VISUALIZATION: SURGE IN CLOSE FLOOR VOTES

Most bills clear the Virginia legislature without opposition. But the number of relatively close floor votes is up this year, particularly in the House of Delegates, as newly empowered Democrats press their agenda.

VISUALIZATION: HALF OF BILLS SURVIVE 'CROSSOVER'

Tuesday was the deadline for legislation to pass its chamber of origin. More than 1,450 measures survived and now "cross over" to the other chamber for consideration before the legislature's scheduled adjournment on March 7. In the State Senate, Republicans may have given up control but so far their bill passage rate hasn't taken a hit.

GLUT OF LEGISLATION 'JUST OVERWHELMING THE SYSTEM'

Frustration with the legislative process is a bipartisan issue in the Virginia Senate. It boiled over on Wednesday, about 12 hours after the end of a marathon floor session that ended at 12:48 a.m., technically beyond the deadline for completing work on all Senate legislation at crossover of the 60-day session.

VA. HOUSE LEADERS’ DUELING SPEECHES PUNCTUATE POLITICAL TENSION

Virginia's Democratic makeover has generated moments of high drama, but on Wednesday two low-key speeches captured the essence of the state's political tension.

IN FIVE WEEKS, VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS RESHAPE DECADES OF STATE POLICY

The Virginia General Assembly passed bills to raise the minimum wage, let local governments remove Confederate statues, transform the energy landscape in response to climate change and grant legal driving privileges to undocumented immigrants. And that was just Tuesday.

THESE BILLS OVERSHADOWED IN VIRGINIA'S BLUE REVOLUTION

Del. Mark D. Sickles was describing a landmark LGBT rights bill on the House floor recently when he noticed a fellow Democrat waving at him — a signal that it was time to wrap it up. “Maybe LGBT rights are boring now,” Sickles (D-Fairfax) later quipped.

VIRGINIA BILLS WITH THE BIGGEST POTENTIAL BUSINESS IMPACT

Virginia is inching closer to raising its minimum wage, establishing a slew of new protections for workers and massively reforming its gambling laws — but even in a newly-Democrat-controlled General Assembly, broader reforms to the state’s economy didn’t find much success in the 2020 session.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS REMAIN DIVIDED ON HOW TO REFORM REDISTRICTING

The deadline to pass a constitutional amendment on redistricting is looming, and even as it appears the amendment has enough legislative support to pass, Democrats continue to be divided on the issue. Rifts are most apparent in the House

LAWMAKERS GIVE 300 VIRGINIA INMATES THEIR FIRST CHANCE AT PAROLE

Troy Ketchmore doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about what would’ve happened if his jury had been told parole was abolished in Virginia. Neither does LeMar Anderson, or James Carmack, two other inmates who were likewise convicted in the 1990s, after the state got rid of parole but before jurors were explicitly told that it was gone.

SPORTS GAMING BILLS ADVANCE IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sports wagering, like casino gaming, took a large step toward legalization this week as legislation advanced through both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly.

JANUARY REVENUES UP 8.7%, BUT WILL IT MEAN MORE TO SPEND IN BUDGET?

Virginia revenues continue to outpace the state’s expectations, rising 8.7% in January compared with the same month a year ago, and raising the possibility of additional money for the General Assembly to spend as it revises the current and next two-year state budgets.

VIRGINIA’S STILL SEEING BIG INFLOWS OF ESTIMATED INCOME TAX PAYMENTS

The checks that state financial officials have been keeping a nervous eye on are still flowing in — and in much bigger volumes than years past, which Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne thinks is a sign that Virginians’ investment, farm and small business income is strong and that he’s not simply seeing a tax-saving strategy playing out.

WILL VIRGINIA LAWMAKERS FINALLY AGREE ON A WAY TO END SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLS?

A cold war over how to stop surprise medical bills in Virginia has been dragging on for years. On one side are insurance companies. On the other are doctors and hospitals. Trapped in the middle are patients, who get stuck with expensive medical bills after finding out after the fact that they were treated by out-of-network providers at otherwise in-network hospitals.

SENATE OKS BILL HALTING LICENSE SUSPENSION OVER COURT DEBT

When Brianna Morgan’s driver’s license was suspended due to court debt in 2014, her life became more challenging. Morgan was pregnant at the time and had two children, which made it difficult to get around without a car.

