Category: General Assembly
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A Veto-Proof Local Tax Hike Nearly Approved
By Steve Haner A bill likely to produce $1.6 billion or more in local sales tax increases is moving through the General Assembly with enough bipartisan votes to block any veto from the Governor, but differences remain between the House of Delegates and Senate versions.
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What Is It with Democrats and Criminals?
by Kerry Dougherty Elections have consequences. And when Virginia voted last November to give Democrats a slim majority in the General Assembly they also voted to give almost 8,000 violent criminals a shot at getting back on the streets. This ill-conceived measure – SB427 – is the evil brainchild of Sen. Creigh Deeds, who believes…
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The Grim Reapers of Virginia’s General Assembly
by Kerry Dougherty When she was hospitalized in September 1998, my brother and I had a somber discussion with her physician. We asked how long our mother – who was clearly failing – would live. “How long is a piece of string?” the doctor shrugged. She died four days later. I’ve been thinking about my…
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Democrats Lose Concerns About Taxing the Poor
By Steve Haner A piece of Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s tax package has survived after all, but only the part that increases the sales tax base to collect about $1 billion or so more per year from citizens. Democrats who recently complained that sales tax increases were unfair to the poor are suddenly embracing them. …
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Partisan Poison: Va Dems Quash a Bill to Protect School Kids
by Kerry Dougherty How exactly is Virginia’s General Assembly celebrating Black History Month? By killing a bill to protect children in public school lavatories, introduced by Del. A.C. Cordoza of Hampton. Cordoza is an African-American. And a Republican. He was famously denied membership in the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus when he was elected in 2022.…
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The Fight Against Invasives
by Dick Hall-Sizemore One fascinating aspect of the General Assembly is legislation that does not make headlines but is important to a fervent group of Virginians and that could have an impact on the state as a whole. In recent years, the problem of invasive plants has gained the attention of legislators. In 2009, the…
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Progressive Legislators Declare “Profound Solidarity” with Criminals
from the Liberty Unyielding blog Killings and violence have risen in the U.S. over the last decade, as some government officials have come to sympathize more with criminals than their victims. The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus recently said it is “in profound solidarity” with Virginia’s prison population, and that its members “work to dismantle the…
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Floyd Judge Ponders Order to Return RGGI Tax
By Steve Haner A circuit court judge in Floyd County may soon order Virginia to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and to reimpose the related carbon tax on Virginia’s electricity consumers. Judge Kenneth “Mike” Fleenor Jr. ruled earlier this month that a suit seeking reinstatement of RGGI could continue and held a hearing on…
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Nasty Social Media Message Attacks Virginia’s Speaker of the House
by Kerry Dougherty Great. Just what embattled Virginia Republicans need now: an ugly social media post attacking the new speaker of the House of Delegates over a crime he committed and did time for almost 30 years ago. It’s no secret that Portsmouth Democrat Don Scott was convicted on drug charges in 1994 and served…
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Four Major Progressive Goals Still Advancing
By Steve Haner The aggressive progressive agenda working its way through the 2024 Virginia General Assembly has lost some steam at the halfway point, but at least four of the major Democratic goals discussed earlier are still advancing. The two bills which will have the greatest impact on the Virginia economy are the proposed minimum…
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The Speaker Rules
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates is widely regarded as the second-most powerful figure, after the Governor, in Virginia state government. Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), elevated to the position this session after only two terms in the House, has let the power go to his head. Rather than acting like…
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If Assembly Wants SMR Bill, Then Fix It
By Steve Haner This is progress. Only twenty members of the Virginia Senate voted Tuesday to ignore a key tenet of utility ratemaking and put utility stockholders and profits ahead of consumer protection. Usually when the utilities persuade the General Assembly to do that to Virginia consumers, they get a bigger vote margin than 20-16.*…
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Swallow the Money, Part 2 of 3
by Joe Fitzgerald There’s a donor in CFReports named “no name.” He, she, or it is listed on the report as “Name, No.” This same donor is called “Unknown Entity” in VPAP. Or perhaps “Entity, Unknown.” (VPAP and CFReports are described in Part 1.) This donor’s address shows up as Matt Cross’s house on his…
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Swallow the Money, Part 1 of 3
by Joe Fitzgerald When a governor was accepting gifts and amenities from a supporter some years back, the surprise for many Virginians came when it was time to indict him. The Feds had to do it, because he probably hadn’t broken any state laws, and eventually, after trials and appeals, he didn’t stand convicted of…
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Analog Tax Policy is Harmful in a Digital World
By Chris Braunlich To many, testifying before a government committee conjures visions of the drama surrounding the McCarthy, Watergate, or Zuckerberg hearings. In Virginia, not so much. Faced with processing more than 2,600 bills in 60 days, the legislature conducts hearings that are often more of a kabuki dance, while backstage choreographers figure out the…