Mark Cole

Cole describes himself as a fiscal and social conservative that supports individual rights while opposing tax increases.[5] He opposed Republican initiatives to raise taxes in 2007 [6] and 2013.[7]

Cole voted against Medicaid expansion, HB5001, in the 2018 legislative session. The bill passed 68–30 in the House of Delegates with bipartisan support.[8]

Cole was criticized in February 2010 for comments made by him about his sponsorship of HB53, a bill in the House of Delegates which would ban involuntary implantation of microchips into humans by their employers:[9]

My understanding -- I'm not a theologian -- but there's a prophecy in the Bible that says you'll have to receive a mark, or you can neither buy nor sell things in end times, some people think these computer chips might be that mark.[10]

Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said of this on MSNBC that "the sort of paranoid strain of thinking among these folks just—it advances to meet the new technology that we have."[11] Despite MSNBC's crusade against Delegate Cole, calling him "Mark of the Beast Cole" his bill (similar to one passed in other states) passed the House on a bi-partisan vote 88 to 9.[12]

In 2016, Cole sponsored House Bill 663, a bathroom bill restricting public restroom use according to a person's "anatomical sex", defined as "the physical condition of being male or female, which is determined by a person's anatomy", with violators liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $50. HB663 was introduced on January 11, 2016, and died in committee in February 2016.[13] It was widely reported that HB663 would require adults to inspect the genitals of children before they were allowed to enter the appropriate facilities, but this was dismissed by Snopes as a misleading interpretation of the bill's text,[14] which states that administrators "shall develop and implement policies that require every restroom ... that is designated for use by a specific gender to solely be used by individuals whose anatomical sex matches such gender designation."[13] Cole sponsored House Bill 781 one day later on January 12, 2016, which used the same wording but substituted "biological sex" for "anatomical sex". The use of "biological sex" allowed for an update via amended birth certificate. HB781 also died in committee in February.[15]

In 2017, Cole sponsored House Bill 1598, which would require those registering to vote after January 1, 2018 for state and local elections to provide proof of citizenship.[16] HB1598 passed the House of Delegates on a 64–37 party line vote in February 2017.[16][17]

In 2019, Cole sponsored an amendment to Virginia’s Constitution (HJ615) [18] to establish a bipartisan commission to redraw legislative and congressional district lines after the national decennial census. [19] After passing the General Assembly a second time in 2020,[20] the amendment was overwhelmingly approved by voters[21] and was in effect during Virginia’s 2021 redistricting.[22]

Cole voted against a bill to eliminate a law banning sexual intercourse before marriage in the 2020 legislative session. The bill passed 91–5 with bipartisan support in the house.[23]

Cole served as chairman of the House Privileges and Elections Committee from 2008 until 2020, when Democrats took the majority in the House.[24] He also served on the House Finance, Education, General Laws, Science and Technology, and Counties, Cities and Towns committees during his tenure.[25]