According to Firearm Chronicles
We’ve been expecting Gov. Ralph Northam to call lawmakers back into session in Virginia for a few weeks now, and on Friday the governor made it official: a special session of the legislature will kick off in Richmond a month from now on August 18th. The governor’s proclamation calling for the special session makes it clear that in addition to revising the state’s budget due to tax shortfalls, he wants Democrats in control of the General Assembly to bring plenty of “criminal and social justice reforms” to the table when lawmakers convene in a few months.
Will that include a revival of HB961, the Northam-backed gun, magazine, and suppressor ban that was defeated earlier this year after four Democrat state senators voted against the measure during the regular session? The governor didn’t specifically call for a renewed effort to push gun control legislation, but it wouldn’t be a stretch for Democrats to revive the bill and call it a “social justice” reform.
A press release from the governor’s office lays out a few more specifics about the Democrats’ agenda next month, but also doesn’t specifically mention HB961.
The General Assembly will meet to adopt a final budget, a process that was postponed earlier in the year due to COVID-19. In April, Governor Northam worked with legislators to “unallot,” or freeze, over $2.2 billion in new spending in Virginia’s new biennial budget. This strategy allowed time for the Commonwealth’s fiscal outlook to stabilize and avoided major cuts to important new programs and state services. Legislators will now consider a number of items previously “unalloted”—including the Governor’s historic investments in early childhood education, tuition-free community college, affordable housing, and broadband.
Policing initiatives are expected to include measures aimed at police accountability and oversight, use of force, increased training and education, and officer recruitment, hiring, and decertification. Governor Northam has directed the Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Virginia African American Advisory Board, and the Commission to Examine Racial Inequity in Virginia Law to assist the administration in developing policy initiatives. The Governor will continue to work closely with legislators and community advocates on specific legislative proposals.