Landes’ surprise: Move to thwart revenue sharing catches locals unaware

Albemarle hates it and Charlottesville loves it. But neither jurisdiction saw Delegate Steve Landes’ budget amendment coming that could scrub a 1982 agreement in which Albemarle pays millions every year to Charlottesville for the privilege of not being annexed—even though the General Assembly put a moratorium on annexation in 1987. “The county was only recently […]

Legal opinion: Don’t clutter the Constitution of Virginia

Virginia voters will notice two constitutional amendments on the ballot in November, and given past history, they’ll probably pass them, despite legal experts concerns that such amendments clunk up the state constitution. The first amendment on the ballot enshrines an existing right-to-work statute that prohibits employers from requiring union membership. The second allows spouses of […]

Winners and losers: The General Assembly is adjourned

Legislators in Richmond ended the General Assembly session one day early after passing a record $105 billion biennial budget March 11 and sending it to Governor Terry McAuliffe. Both sides of the aisle praise its passage, while regretting the what-might-have-beens. McAuliffe didn’t get the Medicaid expansion he wanted—again—but he commends the oft-contentious legislature for investing […]

Make the General Assembly great again

February 16 marked crossover, when each house in the General Assembly sends its bills to the other body. From the House of Delegates floor last week, House Minority Leader David Toscano chastised legislators who continue to try to curtail gay and transgender rights, saying such moves are bad for business, according to radio station WINA. […]

Toscano resigns, reconsiders House minority leader position

Delegate David Toscano made two surprise announcements within two days. On November 12, he sent an e-mail to the Democratic caucus in the House of Delegates saying he was stepping down as minority leader. One day later, he says he changed his mind “when my cell phone blew up with caucus members and federal and […]

UPDATED- Mass murder in America: What General Assembly candidates say

The slaughter of unarmed people has become a regular feature of American life. Relatively unknown Umpqua Community College in Oregon joined the body count list with nine gunned down in the October 1 rampage. President Barack Obama made his 15th speech on mass shootings since he took office, according to CNN. “We’ve become numb to […]