HB 1245
HB 1245 (Hugo) was heard yesterday afternoon in the Senate Transportation Committee.
Members Present: Miller, Y.B. (Chairman), Houck, Marsh, Newman, Watkins, Puckett, Wagner, Blevins, Deeds, McDougle, Ticer, Cuccinelli, Petersen, Smith, Miller, J.C.
The Transportation Committee came to order at 2:39 p.m.
HB 1245 addresses taking the DMV driving test numerous times. The proposed bill says that any person who fails the behind-the-wheel or knowledge examinations for a driver’s license three times won’t be permitted to take the examination a fourth time until he successfully completes the in-vehicle or knowledge component of driver instruction at a driver training school. An amendment in the nature of a substitute was offered. This amendment would seek to add driver’s education classes to the test limits proposed by the original bill. It would not, however, include high-school age students under the limits proposed by the bill. The substitute was offered and adopted.
Delegate Hugo explained, “This bill Is an attempt to rectify a problem that has been brought to my attention. Some of our constituents are abusing DMV by using it as a defacto driver school.”
Senator Peterson asked if this bill was intended for teen drivers or adult drivers. Delegate Hugo responded this was only for adult drivers age 19 and up.
DMV spoke briefly in support of the bill, noting that this was a bill that was good for all Virginians.
It appeared to have had a “yes” vote from all of the committee members present. HB1245 was reported.
The amendment in the nature of a substitute for HB 1245 is available at
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi
Ben
Ben Lansing @ February 29, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)
HB 1183
Wow! Things happened fast in the Senate today. HB 1183 was read for the first, second, and third time today (only the third reading is recorded on LIS). Here’s what happened today:
02/25/08 Senate: Read third time
02/25/08 Senate: Reading of substitute waived
02/25/08 Senate: Committee substitute agreed to 084106600-S1
02/25/08 Senate: Engrossed by Senate – committee substitute HB 1183S1
02/25/08 Senate: Passed Senate with substitute (39-Y 0-N)
02/25/08 Senate: Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N)
02/25/08 Senate: Passed Senate with substitute (40-Y 0-N)
The testing bill has passed the House and Senate.
Ben
Ben Lansing @ February 25, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments (2)
HB 1245
HB 1245 (Hugo) was scheduled for the 2:00 p.m. Senate Transportation Committee last Thursday. The full Senate ran later than usual, and as a result, the Senate Transportation Committee met very late. After waiting almost six hours for the hearing, here’s the update for HB1245.
Membership (all members present): Miller, Y.B. (Chairman), Houck, Marsh, Newman, Watkins, Puckett, Wagner, Blevins, Deeds, McDougle, Ticer, Cuccinelli, Petersen, Smith, Miller, J.C.
The bill was brought before the committee at 6:49 p.m. The DMV requested the bill be held until this Thursday. According to Delegate Hugo’s office, an amendment to the bill will be brought forward in Thursday’s committee meeting that will suggest making the bill’s testing limit apply to both DMV testing and driver-training classes.
Ben
Ben Lansing @ February 25, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)
Busy Morning in the Legislature: 259, 767, and 1183
Things happened very quickly today! I’m really learning the art of jumping up and down over seats to get to the podium—all while holding a laptop! The testing bill HB 1183 took an unusual turn.
8:30 a.m. Senate Education and Health meeting:
Membership: Houck (Chairman), Saslaw, Lucas, Howell, Quayle, Martin, Newman, Edwards, Ruff, Whipple, Blevins, Locke, Barker, Northam, Miller, J.C.
The bills were heard in this order:
HB 259 (Fralin): In the bill requiring notification when withdrawing from public school, it was moved and seconded to adopt the amendment that included electronic notification. No discussion was made for or against the bill. The amendment was adopted. The bill was reported as amended.
HB 767 (Tata): The bill making changes to the homeschool statute was brought up. No discussion was made for or against the bill. The bill was quickly reported.
