GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2019
Reporters-turned-delegates push for Virginia’s first shield law to protect journalists
Two former journalists want to give reporters in Virginia protections if they refuse to reveal confidential sources. Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, was the lead reporter of the Gainesville Times and Prince William Times in Northern Virginia from 2006-2015. Roem introduced the same proposal — called a shield law — last year, which was her first session […]
Surprise bi-partisan vote sends bill to raise minimum wage to full Senate
A bill that would eventually raise Virginia’s minimum wage to $15 an hour will go before the full Senate after a surprise bi-partisan vote Monday. “That Virginia is getting more expensive is something we need to look at as we go along,” said Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, who chairs the Senate’s Commerce and Labor […]
Waiting for help: Developmental disability advocates push for funding to meet an ever-growing need
Denille Francis spends a lot of time waiting, but without much hope. She waits to see if her 10-year-old son, Quinn, will ever get the funding he needs from the state. Quinn has Down syndrome and a host of other health problems. His therapies and numerous medical interventions are rarely covered by his private insurance […]
Virginia prison officials say they eliminated solitary confinement. Inmates say they just gave it a new name. ‘It’s all very Hannibal Lecter-ish’
Virginia prison officials say they’re on the leading edge of corrections reform for “operating without the use of solitary confinement.” But Derek Cornelison, a 34-year-old inmate at Red Onion, one of the state’s two supermax prisons in Wise County, says he and dozens of other prisoners have remained isolated in tiny cells for 22 to […]
Instead of getting rid of Virginia’s liquor ratio rule, senators have plans to change it
Virginia’s liquor ratio law will stay in place for at least one more year. The Senate’s Subcommittee on Alcoholic Beverage Control decided to scrap an idea that would have gotten rid of the ratio for restaurants that make $500,000 or more in food sales. “It seemed like a lot of people in the industry had […]
Lawmakers poised to tackle medical balance billing this session, but question of payment still looms
Earlier this year, lawmakers warned representatives from Virginia’s hospitals and health plans that if they didn’t find a solution to balance billing, the General Assembly would. And with a handful of bills filed, legislators appear eager to tackle the problem head-on this session. Balance billing occurs when an out-of-network provider bills a patient for whatever […]
Amendment to restore felon voting rights dies along party lines
By Katja Timm/ Capital News Service For now, Virginia will remain among a trio of states — joining only Kentucky and Iowa — with a lifetime ban on voting rights for people convicted of a felony. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections killed an attempt to allow Virginians who have been convicted of […]
Lawmakers have mixed reactions to governor’s address
By Corrine Fizer/ Capital News Service From attracting high-tech businesses to improving access to health care services, Gov. Ralph Northam’s State of the Commonwealth speech touted wins and legislative proposals that both parties celebrated, though Republicans blasted his ideas on taxes and spending. The 2019 General Assembly session marks Northam’s second year in office and the […]
Appalachian Power gets approval to sell 100 percent renewable energy to customers. Hold the champagne.
This week the State Corporation Commission approved a request from Appalachian Power Company to offer its more than 500,000 Virginia customers the option of buying electricity entirely from renewable sources. The sources will be primarily wind and hydro, with some solar to be added as it gets built. Participants who opt in will pay a premium […]
Before legislative session, a serving of eggs and a prayer for civility
By Evie King /Capital News Service As legislators, faith leaders and others tucked into their scrambled eggs and fresh fruit cups, two slideshow screens at the front of the room rotated Bible verses speaking to the theme of the 53rd annual General Assembly Prayer Breakfast: civility and reconciliation. Politicians who packed the ballroom at the […]
The story behind the certificate of need: What it is, why it exists, and why it has been a thorn in Virginia’s side for decades
Some lawmakers already sported wry smiles as Sarah Stanton, a staff member with the Division of Legislative Services, walked to a lectern in late November to deliver a presentation on Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need, or COPN, program. “Everybody’s favorite topic,” she said sarcastically, and both the crowd behind her and lawmakers on the Joint […]
LOOKING AHEAD: Coal ash cleanup, another fish fight and a potential mystery package on renewable energy
Last in a series looking ahead to the General Assembly session that starts Wednesday. Expect much of the environmental debate this session, for the third year in a row, to center on Dominion Energy’s plans to close coal ash impoundments containing millions of tons of the potentially toxic by-product of decades of power generation. This […]