Category: General Assembly
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One Commission to Rule Energy and In the Darkness Bind Us
by Steve Haner A legislative commission created in 2008 to oversee one narrow function of two electric utilities is about to expand its scope of oversight of all forms of energy in Virginia, including nuclear, coal, and natural gas. It will be the legislative counterpart – and counterweight – to the politically independent State Corporation…
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Bills Would Make Virginia State Income Tax Highest in Nation
by Liberty Unyielding Staff Bills pending in the Virginia state legislature could raise the state income tax a lot. The bill most likely to pass would increase the state income tax rate from 5.75% to 8% on incomes over $600,000 and 10% on incomes over $1,000,000. Another bill would impose an additional 3.8% tax (a “net investment income…
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They’re Baaaack!
by Kerry Dougherty I can’t be the only Virginian experiencing a form of PTSD after two days of the all-Democrat General Assembly session. It’s as if the loathsome Ralph Northam was running the show again. You know, the guy who closed churches, masked toddlers and supported infanticide. Despite all their talk about “affordability” – the…
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2026’s Power Word: Affordable
by Derrick A. Max “Affordability” has become the most powerful word in modern politics – and nowhere more than here in Virginia. Candidates promised “affordable housing,” “affordable health care,” “affordable energy,” and “affordable childcare,” often without defining what affordability means or acknowledging the tradeoffs required to achieve it. Now in office, the progressives in the…
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Youngkin’s Term Made Virginia Stronger, More Prosperous
by Derrick A. Max Governor Glenn Youngkin’s final State of the Commonwealth address last night offered more than a farewell. It served as an empirical rebuttal to the claim that conservative, pro-growth governance, like those supported by the Thomas Jefferson Institute, cannot deliver tangible results. By every meaningful metric — jobs, investment, education outcomes, revenue…
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Batteries in VA Equal to PJM Demand? That’s Truly Nuts.
by Steve Haner Proposed legislation to require Virginia’s two main electric utilities to load up on battery storage in the next 20 years has now been introduced, and the target battery amounts for Dominion Energy Virginia grew even larger than in the version of the bill previewed by a study commission in December. It is…
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Parole Bill Would Usurp Governor’s Appointment Powers, Release Dangerous Inmates
by Hans Bader A progressive Virginia legislator apparently thinks the parole board isn’t releasing enough inmates. So he has introduced a bill, HB318, that would let progressive legislators, rather than the governor, pick many of the parole board’s members. His bill would also make it much easier to parole inmates serving life sentences — which…
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Buckle Up. The General Assembly Is on Its Way
by Kerry Dougherty Virginia’s General Assembly convenes tomorrow in Richmond. But a handful of pre-filed bills give us a taste of what’s to come when Democrats come roaring back into power. Remember when Virginia Democrats promised to make Virginia more “affordable?” Yeah, about that. Not sure how authorizing localities to impose an additional sales tax…
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A State Income Tax Rate to 10% for $1 Million-per-Year Households?
by Hans Bader Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler, D-Virginia Beach, has introduced a bill (HB 188) to increase state income taxes in Virginia, raising the marginal tax rate from 5.75% to 10% on people making over $1 million. Virginia already has higher state income taxes than most of its neighbors. Kentucky has a maximum tax rate of…
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A Golden Parachute for Some
by Dick Hall-Sizemore So far, Gov.-elect Spanberger has designated four members of the General Assembly for her Cabinet or high level administrative position: Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax)—Secretary of Finance Del. David Bulova (D-Fairfax)—Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources Del. Candi Mundon King (D-Prince William)—Secretary of the Commonwealth Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Arlington)—Senior Adviser to the Virginia…
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The Abigail Era Begins
by Gordon C. Morse Next week, Virginia will open the 2026 regular session of the Virginia General Assembly, with the Democratic Party ruling both House and Senate, then proceed to inaugurate a new governor, Abigail Spanberger. How will it go? Ah, yes, there’s the question. You can guess, but you don’t really know and that…
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A 10% Tax on Your Fantasy Football, Baseball?
by Steve Haner, Forget raising the income or sales tax, it appears the 2026 Virginia General Assembly may try to balance the state budget by imposing a new 10% tax on all the sports fantasy game players in the Commonwealth. Just when you think you know all the nooks and crannies of state government, another…
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2026 Battery Bill is Still in Flux but Will Be Great!
by Steve Haner Advocates for adding massive amounts of battery storage to Virginia’s electric grid held a news conference Wednesday to claim again their upcoming bill will lower energy costs, not raise them, but added that the legislation they will push is still being drafted. The 2026 General Assembly session starts in a week, and…
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What “Democracy” Looks Like to Louise Lucas
The “10-1” on Lucas’ armored fist in this X tweet stands for the goal of redrawing Virginia’s congressional districts to elect 10 Democrats and one Republican to Congress. Reminder: In the 2024 House of Representatives elections in Virginia, 51.4% of the popular vote went to Democratic candidates, 47.6% to Republicans, and the rest to independents…
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Crime and Punishment in Virginia Nursing Homes
by James C. Sherlock The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) inspectors regularly report instances of resident abuse, including battery, occasionally resulting in death. That has persisted for decades and appears undeterred by current enforcement efforts. The Code of Virginia (Code) is partially at fault. It makes it challenging for the state, its citizens, and local…