Tag: Stephen D. Haner
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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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Hurricane Response Challenged By State Senators
On Monday, Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne talked about the cost of Virginia’s response to Hurricane Florence with little controversy, and that was before the storm spawned a series of tornadoes striking Mecklenburg County and Metro Richmond. Thursday, after Florence visited Virginia directly, he made the same presentation to another committee and suddenly ran into…
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VA CPAs Say Conform, Hold Tax Funds for Later
The Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) Monday called on the 2019 Virginia General Assembly to conform Virginia tax with recent federal changes, to track and sequester the hundreds of millions of dollars in higher taxes thus generated and to hold those funds for a future tax reform effort. Nobody knows these issues better…
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Chain Reaction: Tuition Rises Due To Higher Tuition
Increased pay for faculty and administrators is one of the major cost drivers behind the continuing climb in tuition and fee charges, a member of the House Appropriations Committee staff told that committee Monday. As those charges climb, the universities are also increasing the percentage of tuition revenue used to provide financial aid for students…
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Who Were the Puerto Rico 3,000; How Did They Die?
So, who were those 3,000 Puerto Ricans who died because of Hurricane Maria last year? What killed them? The storm down south and the controversy swirling over our illustrious President’s defensive tweet sent me searching for data. It turns out there is no list of names. There is no accounting of what causes of death…
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A Model Transfer Program That Should Be Copied
Under prodding from the General Assembly that goes back years, Virginia’s four-year institutions are finally developing an easier path from community college to a bachelor’s degree. Unfortunately for students, it is spreading slowly. Unfortunately for anybody obstructing the process, there is one place where the full potential is being realized and proving the concept. The…
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Looks like a Taking, Feels like a Taking
The parallel struck me early in the meeting – this is like the pipeline process. The people who want this bike lane are not deterred by what it does to the people and businesses directly on the route and disregard all concerns as unfounded. Of course, the property owners along Richmond’s Brook Road do not…
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Dump the Nonsense in Coming Conformity Debate
Mr. Chairman, I seek permission to revise and extend my remarks – in this case a guest column in today’s Washington Post on the topic of income tax conformity. For about a month now the inbox has been filling up with nonsense (and some wisdom) from across the political spectrum over the causes, impact and…
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Northam To Ask Again To Spend Carbon Fees
Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Matthew Strickler told a legislative commission today the Governor will again ask the General Assembly to keep and spend the proceeds of a new electricity carbon tax, rather than find a way to return it to ratepayers. Strickler pointed to Senate Bill 696 and its companion House Bill 1273, defeated…
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Steps Virginia Must Take to Tax Internet Sales
Conformity to recent federal income tax changes is not the only challenge (or opportunity, depending on your point of view) facing the 2019 Virginia General Assembly. It may also be asked to amend Virginia’s sales and use tax rules, so the tax can be demanded from out-of-state sellers. A recent review from the Tax Foundation…
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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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Micron Incentives Were Behind Layne Warnings
One mystery solved: Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne was probably talking about Micron Technology in Manassas on August 17 when he warned the General Assembly about some very expensive economic development incentive package not yet announced or accounted for in the Commonwealth’s budget. Layne repeated that warning during a discussion of tax policy yesterday with…
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How Many Students Are Not In Public School?
Sometimes what we don’t know is important. Sometimes what you cannot learn is the most interesting thing. As the public schools take their annual flogging over scores on the state’s Standards of Learning test, especially discouraging in high minority and low-income jurisdictions, a question came to mind – just how many students don’t take those…
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Bacon Bits: A.P. Hill R.I.P., Tax Cuts, Bike Lanes
This statue does have to go The tomb of Confederate General A.P. Hill in Northside Richmond is the latest to be vandalized by red paint or some similar substance, but in this case the argument to move the statute and the grave beneath it should focus on its status as a major traffic hazard. The…