VIRGINIA LAUNCHES LOCAL GOVERNMENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Two local governments in northern Virginia are launching an exchange program with jurisdictions in southwest and Southside Virginia under a program initiated by Gov. Ralph Northam. The governor announced Wednesday that his local government exchange program will began on a pilot basis with an exchange between Alexandria and the city of Norton and surrounding Wise County. Loudoun County in northern Virginia will partner with the city of Danville.

VIRGINIA MOVES CLOSER TO TOTAL BAN ON USE OF HANDHELD MOBILE DEVICES WHILE DRIVING

Virginia lawmakers grappling with how to crack down on distracted driving Wednesday moved closer to a total ban on the use of handheld mobile devices while driving. The House approved legislation that would prohibit motorists from using cellphones and other handheld devices while driving; the Senate approved a similar bill last week.

ON CLOSE VOTE, SENATE PANEL ADVANCES NORTHAM-BACKED GUN BILL

The final part of Gov. Ralph Northam’s gun control package narrowly cleared a Senate panel on Wednesday. Senate Bill 67 from Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, would require that if a gun is lost or stolen, the owner must report the loss or theft to law enforcement within 24 hours of when that’s discovered.

HOUSE OF DELEGATES, SENATE PANEL VOTE TO BAN ELECTRONIC 'SKILL' GAMES

Thousands of electronic “skill” games would disappear from restaurants, truck stops and retail stores across Virginia on July 1 under legislation the House of Delegates and a Senate committee adopted by wide margins on Wednesday.

$15 MINIMUM WAGE LEGISLATION ADVANCES IN VIRGINIA

Democrats are one step closer to raising the minimum wage in Virginia. A bill that increases base pay to $15 by 2025 cleared a key Senate panel Wednesday morning, following committee passage of a similar bill in the House of Delegates on Tuesday. Virginia currently requires employers to pay the federal minimum of $7.25, the lowest in the D.C. region.

SALARY HISTORY WOULD BE HIDDEN FROM EMPLOYERS UNDER BILL PASSED BY HOUSE

Job applicants would no longer be required to hand over their salary history to potential employers under legislation that cleared the House of Delegates on Wednesday. Backers of the bill say salary information suppresses wages for employees as they hop to new jobs, especially for women. A number of states have passed similar proposals in the wake of a Massachusetts law passed in 2016.

SENATE BILL TO END VIRGINIA'S DEATH PENALTY CARRIED OVER UNTIL NEXT YEAR

A bill that would abolish the death penalty in Virginia was put off for a year on Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Arguing that innocent people have been sent to death row, that it is too expensive and that it is used only in third world and authoritative countries, Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, argued the death penalty should be ended

BILL THAT COULD LEAD TO EARLY PRISON RELEASES FOR NONVIOLENT OFFENDERS DELAYED FOR A YEAR

Consideration of a bill that might have had as large an impact, if not larger, on Virginia’s prison population than the return of parole has been postponed for a year. House Bill 1532, sponsored by state Del. Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, would increase the maximum amount of “good time” credit an inmate can earn

POT LEGALIZATION PUT ON HOLD

Possessing small amounts of marijuana in Virginia could soon no longer carry jail time or the potential of a criminal conviction under legislation cleared by a House panel Wednesday. The legislation would levy a $25 civil fine for people found with less than a half-ounce of marijuana.

STATE VEHICLE INSPECTIONS COULD BECOME LESS FREQUENT

Virginia’s state-mandated vehicle safety inspections may become less frequent. Right now, vehicle owners in the commonwealth are required to have their automobiles inspected once a year by a mechanic. The inspection fee for a regular passenger vehicle is $20....A recently amended House Bill 1414 now calls for motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers to be inspected within 24 months of the first inspection and at least once every 24 months thereafter.

BILL GRANTING LICENSES TO UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS ADVANCES

Legislation allowing undocumented immigrants to possess a driver’s license advanced in the Senate Wednesday. Senate Bill 34, introduced by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, would allow immigrants to obtain a driver’s license regardless of legal status. The applicant must prove they don’t have a social security or individual taxpayer identification number and submit a certified statement that their information is true. The bill had several amendments this legislative session.

HOUSE PANEL ADVANCES BILLS THAT COULD BOOST DOMINION OVERSIGHT

A House energy subcommittee on Tuesday night advanced several measures that could boost oversight over Dominion Energy’s profits and how much it can charge customers. One measure, the “Fair Energy Bills Act,” would require that Dominion issue refunds to customers for any excess profits the company charged customers over the four year period ending in July.

