Good afternoon Chairwoman Watts and members of the Committee. My name is Tarina Keene. I am the Exec Dir of REPRO Rising VA. On behalf of our 50,000 members, we SUPPORT SB743. Since the Supreme Court stripped away the right to abortion in this country, 1 in 5 pregnant people must now travel outside their own state to access care. Thankfully, Abortion is legal and accessible here in the Commonwealth and is now a critical access point for abortion care for thousands of our neighbors including people from three of our bordering states – Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia – where there are now total abortion bans. But some states – like Tennessee – are going the extra mile to ensure their citizens do NOT access the healthcare they need – and have passed laws or have threatened to prosecute and seek extradition of people from other states that assist or provide care for pregnant people from their states… even in states where abortion is legal, including Virginia. That is why SB 1098 is so important. Abortion is LEGAL and ACCESSIBLE in the Commonwealth and medical providers, volunteers, friends, and family should not be intimidated to help someone they know and love who has decided to have an abortion simply because their home state has chosen to strip their bodily autonomy. SB-1098 is what we call a Shield Bill because it will shield anyone who helps someone access abortion care within the borders of the Commonwealth from being arbitrarily prosecuted and/or extradited to another state. Currently, 22 states and DC have some type of shield law protection. (Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Illinois, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island). We are asking you to make Virginia the 23rd state to enact these protections so patients can get the care they need when they need it. Thank you and please vote Yes on SB743.

Virginia doctors should not face criminal charges for legally practicing medicine here in Virginia. We don't want to drive doctors away, as has happened in other states, with cruel harassment just for doing their jobs and trying to help their patients in accordance with sound medical silence. Please vote YES on SB743.

Madam Chair and members of the Subcommittee: My name is Rick Dwyer and I am the Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance, an organization that supports the vast military and federal presence in our region. I am also a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and served over 20 years on active duty. Our organization and the communities of Hampton Roads collectively support 18 military installations, all six branches of the military services, 120,000 active duty, reserve and civilian personnel, over 125,000 military dependents, and nearly 220,000 veterans. In 2023, the Department of Defense spent over $68.5 billion in Virginia and directly employed over 247,000 people. Needless to say, supporting the military and our national defense is part of who we are in Hampton Roads and the Commonwealth. I am here today to express our opposition to Senate Bill 1272 as it is currently written. I want to stress we are not opposed to the intent of the bill of keeping unmanned aircraft systems away from correctional facilities, critical utility infrastructure, or military bases. However, as currently written the bill is likely to be preempted by federal law and the bill strikes the current code language in section A(ii) that prohibits taking off or landing in violation of FAA special security instructions or UAS Security Sensitive Airspace Restrictions. Our organization worked with the General Assembly in 2019 to have that language inserted into the code at the request of our military partners to prevent people from flying drones near military airfields. They were concerned with individuals flying drones near their runways and there was nothing a local law enforcement officer could do about it because they had no authority to enforce FAA regulations. After coordinating with FAA lawyers, the takeoff and land language was used because only the Federal Aviation Administration has the authority to regulate the airspace. If state and local governments attempt to regulate the airspace, their laws will be preempted by federal law. However, state and local governments have jurisdiction over what happens on the ground, hence the takeoff and land language in the current statute. Under the current statute, local and state law enforcement now have the authority to stop someone who causes a drone to takeoff or land in violation of FAA special security instructions and airspace restrictions around military airfields. We respectfully request that the current code language at 18.2-121.3A.(ii) be restored. HB1726 as passed the House and SB757 as passed by both the House and Senate keep this current language in their bills. Thank you.