The Virginia House Privileges and Elections Committee advanced four bills — including measures to place same-sex marriage and reproductive freedom constitutional amendments on the 2026 ballot — while the two reproductive-freedom-related bills drew the only contested votes (15-6 each) and sparked pointed exchanges over whether ballot question language accurately reflects the underlying constitutional amendment text.
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Delegate Leftwich argued that the ballot question language — specifically the phrase 'except when the patient's health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive' — does not accurately describe what HJ1 does, stating 'I don't read the amendment as doing that,' and asked where in the amendment it speaks to the viability of the fetus or the health of the mother. Delegate Herring responded that Leftwich was referring to HJ1, which she did not have before her, and that the hearing was about HB 781, adding: 'I don't know what's in the delegates mine or why he can't understand it.'
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“Passing both the constitutional amendment and this enactment legislation will put the power back into the hands of Virginians when it comes to reproductive health care decisions. It will give them a choice to decide whether the right to reproductive freedom will be enshrined in our Constitution and ensure that no matter who is in office, this critical right cannot be taken away.”
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Sign in to subscribeI call this meeting of the Privileges and Elections Committee to order. If the clerk could please open the roll so that we can take attendance. All right. And we do have a quorum. We are glad to have a few guests with us that we will get to. But first, the committee will be at ease. Campaigns and candidates subcommittee report, Delegate Henson. Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, we have one bill that reported out of our subcommittee, House Bill 4. Four Patron by Delia Krezek. It relates to elections, Campaign finance disclosure reports, searchable electronic databases. Requires the Department of Elections to provide an interface for the campaign finance database maintained by the department that allows us to easily search for and to sort information by individual candidates, types of elections office committees and other contributors, contributions, receipts, disbursements, expenditures, loans, and other categories of information included in the campaign finance report. Madam Chair, I do believe that the committee recommended reporting H0, but I do believe that it should be recommended in reporting to refer to appropriations. And I so move is there. Thank you. It's been moved and properly seconded that we would report and…
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