Tougher Texting-While-Driving Law Moves Forward in Virginia Legislature

Jail time no longer a maximum penalty under proposed law.

Jail time is no longer on the table as a maximum penalty as state lawmakers look to tighten Virginia's texting-while-driving law. The Old Dominion is in line to increase the fines for such offenses, though, and to give law enforcement the power to stop drivers solely for texting. House Bill 1907, which passed this week on a 92-4 vote and was supported by Del. Rob Krupicka, increases the fine upon conviction to $250 — up from $20 — for the first texting-while-driving offense and $500 for each subsequent conviction. The bill makes texting while driving an aggravating circumstance to reckless driving, and so anyone convicted such would face a mandatory minimum $500 penalty if they were texting while they were driving recklessly. Further, …

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Del. Krupicka Heads to Richmond with Eye on Education

Krupicka plans to address a diverse portfolio of issues, but says the bulk of his bills will focus on education.

Newly elected state Del. Rob Krupicka is headed to Richmond next week with a focus on education. “The bulk of my bills deal with education issues and a lot of my education concepts are informed by my work on the Board of Education and the relationships I built from that,” Krupicka told Patch editors last month in an interview at Del Ray’s St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub. Krupicka served on the state Board of Education since 2009 where he has been a strong advocate of early childhood education and increasing math and science opportunities in the commonwealth. He stepped down from that role when elected to the General Assembly. The board work “also informs how I think about drafting bills in the sense that I’m not trying to draft education policy that…

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Democrats Organize Caucus to Choose Delegate Nominee

The 45th House District Nominating Committee convened on Thursday to organize a caucus to nominate a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates.

Just days after Gov. Bob McDonnell called for a special Sept. 4 election to fill the soon-to-be empty 45th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, Democrats in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax have laid the groundwork for a last-minute caucus to choose a nominee. The 45th District includes Alexandria, parts of southern Arlington County including Fairlington, and a portion of the Huntington-Belle Haven area of Fairfax County. The seat is being vacated by Del. David Englin, who recently announced his resignation effective Aug. 31. On Thursday evening, the nominating committee decided to offer two opportunities for registered voters to participate in the caucus. Craig Fifer, chairman of the 45th House District Nominating Committee…

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Richmond Report

Egregious, Divisive Bills Cast Shadow on Bipartisan Progress

A Richmond Report from Alexandria's delegate

By Delegate David Englin, 45th District During marathon floor sessions earlier this week, the House of Delegates debated and voted on dozens of bills before "crossover," the Tuesday deadline by which bills must pass the House before being considered by the Senate. In terms of sheer volume, most of the bills we passed enjoyed strong bipartisan support and drew little controversy. These included bills I cosponsored to expand medical assistance to pregnant women who are legal immigrants, to give our community the power to decide our school calendar for ourselves, and to give Northern Virginia a stronger voice on the Commonwealth Transportation Board to help us get our fair share and better meet our transportation needs. However, over my …

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