HB 1183 (Lingamfelter): In the bill clarifying testing options, the amendment from Monday’s subcommittee meeting was quickly adopted. The Senate received an older version of the bill so there was some initial confusion about the bill’s wording before the correct House Substitute was passed out.
Lingamfelter requested that it be amended on line 36 after (iii) to strike the pronoun ‘a’ and have it read ‘an evaluation.’ This amendment was adopted.
Senator Miller wanted to know why the superintendent does not have control over what he wants to review. Parrish Mort of Virginia Homeschoolers said it has historically been under the parents’ discretion as to what form of evaluation was used.
The Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) spoke in opposition to the bill, expressing concern in particular about the portfolio section of the bill because it was difficult and time consuming to determine if portfolios are evaluating what they say they are evaluating.
Senator Martin asked VASS if the evaluation acceptance still rested completely in the superintendent’s hands. The Virginia Association of School Superintendents replied that they wanted something more clearly “spelled out” than a portfolio. A VASS representative said he read the bill to mean superintendents MUST accept a portfolio and approve it. He indicated he wanted something that could be assessed more easily, like a standardized test.
It was suggested the bill be amended to strike the portion on line 38 regarding student portfolios.
Senator Miller then suggested two amendments that would, in essence, create a bill that would do the opposite of what was intended. He suggested that on line 31, (1) ’shall’ be stricken and replaced with ‘to’ and (2) ’shall ask’ be inserted after ‘division superintendent.’ A great deal of disapproval was expressed by Senator Martin, Senator Newman, and homeschool representatives. The bill was voted down (only Senator Miller and Senator Locke voted for the amendment).
HB 1183 was then voted upon to report. “No” Votes: 8 (Saslaw, Locke, Howell, Whipple, Northam, Miller, and Newman); “Yes” Votes: 7 (Houck, Lucas, Martin, Edwards, Ruff, Blevins, and Quayle).
Because Senator Newman voted on the prevailing side, he was able to move that the bill be “passed by” temporarily. Because of that strategic move, we expected HB 1183 to come back before the committee next week. At that point, Delegate Lingamfelter said it was very important that the senators who voted against the bill hear the voices of the homeschoolers in their districts.
Later in the same hearing, Senator Steve Newman—a long-time supporter of homeschooling—asked that the bill be brought up in committee again! He had privately talked with Senator Saslaw and the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and had allayed their concerns about the bill. The committee chairman, Senator Houck, allowed the procedure. They took another vote and Senator Saslaw voted for the bill along with Senator Newman! The bill passed! It now goes to the full Senate for a final vote next week.
What a trip this bill has taken! And it’s not over yet!
Ben
Ben Lansing @ February 21, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)
HB 1183 – Preparations for Tomorrow’s Hearing
HB 1183 – Homeschool Testing Options
As noted in HEAV’s email announcement this morning, HB1183 (Lingamfelter-R) is scheduled to be heard in tomorrow’s 8:30 a.m. Senate Education Committee. The vote for this bill is expected to be close and hinges on whether or not key Senate Democrats will approve this bill.
This afternoon, I visited the offices of both Senator Houck (D), the committee chair, and Senator J. Miller (D) to clarify the importance of HB 1183 and answer any questions they had. Both Senators’ legislative assistants were open to HEAV’s comments.
Andrew Wright, legislative assistant to Sen. Houck, said his office had been flooded with calls from concerned constituents. “I think every homeschooler and his mom in our district has called our office today.”
Peter Faucher, legislative assistant to Senator J.C. Miller, had also heard from homeschoolers before my visit with him this afternoon. Peter was still unsure, however, why HB 1183 was necessary. To answer his question, I explained the two situations in Virginia Beach and Alexandria where superintendents did not accept qualified evaluations. I explained that most of these methods of evaluation were already used by superintendents throughout the state. The bill simply clarifies the types of evaluations that can be used. I noted that this important additional language helps to define the evaluation criteria for homeschoolers and superintendents so future confusion of this kind does not occur.
Thank you for all of your calls. They are having a powerful impact on our elected representatives.