VIRGINIA HOUSE AND SENATE PASS BILLS TO HELP FIRST RESPONDERS WITH PTSD

They’re the first to arrive, confronting some of the most difficult and traumatic situations. While they dedicate their lives to helping others, many firefighters and other first responders fight a battle of their own: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

NEW LEGISLATION COULD HELP PROVIDE A BETTER FUTURE FOR SEX-TRAFFICKING VICTIMS

When women are sex trafficked, they have to go to extreme measures to protect their well being. Whether it be stealing from a local store or identity theft, these crimes for survival can create a barrier for women once they’ve escaped from the control of their pimp. That’s because Virginia doesn’t currently allow for the expungement of past crimes if an individual was found guilty, regardless of the situation.

VIRGINIA HOUSE MOVES TO SCALE BACK STYROFOAM USE

A bill to reduce the use of styrofoam use by food vendors in Virginia cleared the state House with a 55-44 vote on Tuesday. Introduced by Del. Paul Krizek (D-Alexandria) and backed by Del. Ken Plum (D-Reston) who introduced a similar measure this session, the bill requires some chain restaurants to stop using styrofoam containers by July 1, 2021. All food vendors must phase out the use of the containers by July 1, 2025.

MINIMUM AUTO LIMITS WOULD RISE TO $35K

By a four-to-one margin, the Virginia Senate has approved raising the state’s automobile liability insurance minimum limit from $25,000 to $35,000. If the proposal becomes law, it would be the first change in the state’s auto liability minimum since 1975.

CLASSROOM HATE, ANTISEMITISM TARGETED WITH NEW LEGISLATION

Legislation making its way through Virginia’s General Assembly requires the state, among other things, to update a 2009 teacher’s manual with more relevant and timely information about the Holocaust, and revisit Standards of Learning when it comes to teaching about the Holocaust, slavery and the often ignored history of Virginia’s indigenous people.

SOME SAD TALES FROM THE PENINSULA INSPIRE PROBLEM-FIXING LEGISLATION

Shipyard towns know — probably more than any other — what breathing asbestos can do to a body, including the fact that one typical illness, the scarring of lungs that makes you short of breath, sometimes leads, many years later, to a deadly cancer.

VIRGINIA HOUSE PASSES BILL TO AWARD ELECTORAL VOTES TO WHOEVER WINS THE POPULAR VOTE

The Democratic-led Virginia House of Delegates has passed legislation that seeks to award the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate that wins the national popular vote in an election.

AREA REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS SAW MANY BILLS DIE BY TUESDAY CROSSOVER

A new majority in Virginia’s legislature has meant a new pace of work for many Central Virginia legislators — both for Democratic lawmakers, who have seen many bills successfully pass both chambers, and for Republicans, who have seen their legislation voted down.

HOUSE OKS BOND-ISSUANCE CHANGE FOR HOPEWELL

Hopewell City Council cleared a legislative hurdle Tuesday that would put the authority in councilors’ hands to approve bonds for public construction and improvement projects. The 99-0 vote in the Virginia House of Delegates on freshman Del. Carrie E. Coyner’s bill comes at the request of council,

LEGISLATORS HONOR WILLIAM H. GOODWIN JR. AS OUTSTANDING VIRGINIAN

Virginia legislators have honored William H. Goodwin Jr., a local business leader and philanthropist, with the 2020 Outstanding Virginian Award.

VIRGINIA LOOKING TO SELL CENTER FOR INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY IN HERNDON

The Virginia Department of General Services appears to be in late-stage negotiations for the sale of the commonwealth-owned Center of Innovative Technology (CIT) office complex and additional land parcels.

OFFICIALS TO STUDY JUDICIAL PENSIONS

Legislators hope by collaborating with the courts and the state retirement system they can adjust judicial pension formulas to attract more “seasoned” lawyers to the bench. Senators from both parties spoke as one last month to lament financial disincentives that keep many experienced private practice lawyers from applying for judgeships.

PROSECUTORS DROP MASK CHARGE AGAINST ONLY PERSON ARRESTED AT GUN RIGHTS RALLY IN RICHMOND

Prosecutors have dropped a felony charge of wearing a mask in public that had been filed against a woman at last month’s gun rights rally in downtown Richmond.

