A number of new laws went into effect July 1 in Virginia. Some of the major ones include social media, campus sexual assault, breast feeding, and medical marijuana.
A number of new laws went into effect July 1 in Virginia. Some of the major ones include social media, campus sexual assault, breast feeding, and medical marijuana. The new laws come from legislation passed by the 2015 Session of the General Assembly. These laws and others can be found in detail in the Divison of Legislative Services’ publication “In Due Course.” Here’s the rundown:
Social media: Employers cannot ask employees or prospective employees for the username and passwords of social media accounts.
Breastfeeding: Women can breastfeed anywhere the mother is lawfully present. A rally to celebrate the new law is happening at Maymont Park Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Campus sex assault: Lawmakers have approved several measures related to campus sex assault violence. They include requiring campus police departments to notify local prosecutors within 48 hours of starting any investigation into possible felony sexual assault and requiring university registrars to put a note on the transcripts of any student who is suspended, expelled or withdraws from school for reasons related to an offense involving sexual violence.
Read up on VCU’s “Rapists Deserve to Die” controversy, covered by RVA Mag here. Other reads: Bills to combat sexual assault on Virginia college campuses. Gov. McAuliffes’s sexual assault task force coverage.
Medical marijuana: The law provides an “affirmative defense” for epilepsy patients who have a doctor’s note to use cannabidiol oil for treatment.
Check out RVA Mag’s coverage of Gov. McAuliffe signing legislation in February to decriminalize two medical marijuana derivatives for the treatment of intractable epilepsy. Read more on why Cannabidiol oil is so important to youth here.
Also read up on CNN’s coverage of medical marijuana and how its helping to stop and lessen the amount of seizures children are having.
State song: Virginia how has two official state songs. The official traditional song is “Our Great Virginia” and the official popular song is “Sweet Virginia Breeze.”
Police drones: The law requires law enforcement agencies to obtain a search warrant for use of unmanned aircraft systems. RVA’s coverage on Virginia’s laws for police drones.
Traffic: Drivers can now be cited for following too closely to a bicycle or moped. You can now cross a double-yellow line, when safe, to pass a bike or a pedestrian. Additionally, the “Move Over” law is also being expanded as of this morning. Before today, you only had to move over for emergency responders, but now you will need to move over for any vehicles performing roadside services.
Hemp: Farmers can now grow industrial hemp as part of a university-managed research program. Check out more on our site here about Virginia hemp and the 6 National Hemp History week.
Military: Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen will now be eligible for veteran ID cards in the Commonwealth, which also allows them to get military discounts at participating businesses.
Full bills, and state codes, can be looked up here.
