The clock is ticking for state lawmakers. Both chambers of the General Assembly need to meet a Tuesday night deadline to pass their legislation to the other house.
That Tuesday night deadline is called crossover - the point when all the bills from the House have to go to the Senate, and vice versa. Legislators are pouring through literally hundreds of pieces of legislation on Monday and Tuesday.
The day started with the House of Delegates passing a bill that would end tenure for public school teachers. Governor Bob McDonnell says he will sign it into law.
But much of the day was spent debating a laundry list of bills before final votes Tuesday. Those include:
- Repeal of the "triggerman rule", which would allow for capital punishment for murder accomplices.
- A bill allowing police to ask suspects in custody for citizenship status, and denying bail if there's probable cause the person is not here legally.
- A bill which defines life as starting at conception
- A bill requiring women seeking abortion to first get an ultrasound.
All those bills passed through their second reading on the way to a third and final vote Tuesday. But the work doesn't stop there. Wednesday both houses hand over their passed legislation to the other side, and the process starts all over again.
