April 9, 2021
In Columbia it was crossover week, meaning if a bill doesn’t pass either the House or Senate by Thursday, it’s virtually dead for the year.
The big news this week that I’m sure you saw earlier is that the Hate Crimes bill H.3620 received final passage in the House of Representatives. Every member of our delegation supported the bill with the exception of two members who didn’t vote. As one of three states that doesn’t have a Hate Crime statute on the books, we were thrilled by the leadership of Speaker of the House Jay Lucas, Chairman of Judiciary Chris Murphy, lead sponsor Representative Wendell Gilliard and our legislative delegation for helping ensure its passage. The bill now moves to the Senate; when the time is right, we will need your help to reach out to your Senator.
As always, we will keep you up to date as the priorities move. The Senate will begin budget deliberations in a couple of weeks. Have a great weekend!
George Ramsey
Senior Director of Legislative Relations