First, the good news… HB 1160 is up for a vote in the full House on Monday. Pending passage, it crosses over to the Senate. This is a big step closer! Chief Patron Bob Marshall penned this legislation to directly address language within the recent National Defense Authorization Act, which among other things, permits the U.S. Military to operate within our borders, and allows the indefinite detention of U.S. Citizens. We must be equally diligent in our lobbying efforts to see HB 1160 through the Senate process, and ultimately to Gov. McDonnell.
The bad news – the Eminent Domain bills (HB 1035 & SB 437) surrounding SJ 3 & HJ 3 the Private Property Constitutional Amendment(s) are falling prey to politics. The sticking point being amendments the Republicans inserted that rendered this legislation very unfavorable to Virginia property owners. The whole point was to protect property owners. From what we’re hearing, we’d be better off as the law stands now than to adopt this in it’s place. There are some alternatives in the making, so stay tuned for updates early this week.
We have a lot more call and emails to make next week folks… Roanoke Tea Party issues heartfelt thanks for all the calls and keystrokes. Check back here for regular updates, and let’s keep the pressure up.
Gregory Honeycutt
President, Roanoke Tea Party
