VA gov vetoes another pro-gun bill

[Nightfall]

I have a feeling I'll be starting a lot of these threads during his term.

Governor Kaine just vetoed his second gun bill - HB 370,
Delegate Carrico's bill which clarified that only a hunter walking down a road
has to have permission to hunt on both sides of the road.

The bill is dead. And that is another sore point in all of this -
House Leadership could have called for a veto override vote at the
same time they rejected the Governor's suggested changes last month.
The House voted 68-29 to reject the Governor's suggested changed to
HB 370. If they had gotten the votes in the Senate, the bill would
have made it into law.

But they chose not to because they claim they didn't have enough
votes in the Senate to override the expected veto.

SO?

They should have forced the Senate to vote on that bill, as elections
are next year!

I don't understand why the House Leadership is letting the Senate
call the shots.

The veto still doesn't make any sense, nor does the lack of a veto
override vote in the Senate. HB 370 ONLY CLARIFIED CURRENT LAW!

We didn't ask that HB 370 be put in just for kicks. We had two
localities that initially misunderstood the law (Chesterfield and
Loudoun) and VCDL had to come to the rescue. We were just trying to
avoid that happening again from a poorly written law.

All I can surmise is the Governor's office did not really look at the
bill very carefully or they simply didn't understand it.

 

[JohnBT]

They aren't going to vote on anything, much less a gun bill.
___________


By Chris L. Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 19, 2006; Page B05

RICHMOND, May 18 -- Virginia's 128-day debate over the state budget resumed without a hint of resolution Thursday, as a handful of lawmakers returned to the state capital for an abbreviated session.

Eight members of the House of Delegates and a pair of state senators held perfunctory floor sessions that began at noon and ended two minutes later. The purpose was simply to follow procedure: the state constitution holds that neither chamber of the General Assembly can stay out of session for more than three legislative days without the consent of the other.

Since House and Senate budget negotiators have been unable to find common ground, the full 140 members have seen no point in returning to Richmond until there's something to vote on.

So while Thursday's meetings satisfied the constitution, they did nothing to help unclog the gridlock that legislators have been wrangling over for more than two months. After lawmakers convened Jan. 11, the two Republican-controlled chambers became embroiled in a fight over whether to raise taxes to improve the state's transportation network.

Now the July 1 deadline for adopting a new two-year budget or risking a government shutdown is quickly approaching.

"We're in trouble," said Del. Robert H. Brink (D-Arlington), who attended the abbreviated session, known as a "pro forma" session. "I can see this thing going all the way to June 30."