State and National Government
WFIR Political Analyst Bob Denton says it is difficult to know what to make of the Iowa Caucuses — other than the very late release of the results will greatly diminish any impact they have otherwise had. WFIR intern reporter Rachel Meell has more:
The impeachment trial is a stormy cloud over tonight’s State of the Union address. But at least one legislator says another investigation needs to be brought concerning Ukraine. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
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The new Democratic majority in the General Assembly is advancing more gun-related bills, including one that critics say could wrongly involve trying to determine a gun owner’s state of mind. The bill provides that persons assembling with others while armed doing so with others with the intent of intimidating anyone else is guilty of a felony. It advanced out of committee yesterday to the full Senate, as WFIR’s Evan Jones reports:
A new bill in the General Assembly would launch a new state-based health insurance plan that would be less expensive than the Affordable Care Act. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
A recent poll shows that the Democrat who wins the Iowa caucus on Monday wins the party’s presidential nomination 70 percent of the time. And a political analyst says that’s trouble for the Democratic establishment, as WFIR’s Ian Price reports:
A state lawmaker has filed a resolution to change a privilege in the state constitution that has received much attention this week. As the Christiansburg Police Department conducts an internal review of the handling of the traffic stop involving Democratic Delegate Chris Hurst, Republican State Senator Bryce Reeves, of Spotsylvania, filed a bill yesterday that would remove a provision in the state constitution granting lawmakers immunity from arrest during the General Assembly Session.
The resolution would replace wording in the provision which states, lawmakers will be exempt from arrest except in cases of treason,felony or breach of peace, during the session with- lawmakers will be exempt from arrest “except upon issuance of an arrest warrant by a judge with authorization of a Commonwealths attorney or police agency having jurisdiction during the sessions of the General Assembly.”
Reeves says the resolution is meant to restore and maintain the public’s trust in their elected officials. In a statement Hurst says while it is true lawmakers can’t be charged with crimes during the session, he does not agree he should be immune from prosecution when warranted,and he is not above the law.
Photo: CPD
The weekend traffic stop of Delegate Chris Hurst traffic has made many Virginians aware for the first time that state lawmakers cannot generally be arrested when the General Assembly is in session. It turns out that such provisions are common across the country. Police say Hurst’s breathalyzer reading was above the state’s drunk driving threshold, but the officer did not place any charges. Virginia Tech Political Science Professor Karen Hult says Virginia’s Constitution has its genesis in large part in England, where a similar provision for members of parliament existed centuries ago. She spoke with WFIR’s Evan Jones:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Three Democratic state attorneys general are suing a U.S. government official to force him to recognize Virginia’s vote this week to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and certify the measure as part of the Constitution.
The lawsuit filed Thursday against the archivist of the United States comes after the National Archives and Records Administration said this week that David Ferriero would “take no action to certify the adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment,” which would prohibit discrimination based on sex.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is partnering with Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Before Virginia’s vote this week that made it the critical 38th state to approve the ERA, Nevada in 2017 and Illinois in 2018 were the most recent to ratify the amendment.
The attorneys general argue that U.S. laws do not give the archivist the power to decide whether to certify an amendment. They contend the archivist’s duty to certify the amendment is “mandatory and purely ministerial.”
“After generations of effort, the women of this country are entitled to their rightful place in the Constitution. This Court should compel the Archivist to carry out his statutory duty of recognizing the complete and final adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment,” the lawsuit says, according to a copy provided to The Associated Press.
The U.S. Constitution says amendments can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate or by a constitutional convention called by state legislatures. So far, all 27 amendments have been put forward by Congress. Ratification is then required by the legislatures of three-quarters of the states, or 38.
But the fate of the ERA has been in question because of a 1979 deadline that Congress enacted and later extended to 1982. Thirty-five states ratified the ERA by 1977. No others joined by the 1982 cutoff, and the next to sign off was Nevada.
In declining to certify the ERA, the archives said it was following advice from the U.S. Department of Justice, which issued an opinion this month saying it was too late for states to certify the ERA. The department said the amendment process must begin anew.
The attorneys general argue that the deadline passed by Congress is not binding.
The time limitation was not included in the text of the article that was sent to the states for consideration, they argue. Additionally, the attorneys general say, the U.S. Constitution doesn’t explicitly give Congress the power to set a timeline for states to ratify an amendment.
They note that the last amendment to be added in 1992 – the 27th Amendment limiting the ability of members of Congress to raise their own pay – took more than 200 years to be ratified by 38 states.
They’re asking a court to direct the archivist to certify that the amendment has passed and is now the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The press office of the National Archives and Records Administration didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The attorneys general and the ERA Coalition plan to hold a news conference announcing the lawsuit in Washington on Thursday morning.
Supporters of the ERA say it’s needed to guarantee women equality under the law. They say it would offer stronger protections in sex discrimination cases and give Congress firmer ground to pass anti-discrimination laws.
Opponents warn it would erode commonsense protections for women, such as workplace accommodations during pregnancy. They also worry it could be used by abortion-rights supporters to quash abortion restrictions on the grounds they discriminate against women.
FROM VIRGINIA STATE POLICE: Virginia State Police Trooper M.S. Zola is investigating a single vehicle crash which resulted in a fatality. The crash occurred Wednesday (Jan 29), at 10:26 p.m. on Route 58, west of Route 684 in Henry County.A 1999 Chevrolet 1500 pickup truck was traveling west on Route 58, when the vehicle crossed the roadway and came to a stop against an embankment.The driver was identified as Ronnie William Robertson, 61, of Spencer, Va. Mr. Robertson was wearing his seatbelt and died at the scene.Mr. Robertson is believed to have had a medical emergency prior to the crash.The crash remains under investigation.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s attorney general, who has vowed to go to court if needed to see the Equal Rights Amendment adopted, plans to announce “landmark civil rights litigation” dealing with the proposed Constitutional amendment, his office announced Wednesday.
Attorney General Mark Herring is partnering on the lawsuit with fellow Democratic attorneys general Kwame Raoul of Illinois and Aaron Ford of Nevada, Herring’s office said in a news release, which did not provide additional details about the litigation. A news conference to discuss it was planned for Thursday.
The announcement came two days after Virginia became the critical 38th state to ratify the measure, which would prohibit discrimination based on sex. Nevada and Illinois were the next-most recent states to ratify the ERA – Nevada in 2017 and Illinois in 2018.
Typically, constitutional amendments must be ratified by three-quarters of the states, or 38. But the ERA’s future is uncertain, in part because of a 1982 deadline for ratification that Congress enacted decades ago. Many legal observers expect its future to be determined in the courts.
Herring said on Monday that he was committed “to making sure that we use every single tool at our disposal to make sure the Equal Rights Amendment becomes a part of the United States constitution as it should be.”
On Tuesday, the National Archives and Records Administration confirmed it had received Virginia’s ratification documentation but said the archivist would “take no action to certify the adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment.”
A spokeswoman for Herring declined further comment on the litigation before it is filed.
The administration said it was following the advice of the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, which issued a memo earlier this month saying that because the 1982 deadline has passed, it is too late for states to ratify the ERA. The only option for supporters now is to begin the ratification process all over again in Congress, the department said.
The National Archives said it would abide by that opinion “unless otherwise directed by a final court order.”
ERA advocates have vowed to fight to see the measure certified, either in court or in Congress, where there is a push to remove the deadline. Some ERA supporters argue that because the deadline was included in a preamble of the amendment, it is not legally binding.