Category: General Assembly
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Early Fireworks
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The 2022 General Assembly has gotten off to an inauspicious start. It started off quietly enough. On Wednesday, the first day, Delegate Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, was elected Speaker on vote of 97-0. It is not usual for the person selected by the majority party caucus to be Speaker to be formally elected…
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A Peek Behind the Veil
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Background During my research for the articles on state financial assistance for public education, I ran across a curious provision and, subsequently, tracked the history of that provision. That history provides a small peek at the budget development and legislative processes that illustrate: Why I find them so fascinating, and Why many…
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Can Financially Failing Coal Plant Be Closed?
by Steve Haner The economic decision on whether and when to cut and run from a losing investment is always complicated. The debate over the future of Dominion Energy Virginia’s economically failing coal plant in Wise County will be complicated by power politics. The State Corporation Commission has been asked to accept an agreement between…
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Bacon Bits: Bills of Interest
More transparency for land-use proceedings (HB 626). Submitted by Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas Park. Alters land use disclosure requirements applicable to boards of supervisors, planning commissions and boards of zoning appeals by broadening the language from “relationship of employee-employer, agent-principal, or attorney-client” to “business or financial interest.” The same change is made to existing provisions…
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Financing Public Education–2–Non-SOQ Programs
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Note: This is the second installment of an overview and discussion of state financing of K-12 education in localities. Part 1 of this series was an overview of financing related to the Standards of Quality. The Standards of Quality is the major category through which the Commonwealth provides financial assistance for public…
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Financing Public Education–Part I, Standards of Quality
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The 2022-2024 budget proposed by Governor Northam includes $8.6 billion in general fund appropriations in the first year and $8.3 billion in the second year for state assistance to local K-12 programs. These amounts are a little more than a quarter of the entire general fund budget. Compared to the appropriation for…
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A Price of COPN — Sentara Pleads COVID Capacity Shortages
by James C. Sherlock Sentara Health, once described by The Washington Post as “playing COPN like a violin,” yesterday went statewide with an acknowledgment that its system is out of capacity for many who seek its help. On a Zoom press conference yesterday, Sentara reported seeing a huge surge in hospital admissions. Hospitalizations have more…
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Bureaucrats Are Not Running Amok
by Dick Hall-Sizemore In a couple of recent posts, much has been made of Governor-elect Youngkin’s comments about reviewing regulations. After thinking about this promise and remembering similar promises by former governors, I decided to undertake one of my favorite exercises: poking around in the Code of Virginia a little bit. I found two items…
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Medical Facility State Inspector Shortfalls An Urgent Matter for the Governor and General Assembly
by James C. Sherlock Virginians are blessed to have a person running the Department of Health Office of Licensure and Inspection (OLC) who may be the best public servant in the Commonwealth. She desperately needs help to do the work she is assigned in order to protect us. Kim Beazley, the Director of that Office,…
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Redistricting Now Final
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The redistricting for General Assembly seats and those in the U.S. House of Representatives is complete. The Virginia Supreme Court issued its final order and approved maps on December 28, 2021. There are some significant changes from the earlier proposed maps. For a discussion of the first maps released by the Supreme…
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Dominion Green Energy Conversion Cost Dips, Partly by Sacrificing Reliability
by Steve Haner First published today by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. The projected consumer cost of Dominion Energy Virginia’s conversion to wind and solar power rises steeply in the utility’s latest capital spending plan. Although slightly reduced from earlier estimates, the utility told the State Corporation Commission its residential customers may see…
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Remembering
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Jeff Shapiro of the Richmond Times-Dispatch has a nice column today remembering people in Virginia politics and government whose deaths in 2021 may have gone largely unnoticed. For those interested in recent political history, you may want to check it out. During my time around Capitol Square, I knew and have fond…
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We Have Your Files. To Get Them Back, Send Money
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Tried to get into the Legislative Information System lately? If you did, you were likely greeted by the following message: We’re experiencing a service outage with some of our servers. The Budget Portal, Law Portal, Reports to the General Assembly, and some other data may not be accessible. Our team is currently…
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Northam Blinks: State Tax Cuts Coming
by Steve Haner First published by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Virginia’s leaders are no longer debating whether to cut state taxes. The argument now will be over how to cut state taxes. Outgoing Democratic Governor Ralph Northam announced Tuesday that his final introduced budget will include $2.1 billion in lower taxes, created…
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Virginia State and Local Agencies Must Spend Federal Coronavirus Relief Funds by December 31
by James C. Sherlock State and local governments are awash in billions of dollars of federal funding with various federal expiration dates if not spent. The General Assembly set its own deadline. Recipients have to spend federal money allocated by the General Assembly by Dec. 31 or lose it back to the Governor for repurposing.…