Tag: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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Juicy Supreme Court Arguments on Tap Today
For those of you who might be interested, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today on cases involving access to Trump financial documents. The arguments will be held by telephone and will be available for the public to listen to live. First up will be two cases (consolidated) dealing with whether Congress can…
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U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments
The COVID-19 crisis has upended many traditions. One such upended tradition is the live broadcast of U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments. The Court took some time off in March and April, postponing oral arguments. Now, it has resumed them, but the members, most of whom are in the “vulnerable” stage, are conducting the arguments by…
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Getting Out of Prison Early
By Dick Hall-Sizemore As part of the response to the novel coronavirus crisis, the General Assembly accepted amendments to the budget bills for the current year and the upcoming biennium, proposed by the Governor, authorizing the Department of Corrections (DOC) to release early from incarceration offenders with less than a year to serve on their…
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COVID-19 in Prison
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The latest DOC report shows an increase in the number of offenders testing positive for the novel coronavirus. There were a total of 147 incarcerated with a positive test, with nine of those in a hospital, compared to 116 and 8, respective, in the prior day’s report. Central Virginia Correctional Unit, the…
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A Break from COVID — Gambling
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The Governor is in a tug-of-war with his Democratic colleagues in the General Assembly. The objects of their contention are the so-called “skill games” (also sometimes called “gray machines”). The skill games are video games now found in numerous truck stops and convenience stores that offer a cash prize to the winners.…
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Stop Gap Budget Amendments
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Not surprisingly, the Governor did not try to re-write the budget in the reconvened session. There is just not enough information available now regarding the extent to which state revenues will be affected by the economic downturn brought on by the novel coronavirus. Using the process set out in the Appropriation Act…
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Juvenile Center New COVID-19 Hotspot
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The Department of Juvenile Justice has announced that 25 juvenile offenders have tested positive for COVID-19. That is 12.5% of the population of 200 housed at the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Chesterfield County. The announcement was made only after advocates for juveniles cited reports of numerous offenders in the facility…
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A National Strategy for COVID-19 Testing
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The President does not seem able to formulate a national strategy for COVID-19 testing. So, I am proposing one: Say to Abbot Laboratories, “Here is $1 billion. Turn over the rights to your new testing machine to the government.” Say to Abbot Laboratories, “Here is $100 million. Train an army of technicians…
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Early Prisoner Release Will Not Help Much
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Governor Ralph Northam has announced that he will ask the General Assembly for authority to release from prison those offenders with a year or less to serve on their sentences in order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in prisons. He stressed that only those who have demonstrated good behavior and…
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The Budget Sausage Factory
by Dick Hall-Sizemore I have been going through the individual budget amendments adopted by the General Assembly. I admit it — I am a budget nerd who finds this stuff interesting. Plus, in this instance, my immersion into budget wonkery had the advantage of providing a diversion from the omnipresent discussion of the coronavirus. Budgets…
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Buying Time to Fix the Budget Hole
by Dick Hall-Sizemore To deal with the virus-created budget crisis in the short term, the Northam administration has announced sort of a “time out.” According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the plan will consist of two primary components: freezing all new spending and diverting planned deposits in the cash reserve to pay for essential services in…
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New Budget Woes
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The outlook for the state budget gets grimmer. The most immediate concern is the budget for the current year. The state collects about a third of its fiscal year revenue in the last quarter (April-June). Income tax filings and payments are usually due May 1. (This year the payments can be delayed…
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A Capital Idea
By Dick Hall-Sizemore As a diversion from the coronavirus story, as well as an effort to give you a little more variety, the following is my previously promised summary of the General Assembly’s changes to the capital budget. (It was only a little over two weeks ago that the legislature adjourned, but it seems much…
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Help for the State Budget
In answer to some calls on this blog for immediate adjustments to the state budget, my response was: Don’t panic. There is a process already in place to deal with such a situation. Now, there is even less reason to panic. It is reported that the Commonwealth will receive at least $1.5 billion from the…
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Hospitals in Quandary
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Washington Post has reported that hospitals are struggling with their cash flow due to the coronoavirus crisis. As a result, they are asking Congress for emergency aid. The American Hospital Association is calling for $100 billion and the Federation of American Hospitals, the trade group for for-profit hospitals asked for $225…