the costs of the prisoner's keep increases to $5 from $1.
Mental health -- The name of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services is changing to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
School absences -- A court may suspend a minor's driver's license if the student misses 10 consecutive days of school.
Financial literacy -- Local school boards will be required to establish educational objectives in financial literacy for middle and high school students.
Annexation -- The moratorium against annexation by cities is extended from 2010 to 2018.
Wildlife -- The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will be allowed to issue a kill permit to an airport operator if the department finds wildlife is creating a hazard. Currently, a kill permit can be issued only for deer.
Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or .
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Reader Reactions
MeToo,
I see your comments as well, if you go back and read them over again we are usually simply on opposite ends of opinion, with the rest of the posters usually split about 50/50 sometimes leaning your way sometimes mine, where we differ is I’m willing to listen to others ideas (yours included) you on the other hand believe you are always right and everyone else should agree with you and you alone, it must me very miserable in your home… lighten up I mean I asked a simple question ans stated that it was a rare occurrence you yourself backed up my statement by saying that you knew of only one instance, and lord knows you know everything, therefor it makes it pretty rare huh?
22.1-254 states the ages required to attend school.
There is only one case in the State of Virginia (learned this one in grad school) in which a school board allowed a student to drop out prior to their 18th birthday/earning a GED or other certificate. Don’t remember all the details, but something with a kid who’s family ran a vineyard near c-ville.
I see your comments on plenty of other stories and it seems like everyone (myself included) is constantly pointing out how you are factually in correct.
Find more cases in this state where a student has been released from compulsory attendance prior to their 18th bday/finishing a program and I’ll stand corrected. (Of course, I do happen to know I’m right in this case, but if you really want to take the time to prove me wrong, rock on)
MeToo,
I don’t recall “spouting off” however there are insinuating circumstances that can warrant dropping out of school at an earlier age, which is why there is a clause allowing kids to get permission from the school board to do so. Perhaps you should spend a bit more time with your social worker friend prior to claiming all of there knowledge or lack there of. Furthermore, the legislation you quoted shows nothing about the required age it simply states that a truancy officer can be assigned after ten unexcused absences. I sincerely apologize to you for not agreeing with you 100% of the time but hey, please tell me how I can be wrong by simply asking a question? Apparently I am not all knowing like you eh? You sound a bit apparently your still having an anxiety attack from the last time you had a minor disagreement…
On a relate note, it is my opinion/ theory that most kids who are just up and ditching school probably don’t have the wherewithal to go out and get a drivers license or mom/dad are so ticked off they won’t let them have one.
Huffie- In the state of VA you cannot drop out of school until you’re 18 or have finished an alternate program (GED). You always spout off about this law and that law and you’re always wrong. Clearly you don’t take the time to read what complain about all the time. Code of VA 22.1-258. Read it. (BTW my best friend is a school social worker, who handles truancy… that’s where I’m getting my info)
Reverend- If a student has missed 10 days due to a legitimate reason (serious illness, death, emergency) and the parent has taken the time to contact the school regarding it then the absences are excused. You don’t take kids to court for truancy unless their absences are unexcused (ie, they ditched, mom and dad didn’t know, or mom and dad are equally worthless and don’t bother contacting the school).
12step is right- all it is is another tool in the judges box to ‘punish’ kids who are already in front of them for truancy. Also, just for FYI… Henrico judges (at least, maybe other places) already suspend the licenses of most kids who are in court due to truancy or other boneheaded offenses. This law really isn’t a new thing for some places.
To ramgrl,
I’m born and raised in Virginia and I’ll drive circles around you. If you think VA has bad drivers you haven’t seen other states. Every state has terrible drivers mixed in the population. I think if VA has anything it’s people being overly safe out there. I’m all for safe, but people quit stopping in merge lanes!!! MERGE!!
To lovin,
If you don’t like VA’s laws, hit the road. Virginia is one of the best run states in the union. You obviously haven’t lived in many other states if your view of VA is like that and it doesn’t suprise me that you skipped multiple days of school when you were a kid.
Some of these laws seem trivial i’m sure, but they are put on the books for extreme cases where no laws existed before or were out-of-date. That happens all the time in all 50 states.
Rev,
Jeez, lighten up. I don’t think he was insulting you directly, just “any” parent who would do that. I imagine it would take a serious chain of events for the court to impose that suspension and the parents would be well involved and probably agree with it when it happened. This won’t be something thrown around without full details and discussion of why the absenses happened. If it’s just a kid who doesn’t want to go to school and has no good reason, bye bye license!
The texting and 2nd DUI thing are laughable. Laws are made for everyone, but not everyone is the same. Some people can talk on the phone and pay attention. Some people can drive fine with a .15 BAC. It’s usually a matter of hand-eye coordination, concentration and intelligence to be able to do either. Some have it, most don’t.
You can find many a DUI any night of the week at your local Ruby-O-Fridays if you want to. I know plenty of people who can drive better with a .15 than people who can drive while texting. Anyway, I agree with the others, it will be very hard to determine if a person was texting, over surfing or dialing a phone number. Heck they could be just checking the time or weather on their phone.
Just one question, if a student drops out of school (by the way this could be for a legitimate reason, rarely I’ll give you that but still) are they exempt from this law?
Some of these laws are ridiculous. The one about cigarette lighters. C’mon, common sense to me would be that if kids can’t buy tabacco, they ALREADY shouldn’t be able to buy lighters! And that voting situation should not have been a situation from jump. Why now after a historical election, they change things? They are really putting PDL between a rock and hard place and I am so glad I am out of school, because my license would have been suspended before I got it!!! Lmao. VA and its Laws, I tell you….
Now see? Why did you go and make it personal with insults?
I wasn’t IMPLYING anything about “skipping school to go to work”, I was providing that if the kid was working, and had a vehicle, and of that age, he was probably SEMI-RESPONSIBLE, and he may have something else that came up in his personal life, perhaps an illness, or a death in the family, perhaps even something financial related like a foreclosure.
But no. You had to go an insult my parenting without:
A.) knowing me personally,
B.) asking me to CLARIFY my statement
C.) erring on the side of good judgement.
Flat out, you owe me an apology. Doubtful I get it, because you SWOOP in with your massive judgement complex, and assume yourself as judge, jury, and executioner. When in fact, you’re just rude. Plain, and simple.
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