ANTONIO GUTERRES HONOURED IN NIGERIA BY INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORLD PEACE ADVOCATES

General Assembly legislation update

It probably won't surprise you that most of the bills we support are dead...   Here's a rundown of bills VICPP is watching (as of Wednesday at 10 a.m.); bills in bold are still alive: BILL#            PATRON     DESCRIPTION                                                                                           STATUS SB785           Marsden    MINIMUM WAGE: Increases the minimum wage from its current federally mandated level of $7.25 per hour to $8.00 per hour effective July 1, 2017.                                             DEAD SB978           Dance       MINIMUM WAGE: Increases the minimum wage from its current federally mandated level of $7.25 per hour to $10.00 per hour effective July 1, 2017.                                           DEAD HB1444         Rasoul      MINIMUM WAGE: Increases the minimum wage from its current federally mandated level of $7.25 per hour to $10.00 per hour effective July 1, 2017.                                           DEAD HB1599         Farris        DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSIONS: Provides that the Department of Motor Vehicles shall restore a person’s driver’s license that has been suspended for failure to pay court-ordered fines, costs, forfeitures, restitution, or penalties if the person pays the required reinstatement fee and presents to the Department a written offer of employment hat is contingent on the person’s possessing a driver’s license.                                                                                                                                        DEAD SB1188        Edwards    DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSIONS: Removes the requirement that a person’s driver’s license be suspended for nonpayment of fines and court costs.  Passed committee HB1862        Lopez          DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSIONS: Removes the requirement that a person’s driver’s license be suspended for nonpayment of fines and court costs.                                               DEAD HB2049        Krizek          DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSIONS: Removes the requirement that a person’s driver’s license be suspended for nonpayment of fines and court costs.                                                 DEAD HB2386        Loupassi    DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSIONS: Precludes a court from denying a defendant’s eligibility for a restricted driver’s license.                                                Passed Committee SB1125        Surovell       PREDATORY LENDING: Makes a violation of the requirements applicable to open-end credit plan lending a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.           DEAD SB1126        Surovell       PREDATORY LENDING: Provides that the laws regulating consumer finance companies apply to persons making loans to individuals for personal, family, household, or other nonbusiness purposes over the Internet to Virginia residents or any individuals in Virginia, whether or not the person making the loans maintains a physical presence in the Commonwealth.                                                                                                                                                                     Passed Senate HB1442        Farrell          PREDATORY LENDING: Caps the amount of the origination fee that may be charged under an open-end credit plan to 5 percent.                                                                             DEAD HB1443        Farrell          PREDATORY LENDING: Provides that the provisions of Chapter 15 (Consumer Finance Companies) of Title 6.2 apply to persons making consumer loans over the Internet to Virginia residents or any individual in Virginia, whether or not the person making the loan maintains a physical presence in the Commonwealth.                                                                                                              DEAD HB1419        Kory             IMMIGRATION: Authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue temporary driver’s licenses, permits, and special identification cards to certain aliens.                                            DEAD HB1682        Bloxom        IMMIGRATION: Allows the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a temporary driver’s license valid for one year to an applicant who is otherwise unable to be issued a driver’s license due to immigration status if such applicant (i) has established residency in the Commonwealth, (ii) has filed an income tax return with the Commonwealth, (iii) has registered with the Department of Homeland Security, and (iv) either demonstrates proof of a motor vehicle liability insurance.                                               DEAD HB1468          Marshall    IMMIGRATION: Prohibits the Director of the Department of Corrections, sheriff, or other official in charge of a facility from releasing an incarcerated alien for whom a lawful detainer order has been received from U.S. ICE.                                                                 Passed House HB1779           Plum          IMMIGRATION: Adds immigration status to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another’s property results in a higher criminal penalty.                                                            DEAD HB2000          Poindexter  IMMIGRATION: Provides that no locality shall adopt any ordinance, procedure, or policy that restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent of the federal law.                                                                                                           In Committee HB2001          Poindexter  IMMIGRATION: Requires the governing board and each employee of each public institution of higher education to cooperate in the enforcement of federal law by U.S. ICE.                                                                                                                                                           In Committee HB2236          Cline          IMMIGRATION: Provides that no locality shall adopt any ordinance, procedure, or policy that restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent of the federal law.                                                                                                          In Committee SB1458           McPike      GUNS: Requires a person to have the express authorization of a place of religious worship to carry certain weapons to such place of worship while a meeting for religious purposes is being held.                                                                                                                                                DEAD SB844             Howell      VOTING: Allows for any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot in person in any election in which he is qualified to vote without providing a reason.                                                  DEAD SJ243              Edwards   CIVIL RIGHTS: Authorizes the General Assembly to provide by law for the restoration of civil rights for persons convicted of felonies.                                                            Incorporated                                                          SB1206           Lewis         REDISTRICTING: Provides a new method for the preparation of state legislative and congressional redistricting plans.                                                                                                      DEAD HB2280           Ward         REDISTRICTING: Provides for a statewide referendum on the question of whether the General Assembly should adopt a resolution to propose an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia that would establish an independent redistricting commission to create and propose redistricting plans for House of Delegates, the Senate of Virginia and congressional districts.                                  DEAD HJ749              Bell          REDISTRICTING: Establishes the seven-member Virginia Redistricting Commission to redraw congressional and General Assembly district boundaries after each decennial census of the United States.                                                                             In Subcommittee HB794             Lefwich     DEATH PENALTH: Provides that a defendant in a capital case who had a severe mental illness at the time of the offense is not eligible for the death penalty.                                          DEAD HB1704           Filer-Corn FELONY THRESHOLD: Increases from $200 to $500 the threshold amount of money taken or value of goods  taken at which the crime rises to grand larceny.                                   DEAD SB816             Surovell    FELONY THRESHOLD: Increases from $200 to $1,000 the threshold amount of money or value of goods taken at which the crime rises to grand larceny.          Passed Committee SB923             Petersen   FELONY THRESHOLD: Increases from $200 to $500 the threshold amount of money taken or value of goods  taken at which the crime rises to grand larceny.                         Incorporated SB1066           Deeds       CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Provides that a person may petition for a writ of actual innocence based on biological evidence regardless of the type of plea he entered at trial.                                                                                                                                                               Passed Committee SB1152           Marsden  CRIMINAL JUSTICE:  Any person sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for a single or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was a juvenile and who has served at least 20 years of such sentence shall be eligible for parole.                     Passed Committee SB1174           Obenshain  CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Provides that a court may permit an inmate to earn credits against any fines and court costs imposed against him by performing community service.          Incorporated SB1227           Baker       CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Eliminates the restriction that renders persons convicted of certain violent felonies within the preceding 10 years ineligible to participate in a drug treatment court.                                                                                                                 Passed committee SB1281           McDougle   CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Authorizes a recovery community organization to provide substance abuse treatment to individuals ordered to such treatment by a court upon conviction or placement on first offender status of such individual for a crime involving controlled substances.                            DEAD                                                          SB1232          Dunnavant    OPIOID CRISIS: Prohibits a prescriber providing treatment for a patient in an emergency department of a corporation, facility, or institution licensed, owned, or operated by the Commonwealth to provide healthcare from prescribing a controlled substance containing an opioid in a quantity greater than a three-day period.                                                          Passed Senate HB1398          Bell             HATE CRIMES: Expands the definition of hate crime for the purpose of reporting hate crimes within the Department of State Police to include acts against persons employed as law-enforcement officers, firefighters, or emergency medical services personnel.                                        DEAD HB1776         Plum            HATE CRIMES: Adds gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another’s property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense.                                                                                                                                                     DEAD HB1612         Marshall     DISCRIMINATION: Prohibit anyone from using a sex-segregated restroom on government property - including schools, state colleges and universities, state parks, the General Assembly Building and other buildings unless the gender assigned to them at birth and recorded on their “original” birth certificate matches the sign on the restroom door.                                                                          DEAD HR303             Lopez        DISCRIMINATION: Denounces the intimidation of Virginia's residents, affirms the state's commitment to diversity, and safeguards the civil rights and dignity of all Virginians.                  DEAD HB1462           Sullivan     VOTING: Expands the list of acceptable, valid photo IDs that voters may present to cast a ballot.                                                                                                                                         DEAD HB2283           Krizek        WAGE THEFT: Provides that an employee has cause of action against an employer who fails to pay wages.

