Tag: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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Doing the Math
by Dick Hall-Sizemore I have a dilemma. I can’t decide if I am just like most old farts who think “the way I used to do it” is the right way and the modern way is all screwed up, or if I am just out of touch with the modern way. Here is the situation.…
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The Speaker Rules
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates is widely regarded as the second-most powerful figure, after the Governor, in Virginia state government. Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), elevated to the position this session after only two terms in the House, has let the power go to his head. Rather than acting like…
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Dueling Fiscal Impact Statements
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Providing a fiscal impact statement (FIS) for legislation is a positive aspect of the legislative process. The statement can alert the legislators to the possible fiscal implications of a bill under consideration and its estimated cost. Thus, legislators are in a position to make a more informed decision about supporting the bill.…
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Biting the Hand that You Need
by Dick Hall-Sizemore If you are a Virginia governor entering the last two years of your term with your party in the minority in both houses of the legislature and are depending on the other party to help you put in place a major project which would be part of your legacy, why would you…
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Checking up on Steve Descano
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Contributors and many readers of this blog have been highly critical of Steve Descano, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Fairfax County. They belittle him as being a Soros-backed, “woke” prosecutor, soft on crime. They seem to have missed Descano’s involvement in a recent high-profile case. As described by The Washington Post, the defendant…
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But It’s Just a Little Bit of Money
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Ben Cline, the Commonwealth’s Republican member of the U.S House of Representatives from the 6th District, is very upset about the level of federal spending and the state of the federal deficit. Cline is chairman of the Republican Study Committee’s Budget and Spending Task Force. In a press release last year, he…
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Didn’t We Settle This Divisive Concept Long Ago?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed on to a constitutional position that Virginia and other Southern states used to justify secession from the United States over 170 years ago. Here, in a nutshell, are the events that led to this situation: Greg Abbott ordered razor wire placed in the Rio Grande River to…
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Competition for Schools
by Dick Hall-Sizemore One of the good bills introduced in the General Assembly this year would bring a measure of competition in public schools. Put in by Sen. Mark Peake (R-Lynchburg), SB 552 would require school districts to allow students to attend any school in the district. Currently, districts are allowed to adopt such open…
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Richmond Shoots Itself in the Foot–Again
by Dick Hall-Sizemore It never ceases to amaze me how the City of Richmond seems unable to accomplish even the most basic functions of government right. The latest snafu occurred in the office of the General Registrar. A fourth of the voters requesting absentee ballots for the upcoming Democratic presidential primary election received outdated instructions.…
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The Monster at the End of the Book
by Dick Hall-Sizemore We have created a monster. The genie is out of the bottle. Whatever metaphor you want to use, there is no going back and the way forward poses great dangers. The monster or genie is AI. The media are full of the promising possibilities of AI improving our lives—great leaps in medicine,…
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A Doggone Tale
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A recent special election in Southside Virginia is a stark illustration of how a small special interest group can exercise out-sized power. In mid-December, long-time state Sen. Frank Ruff (R-Mecklenburg), announced he was resigning from the Senate, shortly after having been re-elected to a seventh term. He had received a diagnosis of…
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It’s a Different House Courts
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Long-time observers can attest to the significant changes that have occurred in the legislature over the decades. Perhaps nowhere are these changes more evident than with the House Courts of Justice Committee and its Subcommittee on Criminal Law. This committee and its criminal law subcommittee had a reputation as being tough, and…
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Still Acting Like a Rookie
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Governor Glenn Youngkin does not seem to be a fast learner. He seems to think he is still at the Carlyle Group where the top brass announced deals and the rest of the organization fell in line. That’s not how it works with a bicameral legislature, especially when your party is in…
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A Nice Story Turns Out Not to be Such a Nice Story After All
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A recent podcast produced by VPM, Richmond’s public radio station, is both fascinating and disheartening. Admissible: Shreds of Evidence deals with the early days of the use of DNA as forensic evidence. In particular, it is the story of Mary Jane Burton, a long-time serologist for what is now called the Department…
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A Modest Suggestion
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Gov. Glenn Youngkin has taken a tough stance toward the Chinese. He has prohibited state agencies from using the TikTok platform. He wants to ban the use of TikTok by Virginia residents under 18. He championed legislation prohibiting the sale of Virginia farmland to Chinese buyers. Finally, he scuttled the location of…