Every year Virginia adds new laws to the books on July 1st. It’s like we can’t get enough. I prefer less laws and more liberty.
This year Virginia is adding a seatbelt law that requires adults to wear seatbelts in the backseat of cars and trucks. Wearing a seatbelt is wise, and allowing adults to make their choice on their own is more appropriate policy. I wear a belt, but I don’t need Big Brother government to buckle it for me.
The minimum age to gamble online in poker and fantasy sports increases from 18 to 21. Eh, I’m ok with that. Typically, 18- to 21-year-olds haven’t had the chance to earn a lot of their own money yet. Gambling is easy when it ain’t your money.
There’s a heat safety law. It’s unneeded. Every school and coach are watchful for extreme heat and cautious to prevent medical emergencies. It’s just more Big Brother government. It’s been hot before and yet we’ve managed fine. Stop making laws like this.
There’s a your-lawyer-is-no-good law. It requires the court to tell defendants what any first-year law student would know about how their guilt could affect their immigration and naturalization status.
Homeless youths will no longer have to pay a fee for a copy of their birth certificate or other specific ID cards. The impact statement of this bill is interesting. It estimates that this will reduce revenue in the Office of Vital Records by $49,248 per year (no estimate on impact on the DMV). But the estimate was based on the number of homeless youths and not on how many of them paid this fee last year. I doubt homeless kids really coughed up 50 grand for IDs.
This new law doesn’t address the problem of homelessness but instead offers an incentive for someone to stay on the street. If a homeless kid came into an office, then the whole office should know about it. I don’t know what the right answer is, but I am sure simply saying “ok, kid, no fee, now off you go,” is the wrong solution. Maybe keeping that fee so that a homeless kid would have to either find help or work or begin to come off the street is a better solution. But I bet the Delegate who offered this feels real good.
Governor Youngkin was able to turn a no cell phone policy in schools into legislation. Students will no longer be allowed to have cell phones on and visible during the school day. This popular law received unanimous support in the General Assembly. I agree it is a worthwhile policy, but it is disappointing that this may be Youngkin’s most lasting contribution to our school system.
Youngkin was elected on a mandate to bring significant change to Virginia’s schools. When Youngkin’s opponent Fast Terry McAuliffe said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” Youngkin’s team did a great job of picking it up and hammering it home. “Parents for Youngkin” became a slogan that shouted, “school reform!” However, instead of following his mandate and purging Virginia public schools of transgender lies and gay recruitment efforts, Youngkin got rid of cell phones. Has a taller guy ever come up so short?
Next year, I’m hoping for more liberty and less new laws.