Tag: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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Give Me this Kind of Accountability
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Frequently, some commenters on this blog complain about politicians not being accountable and hold up the private sector as a model for accountability. (For purposes of this discussion, we will ignore the fact that politicians have to go before the voters periodically and get reelected.) Here is a recent example of accountability…
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Souped Up on the Mountain
En route from visiting my grandson in college in Kentucky, I stopped at Breaks Interstate Park. I will save a discussion of the park for another post, but, in the meantime, this vehicle was parked at one of the overlooks. I immediately thought that WayneS, one of the active BR participants, would appreciate it.
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A Rejoinder on the TJ “Fall”
Before folks got carried away with sarcasm and “I told you so,” it would have been best to examine a few facts regarding the ranking by U.S. News and World Report of the Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology (TJ): The ranking fell to fifth last year. The data for that ranking pre-dated the…
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Some Rural Localities Hit With Big Jump in Local Composite Index
by Dick Hall-Sizemore For all those readers who complain that Northern Virginia gets screwed by state funding formulas, Dwight Yancey of Cardinal News has provided an eye-opening rejoinder. Many rural counties have been hit disproportionately hard by the new calculations for the local composite index used to determine the local share of the costs of…
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Jason Miyares–Judicial Activist?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Jason Miyares has struck out again. Miyares, Virginia’s Attorney General, keeps asking the Virginia Supreme Court to interpret a statute, based not on how it is actually written, but based on what the General Assembly “intended.” The court’s response is that its function is to ask “not what the legislature intended to…
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The Incredibly Shrinking Newspaper
A story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch sums up the state of media coverage in the state’s capital city. The city of Richmond is considering entering into an agreement to move the city’s Department of Social Services into the Richmond Times-Dispatch building. The agency will occupy three floors of the four-story building. The newspaper staff will…
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Governor Leaves Consistency and Principle Behind
by Dick Hall-Sizemore With his proposed amendments to legislation regulating “games of skill,” Gov. Youngkin has demonstrated deep inconsistencies, if not outright hypocrisy. Before getting into the specifics, a little background is needed. “Games of skill” are machines on which people can play and win money. The proponents of the machines claim that some element…
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A Flood of Budget Amendments
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Well, Gov. Youngkin has not carried through on his veiled threat to veto the entire budget–yet. Instead, he has proposed more than 230 amendments that would get rid of the expansion of the sales tax to digital services that the General Assembly passed, along with an extra $1 billion in expenditures that…
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Can the Governor Veto RGGI?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore One of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s top priorities has been to extricate the Commonwealth from participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). One of the top priorities of the Democrat-controlled General Assembly has been ensuring that the Commonwealth participates in RGGI. For those readers unfamiliar with the purposes of RGGI and how…
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Governor’s Budget Transformed
by Dick Hall-Sizemore In my almost 50 years of working around, and following, the General Assembly, I do not think I have ever seen the legislature take apart a governor’s budget bill to the extent that this General Assembly just demolished Gov. Youngkin’s budget. The change that had the most impact was the jettisoning of…
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Pot for Sale
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The 2024 General Assembly has taken care of a piece of unfinished business. It has passed a bill to set up a framework for the sale of marijuana. The 2021 General Assembly made it legal for individuals to possess a small amount of marijuana. However, there was not enough time to craft…
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The Camel in the Tent
In 2022, the General Assembly disregarded two long-standing principles of funding transportation projects in the Commonwealth. Republican Gov. Youngkin followed down that path this year. The General Assembly has dedicated sources of revenue to be used for transportation, with general government functions being financed by general income and sales taxes and other special funds. The…
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Contracting Out the Space Race
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Because the focus of this blog is on Virginia politics and public policy, I am loath to venture beyond those boundaries. However, I have recently become concerned about an issue (nonpartisan, I hope) that has ramifications beyond the Commonwealth. I am interested in the opinions of those on this blog who may…
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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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A Traditional Conservative Issues Warning
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Liz Cheney was in Richmond Saturday night delivering her warning about Donald Trump. Cheney represented Wyoming in the U.S House of Representatives and held the No. 3 leadership position in the Republican caucus. She served on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Her speech…