Attorney General Miyares Announces Legislative Agenda for 2023 Session

RICHMOND, VA – Attorney General Miyares announced today his priorities for the 2023 General Assembly session.

"This session my office is supporting common-sense legislation that supports law enforcement, prioritizes victims, and makes our communities safer. By working with the members of the General Assembly, we hope to crack down on organized retail crime, punish drug dealers peddling lethal fentanyl, support members of the Jewish Community, and protect Virginia consumers from policies designed for Californians,” said Attorney General Miyares. "I look forward to working with legislators to serve our Commonwealth and bring results for Virginians.”

"This positive legislative agenda proposed by the Attorney General is one of the most robust, meaningful and public safety focused legislative agendas of an Attorney General in recent history. These measures are common sense initiatives that would clearly improve safety, education and accountability and should be supported by every law-abiding, civics-minded Virginian. I fully support these measures from Attorney General Miyares and wish him success in the 2023 Session of the General Assembly," said former Governor George Allen.

"Over the last year, I've had the opportunity to tour the Commonwealth with the Attorney General and this legislative agenda reflects his commitment to listen to citizens from all corners of our Commonwealth and deliver on promises," said former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore.

Some of the legislation supported by the Attorney General includes:

• SB 902 (Bell/McDougle) – Protects victims by authorizing the Attorney General to conduct criminal prosecutions against child sexual assault offenders and human trafficking involving children.
• Pending (Williams / Obenshain) - Protecting our communities by reinstating the rebuttable presumption against bail to keep violent offenders off the streets.
• Pending (Byron) – Combating Organized Retail Crime by cracking down on smash and grab retail theft and giving tools back to law enforcement to appropriately charge criminals engaging in Organized Retail Crime.
• SB 989 (Runion/Peake) – Ensuring victims are heard by requiring the Commonwealth's Attorney to inform and consult with crime victims about the outcome of cases.
• SB 881 (Kilgore/ McDougle) - Combat the fentanyl crisis and opioid epidemic by including the manufacture, sale, gift, or distribution of a Schedule I or II controlled substance to another as a felony homicide when it results in the death of another person.
• Pending (Wyatt/Reeves) - Amends the terrorism statute to add all forms of fentanyl as a weapon of terrorism and the distribution or sale is punishable as a felony.
• Pending (Adams/Obenshain) – Protecting Supreme Court Justices and other Judges by making it a crime to intimidate a Judge or other court employees near their residence.
• Pending (Norment) - Punishing criminals by increasing mandatory minimums for certain firearm related offenses, including the use of a firearm on school property.
• HB 1416 (Brewer/Dunnavant) – Supporting victims of sexual assault by reinstating the requirement that individuals charged with certain crimes are required submit to STI testing.
• HB 1378 /SB 779 ( Wilt /Newman) - Protecting consumers by repealing the requirement that the State Air Pollution Control Board implement California's low-emissions and zero-emissions vehicle program for motor vehicles with a model year of 2025 and later.
• Pending (Kilgore/Vogel) - Supporting the Jewish Community by making it unlawful for state agencies and entities to contract or purchase with any entity that promotes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction of Israel.
• HB 1606 (Tata / Dunnavant) – Adds the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to the code.
• SB 921 (Cosgrove / Wilt) - Protecting our children by expanding the list of sex offenses that prohibit an individual from working or being near school property.
• HB 1555 (Brewer/Vogel) – Preventative measure to combat human trafficking by requiring first-year students to complete a training during first year orientation at public universities and encourages private institutions to develop policies and awareness training as well.
• Pending (Brewer/McDougle) – Prohibiting TikTok from being downloaded on any state-owned device or accessed on state networks.
• SB 925 (Greenhalgh/ Cosgrove) - Protecting the rights of patients in hospitals and nursing facilities to have access to clergy members during times of public health emergencies.
• SB 1004 / HB 1474 (DeSteph / Webert) - Supporting law enforcement by no longer requiring them to provide personally identifiable information when testifying in criminal cases.
• SB 1002 (Cosgrove / Batten) - Prohibiting state entities from receiving gifts from certain foreign countries of concern, such as The Republic of Cuba, The People's Republic of China and The Russian Federation.
• SB 910 (Newman / Batten) - Protects students on campus by requiring training for threat assessment team members and reporting to local law enforcement and the Commonwealth's Attorney when the threat assessment team has requested certain records and believes the student to be a significant threat.
• Pending (Freitas) Increases transparency and accountability in higher education by expanding the reporting of salary information of certain administrators and requiring a public comment period prior to any vote to renew the contract of a university president.
• Pending (Ware/Tata) - Requiring Virginia public high school students to pass an American history test modeled after the Immigration and Naturalization test required for citizenship. 

In addition to portions of the legislative agenda outlined above, the Attorney General will also be supporting various amendments made by Governor Youngkin to the biennial budget, which include a $10 million amendment to establish a Mass Violence Care Fund, $2.5 million for a Witness Protection Program, and the over $230 million for the "Right Help, Right Now" plan to address mental and behavioral health. Additionally, the Governor has proposed $30 million to support the Bold Blue Line Initiative to support and recruit law enforcement, and finally an additional $20 million increase to Operation Ceasefire.

###