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Rozell: For Democrats, a chance to reboot
Candidates for governor in Virginia’s statewide election this fall are set. One way or another, the commonwealth will have its first woman chief executive — either Republican Winsome Earle-Sears or Democrat Abigail Spanberger. The entire GOP statewide ticket draws a bye on June’s primaries. Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is seeking reelection, has no primary challenger. John Reid has no challenger for the party's lieutenant governor nomination. That appeared to give the Republicans an early advantage by avoiding intra-party squabbling in contentious primaries. But Gov. Glenn Youngkin blew up the GOP unity when he hastily called on Reid to withdraw from the ticket and Reid very publicly refused.
Advocates celebrate Youngkin’s signature on ‘junk fees’ legislation
Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin and Democrats who run the General Assembly are working together to go after junk fees. Anyone who has ever ordered a meal online knows the initial price is not what you end up paying – not after the transaction fee and the convenience fee and all the other charges. That's why Jay Speer at the Virginia Poverty Law Center says it was so important for the General Assembly to take action.
Va. higher education institutions weigh in on Youngkin’s budget cuts
Governor Youngkin signed off on the budget on Friday and cut $900 million. Youngkin is pushing pause on capital projects at 10 higher education facilities, to the tune of over $600 million. Some of that money would have gone to Central Virginia Community College to renovate their Amherst and Campbell buildings. They were expecting an estimated $50 million in funds.
After another veto, Virginia Democrats vow to return next year with contraceptive protections
Governor Glenn Youngkin has again vetoed legislation Virginia Democrats say will protect abortion access from future U.S. Supreme Court action. Republicans feared it would open up doctors to legal liability, but the bill’s authors disagree. Senator Ghazala Hashmi told Radio IQ Monday that in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, states need to protect contraception in case federal protections are struck. But Governor Glenn Youngkin disagreed.
After Youngkin veto of data center bill, Democratic state senator says governor is ‘misguided’
A measure that would have required developers to study proposed data centers’ impacts on their surroundings has died, at least for this year. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, after a back-and-forth with the General Assembly, vetoed the bill late last week. Youngkin wrote in his veto on Friday that data center decisions belong in the localities where they are proposed. Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, said Monday that his legislation would have benefited those localities by providing important information.
Youngkin signs bill to protect local pharmacies in Virginia
Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed into law a bill that creates a single pharmacy benefit manager for the state's Medicaid program. The legislation, part of the Save Local Pharmacies Act, will take effect on July 1, 2025. The move follows a broader effort to rein in the influence of PBMs, which are third-party companies that negotiate drug prices between manufacturers and insurers. Some of the largest PBMs, including Caremark (CVS Health), Express Scripts (Cigna), and OptumRx (UnitedHealth Group), also own pharmacies, a practice critics say creates a conflict of interest.
Energy storage bills among Youngkin’s vetoes
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed legislation that would have raised the targets for how much new energy storage the commonwealth’s two largest electric utilities must propose adding over the next two decades. Energy storage facilities store electricity during off-peak hours when it’s cheaper to generate and deploy it during high-demand periods when it would be more expensive to generate otherwise.
Loudoun County school system investigates boys uncomfortable with female student in boys locker room
Loudoun County Public Schools has opened a Title IX investigation into three high school boys who said they were uncomfortable with a female student using the boys’ locker room. The Loudon County School Board policy allows students to use school bathrooms and locker rooms according to their gender identification, rather than biological sex.
Hanover sheriff appealing ‘secret police’ case to Virginia Supreme Court
Hanover County Sheriff David Hines is pursuing all available legal remedies in order to thwart a public records request seeking the names of his employees. Hines is appealing a ruling issued in February at Virginia's Court of Appeals, where judges ruled that Hines had to release the names of employees in response to a FOIA request from a private citizen. Hines has argued that he needs to keep the names private in order to be able to staff undercover operations, like drug buys and bodyguard details.
Loudoun County schools investigating student for asking why a female was using boys’ locker room
A pro-family, pro-faith legal group is representing a student who is being investigated by Loudoun County Public Schools for asking why a female student was in the boys’ locker room. The Founding Freedoms Law Center said Monday that its client, a high school sophomore, is facing a Title IX investigation for sexual harassment in Loudoun County. Title IX bars discrimination in education based on sex.