Category: General Assembly
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Government Oversight of the Integrity of Healthcare Programs in Virginia – Part 1
by James C. Sherlock This author’s unbroken experience over many years has been that majorities in the General Assembly have sought to protect the healthcare industry from competition (COPN) and leave it alone to operate as it sees fit. They have not wanted oversight because many of their largest donors and most influential constituents in…
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Dominion’s Fantasy PIPP Application Should Be Rejected or Resubmitted
by Steve Haner Dominion Energy Virginia has asked the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to allow it to begin collecting the cost of a low-income energy subsidy program, adding a small monthly charge to all its customers. The application should immediately be dismissed because it fails to recognize how the 2026 General Assembly expanded the program.…
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In the Business of Health Care Fraud, Virginia is Minnesota
by James C. Sherlock Health care fraudsters are often treated by Virginia elected officials in the same way moonshiners were in this state, as local heroes pursued only by the feds. Many prefer not to interrupt the product flow. They simply want a taste from the jar. Dick Hall-Sizemore, a dedicated contributor to BR and a good…
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The Source of All Evil: Data Centers!
Jefferson Forum’s President Derrick Max puts out a Sunday morning summary that only some of you probably see, and I cannot really link to it for you. But today’s email had a useful and entertaining riff on the ongoing efforts to demonize Virginia’s data center industry, a clearly coordinated hit job from the left and…
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Potentially Disastrous Legislative Brinksmanship
by Ali Ahmad One of the most striking themes from last Wednesday’s reconvened session was the widespread rejection of Governor Spanberger‘s recommendations. Legislative Information Services shows that of 180 bills amended, the legislature adopted 137, placing those bills straight into law without returning them to her desk. For the first time in decades, the General Assembly also preemptively…
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Testing a New Governor’s Resolve
by Derrick A. Max and Steve Haner This session, the General Assembly sent over 1,000 bills to Governor Spanberger for her signature. She signed 852 into law, vetoed 8 and proposed amendments to 180. Even though some of her amendments were little more than window dressing (see article on Paid Family and Medical Leave) and…
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Table Stakes: Virginia Nursing Home Chains Selling to REITs
by James C. Sherlock Sometimes, when you are winning big in a table stakes poker game, it can be time to put some money in your pocket. That is part of the game many nursing home chains are playing these days. Everybody wins but the nursing facility residents, Medicare, and Medicaid. The enterprise architecture of…
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Only Five Vetoes out of 1,082 Bills
In just three months, Virginia’s governor has undermined Second Amendment rights, parental authority, and fiscal responsibility. by Victoria Manning Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger ran as a moderate, but her actions after the first legislative session prove otherwise. She has embraced an extreme left-wing agenda, eroding Second Amendment rights and backing laws that will make Virginia…
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Another SCC Warning That VCEA Will Fail and Cost a Fortune
by Steve Haner The Virginia State Corporation Commission, consisting of three judges all picked by the General Assembly while Democrats were in control, has delivered another stern warning that the Virginia Clean Economy Act is unworkable and will greatly increase electricity costs within Virginia as it reaches failure. Despite the concerns expressed in its 21-page…
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New State Law offers Landowners the “Freedom” to Build Exactly What the Government Wants Built
by James C. Sherlock Democrats have given Virginians the “freedom” to build: They want single-family homeowners to be able to build an additional dwelling on their property in residential areas without having to comply with local residential zoning ordinances. So Governor Spanberger signed Senate Bill 531 Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units (ADUs)…
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Virginia Lawmakers Exempt Themselves from Their Own Gun Law
Two Virginians. Two handguns. One law. by Jeff Bayard Imagine this scenario: The Walmart parking lot on Midlothian Turnpike is half-empty at 9:47 p.m. A man named David walks out with two bags of groceries, his boots scuffing across wet asphalt. He’s a deacon at his church, a grandfather. His Glock 19 is in the…
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Evidence of Intent
by James C. Sherlock Evidence of intentional wrongdoing by specific nursing home chains operating in Virginia is hiding in plain sight. The huge gaps and consistent trends in each exhibit below cannot be attributed to happenstance. It reflects business models rigorously applied. The numbered exhibits draw entirely on a single Center for Medicare & Medicaid…
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Spanberger in Full
Now we’re getting somewhere. by Gordon C. Morse Turns out Virginia may have a governor, after all. You always wonder how long it will take before they get mad. Being inundated with poorly thought-through legislation — much of it portentous and progressive (abundantly so) — may have tested, with telling effect, Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s patience.…
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Guv’s Paid-Leave “Fix” Doesn’t Touch Biggest Problems
by Derrick A. Max Earlier this year I warned that Virginia’s proposed Paid Family and Medical Leave Act would create one of the most expansive and expensive paid leave programs in the country. I had hoped the Governor’s new amendments issued just before midnight last night would fix those concerns. They don’t. The legislation still would establish…
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Ending Data Center Exemption – Wrong Policy, Wrong Time
by Chris Saxman Wise words from former Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte” In politics, timing is everything. Timing also matters when it comes to the economy. Virginia is approaching a pivotal moment in its economic strategy—and it is happening at exactly the wrong time. As global markets reassess the value of technology companies, one thing is becoming clear: the era of easy capital is…