Representing Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax

Mark's Bills

I believe constituents have a right to know what their elected representatives are up to, particularly with regard to legislation they introduce. I plan to uphold what I call the Gold Standard of Transparency by directing my staff to video-record the proceedings on each of my bills as they come before subcommittee and committee. That way, every constituent can know exactly what was said and done on each of the 20 or so bills I introduce.  Scroll down to see my bills for the 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016 sessions.

Committee Assignments

(2020, 2021)

  • Courts of Justice
  • Health, Welfare and Institutions
  • Privileges and Elections
  • Public Safety

(2018, 2019)

  • Health, Welfare and Institutions
  • Militia, Police and Public Safety

(2016, 2017)

  • Health, Welfare and Institutions
  • Science and Technology

 

Legislation (2021)

Introduced (Patron) Chief Co-Patron Co-Patron

Confederate Graves Funding (HB1800)

The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) has, for decades, received funding from the Commonwealth of Virginia to maintain Confederate memorials. This has been going on for 150 years or so. It's about time this stop! I have introduced a budget amendments to remove this funding. If the UDC wants to maintain statues or gravesites honoring slave-holding traitors, they can still do so, but they have to raise money from private funds and not rely on taxpayers to do so. 

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Virtual Meetings (HB1931)

The bill would increase local elected officials' ability to balance their duties as elected officials with their responsibilities as caring family members. It would allow those serving in local government to, on limited occasions, participate virtually in public meetings when they need to take care of a sick family member or attend to a personal matter. This bill passed the House last year with broad bipartisan support, 62-38, but then was sent to the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, which liked my bill idea so much, they amended it to make it even broader in application. In addition to the recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, my Virtual Meetings bill has the support of numerous women's groups, because even today, it is still women who disproportionately take care of family needs.

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Stop State-Funded Discrimination (HB1932)

Repeals provisions that allowed child-placing agencies to refuse to perform, assist with, counsel, recommend, consent to, refer, or participate in any child placements when the proposed placement would violate the agency's written religious or moral convictions or policies.

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National Popular Vote (HB1933)

Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known as the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United States gives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A state may withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring within six months of the end of a President's term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term.

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Good Apples Act (HB1948)

Requires any law-enforcement officer on duty who witnesses another person suffering from a serious bodily injury or a life-threatening condition to render aid and makes it a duty to report acts of wrongdoing, defined in the bill and including bias-based profiling, committed by another law-enforcement officer on duty. Any law-enforcement officer who fails to render such aid or report such wrongdoing committed by another law-enforcement officer shall be subject to disciplinary action, including dismissal, demotion, suspension, or transfer of the law-enforcement officer. The bill also expands the definition of "bias-based profiling," a practice banned for sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, other local law-enforcement officers, and State Police officers in the performance of their official duties, to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

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Safe Elections (HB2081)

Prohibits any person from knowingly possessing a firearm within 40 feet of any building, or part thereof, used as a polling place, including one hour before and one hour after its use as a polling place, except for (i) a qualified law-enforcement officer or retired law-enforcement officer, (ii) any person occupying his own private property that falls within 40 feet of the polling place, or (iii) a licensed armed security officer whose employment or performance of his duties occurs within 40 feet of the polling place. The bill further provides that no person shall knowingly possess a firearm within 40 feet of a meeting place for the local electoral board while the electoral board meets to ascertain the results of an election or any place used as the setting for a recount. A violation of the provisions of the bill is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

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Transparency in Redistricting (HB2082)

Requires meetings and hearings of the Virginia Redistricting Commission to be livestreamed, whether held virtually or in person, and to allow for public comment. Meetings and hearings that are held in person are required to be conducted in different regions of the Commonwealth, including the Northern Virginia region, the Central Virginia region, the Hampton Roads region, the Southside region, and the Southwest region. An additional public hearing is required to be held in the event that the initial plan for districts submitted by the Commission is rejected by the General Assembly. If adjustments are made to a proposed plan at any stage in response to public comment, the adjusted proposed plan is required to be published on the Commission's website and a public hearing is required to be held. The bill subjects the Supreme Court of Virginia and the special masters appointed by the Court for the establishment of districts to the same requirements and restrictions to which the Commission is subject, including provisions related to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the ban on ex parte communications. Additionally, the bill changes the reallocation of persons incarcerated in federal, state, or local correctional facilities whose address at the time of incarceration was located outside of the Commonwealth or cannot be determined. Currently, such persons are counted as residing at the location of the facility in which he's incarcerated; under the bill, such persons would not be included in the locality's population count and instead would be allocated to a state unit not tied to a specific determined geographic location.

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Legislation (2020)

Click here for Mark's Letter on the 2020 Legislative Session Introduced (Patron) Chief Co-Patron Co-Patron

Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact (HB 177)

Enters Virginia into a state compact to allow the National Popular Vote of the People of the United States (rather than the Electoral College) to elect the President of the United States

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Determination of tie votes; recounts, special elections (HB 178)

Resolves ties in elections by special election rather than the drawing of lots.

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Legislation (2019)

Click here for Mark's Letter on the 2019 Legislative Session Introduced (Patron) Chief Co-Patron Co-Patron

Budget Amendment to Fund Live Streaming and Archiving of Subcommittees (HB1700)

Filming subcomittees has the support of 85 Members of the House of Delegates and Senate. I have worked closely with my VTC co-founder Republican Senator Amanda Chase on this initiative. She and I disagree on most partisan issues, but we are steadfast allies on transparency.

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Banning Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (HB 2421)

This comprehensive legislation would ban discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, banking, insurance, apprenticeships, and every other place I could find in the Code of Virginia.

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Legislation (2018)

Introduced (Patron) Chief Co-Patron Co-Patron

Local alternative minimum wage (HB 39)

Establishes a procedure by which a local alternative minimum wage may be imposed in any locality.

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Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (HB 40)

Entitles individuals to a family and medical leave insurance (FMLI) benefit payment for each month they are engaged in qualified caregiving, not to exceed 60 qualified caregiving days per year.

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Legislation (2017)

Introduced (Patron) Chief Co-Patron Co-Patron

Paid family & medical leave for both parents. (HB 2126)

Modeled on Kirsten Gillibrand's U.S. Senate bill, my legislation would support up to 60 days of family/medical leave at two thirds of normal income, at the cost of only 0.2% matching contributions by employees and employers.

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Physical Evidence Recovery Kits (PERKs) storage. (HB 2127) Law

This bill does two things.  First, it guarantees that evidence of sexual assault will be preserved until at least age 28. Second, it gives survivors of sexual assault (of any age) the option of extending the storage of evidence by 10 years at a time--as many times as they want--if they are not ready to pursue charges at that time.

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Legislation (2016)

Introduced (Patron) Chief Co-Patron Co-Patron Budget Request

Raising the Minimum Wage - Full Testimony (HB 995)

Mark Levine and advocates for raising the minimum wage presented a strong case for a locality by locality wage hike. The bill was then tabled for the year by the Republicans on the subcommittee on a party-line vote.

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Defends Expungement Bill (HB 996)

Virginia State Delegate Mark Levine proposed that non-violent drug possession offenders get one chance to remove their charge from their records so they could apply for jobs years later. Republicans on the Committee defeated the bill on a party-line vote.

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