On February 9th, Senate Bill 1501 passed the Senate with a vote of 27-Y to 12-N. Senator Barker introduced this bill on behalf of some of Virginia’s most vulnerable citizens. Senate Bill 1501 will eliminate the waiting list for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities over the next 10 years. Currently, many of these individuals must wait for years in order to receive the services they require. Senator Barker has been actively working with the Arc of Northern Virginia on advocacy for this legislation. This organization is a renowned leader in providing advocacy and service for children, adults, and families with disabilities.

Over 4,500 people with intellectual disabilities are on the MR Waiver wait list at the moment; of those, half are in the urgent need category. This list has been growing rapidly the past three years. Currently, there is no plan in place to eliminate this waiting list.  Senator Barker’s proposed bill will deliver some relief to those with disabilities by reducing the time they will have to wait for services.

The House’s committee of Health and Human Resources is now reviewing Senate Bill 1501.

Five students testified at a Senate Transportation Subcommittee meeting last Thursday, January 29, in support of Sen. Barker’s proposed legislation, S.B. 1502. The bill, developed by students, Bree Dumas and Michael Hyon, calls for a change to the existing secondary seat belt law. The proposed legislation will require passengers to wear seat belts regardless of age and seat position in a motor vehicle.

The students from Centreville High School in Clifton, Va. support strengthening the existing law that requires only passengers in the front seat to wear a seatbelt. The student’s articulate and well thought out testimony was instrumental in the success of this bill.

The students informed committee members that other states have updated their laws to require seat belt use of all passengers in vehicles. Utah and Rhode Island, for example, which have recently implemented more stringent seatbelt laws, have seen a noticeable decline in their vehicle fatalities since these laws passed.

S.B. 1502 passed the Transportation Subcommittee with a vote of 8-Y, 4-N, and 2-A. It went on to pass the first reading of the Senate with a unanimous vote of 39-Y.