Category: Regulations, Gov’t Oversight
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Virginia’s 2018 Marijuana Decriminalization Bill: What Happened and What’s Next?
Up in smoke. During the 2018 General Assembly session a bill to decriminalize marijuana was killed in committee. The Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted along party lines on that bill, SB 111. All nine Republican Senators on the Committee voted to keep marijuana possession (in any amount) a criminal act in Virginia while all…
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Dominion Grid Plan Panned For Lacking Detail
The specific phrase is not used, but the general theme in testimony filed with the State Corporation Commission as it considers Dominion Energy’s massive grid modernization proposal is this plan is not ready for prime time. That thread runs through pre-filed testimony from the Office of the Attorney General, the staff of the State Corporation…
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Update: SCC Hearing on Off-Shore Wind
If the State Corporation Commission holds a hearing and Bacon’s Rebellion is not there to cover it, does it make news? Well it turns out there is a transcript. Having first held a hearing to debate whether it had the authority to reject a two-turbine, $300 million off-shore wind “demonstration” facility blessed by the General…
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The case for legalizing recreational marijuana use in Virginia
Caveat. While I have no moral objection to the possession of marijuana I do not espouse breaking the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I believe the marijuana laws in Virginia should be changed but, until they are changed, I encourage everybody to obey the laws as they are presently written. Strive for five. I…
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Dominion Files to Extend Surry Nukes
Dominion Energy has filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew operating licenses for its Surry Power Station for an additional 20 years, the company announced today. Like all nuclear units, the three-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors, capable of generating 1,676 megawatts each, were originally licensed to operate 40 years. Under its current licenses,…
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JLARC Report on Licensing: Useful, But a Missed Opportunity
As the old saying goes, you find what you look for. And in its examination of occupational licensing in Virginia the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) largely found what it was looking for — inefficiencies and overcharges. Conducting the review was worthwhile, but the exercise was small ball — it missed the opportunity…
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Pulling Teeth: Admitting Errors in Dental Care Post
In a column posted last month, “The Political Economy of Dental Care,” I suggested that one way to improve the affordability of and access to dentistry services in Virginia might be to reduce the cost of educating dentists. I highlighted the high cost of completing a dental degree at the Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia’s only…
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When and Why Can the SCC Say No?
When the General Assembly and Governor pass a law that states a source of electricity – or even a specific power project – is in “the public interest,” what is the State Corporation Commission left to do? Does that mean the SCC must approve the project even if it turns out to be unreasonable, imprudent…
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Legalized Medical and Recreational Marijuana Use Appear to Hurt Alcohol Sales
High times. In a recent Bacon’s Rebellion column … Will Virginia Legalize Recreational Marijuana Use … I noted that well over 20% of Americans now live in states that have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. In the column I wondered whether our General Assembly’s reluctance to address the question in a meaningful way might…
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Dominion Objects to Testimony on Pipeline Cost
One of the first decisions the State Corporation Commission may need to make in Monday’s hearing on the Dominion Energy Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is whether to allow and consider testimony about the cost of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Dominion filed a September 7 motion asking that testimony from a witness brought by Appalachian Voices…
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What Virginia’s Electric Grid Could Look Like
by Jane Twitmyer Virginia has all the tools it needs to build an inexpensive, reliable, clean energy future. We’re not talking about exotic technologies that might become available some day in the future. Solar power, wind power, battery storage, microgrids, energy-efficient buildings and other clean-power technologies are available right now at a cost competitive with…
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Dominion Proposal A Total Refresh, SCC Staff Says
The integrated resource plan (IRP) for Dominion Energy Virginia, pending at the State Corporation Commission, involves building or rebuilding enough generation to replace most of its existing capacity. That is one conclusion reached by the SCC staff’s own analysis of Dominion’s filed plans. A bottom line $5.6 billion estimate of the 15-year customer cost of this…
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Dominion Excess Profits Continued to Roll in 2017
During 2017 Dominion Energy Virginia earned $365 million in profits above the target return on equity the State Corporation Commission would likely have established, but of course the General Assembly regulates the utility now – not the SCC. For the year Dominion Energy’s profit margin on its Virginia operations was just under 14%, well above…
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Peeling Back the Layers of Hospital Dysfunction
There are many layers to the dysfunction of America’s (and Virginia’s) health care system. I have written frequently about price opacity, the inability of consumers to compare medical services by price. Prices are essential to a market-based economy. Indeed, one could say that without prices, it is impossible to have a market-based economy. I’m not…
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A Peek inside the Board of Barbers and Cosmetology
One might imagine that a meeting of the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology would be a pretty dull proceeding. But The Virginia Mercury found the board discussing some issues that, to my mind, point out the absurdity of a system that allows established practitioners of a profession to regulate themselves — and others who…