BILL TO CLEAN UP SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA COAL ASH ADVANCES

Legislation that would require the excavation of coal ash stored in Appalachian Power Co. ponds in Southwest Virginia is moving through the General Assembly. The legislation is centered on two coal ash ponds, one at the Glen Lyn plant in Giles County and another at the Clinch River plant in Russell County.

BILL TO PROTECT TWO CHARLES CITY GAS PLANTS FROM RGGI EFFECTS MOVING QUIETLY THROUGH SENATE

Even before legislation to bring Virginia into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative comes before the Senate, a bill to protect two planned new natural gas plants from its effects is working its way through the chamber. The measure from Sen. Lionell Spruill, D-Chesapeake, would order the state to give carbon allowances to any new electric generating plant that received an air permit and a certificate of public necessity and convenience before the state’s carbon regulation went into effect this summer.

BILLS ADVANCE TO GIVE COUNTIES SAME TAXING AUTHORITY AS CITIES

Virginia counties would gain equal taxing powers to those of cities in legislation House and Senate committees passed on Wednesday, but the two bills diverge on how far local governments can go in taxing cigarettes. The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted 14-2 to approve Senate Bill 588, proposed by Sens. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, and Barbara Favola, D-Arlington,

HUNDREDS OF LGBTQ ADVOCATES LOBBY LAWMAKERS FOR PROTECTIONS

The day after hundreds lobbied lawmakers on behalf of LGBTQ rights during Equality Virginia’s Day of Action, two significant bills advanced in the General Assembly to further protections for the state’s LGBTQ residents. The House passed a bill from Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, on Wednesday to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, insurance and banking.

TRANSPORTATION BILL COULD GENERATE MILLIONS, REVIVE LONG-SHELVED ROADWAY PLANS

John Watkins hasn’t regularly roamed the halls of Virginia’s Capitol building since he retired from the state Senate in 2015, so when he does make an appearance these days, you know it’s more than a courtesy call. Watkins arrived at the General Assembly last Wednesday afternoon prepared to deliver remarks in support of House Bill 1541, which would create the Central Virginia Transportation Authority and raise state taxes to fund projects in Chesterfield County and eight other Richmond-area localities.

EBBIN-SPONSORED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS WILL HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR

A proposal by state Sen. Adam Ebbin to move political races for statewide office and General Assembly to even-numbered years will have to wait until 2021 for an airing. Ebbin (D-Alexandria-Arlington) has offered a constitutional amendment that, if approved by two sessions of the legislature and then the voters, would have state elections coincide with those of federal races for president and Congress, with the changes phased in over time.

DISABLED STATE EMPLOYEES CAN’T SUE VIRGINIA FOR DAMAGES UNDER ADA

After several years of investigating child pornography cases, Antonio Passaro, a special agent for the Virginia State Police, had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and asked five times to switch to another division. “It’s a horrible unit to be in,” Passaro, a former state trooper from Virginia Beach, told The Virginian-Pilot. “To endure those images, day in and day out. I told them it was affecting me.”

MORE REPORTERS, EDITORS LEAVE THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT, DAILY PRESS IN LATEST BUYOUTS OFFERED BY TRIBUNE

The owner of The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press newspapers, as well as their community publications, has accepted buyouts from 20 people in its Virginia news operations as part of companywide staff reductions. Tribune Publishing announced in mid-January that it would offer voluntary separation incentive plans to anyone with at least eight years of work history with Tribune.

FORMER CADET SUES VIRGINIA TECH OVER BLOOD-PINNING SUSPENSION

A former Virginia Tech student is suing the university after he was accused of overseeing a Corps of Cadets blood-pinning ceremony last fall.

FORMER VMI STUDENT SUES SCHOOL, CLAIMING HE WAS WATERBOARDED AND PHYSICALLY ASSAULTED

A former Virginia Military Institute student claims he was waterboarded, physically assaulted and forced to wrestle another student while partially clothed during his first year at the school, according to a lawsuit filed last week.

NEW AREA CODE FOR HAMPTON ROADS WILL BE 948, STATE OFFICIALS SAY

Some Hampton Roads residents will soon have phone numbers beginning with 948 rather than the 757, according to a news release from the State Corporation Commission. The North American Numbering Plan Administrator recently assigned a new area code to the Hampton Roads area to “relieve the future exhaustion of phone numbers in Virginia’s 757 area code,” the release said.

