VaNews
March 9, 2020

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** Virginia reshaped as Democrats put historic stamp on laws ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN AND SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Democratic legislators in Virginia have dramatically reshaped the state in two months, sweeping aside many of the state’s old business-friendly and socially conservative laws and replacing them with a broad, progressive policy agenda.
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** Virginia lawmakers decriminalize marijuana, legalize casinos as session winds down ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia's General Assembly plowed through a mountain of significant legislation on Sunday, going into overtime to bring the ambitious 2020 lawmaking session almost to a close. One day past its scheduled adjournment, the legislature acted on legalizing casinos, raising the minimum wage and giving localities the power to take down Confederate monuments, along with scores of other bills that had been jammed up as time ran out the day before.
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** Lawmakers approve casinos in Portsmouth, Norfolk, and 3 other cities ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

After years of trying, lawmakers struck a deal over the weekend to bring casinos to five Virginia cities they say are economically distressed and could be aided by the expansion of gambling. If the bill is signed by Gov. Ralph Northam, voters in Portsmouth, Norfolk, Richmond, Bristol and Danville will have the final say this November
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** General Assembly lets public employees bargain if localities agree ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia lawmakers signed off Sunday on a deal to potentially allow public-sector employees at the local level, including teachers, to collectively bargain. The agreement approved by the House of Delegates and Senate is a watered-down version of the measure sponsored by Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Prince William ...
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** General Assembly passes bill to raise minimum wage without regional differentiation at outset ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Virginia’s General Assembly passed legislation to raise the minimum wage to $12 over the next three years. The compromise between the House of Delegates and Senate to increase the minimum wage sealed another major accomplishment for newly empowered Democrats, who campaigned on raising the minimum wage.
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** Virginia’s first two cases of COVID-19 linked to international travel ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

Health experts in Fairfax County are releasing few details on the state’s first two presumed positive cases of novel coronavirus. But they did tell Virginians that the risk to the general population is “extremely low” in a news conference that left several questions unanswered, including the name of the cruise line on which the second patient — a Fairfax City man in his 80s — traveled before showing symptoms of the illness in late February.
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** Bill inspired by RTD 'Unguarded' series passes unanimously ([link removed])
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By BRIDGET BALCH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

State lawmakers have unanimously passed a bill to reform the state’s guardianship system in response to a Richmond Times-Dispatch investigation. The bill awaiting Gov. Ralph Northam’s signature would prohibit an attorney representing a health care provider or other entity who argues that a person is incapacitated and in need of a guardian from then serving as the person’s guardian, ...
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** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** One more day: assembly wraps up work after passing major measures ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

One of the most tumultuous and consequential sessions of the General Assembly in decades is down to one day. After 61 days of acting on a flood of far-reaching legislation, the Democratic-led assembly will meet Thursday to adopt a two-year budget and changes to the spending plan for the current fiscal year. The legislature also will elect judges to fill seats on the State Corporation Commission and the Virginia Court of Appeals.
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** General Assembly passes major bills in overtime after divided Democrats feud ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

State lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Sunday because they had to extend the General Assembly session to get their work done on major issues like collective bargaining, casino gaming and marijuana decriminalization as well as the budget. Newly empowered Democrats passed hundreds of bills this session, but it took until Sunday to pass some of the more significant ones subject to a lot of discussion and compromise.
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** 8 big things that emerged from the end of a historic Va. General Assembly session ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

As the overtime Virginia General Assembly session dragged on Sunday afternoon, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax told senators that math was not working in their favor. Given all the legislation left to vote on and the hours left before a 6 p.m. deadline, Fairfax said, the chamber could spend about seven minutes on each bill. At the pace things were going, he said, “a lot of stuff is going to die.”
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** Virginia will decriminalize marijuana possession for small amounts ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

In a historic shift that advocates say will prevent thousands of arrests, disproportionately targeting minorities, Virginia lawmakers voted Sunday to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Starting July 1, being caught with up to an ounce of marijuana will land you a $25 civil fine ...
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** General Assembly backs marijuana decriminalization for possession ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Possession of small amounts of marijuana in Virginia might soon no longer carry jail time or a criminal conviction, under legislation the General Assembly approved Sunday and sent to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk. The legislation would levy a $25 civil fine for people found with less than an ounce of marijuana.
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** Virginia to expand gambling options, legalize casinos ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Virginia lawmakers have approved a broad expansion of gambling options in a state that's been largely loath to embracing new betting options in the past. Lawmakers gave final approval Sunday to legislation to allow voters in Bristol, Danville, Richmond, Norfolk and Portsmouth to hold local referendums later this year on whether to approve casinos.
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** Casino legislation approved, heads to governor ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

