Category: General Assembly
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Virginia’s State Health System Will Continue to Kill its Citizens If We Let It
by James C. Sherlock Virginians of every political stripe have grown very tired of watching the Northam administration obfuscate repeated, very public failures to carry out its role in protecting the health of its citizens since the onset of COVID. But that is an effect, not a cause, of the massive and continuing failures at…
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COVID Vaccine Distribution: What Can Virginia Learn from Florida?
Fiasco. From the start, Florida prioritized anybody 65 or older into its top tier for receiving the COVID vaccine. Virginia initially limited early access to the vaccine to those 75 and over. Last Thursday Gov Northam announced that Virginia would include people 65 and over in the current distribution of vaccines. That adds 9.5% of…
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Virginia Pay Bill Will Be a Nightmare for Some Small Employers
by Hans Bader Pay regulations that are a manageable hassle for the biggest employers can be a nightmare for small employers. One example is SB 1228, a bill pending in the Virginia legislature. If enacted, it would keep employers from setting employee pay based on employees’ past wages, even though wages are usually a sign…
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Northam Again Targets Virginia Business Taxpayers
By Steve Haner Washington giveth and Richmond taketh away. Once again, the Northam Administration wants Virginia to ignore business income tax changes made at the federal level because they would lower state revenue. Governor Ralph Northam’s finance secretary was in front of the House Appropriations Committee Friday explaining the reasoning and complaining that new federal…
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Democrats Propose Expanded Virginia Government Personal Information Collection, Integration and Dissemination
by James C. Sherlock There are few things the Left desires more than government access to personal data on every citizen and everything he or she does. Virginia continues down that path. Government Data Collection & Dissemination Practices Act Chapter 38 of Title 2.2 of the Code of Virginia (§ 2.2-3800 et seq.) reads in…
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Northam Proposes Legal Marijuana in Va Within Two Years
by DJ Rippert Ralph Reefer. On Wednesday the Northam Administration unveiled legislation to legalize recreational use of marijuana in Virginia. The legislation will be introduced by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, and Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth. Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, and Del. Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth. Northam took up the cause…
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Is Abolition of Life Without Parole Next?
by Hans Bader Governor Ralph Northam and other Democratic Party leaders are backing legislation to abolish the death penalty. But that’s not all. A newly submitted bill would abolish life sentences without parole, even for serial killers and those who once would have been sentenced to death. The powerful head of the state senate’s Courts of…
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Breath-Taking Hypocrisy
by James A. Bacon When Governor Ralph Northam delivered his state-of-the-commonwealth speech two days ago, he gave a special nod to Sen. Ben Chafin, R-Russell County, who had died several days previously from complications relating to COVID-19. “He was my friend, and I miss him,” Northam said. “Whether on the Senate floor or in my…
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The Speaker Rules
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The Speaker of the House of Delegates is the most powerful position in the legislature. One of her most potent tools is the power to assign members to committees. Eileen Filler-Corn has again wielded that power. Members usually retain their committee assignments during the two years of their terms. However, circumstances leading…
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More Loss of Press Coverage
by Dick Hall-Sizemore In the past two years that I have been posting on BR, I have relied heavily on the coverage of the General Assembly by the Daily Press of Newport News, particularly the reporting by David Ress. It seems that he is now off the Virginia state government beat and now mostly covers…
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Dems Seek to Abolish Virginia Death Penalty
by Hans Bader Virginia’s governor and the head of a key legislative subcommittee are backing legislation to abolish the death penalty in Virginia and overturn existing death sentences. In theory, the death penalty could save lives by deterring people from committing murder. Several studies found that it deters killings of innocent people. As the Associated…
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Virginia’s General Assembly Is Back
by Kerry Dougherty They’re saving the good stuff. They have to be. No way is Virginia’s General assembly going to spend the next 30 days passing happy resolutions designating November 12 as Uyghur-American Friendship Day or dedicating September as Gospel Music Heritage Month. Sure, the Democratic majority is going to legalize marijuana and outlaw the…
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Legislative Persistence and Character
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Twenty years ago, a senior member of the House of Delegates introduced a bill to abolish the death penalty. The introduction of such legislation was unusual in itself; even more unusual was the patron: Frank Hargrove, a Republican delegate from Hanover County. Hargrove, who had been in the General Assembly for 18…
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Recreational Marijuana Soon to Be De-Facto Legal in Northern Virginia
by DJ Rippert Elections have consequences. The recent presidential election along with the Georgia run-off election has secured Democratic control of Congress with no serious risk of presidential veto. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., has tried for years to establish a recreational marijuana marketplace only to be thwarted by Republicans in Congress. Finally, in the 2020 session…
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How Texas Gets Standing Next Time: NPV
By Steve Haner When Texas went to the United States Supreme Court last month complaining about the election processes in four other states, the case was dismissed on the issue of standing. The Court correctly replied Texas had no right to complain about how the Electoral College votes were determined in other states but could…