POLICE CHIEF REDUCES FEES FOR CONCEALED CARRY PERMITS

Amid the frenzy of political activity surrounding gun rights in Virginia last month, Chesterfield saw two marked changes in concealed carry permit processing: a sharp decrease in the cost to obtain a permit, and a sharp increase in the number of applications.

THE POPULARITY OF GUN SAFETY CLASSES IN YORK COUNTY ARE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH

As the General Assembly continues the fight for, or against, stricter gun laws in the state, residents in York County are ensuring they’re ready. The York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office has been offering free handgun safety classes since 2016 but recently have added a daytime option to catch overflow from the fully-booked evening classes.

LOUDOUN SHERIFF OPPOSES RED FLAG LAWS

Loudoun County Sheriff Michael L. Chapman has said he opposes the “red flag” gun safety law moving through the state General Assembly now. County supervisors on Tuesday got a report on laws creating emergency threat orders of protection, or red flag laws, that allow authorities to temporarily confiscate firearms from people deemed a threat to themselves or others.

HE PROMISED TO RETURN A $10,000 CAMPAIGN DONATION. THREE MONTHS LATER, HE HASN’T.

Metro board member Christian Dorsey, who promised three months ago to repay a $10,000 campaign donation that violated the board’s ethics policy, has not yet refunded the money and is likely to be replaced as Virginia’s representative on the regional board.

FAIRFAX COUNTY WARNS AGAINST DANGERS OF HOARDING, OFFERS RESOURCES FOR THOSE AFFECTED

A Fairfax County, Virginia, agency has put out a warning on the dangers of hoarding. It’s not a problem in every neighborhood. But where hoarding exists, it’s a threat to the health and safety of the hoarder, family members and in the case of town houses and apartments, the neighbors. That’s the warning being put out by the county’s Department of Code Compliance, which answers 40 to 50 hoarding complaints a year. “All counties have this problem … and so everyone is tackling the problem,” said Rachael Perrot, the department’s supervisor and co-chair of the Fairfax County Hoarding Committee.

CITY WANTS ENCAMPMENT FOR THE HOMELESS REMOVED FROM SHOCKOE

With nowhere else to go, dozens of Richmond’s homeless have slept for months in tents clustered in Shockoe Valley. Since November, 91 tents have risen outside of the city-funded hypothermia shelter on Oliver Hill Way. Blessing Warriors RVA, a faith-based outreach group, has led efforts there, securing tents and steering aid to people living in the encampment in spite of warnings from the city.

COSTAR LOOKING ELSEWHERE AS NAVY HILL PLAN FALTERS

Richmond could be in jeopardy of losing an operations center for the commercial real estate analytics company CoStar Group Inc. and the thousands of jobs it would bring if the Navy Hill project is rejected.

NORFOLK DEPARTMENT HEAD IN CHARGE OF TROUBLED FOSTER CARE PROGRAM IS LEAVING

The Norfolk department head who’s in charge of the city’s embattled foster care program is departing amid an external review of the program. Stephen Hawks, director of the Department of Human Services, is leaving the position at the end of February. The move comes as a Virginian-Pilot investigative series has exposed a years-long pattern of mismanagement, retribution and poor performance in the foster care program.

LYNCHBURG POLICE CHIEF: NO VIOLATIONS OF POLICY IN PAST POLICE SHOOTINGS

The Lynchburg Police Department on Tuesday released the results of three internal investigations into officer-involved shootings during the past three years. Chief Ryan Zuidema met with members of the media to discuss those results and play footage from one of the shootings. For all three, he said LPD found its officers acted within policy — separate investigations reviewed by different commonwealth’s attorneys determined the officers’ use of force was justified.

STUDY: WORK BY INMATES PROVIDES $2.4 MILLION IN VALUE FOR DANVILLE

On any given day, motorists traveling through Danville can find crews of inmates clad in orange jumpsuits picking up litter, mowing grass or working along the side of the road. That work by the inmates of the Danville Adult Detention Center saves the city and estimated $2.4 million annually.

TAZEWELL RESIDENTS SOUND OFF ON VEXIT

Tazewell County supervisors heard public input and shared their thoughts Tuesday about a proposal for some Virginia counties to join neighboring West Virginia as a way to avoid new state gun control laws and other legislation the General Assembly is considering in Richmond.

