Three interesting bills of the week: declawing cats, antidepressants and the UDC

House Bill 2162: Eliminating tax exemptions for the United Daughters of the Confederacy

This legislation, from House of Delegates Minority Leader Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, would eliminate various state tax exemptions for the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the General Organization of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy currently has the same tax exemption status held by churches, state and federal properties and non-profit colleges. The association owns more than a dozen Confederate statues in Virginia along with its national headquarters, which is located roughly three miles away from the state Capitol in Richmond.

Founded in 1894 by female descendants of Confederate veterans to protect and memorialize the Confederate legacy after the Civil War, the association is known for creating and promoting the “Lost Cause” interpretation that emphasized states’ rights rather than slavery as the primary cause of the war while also arguing that most slaves were happy and most slave-owners virtuous.

House Bill 1382:  Prohibiting declawing cats

HB 1382 from Del. Wendy Gooditis, D-Clarke, would outlaw the practice of declawing cats in Virginia and create a civil penalty of $500 for the first violation, $1,000 for the second, and $2,500 for the third or subsequent violation.

Dels. Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax, Kaye Kory, D-Fairfax, and Danica Roem, D-Manassas, are also co-patrons of the bill.

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