Ben
Ben Lansing @ February 21, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)
HB767, HB1183, HB259
Here are the results of today’s Senate education subcommittee meeting:
Membership (All members present): Blevins (Chairman), Howell, Ruff, Locke, Miller, J.C.
HB1183 – Delegate Lingamfelter
Delegate Lingamfelter introduced the bill. He noted that the superintendent continues to have an impact on the evaluation.
HEAV, HSLDA, and Virginia Homeschoolers spoke in support of the bill.
Senator Ruff asked how a letter was going to show progress. “What is their point of reference [for the evaluation]?” It was noted that an amendment was made in the house to address this issue.
A representative of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) spoke, noting it would save a lot of work if a portfolio were signed by the teacher or a professor. Delegate Lingamfelter said he didn’t see a problem with this language. Scott Woodruff wanted to clarify that this bill is talking about samples of material from the major school subjects. He further noted that this was the dominant method of evaluation in Maryland and West Virginia and it has not been too laborious.
Lingamfelter suggested an amendment addressing VASS’s concerns. On line 39 after “language arts,” he proposed inserting “and an evaluation by the submitter.” This amendment was accepted.
Senator Miller wanted to make sure the superintendent was still involved in the ultimate decision. Delegate Lingamfelter assured him he was and directed him to line 31. Senator Miller was concerned superintendents could not require a student to take a test or evaluation. Delegate Lingamfelter replied that superintendents could not require ADDITIONAL evaluations, but they could make a decision from the evidence presented.
As amended, the bill was not reported, but sent to the full committee. It will be heard in the full committee on Thursday.
HB 767 – Delegate Tata
The Department of Education spoke about the bill, detailing the language to be changed. HEAV and Virginia Homeschoolers said they were in support of the DOE’s bill.
Moved to report. The bill was reported.
HB 259 – Delegate Fralin
Del. Fralin explained the bill, noting, “If someone transfers within Virginia, it’s easy to keep track of them. If they want to homeschool or go to another country, it could be a problem. There is no entity on the other end who can be contacted. This [bill] requires some form of communication.”
An amendment was accepted that added “or electronic” to include e-mailed communication.
The bill was reported with the amendment.
Ben
Ben Lansing @ February 18, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)
Bill Update – Before Crossover
Well, we appear to be in a bit of a “calm before the storm” (or “calm before crossover”). But I did want to send out a summary of the bills we’re tracking so you will know where we stand once crossover goes into effect.
HB259: Senate Education and Health
HB767: Senate Education and Health
HB1183: Senate Education and Health
HB1245: Engrossed by the House today
Ben
Ben Lansing @ February 11, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)
HB1540 Stricken from Docket
HB 1540 (Hugo), the bill to put driver education under the DMV, was stricken from the docket. Looks like we’re in good shape!
Ben
Ben Lansing @ February 5, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)
HB117 and HB512
Good morning!
HB117 (Landes) and HB512 (Dance) (the two community college scholarship match bills) were heard in this morning’s 8:30 Appropriations Committee. It had been expected that Del. Landes and Del. Dance would combine their bills in this meeting. Here’s what happened today.
Membership (members present are in bold): Morgan (Chairman), Ingram, May, Cox, Jones, S.C., Phillips, Howell, A.T., and Shannon
HB512, HB1293 (Athey), and HB117 were heard at the same time and were immediately rolled together. Then Del. Landes and Del. Dance introduced the bill. Two people, Dr. Gentry and Dr. Martin of John Tyler Community College, were present to speak for the bill.
Del. Landes explained, “Community colleges are trying to deal with an increased number of students, and transfer students are playing a larger role in the education system. This is a tough budget year, but if you could see fit to support the policy and then see how the financial situation looks next year, I think that this is what Del. Dance and I would ask.”
Chairman Morgan stated, “I think that this is a wonderful bill, but it is a five-million-dollar bill.”
Before the two representatives from John Tyler could speak for the bill, Del. Cox moved to table it. The committee voted unanimously to table the bill.
Next up: HB1245, which should be heard tomorrow morning.
Ben
Ben Lansing @ February 4, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)