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Public Safety

Friday, February 20, 2026·13m·▶ Watch / Listen

The House Public Safety Committee advanced five Senate bills post-crossover, conforming several to their House counterparts. Notable actions included a 10-6 passage of a firearm restriction bill for domestic violence misdemeanants, a unanimous 16-0 vote on a sexual and domestic violence victim fund, and an unusual reconsideration vote on a juvenile parole bill that improved its margin from 13-4 to 14-3.

Key Actions

·SB 160 – Firearm Possession After Intimate Partner Assault ConvictionPassed

+ 4 more actions

Controversies

SB 160 firearm restriction bill — continued member opposition

The chair referenced prior nay voters — Delegates Wilt, Oates, Phillips, Zaire, Cornett, and Hamilton — from the bill's initial committee passage at 15 to 6, and stated 'if you've seen the light since then and realize what a good bill this is, you can always change your minds,' indicating ongoing disagreement. The bill passed this hearing 10 to 6, suggesting continued opposition from some members, though individual names for this vote's nays were not recorded in the transcript.

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“For your memories, folks. This bill was reported out of this committee initially, and it was reported to approach by a vote of 15 to 6. And the nays were delegates Wilt, Oates, Phillips, Zaire, Cornett, and Hamilton. So if you guys want to remember how you voted last time, if you want to be consistent, of course, if you've seen the light since then and realize what a good bill this is, you can always change your minds. It is a very good bill.”

Chair — The chair was urging members to reconsider their prior opposition to SB 160, which restricts firearm possession for persons convicted of misdemeanor assault and battery against an intimate partner.

+ 2 more quotes

Votes

Adopt substitute to conform SB 160 to HB 19Passed
Report SB 160 with substitutePassed
Adopt committee substitute for [Senator Perry's sexual and domestic violence victim fund bill]Passed
Report [Senator Perry's sexual and domestic violence victim fund bill] with substitutePassed
Adopt substitute to conform SB 60 to HB 318Passed
Report SB 60 with substitute (first vote)Passed
Reconsider the vote on SB 60 (moved by Delegate Zaire)Passed
Report SB 60 with substitute (second vote, after reconsideration)Passed
Report SB 348Passed
Report SB 599Passed
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TranscriptPreview
Good morning. Welcome to this first post crossover meeting of the House Public Safety Committee. Members will indicate their presence on the electronic voting board. The clerk will close the roll. A quorum is present. I note that we have. Looking at the electronic voting board, we have two new members of the Public Safety Committee post crossover. So I did not warn you guys about this, but if you all wouldn't mind, the very first meeting was everybody introduced themselves and talked a little bit about their connection or interest to public safety. General. You don't have to have any particular interest, but if you guys could introduce yourselves, tell us the area you represent, and if you have any kind of public safety in your background, we'd love to hear about it. We'll start with you, Delegate McPike. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm Kurt McPike, representing the City of Alexandria. You know, very happy to be joining this body and this committee. Public safety, of course, was very important to my work on the city council in Alexandria as a locality. We deal with these issues directly. So I look forward to working with you and the committee…
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