In brief: Adjournment day, Short stay, Fashion Square buzz and more

Scandal marred It was the most eventful—and scandal-plagued— session of the General Assembly in recent memory. Over in the executive branch, Governor Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring’s past blackface antics were revealed and drew calls for Northam to resign. Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax faced accusations of sexual assault, which he denied and called […]

The work goes on: What’s happening in the General Assembly

With Richmond in turmoil over Governor Ralph Northam’s blackface past and assault allegations against Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, it’s been hard to focus on the legislature. But the session is halfway through, and February 6 is crossover day, when each house sends the bills it’s passed to the other chamber. Here are some survivors—and some […]

In brief: Happy hour, Master Charles, prof charged and more

Dead or alive Virginia’s General Assembly has been hard at it for three weeks now, tackling the 2,000 or so bills legislators filed. While most bills will die quietly in subcommittee, here are a few survivors—and committee casualties. Alive A judge has already ruled Virginia’s law that suspends driver’s licenses for unpaid court fines is […]

In brief: Killed bills, uneasy homage, big checks and more

Dead or alive The General Assembly has been in session two weeks, and it is whittling down the more than 2,000 bills legislators filed. Here are some bills that have survived so far—and others that were DOA. Alive An in-state tuition bill for undocumented students made it out of the Senate Education Committee January 8 […]

In brief: Unregulated militia, the sixth man and more

August 12 bills killed After white supremacists invaded Charlottesville with violent clashes that left activist Heather Heyer dead and the community traumatized, legislators carried bills to the General Assembly to give localities more muscle in avoiding such gatherings in the future. Attorney General Mark Herring also wrote a couple of bills to combat white supremacist […]

DOA: Gun safety bills die in subcommittee

Andy Goddard has been going to the General Assembly since 2008, the year after his son was shot four times in the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. In his 11th year monitoring the legislature and how it deals with mass murders and guns, not much has changed. “It’s the same old thing,” says Goddard, who’s the […]