The Virginia House of Delegates on Sunday approved compromise legislation to allow casinos by referendums, after sending the session into overtime when it was unable to complete its work by Saturday’s midnight deadline. ... The legislation would allow voters in five economically challenged cities — Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond — to choose if they want one privately owned casino to operate in each city.
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** Casino may snag plans for Rosie's in Danville ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

It’s a question of whether a company that specializes in the gaming industry would want to open two vastly different types of its own gaming facilities in Danville. The subsidiary that sought the referendum to allow pari-mutuel wagering in the city is owned by a company looking to build a casino here, the Danville Register & Bee has learned.
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** Legislators fail to agree on how to roll out redistricting amendment ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Legislation on how to roll out a constitutional amendment on redistricting met the ax Sunday when Virginia lawmakers adjourned without reaching an agreement — one that may not come unless voters approve the measure in a November referendum. The enabling legislation’s quiet death came after a high-energy showdown Saturday night between Democrats in the House and Senate, split over how to reform the state’s redistricting process.
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** Aird blasts backers of redistricting compromise ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

Friday’s vote on a Senate bill to establish a 16-member redistricting commission — half of whom would be legislators — puts “reality in the constitution” that minorities will wind up underrepresented in future legislatures, one local lawmaker tweeted Friday evening. “You want nonpartisan, independent redistricting, but you take a stand for a commission of legislators instead,” Del. Lashrecse D. Aird, D-Petersburg, said in her tweet. “This lets me know it’s not about fair redistricting reform at all.”
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** Virginia lawmakers OK limited public sector bargaining bill ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Virginia lawmakers gave final passage Sunday to a bill that would end the state’s outright ban on public sector collective bargaining and extend the right to local government workers if their locality opts in. The measure marks a historic shift in traditionally business-friendly Virginia but a mixed bag for the workers and coalition of labor unions that pushed for the change.
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** General Assembly agrees to back minimum wage increase ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY AND MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia’s lowest-paid workers will likely see their wages rise to $9.50 an hour by January under landmark legislation the Democratic-controlled General Assembly approved Sunday. The legislation would raise Virginia’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.50 an hour on Jan. 1 and increase it gradually to $12 an hour in 2023.
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** Virginia employers won't have to offer paid sick leave ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia employers will not be required to offer paid sick leave. The Senate did not vote on the agreement negotiators reached on Senate Bill 481 from Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, before the General Assembly session ended Sunday.
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** Lawmakers pass bill allowing Confederate monument removals ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Some of Virginia’s scores of Confederate monuments could soon be removed under legislation state lawmakers approved Sunday. The Democratic-led House and Senate passed measures that would undo an existing state law that protects the monuments and instead let local governments decide their fate.
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** Virginia lawmakers passed most of Northam’s gun control bills. Now what? ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

At a town hall in Hampton last summer ahead of a planned special session to address guns, Brian Moran, the state’s secretary of public safety, said Virginia needed to take a “holistic approach” to addressing gun violence. That approach, according to Democrats, included requiring lost or stolen firearms to be reported to police and giving localities local control over whether to ban guns in their government buildings.
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** Gas tax increase, bonds to fund I-81 upgrades, pass General Assembly ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

The General Assembly passed a major transportation package Sunday that will include an increase in the statewide gas tax and funding for improvements to Interstate 81. The gas tax will increase 5 cents this year and 5 cents next year, and then it’ll be tied to inflation in the future.
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** Virginia General Assembly approves higher gas tax, speed cameras and cellphone ban ([link removed])
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By LUZ LAZO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Drivers in Virginia will probably pay more at the gas pump starting this summer after lawmakers voted to raise the state gas tax for the first time in more than three decades. The legislation, which Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is expected to sign, would add Virginia to the dozens of states across the country that have raised the tax in recent years to make up for losses in revenue because of lower gas prices and the proliferation of more fuel-efficient vehicles, among other things.
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** Va. Senate revolts against bill letting police stop cars over seatbelts ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

