Sen. Saddam Salim

Commending the Honorable Mark C. Simmons.

Commending John T. Frey.

Commending Sandra Gioia Treadway.

Department of Environmental Quality; enforcementof regulations; Clean Water Act; cooling water intakes at power plants.Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to promptly enforcefederal regulations implementing a provision of the federal CleanWater Act for cooling water intakes at power plants to reduce negativeimpacts on fish populations in the waters of the Commonwealth.

Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearm following an assault and battery against a person in a dating relationship with the alleged offender, penalty. Provides that any person who knowingly and intentionally purchases, possesses, or transports any firearm following a misdemeanor conviction for an offense that occurred on or after July 1, 2024, for the offense of assault and battery against a person in a dating relationship, as defined in the bill, with the alleged offender or an offense substantially similar under the laws of any other state or of the United States is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill was incorporated into SB 642.

Purchase of firearms; waiting period; penalty. Provides that no person shall sell a firearm unless at least three days have elapsed from the time the prospective purchaser completes the written consent form to have a licensed dealer obtain criminal history record information, with exceptions enumerated in relevant law. This bill was incorporated into SB 273.

Constitutional amendment (first reference);fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Provides that everyindividual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom andthat the right to make and effectuate one's own decisions about allmatters related to one's pregnancy cannot be denied, burdened, orotherwise infringed upon by the Commonwealth, unless justified bya compelling state interest and achieved by the least restrictivemeans. The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing, prosecuting, or otherwise taking adverse action against an individualfor exercising the individual's right to reproductive freedom orfor aiding another individual in the exercise of such right, unlessjustified by a compelling state interest.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.