RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has vetoed a bill that would bar convicted felons of being notary publics, even if they’d had their civil rights restored after serving their sentences.
Northam announced the veto Friday, saying the legislation was “antithetical to the concept of restorative justice.”
The legislation would bar people from ever being notaries if they’d been convicted of certain felonies, including fraud, robbery, bribery and treason.
The legislation had broad support in the General Assembly, including a unanimous vote in the Senate.
Lawmakers will take up Northam’s vetoes next month during a one-day session. A two-thirds vote in both chambers is needed to override a veto.
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