GENEVA : United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pledged to actively pursue the abolition of all weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and strict regulation of conventional weapons.

In a video message to Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament, he said that he is committed to achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.

The world body Chief stressed that disarmament can play an important role in ending existing conflicts and preventing the outbreak of any new strife.

He called for diplomatic solutions of all disputes to promote peace and security around the world.

IAWPA commends Gov. Masari On Amnesty to cattle rustlers... want insurgents to appreciate the gesture

The International Association of World Peace Advocates IAWPA have commended the governor of Katsina state Rt. Hon. Aminu Masari for granting amnesty to cattle rustlers and insurgents in the state.

The group in a statement through its director of media Comrade Nwokoma Messiah said the gesture is commendable considering the damage the activities of the cattle rustlers and other insurgents are creating for the state and the country in general.

The Katsina Governor had within the week announced that he is entering into negotiations with the cattle rustlers and others engaged in criminal activities with the aim of ensuring that they renounce their criminal activities, something which the association describes as commendable and highly welcome.

The statement by the IAWPA urged the repentant rustlers to appreciate the genuine efforts of the Katsina State government which “will help bring about sustainable peace and development in the state” the statement said.

The association which has been synergising with the United Nations in the area of peace development and sustainable development goals SDGs also urged other state governors to look at better options on engaging insurgents and militants in their various states so as to instil peace and stability in their various states.

Statement by the spokesperson on the bombing of a camp of displaced people in Nigeria

The bombing by the Nigerian Air Force of a camp of displaced people in Rann, north-eastern Nigeria, has caused a high number of victims among displaced people and of humanitarian aid workers there to help them.

The European Union conveys its most sincere condolences to the victims and their families.

A full investigation needs to be launched in order to clarify the circumstances of this tragedy and hold to account those responsible.The European Union stands in full solidarity with the displaced population affected by Boko Haram violence in Northeast Nigeria, providing humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable, as well as development assistance.

The European Union has also been working closely with the relevant stakeholders in the Lake Chad basin to bring an end to the cycle of violence which seriously affects the region.

 

The International Association of World Peace Advocates has concluded plan to host the second SDG Campus Initiative Progamme at the Ignatius Aguru University of Education on Tuesday  21st Feb. 2017. Interested person(s) should please call 08033366396 for participation or email uninfodesk@rocketmail.com