LEGISLATURE IS NO PLACE FOR PRANKING

The General Assembly, the oldest elected representative body in North America, is a repository of long-held traditions and customs, as one would expect of any institution in the Old Dominion. Humor, sometimes ribald humor, is a tradition in the House of Delegates, more so than in the more staid state Senate. Few folks present in the House on Friday, the third of February in 2017, will forget when Del. Matt Fariss, a Republican from Campbell County, had the chamber in stitches

RELIGIOUS RIGHTS VICTORY FOR ELDERLY FREDERICKSBURG COUPLE

On Jan. 16, 1786, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, written by Thomas Jefferson, which stated that “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief...

YOUNG JOURNALISTS STILL NEED GUARDRAILS

As passionate defenders of the First Amendment right of free speech, it may seem puzzling that we also applaud the House Education Committee for amending a bill granting all student journalists in Virginia the same legal protections that professional scribes enjoy to apply only to college students.

AMBITIOUS TRANSPORTATION PLAN POSITIONS VIRGINIA FOR THE FUTURE

Was this supposed to be the year of a big bucks push on transportation — multimodal, no less? Apparently so. Things have moved fast in the General Assembly and if proposed road/rail/transit legislation succeeds, Hampton Roads may significantly benefit.

THE MORAL IMPERATIVE TO ADDRESS HIGH INSULIN PRICES

To understand the moral imperative of addressing high insulin prices, remember Josh Wilkerson. This past June, the 27-year-old of Berryville lost his battle with Type 1 diabetes. The Washington Post reported that for a time, his prescription-strength insulin was covered by his stepfather’s health plan. It regulated his blood sugar in as little as 20 minutes. At age 26, Wilkerson was bumped off his stepfather’s plan.

SCHAPIRO: DIVIDED DEMOCRATS COULD DOOM REDISTRICTING DO-OVER

Democrats in the House of Delegates met secretly in a windowless, underground room at the state Capitol Monday night. It was an appropriate setting, given what they don’t want the public to see: deep divisions over how to draw House and Virginia Senate boundaries now that Democrats again command the legislature.

CASEY: DAYS OF ONLINE CONCEALED CARRY CLASSES IN VIRGINIA MAY BE ENDING

After 11 long years, state lawmakers appear to finally be coming to their senses. They're closing a loophole that opened in 2009 and allowed people who had never touched a handgun to get a Virginia concealed carry permit.

BAKER AND CHIOTOS: REASONS TO BACK THE SOLAR FREEDOM BILL

Virginia’s state government should put the pedal to the metal (of an electric vehicle) on solar policy. The state has made great strides with developing solar in all corners, and now we can build on that momentum with the Solar Freedom Bill that has been introduced in this 2020 legislative session.

Baker is business development manager and Chiotos is energy efficiency director and solar PV consultant for Mountain View Solar based in Berkeley Springs, WV

LONG: LET'S NOT TINKER WITH LEGISLATIVE IMMUNITY

Del. Chris Hurst (D-Montgomery County) got himself in trouble recently with an episode of driving under the influence. But what really seemed to rankle feathers was the suggestion that, as a sitting member of the House of Delegates, he was let go by the officer because the Virginia Constitution required it.

Long is a historian, writer and educator from Salem.

JUDGES SHOULD DECIDE WHETHER YOUTHS ARE TRIED AS ADULTS

The Virginia House of Delegates just voted 99–0 to approve a bill from Del. Elizabeth Guzman (HB 477) to limit the authority of prosecutors and legislators to make decisions about whether youthful offenders should be tried as adults. The bill raises the minimum age of the alleged offender from 14 to 16 for cases that might result in “automatic” transfer to Circuit Court, and for cases over which commonwealth attorneys currently are able to determine where a youth should be tried.

Andrew Block is the director of the State and Local Government Policy Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law, and the former director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice

KREUTZER: PAYDAY LOANS VS. MAGIC WANDS

Wishful thinking solves no problems. Instead, laws and policies based on wishful thinking create problems, usually for the people the policies are intended to help. A Virginia delegate’s proposal to eliminate payday lenders is a case in point. Similar bans were implemented in Ohio and Colorado — both of which didn’t work.

David W. Kreutzer, Ph.D. is a resident of Virginia, a retired economics professor and a former senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation

MIX: FORCED UNION FEES ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH RIGHT-TO-WORK

Since 1947, the Commonwealth of Virginia has had a right-to-work law, which ensures that workers’ financial support of unions is strictly voluntary. But now, many Democratic lawmakers in Richmond appear ready to repeal the law that protects workers from forced union dues.

Mark Mix is president of the Virginia-based National Right to Work Committee.