In a 66-32 vote the Virginia House of Delegates this morning passed HB550, a bill that will restore the right of Virginia-born adult adoptees to request and obtain their own original birth records upon request. It now moves to the state Senate.
The vote came after days of intense lobbying from members of Virginia Adoptee Rights Alliance, a core partner of the coalition. Ann Mikeska, Kelly Layton, and Rebecca Ricardo were at the floor vote this morning and were visiting delegates in the Capitol prior to the vote.
The vote was generally bipartisan though more Democrats voted no (43) than voted yes (21). Three delegates were either absent or did not vote. A breakdown of the vote tally is below.
The bill has now moved further than it did last year and has now crossed over to the Senate for consideration, being assigned the Education and Health Committee. Democrats control the Senate by a slim majority, 21-19. The patron of HB550 is Delegate Wendell Walker, a Republican, and there is no companion Senate bill, though a companion bill is not necessary.