One state senator compared it to authoritarian tactics he saw on a trip to Moscow. A different lawmaker told a harrowing tale of someone being interrogated on their way to grandma’s house. Another said the General Assembly was flirting with a “nightmare for Virginians.” The issue inciting the ominous talk on the Senate floor? Seatbelts. Specifically, a road safety bill that would have let police officers pull drivers over for not wearing one.
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** In the end, the General Assembly says no to class action lawsuits ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

A quiet effort to open the door in Virginia to class action lawsuits -- where lots of people with the same complaint against a company join together -- has died despite an impassioned plea about the state Senate's prerogatives. It's a story about some legislative game-playing that didn't quite work out.
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** Legislation makes mental health absences excused for students ([link removed])
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By JOSH JANNEY, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Legislation directing the Virginia Department of Education to establish guidelines to grant students an excused absence from school for a mental or behavioral health issue has passed both chambers of the General Assembly. House Bill 308 asks that the guidelines be distributed to school boards no later than Dec. 31, 2020. The legislation passed the state Senate on a 38-2 vote and the House of Delegates on a 59-37 vote.
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** Recovery high-school measure clears Assembly ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

A bill creating a regional recovery high-school program in Chesterfield County that would serve Tri-City area students cleared its final hurdle Saturday afternoon. The state Senate voted unanimously to accept a conference report that removed a Senate-placed fiscal provision. The day before, the House accepted that same report.
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** Energy bills keep power plant online to 2045 ([link removed])
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By JEFF LESTER, Coalfield Progress

The General Assembly has passed energy reform legislation that would allow the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center to stay in operation up to 2045. Friday, the Senate voted 22-17 to approve changes the House made to Senate Bill 851, including removal of a provision that would have closed down the power plant near St. Paul by 2030.
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** Lawmakers from area play big role in Richmond ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The General Assembly’s new Democratic majority pushed through most but not all of Gov. Ralph Northam’s gun control package, acted to make voting easier and moved to cut power plant carbon emissions. They agreed to raise gasoline taxes by 5 cents a gallon on July 1 and by another 5 cents a year later.
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** Clarke supervisor Mary Daniel appointed to be a general district court judge ([link removed])
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By MICKEY POWELL, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Mary Costello Daniel of Berryville has been appointed a general district court judge for the 26th Judicial District. Her appointment means she will have to resign as the Berryville District representative on the Clarke County Board of Supervisors to avoid a potential conflict of interest.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Despite 2019 law, some jails still don’t provide free menstrual products to female inmates ([link removed])
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By ALEXA DORIAN, Southside Daily

Despite the passing of a bill last year to provide feminine hygiene products to inmates in Virginia, many jails seem to not be aware of the change. . . . House Bill 83 was passed in 2019 that required the State Board of Corrections and the director of the Department of Corrections to adopt a standard procedure to ensure that female inmates would receive feminine hygiene products without charge.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Virginia's second case of coronavirus announced in city of Fairfax ([link removed])
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By SAMUEL NORTHROP, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia’s second presumptive positive case of the new coronavirus was announced Sunday morning by the Virginia Department of Health. The second patient, a Fairfax City resident in his 80s, was hospitalized on Thursday after beginning to experience respiratory symptoms on Feb. 28, according to the VDH.
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** Judge to Decide Whether NAACP Lawsuit Will Go to Trial ([link removed])
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By MEGAN PAULY, WCVE

A federal judge in Richmond will determine Monday whether a lawsuit to change the names of two Hanover County schools can move forward. Federal District Court Judge Robert Payne is expected to hear oral arguments from attorneys representing the Hanover County School Board and Hanover County NAACP before deciding whether it will go to trial. In a lawsuit filed in August, the Hanover County NAACP alleges the names of Lee Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School violate constitutional rights of African American students in the district.

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** Pantograph Labs
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** EDITORIALS
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** Expand broadband access ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginians welcomed the news last summer that the Federal Communications Commission had approved more than $84.5 million to expand broadband over the next decade to more than 32,000 homes and businesses in rural Virginia. But a new report from the company Broadband Now shows that the prospects for extending broadband to all the state’s rural areas are not as rosy as they might have seemed.
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** Preserve the Electoral College ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

A bill to enter Virginia into an interstate compact designed to bypass the Electoral College has been put on hold in the General Assembly this year. Under the compact, Virginia would join other states that agree to award all of their electoral votes to the presidential ticket that won the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
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