Equal Rights Amendment, bipartisan redistricting die in subcommittee
A subcommittee of the House of Delegates has, as expected, killed a Senate bill that would have made Virginia the 36th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Democratic-led Senate adopted the bill last week, the first time the measure received a vote of a full chamber of the General Assembly since 1980. Following its 1972 adoption by Congress, the ERA amendment was ratified by 35 states -- three short of the 38 necessary for inclusion in the Constitution.
A time limit imposed by Congress for ratifying the amendment has since expired. But Sen. Patsy Ticer (D-Alexandria), the bill's sponsor, said some attorneys believe the issue remains live.
Ticer said Monday that her bill died after it failed to receive a second after its adoption was moved in subcommittee. The panel did not comment on the bill, she said. "We have a very backwards group of men on that group whose wives haven't yet enlightened them as to the necessity of this," she said.
The same subcommittee also killed a proposal by Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D) to amend Virginia's constitution to create a new bipartisan commission to draw new legislative maps every 10 years in response to the census. It was at least the ninth year in a row that the House has killed a proposal passed by the senate to create a bipartisan redistricting commission.
By Rosalind S. Helderman | February 14, 2011; 4:05 PM ET
Categories: General Assembly 2011, House of Delegates, Rosalind Helderman, State Senate
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