Dave Albo

Major legislation Anti-Terrorism Bill: Albo's 2002 bill, HB 1120, defines an act of terror, increases the penalty for possession of bomb material and hoax bomb devices, empowers Virginia law enforcement to effectively respond to terrorism, and outlines the punishment for terrorism. People found guilty of conspiring or committing an act of terror may be subject to either the death penalty or life in prison. The bill was infamously used to prosecute John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, who were responsible for the “Beltway Sniper Attacks.”

Anonymous Internet Defamation: Albo’s 2015 bill, HB 1635, extends the statute of limitations until the anonymous publisher’s identity is determined in an internet defamation lawsuit. Albo proposed the bill on behalf of a constituent who was the victim of disparaging comments on FairfaxUnderground.com.

Animal Cruelty: Throughout his political career, Albo has supported legislation to protect animals. Organizations such as Humane Dominion have recognized Albo for his efforts. He is responsible for making treatment programs mandatory for animal abuse violators and strengthening penalties for repeat offenders of the animal cruelty statue through his 2007 and 2010 legislation. In 2016, Albo’s bill restored the powers of a standard law enforcement officer for Fairfax County Animal Control Officers.

Cannabis Oil for the treatment of epilepsy: In 1979, Virginia passed a law making possession of marijuana legal for the treatment of cancer and glaucoma legal with a valid prescription from a doctor. However, the term “valid prescription” prevented doctors from prescribing it due to the Federal Schedule 1 status of the drug. The law was in place until Albo’s 2015 legislation, HB 1445, changed the language from “prescription” to “recommendation.” Albo’s bill also added treatment of epilepsy to the acceptable list of illnesses. Albo cites the stories of three constituents’ children as his inspiration, "There are a bunch of kids with Dravet syndrome that have hundreds of seizures and the oil from marijuana alleviates the seizures.” NBC’s Dateline, aired a special series, “Growing Hope.” The series covered the legislative tracking of the bill and personal stories of the patients.

Other notable legislation: 2004: HB 1080 – Requires an intake officer to notify a school superintendent when a student is involved with a juvenile case relating to gang activity. 2005: HB 1573 – Increased the penalty for gang-related activity that take place near school property. 2006: HB 847 – Requires juvenile justice officials to collect data on incarcerated gang members and give their findings to the Commonwealth Attorney’s Services Council. In turn, the Council shares the information with state prosecutors. Albo was also a co-patron on HB 588 which made brandishing a machete near school property a Class 1 misdemeanor. 2007: HB 2429 – Empowers the Attorney General, with the consent of the local Commonwealth attorney, to assist in the prosecution of certain gang and terrorism crimes. The bill also defines aiding or committing an act of terror as a Class 4 felony. 2008: HB 820 – Requires correctional facility officers to check the legal status of inmates and report their findings to Local Inmate Data System of the State Compensation Board. 2010: HB 736 – Requires Virginia circuit courts and Department of State Police to report information to the Virginia Child Protection Accountability System. 2011: HB 1476 – Extends the limitation period for victims of sexual abuse to take legal action from two years to twenty years. 2013: HB 1847 – Adds murder, aggravated malicious wounding, and other offenses to the definition of a predicate criminal act involving gang activity. 2016: HB 177 – Adds additional crimes such as engaging prostitution with a minor under the age of 13 to the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry Act. Albo is also the chief patron of HB 886, which creates a Class 6 felony for a second stalking offense within five years of the first offense.

Electoral history Date Election Candidate Party Votes % Virginia House of Delegates, 42nd district Nov 2, 1993 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 7,813 53.00% Laurie A. Frost Democratic 6,919 46.90% Nov 7, 1995 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 7,402 58.30% Mark S. CecelskiDemocratic 5,287 41.60% Nov 4, 1997 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 11,200 75.99% Ali M. GhaemiDemocratic 3,512 23.80% Nov 2, 1999 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 9,075 99.32% Write Ins 62 0.70% Nov 6, 2001 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 11,258 61.10% David B. CollinsDemocratic 7,173 38.90% Nov 4, 2003 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 9,325 98.50% Write Ins 139 1.50% Nov 8, 2005 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 10,257 51.16% Gregory A. WerkheiserDemocratic 9,479 47.70% Nov 6, 2007 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 9,947 87.65% Write Ins 1,402 12.40% Nov 3, 2009 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 11,767 56.56% Gregory A. WerkheiserDemocratic 9,006 43.29% Nov 8, 2011 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 11,835 62.13% John R. Dobbyn, Jr.Democratic 7,199 37.79% Nov 5, 2013 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 15,303 59.83% Edward R. DeitschDemocratic 10,247 40.06% Nov 3, 2015 General David B. "Dave" Albo Republican 10,837 63.44% Joana C. GarciaDemocratic 6,245 36.56%

Fees for driving violations Albo supported large surcharges for felony and misdemeanor level driving convictions in 2007, a plan that met strong resistance from some Virginia residents. The money raised by the Virginia bill would to go toward transportation funding. Albo countered by arguing that increased punishments on crimes could possibly lower the occurrence of crimes decreasing business for lawyers. He further pointed out that this was the case with the "Abuser Fees" that lowered the number of Reckless Driving charges. However, other studies have correlated increased ticketing rates in the years following those in which government revenue has declined.

A primary area of controversy stemmed from the fact that the final bill was amended by the Governor to apply the abuser fees only to Virginia residents, and not those residing in other states. Albo defended the Governor's amendment and described it as a "weakness" but still advocated passage. The following session he voted to repeal his own "Abuser Fees." Responding to the public outcry elected officials repealed the bill in 2008.

Professional career Albo was an assistant city attorney for the City of Fairfax from 1990 to 1994, before going into private practice. During the period from 1988 to 1994 Albo was appointed by the courts to serve as guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children. Albo served as President of the West Springfield Civic Association from 1989 to 1993. He was a partner at a law firm that he co-founded, Albo & Oblon, LLP, until the firm closed in 2017. Albo is currently a Partner at WilliamsMullen in Tysons, Virginia.

In 2010, Albo was recognized as one of the “Leaders in the Law” by the Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly for his leadership in improving Virginia’s justice system, changing Virginia law, and his important contributions to Virginia’s legal community.