Category: Governance
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Luria Transmogrifies Oath of Office
by Emilio Jaksetic On January 6, 2022, Representative Elaine Luria (D-2nd District) announced her decision to run for reelection. In the opening sentence of her statement she said: “On the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, I recommit to uphold my oath to ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies…
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The Relentless Push for Child Gender Transition
by James C. Sherlock On the odd chance you missed it, the Biden administration announced a flurry of new measures today, designated the Transgender Day of Visibility. (I need to keep up.) The Washington Post reported on the festivities. What that story did not report is the celebration’s most important “feature.” HHS today announced Biden administration support…
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Transformation Has a Long Way to Go
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Eric Moeller, Governor Youngkin’s Chief Transformation Officer, has his work cut out for him. In Executive Order No. 5, the Governor said that the chief responsiblities of the position would be to “to help build a culture of transparency, accountability, and constructive challenge across our government.” As for building a “culture of…
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Asleep at the Wheel
Letter to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors from Walter Smith. Ladies and Gentlemen: I expect you will ignore me, as usual, but, for purposes of establishing a record when the time for your contextualization comes, I must document your many failures and refusal to do your fiduciary duties, because I believe, if you…
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FOIA Council Response on Open Meeting Requirements in Discussions of Local Government Contracts with Public Unions
by James C. Sherlock I submitted questions to the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council concerning FOIA open meetings requirements applicable to local government sessions discussing contracts with unions. I received a very prompt and thorough reply. The following is the response of Alan Gernhart, Esq., Executive Director.
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Richmond Parents and Taxpayers, Welcome to Chicago Public Schools
by James C. Sherlock The gulf between what the City of Richmond School Board (RSB) and the Richmond City Council (RCC) on what will be negotiated with their public unions is actually an ocean. The RSB has authorized the negotiation of virtually everything about how the schools are run. It leaves nothing off the table…
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Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat Nor Gloom of Night…
by Dick Hall-Sizemore One of the best services provided by the federal government that began before the United States was an independent country is the postal service. Americans have depended on it and taken it for granted for centuries. Until recently. In recent years, service has deteriorated markedly. For example, I put out bill payments…
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Know the Terms of Surrender in Negotiating With Teachers Unions
by James C. Sherlock Franklin Roosevelt thought collective bargaining agreements incompatible with public sector work. Today’s left, unburdened by the public interest, finds FDR’s principles at best quaint. Since May of last year collective bargaining is legal in Virginia for local government employees by local option, but for not state employees. The issues most people think…
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Governing by Edict
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Although the issue of school mask mandates is now behind us, it is instructive to examine the legal arguments advanced by Attorney General Jason Miyares in a court case seeking to overturn the mask mandates instituted by the Loudoun County School Board (“school board”). Not only does Miyares advocate judicial activism and…
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The Legislatures Strike Back: The Pandemic and Balances of Power
by David Toscano In her recent SLogLaw post “Harrisburg COVID-19 Response Is No Model,” Meryl Chertoff provides a great explanation of Pennsylvania’s response to the pandemic. Except for the use of a constitutional amendment pushed by Republicans in the Keystone state to constrain a Democratic governor, the dynamic is similar to what is occurring in…
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Still Time to Limit Governor’s Emergency Powers
by Barbara Hollingsworth First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Should the governor of Virginia have the power to unilaterally declare an open-ended state of emergency that indefinitely restricts Virginians’ civil and constitutional rights without a recorded vote by the General Assembly? The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns raised this serious question.…
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Virginia’s Greens Need an Epiphany
by James C. Sherlock Headlines from the war in Ukraine have raised exponentially the interest in natural gas and the extreme price volatility caused by supply constraints. It is perhaps useful to understand the uses of natural gas, the prices Virginians pay relative to West Virginians, the decline of production in Virginia, and the costs…
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Youngkin Largely Opts for Stability in State Government Management
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Virginia has a tradition of continuity in state government. Generally, incumbent agency heads are reappointed, even if the new governor is of a different party than the outgoing governor and new Cabinet members are put in place. There have been many agency heads who have served multiple governors, of both parties, over…
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“Frozen” Property Taxes
by James C. Sherlock I admit my fascination with how newspapers present various issues. It is an important window into the information their readers are getting. City manager and county executive proclamations that property tax rates are “frozen” are meant to sound like fiscal constraint. Consider this headline from The Washington Post: “Fairfax County executive…
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Everybody Wins – Nurse Practitioners for Underserved Communities
by James C. Sherlock The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing has instituted a terrific program thanks to a wealthy alum who gave $125 million to recruit and train nurse practitioners to practice in underserved communities. The Leonard A. Louder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Fellows program will be tuition-free and students who still need help…