ERA DEADLINE: VIRGINIA CONGRESSWOMAN TO PRESIDE AT HISTORIC VOTE IN HOUSE

Four years ago, Rep. Jennifer Wexton was a state senator frustrated by Republican leaders in Richmond who killed her resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. On Thursday, the Virginia Democrat will preside as speaker pro tempore of the U.S. House of Representatives when lawmakers are expected to pass a resolution aimed at eliminating the deadline

BILL BANNING SALE OF ASSAULT WEAPONS HAS VIRGINIA GUN SHOP OWNERS ON EDGE

he Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill that has gun shop owners across the Commonwealth on edge. On Tuesday, lawmakers voted to ban the sale of assault weapons and ban high-capacity magazines. If House Bill 961 is signed into law, the store owner of CE Tactical in Suffolk said 85 percent of his gun stock will have to go.

REFORMERS FIND HOPE IN PROPOSED PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE

A public defender’s office is likely coming to Prince William County after getting overwhelming support from Virginia lawmakers in both chambers. Supporters of the new office say it could prove life-changing for residents of the county who can’t afford private attorneys. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has already signaled he would sign the bill into law. Prince William County has the second-largest population of any county in Virginia and is the only northern Virginia county without a public defenders’ office.

ABSENCES ARE UP AFTER RICHMOND SCHOOLS LAYS OFF HALF OF ATTENDANCE OFFICERS

Less than a year after the Richmond Public Schools laid off more than half its attendance officers, the number of RPS students missing more than 10% of school days is on the rise.

EDA PRESENTS ITS FINANCIAL FORECAST

Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Douglas Parsons during a Tuesday Board of Supervisors work session provided county officials with a forecast of the EDA’s financial needs. To survive through the end of this fiscal year, which ends June 30, Parsons said the EDA needs $633,176.

GIVE OUR SCHOOLS WHAT THEY NEED

Superintendent Steven Walts did something remarkable last week. For the first time in his 15-year tenure at the helm of Prince William’s school division, he presented a budget that reflects what he thinks the county’s more than 91,000 students actually need, rather than one that fits neatly into the county’s revenue projections for the coming school year.

VIRGINIA’S LURCH TO THE LEFT

Yes, Virginia, elections matter. You can observe the full effects of November’s shift to the Democrats in Richmond. It’s one party’s party. Thus, on Tuesday’s “crossover” night — when the session’s schedule requires all legislation to move from one side of the State Capitol to the other (House to Senate and vice-versa) — the exhortations of self-directed enthusiasm spilled out.

VIRGINIA MOVES INTO THE PRIMARY SPOTLIGHT

We are now less than three weeks away from the Virginia presidential primary. With Iowa and New Hampshire behind us, we now have clarity on this: There isn’t much, and probably won’t be for a while.

TURNING THE CORNER ON CRIME

We’ll put this as bluntly as possible: Anyone who thinks Danville is a crime-ridden city doesn’t know what he’s talking about. And Danville Police Chief Scott Booth has the data to back it up. For 2019, overall crime rates were down across just about all categories

GETTING AHEAD IN THE FINANCIAL AID PROCESS

As Virginia aspires to become the best-educated state by 2030, wise practices in paying for higher education continue to be of paramount importance.

SCHAPIRO: NAVY HILL AS STONEY'S FOLLY

Navy Hill is a mountain too tall for Richmond’s hipster mayor, Levar Stoney. Wounded by the $1.5 billion project’s collapse — and at a perilous time, nine months before his name is on the ballot for a second term — Stoney must rebuild relationships at a point when a savvy politician would be reaffirming them. This will embolden his adversaries. Among them: City Councilwoman Kim Gray, a possible opponent for mayor.

DEANE: A CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE TO FUND OUR SCHOOLS

Virginia’s first statewide system of free public schools was established in its 1870 Constitution, drafted by a legislature that included several delegates who had been born into slavery.

Deane is Legal Director of the JustChildren Program for the Legal Aid Justice Center. She is based in Richmond.

STEGMAIER: CONSIDER ALL IMPACTS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

Virginia’s teachers, first responders and other public servants work tirelessly every day, with unmatched dedication and professionalism. They deliver great public services and contribute to Virginia’s outstanding quality of life, business climate and enviable reputation for good government. Moreover, they accomplish this at a cost that makes taxpayers in other states jealous.

Jay Stegmaier retired as Chesterfield County administrator in 2016.