Category: Business and Economy
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NJ Greenmailed Into Massive Wind Energy Costs
By Steve Haner New Jersey just agreed to two ocean wind projects with astronomical guaranteed power prices. The price demanded and received by independent competitive suppliers shows there is at least some upside to the utility-owned, captive ratepayer-financed model behind Dominion Energy Virginia’s massive offshore wind facility. In late 2023 the news was full of…
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The Aggressive Progressive Democratic Agenda
By Steve Haner The Democrats now running Virginia’s General Assembly are not just more progressive, but far more ambitious than their predecessors. To fully understand how ambitious you must compile the entire list of progressive bills advancing in the 2024 session and consider their total impact on the cost of living and cost of doing…
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Rent Control Legislation Passes House Committee
from Liberty Unyielding Legislation to allow rent control ordinances has passed a committee in Virginia’s House of Delegates. On a party-line, 11-to-9 vote. The Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns passed HB 721, which defines rent gouging to include raising rent to keep up with inflation, if inflation exceeds 7 percent. This vote reflects the leftward…
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Great Judges Can’t Fix Bad Energy Laws
By Steve Haner The General Assembly has now filled the two open seats at the State Corporation Commission (SCC), ending two years of gridlock. Unfortunately, the same legislators, on both sides of the aisle, are still working overtime to dictate and micromanage the state’s energy policy, reducing the discretion and authority of the independent, non-partisan…
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Two Excellent Nominees Emerge for SCC
By Steve Haner The new Democratic majority in the Virginia General Assembly is moving rapidly to fill the two State Corporation Commission vacancies with excellent, qualified choices. One is well known in Virginia and the second is new to our hallowed Capitol, but with a decade of energy law experience on the federal level. Former…
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Like It or Not, Solar Farms May Be On Their Way
by Kerry Dougherty I know it’s winter and Virginia is not looking her best. But if you have nothing else to do this weekend, may I suggest you take a drive into the rural corners of the commonwealth and soak up the bucolic scenery. Check out those cotton fields along Route 58 west toward Danville,…
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Virginia Legislation Would Define Raising Rent to Keep Pace with Inflation as ‘Rent Gouging’
from the Liberty Unyielding blog 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 7%. For example, Washington, DC’s rent control board allowed landlords to raise rents on most tenants 8.9% in 2023, to compensate for the 6.9%…
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Serious Tax Reform Addressing a Serious Problem
By Chris Braunlich The American linguist Yogi Berra once said of a New York City restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” Overcrowding, however, isn’t what motivates a move to a state (or from a state). Those decisions are inspired by robust economic activity, jobs for residents, and a pathway for each generation to…
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Index Minimum Wage? Do the Tax Code, Too.
By Steve Haner One bill that certainly is heading for Governor Glenn Youngkin’s desk is the increase in the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour as of two years from now. Both versions, House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, raise it to $13.50 for next year, with the $15 level kicking in a…
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Will Democrats Revisit Virginia Net Zero Laws?
By Steve Haner For the third year in a row, Democrats in the Virginia Senate have shot down an effort to divorce Virginia’s auto dealers from California’s impending mandates on electric vehicle sales. But before the predetermined vote went down, the new chair of the committee made a surprise announcement that he and his colleagues…
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U.S. Constitution Calling Jason Miyares . . .
by Jock Yellott Affirmative action is unconstitutional, said the U .S. Supreme Court last June. But we’ll keep doing it until somebody tells us not to, says Virginia’s Department of Transportation. In some quarters, it seems we’re seeing Massive Resistance to the Supreme Court’s ruling. An especially absurd, and ongoing, affirmative action boondoggle called the…
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Thank Coal, Gas for Your Warm House Today
By Steve Haner Good morning, Virginia. Your lights and heat are on, and you can thank coal and natural gas. Here are the 8 a.m. charts from PJM’s website, which you can check periodically today as the winter weather closes in. Those fuels were providing more than 66% of our electricity, with nuclear providing almost…
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A Modest Suggestion
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Gov. Glenn Youngkin has taken a tough stance toward the Chinese. He has prohibited state agencies from using the TikTok platform. He wants to ban the use of TikTok by Virginia residents under 18. He championed legislation prohibiting the sale of Virginia farmland to Chinese buyers. Finally, he scuttled the location of…
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As Dominion and APCO $oar, NOVEC Drops Rates
By Steve Haner The major “rural” electric cooperative serving very urban Northern Virginia is drastically lowering its rates as of this month, because the cost it is paying for bulk power purchases has dropped. The contrast with what is happening with Virginia’s two major investor-owned electric companies may be telling Virginia something if anybody wants…
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How Not To Do Tax Reform. Again.
By Steve Haner According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration had its first formal discussion with Virginia’s local governments about eliminating their car tax collections two days after he announced it publicly. The General Assembly convenes Wednesday and if there is a plan to replace the $2.8 billion in local government revenue raised…