RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Gov. Terry McAuliffe has successfully vetoed two religious expression bills and legislation that would have granted people who receive red-light tickets the right to contest citations in circuit court. The Virginia Senate voted Wednesday to uphold McAuliffe’s vetoes during a one-day legislative meeting commonly referred to as the “veto session.”
McAuliffe had vetoed a bill that would have codified a student’s right to pray at school. Another would have prohibited censorship of sermons given by chaplains of the Virginia National Guard. The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia praised the Senate’s votes, while the conservative Family Foundation condemned them.
The General Assembly did not take up the state’s proposed $96 billion two-year budget. Republicans and Democrats remain deadlocked on whether the budget should include expanding Medicaid eligibility.
