Category: General Assembly
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Corporate Tax Already Exploding in Virginia
by Steve Haner First published this morning in The Roanoke Times. With Virginia’s fiscal year now three-quarters complete, and basically one year since the depths of the COVID-19 recession, state tax revenues are soaring. Despite reports that the boom results from the economic rebound, it remains clear that changes in tax policy under Governor Ralph…
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A Positive View of the Performance of Two Key General Assembly Members
by James C. Sherlock Virginia has some dreadful members of its General Assembly. We spend more time writing about them than we do on those who are exemplary. I am going to focus on two that I truly admire, Senator Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, and Delegate Jason Miyares, R-Virginia Beach. It is hard to relate in…
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Oh, To Work for the Legislature
by Dick Hall-Sizemore I learned a long time ago that one can come across some juicy nuggets by perusing the amendments to the budget bill. One such nugget I ran across today confirmed something else I have known for a long time: It is nice to work for the General Assembly; legislators take care of…
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GOP and Virginia Election Laws, Part II
by Steve Haner With the 2021 General Assembly receding in the rear view mirror, the voting rules for this year’s Virginia elections are set. Republicans who are whining that the deck has been stacked against them are making a mistake. Every change the Democrats see as a benefit to them is of equal benefit to…
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GOP and Virginia Election Laws, Part I
by Steve Haner Let us elevate a discussion from the comment string to the main page: Having examined Richard Hall-Sizemore’s offered examples of Virginia Republicans seeking to discourage voting in Virginia, I reject his assertion (part of a coordinated national campaign) that those bills “would result in fewer people voting.” The broadest Republican bill he…
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Ralph Rescues Reefer
By Don Rippert Warm up the bongs. Adults in Virginia will be able to legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use starting July 1. The bill originally passed by the General Assembly would have delayed that date until July 1, 2024. However, Governor Ralph Northam amended the bill and, after some…
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VDOE Transgender Policies Dangerous to Both Children and School Personnel
by James C. Sherlock Virginia’s Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools is a bigger mess the more I study it. It is as far as I can tell unprecedented in scope. I checked parallel California, D.C. and Arlington County policies. None of them comes close to the dangerous nonsense…
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TCI Model Rule Ready for Study, Comment
by Steve Haner First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. (Happy birthday, Mr. President.) Read the governing document for the Transportation and Climate Initiative and it becomes clear there is more going on than just an effort to reduce motor fuel use with a combination of taxes and shrinking caps. That…
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Virginia Board of Education – In Loco Parentis and Headed to Court
by James C. Sherlock Is your child yours or does he or she belong body and soul to the state in the person of the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)? That is a question that is not only reasonable, but absolutely necessary after reading its new transgender student regulation. That regulation represents a straight-up, in-your-face…
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One of the Good Guys
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Former Del. A.R. “Pete” Giesen died last Friday. He was one of the good ones. He served in the House of Delegates from 1934-1974 and 1975-1996, representing the Staunton-Waynesboro area. He was a moderate Valley Republican. I have somewhat of a bias. He chaired the first legislative committee I staffed when I…
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COPN Monopolies Depress Income for Virginia Healthcare Professionals Without Lowering Costs
by James C. Sherlock Virginia is among the richest states in the country. We are ranked ninth among states with the highest median household income in the 2019 (latest) Census Bureau American Community Survey. Virginia median household income was $74,222 and the U.S. as a whole was $62,843. But Virginia has a Certificate of…
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Selling Virginia Pot? Expect A Union Label
by Steve Haner When Virginians begin to buy marijuana from state-licensed providers, if Governor Ralph Northam has his way, along with his smiling visage on every baggie of grass you may also find a union label. I’m kidding about getting high with the governor’s image on the package but using the legalization bill to promote…
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Virginia Democrats Govern in the Service of Dogma and Power
by James C. Sherlock Socialism and communism are so 19th and 20th centuries. Under socialism, individuals would still own property. But industrial production, which was the chief means of generating wealth, was to be communally owned and managed by a democratically elected government. Socialists sought change and reform, but sought to make those changes…
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Democrats Expand Worker Protections
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Many commenters on this blog seem to view Virginia Democrats as elitists (the “Plantation Elite”) who either ignore or look down on the needs of most Virginians or elitists who are absorbed in advancing critical race theory and other woke ideas. While battles against these perceived threats have been raging on Bacon’s…
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May Day Brings Virginia’s Labor Revolution
by Steve Haner Four major changes in Virginia’s labor laws delayed at the beginning of the COVID-19 recession will all take effect May 1. All were approved by the 2020 General Assembly once Democrats controlled both legislative chambers and then delayed at the 2020 Veto Session. May Day 2021 is almost here. Minimum Wage. The…