Category: General Assembly
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What Does Louise Lucas Have Against Poor Black Kids?
by James A. Bacon Governor Glenn Youngkin wants to provide an educational escape hatch for lower-income Virginians. He has proposed a private school voucher program that would give $5,000 grants to 10,000 students whose families earn less than 200% of the federal poverty limit ($62,400 for a family of four). Virginia Senate Finance Chair Louise…
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Is Dominion Facing Fines Over Green Energy Goals?
By Steve Haner The enforcement mechanism for the Virginia Clean Economy Act is a cash fine imposed on the electric utility if it fails to utilize the mandated percentage of wind, solar or battery power. The statute calls it a “deficiency payment” and has set the penalty at $45 per megawatt-hour. The first of such penalty…
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Choosing Politics over Educational Progress
By Derrick Max, Senator Ghazala Hashmi, chair of the Virginia Senate Education and Health Committee, is introducing a bill that has no chance of becoming law — apparently trying to carry water on behalf of the Virginia Education Association (VEA) in hopes of gaining support for her campaign for Lieutenant Governor. Hashmi’s bill would require…
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Rent Control Bill Would Hurt Housing Stock
by Hans Bader Raising rent to keep up with inflation isn’t what most people would consider “rent gouging,” even when the landlord has to increase rent by more than 3%. For example, Washington, D.C.’s rent control board allowed most landlords to raise rents in recent years at annual rates such as 8.9% and 6.2%. But…
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No Psychic Needed To Predict Tax Issue Gridlock
By Steve Haner The largest item among Governor Glenn Youngkin’s many proposed changes to the Virginia state budget is his idea to set aside $1.1 billion from last year’s surplus revenue to cover three years of future car tax rebates. You don’t need to call the California Psychics who run ads on Richmond’s conservative radio…
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An Expensive Failure to Follow the Law
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The refusal of the Youngkin administration to follow the law and Virginia Supreme Court decisions will cost the taxpayers $1.6 million. As reported by the Washington Post, the state has agreed in a court settlement to pay, in addition to $420,000 in attorneys’ fees, $1.2 million to former inmates who were held…
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Hernandez Proposes Florida-Here-We-Come Bill
by Hans Bader Delegate Phil Hernandez, D-Norfolk, has introduced legislation to raise state income taxes on people making over $1 million per year. Their marginal tax rate would rise from 5.75% to 10%, under HB 2333. This tax increase won’t become law this year, but it might become law under a future Democratic governor. Virginia…
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Big Solar’s Proposed Zoning Override Bill Still Opposed
By Steve Haner The 2025 General Assembly is expected to consider another proposal to create a state-level approval process for certain large renewable energy projects, overriding local zoning authority. Based on recent public debates about the proposal, it is facing severe headwinds. Similar bills were proposed and failed in 2024. The legislative Commission on…
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A Horrible Death in Colonial Heights – Part Two
Nursing Facility Standards Enforcement Updated Jan 27 @ 1700 by James C. Sherlock Part One of this series served as an introduction to the circumstances surrounding one of the worst deaths humanly imaginable. It shows what happens when standards are not enforced. Charges against staff. The government has alleged that the death was the result…
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Hodges Bill Would Require Universities to Archive Board Video
by James A. Bacon Delegate Keith Hodges, R-Urbanna, has submitted a bill that would promote transparency in higher-ed governance. HB2452 would require public four-year institutions to record, archive, and make Boards of Visitors meetings available to the public for five years. Boards already live-stream their open-session meetings, as required by state law. But no requirement…
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Democrats And Their Undying Love of Criminals
by Kerry Dougherty Yesterday I spoke to a Republican women’s group in Virginia Beach and during the Q and A someone mentioned that State Sen. Aaron Rouse of Virginia Beach was sponsoring a bill that would give tax credits to employers who hire convicted felons. What would we do without Democrats and their relentless love…
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Democrats Demand Massive Tax Hike on Virginians
Meanwhile, Republicans plan to return a $1.2 billion surplus back to taxpayers. by Victoria Manning Virginia Democrats are wasting no time proposing a huge tax increase on Virginians by slapping a 5 percent tax on virtually every service in the commonwealth—despite the state’s budget surplus. The massive increase, proposed by longtime Democrat Vivian Watts, would…
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Three Major Proposed Constitutional Amendments
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The 2025 General Assembly will be taking up constitutional amendments on three hot button issues—abortion, voting rights of felons, and same-sex marriage. In Virginia, to amend the state constitution, the General Assembly must agree to the proposed amendment twice, with an intervening election for the House of Delegates. If the proposal is…
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Poll Shows Partisan Divide on Natural Gas, Solar Site Approvals
By Steve Haner Virginia registered voters are strongly in favor of allowing utilities to build new natural gas generation plants, a key issue facing Virginia because current state law mandates the complete elimination of that fuel source for electricity generation in 15 years. On another key energy issue likely to face the 2025 General…
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SB 805 Tries to Squeeze Blood from Turnip
by Hans Bader Legislation has been introduced in the Virginia legislature to increase child-support obligations a lot, even for parents with very low incomes. The legislation, SB 805, violates federal child-support regulations, such as 45 CFR § 302.56(c)(1), by imposing excessive child support obligations on thousands of parents that they will be unable to pay,…