Category: General Assembly
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State Spending Grows Faster Than Income. Something Has to Give.
By Steve Haner, There was an important story in the preliminary end-of-year financial report that the Richmond Times-Dispatch misinterpreted as the state “running in the red.” State spending has been on a major growth spurt under Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, although the Democrats with the majority in the General Assembly have just as much to…
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New Estimate of State Tax Cut with Conformity: $2.3 Billion in 3 years
By Steve Haner Virginia’s Department of Taxation has now released its estimates on the revenue changes that would result if the state’s tax laws were amended next year to conform to the new federal tax rules signed by President Donald Trump. To taxpayers, the question is will they get a big tax cut at the…
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Another Power Struggle Between Youngkin and General Assembly
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Another dispute between Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the General Assembly, one that has faint echoes of one occurring north of the Potomac, has taken on a larger life with parties turning to the Virginia Supreme Court. Before going into the details, some background would be helpful. The Virginia Constitution provides, “The Governor shall…
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Princess Anne and the Blob
by James C. Sherlock I posted earlier today about the cutoff of Princess Anne Health and Rehabilitation Center (Princess Anne) in Virginia Beach from Medicare and Medicaid participation. Federal and state officials had as evidence very recent smoking guns from a February 2025 complaint inspection and a June 2025 revisit by the VDH Office…
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One Down
by James C. Sherlock For the first time ever, a Virginia nursing home, Princess Anne Health and Rehabilitation Center (Princess Anne) in Virginia Beach, has been evicted from the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Before I get to it, I want to acknowledge and thank those who have been working to improve nursing facilities in…
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A Solution for Effective Nursing Home Oversight
Cutting the Gordian Knot by James C. Sherlock An overarching fact often overlooked is that the for-profit nursing home industry is the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. Few for-profit facilities and chains existed before the passage of those programs in 1965. Yet it is for-profit systems that overwhelmingly commit abuses. Government oversight has proven…
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The Colonial Heights Scandal – the Tip of a Very Large Iceberg
The Boys from Lakewood by James C. Sherlock Most of them are quite young. They have a lot in common. They are friends in many cases. Some grew up together. More are related through blood or marriage. Many have worked together. Some are a second generation of their families in the nursing home industry; To…
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Conforming to Trump’s Tax Law Would Save Virginians $1.4 Billion
By Steve Haner Should the 2026 Virginia General Assembly choose to conform state tax laws to the full set of new tax rules at the federal level, Virginia families and businesses might save as much at $1.4 billion annually. That is a fresh estimate from the Tax Foundation, which looked at the impact of full…
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“A Weak and Ineffective Republican”?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Todd Gilbert may be having mixed feelings today. The U.S. Senate has a custom whereby a member can veto a presidential nomination for a district court judgeship or U.S. Attorney in his or her state. It is called a “blue slip” and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee…
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Judge Affirms Senate Dems’ Power Grab
A Fairfax County circuit county judge has sided with state Senate Democrats who filed a lawsuit to prevent eight public university board members appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin from continuing to serve. The Democrats claimed that an 8-to-4 vote June 9 by a Senate subcommittee during a special session required no other action. Youngkin and…
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Autumn’s Unsettling
by Gordon C. Morse It’s mid-summer and hot. Let’s imagine the fall, cooler air and assume James Carville is right. “The Democratic Party,” he wrote in The New York Times, “is steamrolling toward a civilized civil war.” Carville would hold off the fight temporarily. Need more Democrats in Congress, he says. Focus on the 2026…
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A Power Play Remarkable for Its Audacity
by James A. Bacon The lead of this Virginian-Pilot article might be a tad inaccurate, but it hits close to the mark: Virginia Democratic legislators said Thursday that they would not confirm a permanent replacement for former University of Virginia president Jim Ryan, who was ousted last month under pressure from the Trump administration. I…
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Virginia Senate Dems Have Lost It Over the Ryan Resignation
by James A. Bacon Leaders of the state Senate Democratic Caucus held an online press conference Saturday to express their dismay to the resignation of President Jim Ryan as president of the University of Virginia and outline their legislative priorities in the next General Assembly session. It was frightening. There are two main takeaways: First,…
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Standards and Expectations!
Part deux by Gordon C. Morse Let me pick up where I left off last, because these process/procedure questions sit at the heart of representative democracy. It matters how you get there and keeping proper order isn’t an idle, wonky issue. It’s pretty much the only way we avoid settling things in the streets. It’s…
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Standards and Expectations
Along with other Virginia Senate hallucinations by Gordon Morse May a committee of the Virginia Senate act on behalf of the entire body? That appears to be question raised by a group of Senate Democrats and, if the answer is yes, it would contradict legislative norms presently held most everywhere. Maybe there’s an exception in…