RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – This Saturday you may notice some of the work done in the 2023 General Assembly session. Many passed laws will come into effect once the calendar reaches July 1st.
Much of the legislation passed concerns recent traffic safety laws, deceptive ticketing and criminal charges for stolen catalytic converters.
This weekend, the “Move Over” law comes into force. NBC12 legal analyst Steve Benjamin says this is to help prevent death or injury when cars are stopped.
“Anytime you see a vehicle parked at the side of the road with hazard lights, a flare or a warning sign on, if you can do so safely and there is another lane to change to, you must now pull over ‘ Benjamin said.
If you don’t move after this weekend, you may be issued with a speeding ticket.
You can also face a fine if you have blue headlights, as SB855 prohibits the use of these headlights on cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and other vehicles on the road.
HB1857, passed earlier this year, states that deceptive resale of tickets will be banned to discourage counterfeit tickets from entering the market.
People are also notified before a 30-day free trial expires, resulting in an auto-renewal service from now on. These are laws designed to protect consumers.
Some new laws will have tougher penalties, such as manufacturing or distributing fentanyl. Benjamin says that’s because of how many deaths and overdoses there have been in recent years.
“It’s now been classified as a weapon of terrorism and the penalty for distributing fentanyl, knowing that, for example, a counterfeit pill contains fentanyl, has now been increased.” So enforcement is going to be much, much tougher,” Benjamin said.
Some laws go from misdemeanors to felonies when violated. From Saturday it will be a criminal offense to sell or buy a catalytic converter that has been detached from a vehicle.
“Increasing penalties for transition from misdemeanors to criminal offenses occurs when the General Assembly considers that a particular type of offense has become more problematic. And a stronger message needs to be sent out to the public,” said Benjamin.
Allen Tire employees in Richmond say they’ve recently seen a decrease in catalytic converter thefts.
Last year, legislation was passed making stealing a specimen a criminal offense. Now Allen Tire is hoping those numbers will drop further when this new law goes into effect on Saturday.
“I think it’s a great move, you know, Virginia’s job is just to stop them, you know, and when people realize that it’s not just a slap in the face anymore, then hopefully that will help.” said Billy Allen Allen Tire said.
Allen says for the last five to six years you’ve seen cars without catalytic converters every week. Now he says it only happens every few weeks.
“‘I bet the amount we’ve seen has been cut in half, if not more, in the last few months,” Allen said.
He says it’s a combination of education, awareness, safety measures and applicable laws that are leading to the decline. Benjamin says the laws the General Assembly passes usually serve to mediate, if not solve, a problem in the Commonwealth.
“Gone are the days when you could steal a catalyst and easily turn it into cash,” Benjamin said.
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