RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Starting Sunday, Virginians have to bring identification to the polls with them, undergo pre-abortion sonographic exams, pay sales taxes on Amazon purchases and have ignition interlock devices on their cars if they're convicted of drunken driving.
Laws passed by the long-running, often fractious 2012 General Assembly take effect July 1, including some of the most bitterly contested.
The ultrasound mandate for abortions drew large Capitol protests and comic ridicule on cable and late-night television. The tighter voter ID requirements evoked angry comparisons to Jim Crow voter suppression tactics from opponents who say it targets minorities, the elderly and poor.
The mandatory 5 percent public employee pension contribution offset by a 5 percent raise aims to reduce the Virginia Retirement System's large unfunded liabilities. Localities can phase in the raise.
