VSC NAACP Press Conference on 2018 Legislative Priorities

RICHMOND, Va. - Jan. 15, 2018 - PRLog -- The 2018 Virginia General Assembly is now in session. Each year the Virginia State Conference NAACP hosts a lobby day for our members and affiliated groups to support justice issues (economic, social and environment). This year our legislative agenda focuses on the following issues:

Increase Virginia's $200 Felony Grand Larceny Threshold to at least $1500.00

The $100 level was increased to $200 in 1980; to keep up with inflation based on the Consumer Price Index an actual increase to the threshold would need to be more than $600. There is significant concern that an increase under $1500 would result in remaining at that level for the next 40+ years.

People who are convicted of low dollar volume crime are generally youth and mothers desperate to feed their children. The greatest opposition to significantly raising the threshold consistently comes from the Virginia Retail Merchants Association (the same retailers the Black community patronizes every day). The hard stance of Virginia Retailers flies in the face of higher levels in nearby states (DC $1,000, Deleware $1,500, South Carolina and Pennsylvania $2000 and Texas $2,500).

Statewide Procedures for Law Enforcement's use of Body Worn and Dashboard Cameras
Police departments across Virginia lack clear and consistent standards and procedures for the use of body and dashboard cameras. Many Commonwealth Attorneys complain about having to "police the police" when it comes to the use of this equipment. Virginia is investing millions of dollars in the procurement of this equipment; it is critical that consistent policies and procedures be developed to ensure that our investment works for all citizens as intended.

End all Laws that Contribute to the School to Prison Pipeline with an Immediate Moratorium on Long-Term Suspension in Virginia Public Schools
The statistics on the over-criminalization of African American students are staggering:
- African American students are 3.6 times more likely than white students to be suspended for the same activities
- Of the 27,147 school suspensions, over one-fifth of the suspensions were children Pre-K to fifth grade (the majority were African American males)
- Virginia schools issued 123,107 short-term suspensions, 2,922 long term suspensions and 388 expulsions primarily to African American students
- Most out-of-school suspensions issued in Virginia are for relatively minor, non-violent, non bodily injury and subjective misbehavior (most incidents are best characterized as "normal" childhood behavior by immature students)
Rather than continuing the indiscriminate and callous decisions that destroy lives and contribute to the School to Prison Pipeline, Virginia lawmakers should immediately half all long-term school suspensions while officials craft more realistic policies and procedures.

Increase the Current $7.25 per hour Minimum Wage to $15.00 per hour Living Wage in Virginia
Many cities in America have instituted a Living Wage of $15.00 per hour (http://time.com/3969977/minimum-wage/)

- Virginia currently uses the $7.25 per hour Federal Minimum Wage which has not been increased since 2009.
- In 2014 the Virginia Senate recognized the need to raise the minimum wage and passed an increase to $10.25 per hour which failed in the more conservative House of Delegates
- Statistics show that a significant majority of workers currently earning $7.25 per hour are African American parents struggling to feed and care for their families; we are perpetuating "working poor" and forcing parents to spend more time away from their families working multiple jobs
- While campaigning for Governor, Ralph Northam advocated for an increase to $15.00 per hour

Expand Medicaid to End Virginia's Loss of $6.6 million per day in Federal Funding
- Former Governor McAuliffe recently held a new conference making the case for expanding the publicly funded health care program for the poor saying the state is losing out on $6.6 million a day in Federal money by NOT expanding Medicaid eligibility to roughly 400,000 low-income adults
-In addition to providing better health care coverage for more Virginia, expanding Medicaid eligibility will provide a boost to Virginia's economy by providing tens of thousands of jobs for Virginia workers

No Excuse Absentee Voting, Same Day Registration/Automatic Voter Registration
It is well past time for Virginia to end its status as a voter suppression state by expanding voter registration and voting.
- Virginia continues to have some of the most archaic rules when it comes to voter registration and voting
- In Maine and Vermont people vote from prison and there is no such thing as disenfranchisement due to a past felony conviction
- In the age of computers there is no reason not to support automatic voter registration when a person turns 18 or changes address via the DMV or other state agency
- Recent elections in Alabama and Virginia highlight the importance of the African American vote; it is time to end complicated registration and absentee voting rules and felony disenfranchisement

Supporting Clean Air and Clean and Safe Drinking Water
If health care is a human right, then the right to clean air and clean and safe drinking water is a critical right.
- It is time for Virginia to end its dependence on fossil fuels which poison the air and drinking water in African American communities
- By embracing new energy technologies we will not only have clean air and safe drinking water we will create thousands of local jobs in African American communities similar to the early 20th century when electricity and indoor plumbing became the norm.