Delegate Matt Fariss

It was an exciting week in the 59^th House of Delegates District. This past week Appomattox graciously hosted thousands of visitors for the Sesquicentennial Celebration of the end of the Civil War at the Appomattox Court House. I had a great time with my boys this past Friday and Saturday visiting the events hosted at the battle fields. It was great to have Delegate Chris Jones join me for the stacking of arm ceremony Saturday afternoon. 

The Governor has used his veto power on a number of pieces of legislation. I have detailed below a couple bills that the Governor has exercised this authority.

Senate Bill 948

Concealed handgun permits; sharing of information. Provides that information on concealed handgun permittees in the Virginia Criminal Information Network shall not be shared with law enforcement in states that do not have reciprocity agreements with Virginia for the carrying of concealed handguns.

Senate Bill 1137

Regulation of transportation of a loaded rifle or shotgun. Provides that any person who holds a valid concealed handgun permit shall not be subject to the provisions of certain local ordinances that make it unlawful for any person to transport, possess, or carry a loaded shotgun or loaded rifle in any vehicle on any public street, road, or highway within such locality.

The Governor also made a number of Amendments to bills pertaining to the 2^nd Amendment. These amendments are aimed at accomplishing objectives he announced before session. HB 1702 will have a 50,000 dollar fiscal impact statement on the Commonwealth of Virginia.

HB 1702

Transfer, etc., of firearms from licensed dealer; criminal history record information. Provides that a licensed firearms dealer may perform a criminal history record information check before selling, renting, trading, or transferring any firearm owned by the dealer that is not in his inventory. Current law requires that a dealer perform such a check only if the firearm is from the dealer's inventory.

The Department of State Police shall be available at every firearms show held in the Commonwealth that processes a minimum of 100 transactions per show, as determined by previous event activity, to make determinations in accordance with the procedures set out in this section of whether a prospective purchaser or transferee is prohibited under state or federal law from possessing a firearm.

Additional information about any legislation presented in the commonwealth, can be found at lis.virginia.gov. This website is a great resource to the public, and allows for Citizens to easily track and navigate a legislative session. Please contact my office for any help or tips in using this website. 

If you have any concerns, questions, comments or issues that I or my Aide, Eric, can help you with, please contact us at 434-821-5929 or email at [email protected].