(The Center Square) — Two amendments to the Virginia Constitution were killed in committee Tuesday, leaving just five alive in the 2025 legislative session.
House Joint Resolutions 452 and 492, patroned by Republican Dels. Nick Freitas, R-Culpepper, and Del. Israel O’Quinn, R-Washington, aimed to enshrine food choice and residents’ ‘right to work’ in the Virginia Constitution. The Democratic-majority subcommittee tabled both bills in a 5-3 vote.
“This is a very simple piece of legislation, and it’s only like one sentence, so I’m sure there’ll be no controversy whatsoever,” Freitas quipped when presenting his bill to the committee.
The bill sought to shield American consumers and certain segments of the food industry from over-regulation, protecting residents’ right to “acquire the food of their choice from the source of their choice, with mutual consent.” Though Freitas voiced appreciation for America’s agricultural industry and how it has met needs around the globe for decades, he said a “mistrust” has developed toward some of the institutions that are supposed to safeguard American health.
“I think there’s been a certain amount of mistrust from organizations and institutions that we used to just take their word for granted. Everything from the food pyramid to certain preservatives to certain things that are sprayed on our food,” Freitas said.
The industry has potentially crowded out some food options that may work better for some people or might be healthier for Americans, making them harder to come by. Freitas would like to see that changed.
“That’s what ultimately this is about. It’s about expanding a marketplace that I know a lot of people want to see because of their own personal – not just preferences but health issues associated with diet,” Freitas said.
The committee expressed some sympathy for the bill but concluded that it was “too broad” and should not proceed.
O’Quinn’s bill sought to protect Virginia’s ‘right to work’ law constitutionally but also failed to gain the support of the majority of the committee.
O’Quinn advocated for “worker choice” and for “certainty” for employers and Virginia’s economic development organizations as Virginia continues to pursue economic growth and encourage companies to relocate and expand in the commonwealth.
Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, said she wanted to see workers’ well-being become a higher priority in Virginia and moved to table the bill.
“Virginia might be the best for business, but according to Oxfam, we are 26th for workers,” Price said, “so I think we need to do a little more work before we change our Constitution in one way or the other in order to make sure that it’s best for both,”
The 2025 session started with eight proposed state constitutional amendments – five carried by Republicans and three by Democrats. The House and Senate versions of the Democratic bills still alive and advanced on Tuesday that would enshrine “reproductive freedom,” marriage equality in Virginia’s Constitution and ensure that convicted felons who have served their time would see a restoration of voting rights without direct intervention from the governor.