Maryland and Virginia have a number of bills going into effect on July 1, including laws expanding telehealth, disability rights, and protections for tenants.

The commonwealth is now the 23rd state to end capital punishment.

The Democrat-led General Assembly pushed forward on abolishing the death penalty and expanding appeal rights, but couldn’t come to an agreement on how far to go in doing away with mandatory minimum sentences.

The bill will now go to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk. If passed, the Commonwealth would become the 23rd state to ban capital punishment.

The Democrat-led General Assembly has advanced a number of major progressive priorities, sometimes to the surprise of advocates.

Senators vote 21-17 on party lines to end capital punishment, but the House of Delegates has to pass its own bill before the death penalty can be abolished.

A survey by Christopher Newport University shows widespread support for many of the Virginia Democrats’ key initiatives in current legislative session in Richmond.

Virginia has used the death penalty longer and executed more people than any other state, but the tide has turned against capital punishment in the commonwealth.

On Monday, a grand jury indicted Darwin Martinez Torres on eight counts including capital murder, rape, and abduction.

The Maryland House of Delegates voted today to overturn the state’s death penalty, clearing the way for Gov. Martin O’Malley to sign the repeal into law.