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Virginia lawmakers pass bipartisan budget that leaves tax policy unchanged
After months of partisan combat over different priorities, Virginia lawmakers approved a bipartisan budget deal Monday with no major tax changes, funding boosts for education and mental health and salary increases for teachers and state employees. Both chambers of the General Assembly approved the new two-year budget plan by wide margins. In the House of Delegates, the vote was 94-6. The state Senate approved it 39-1.
Virginia lawmakers approve bipartisan spending plan
Weeks of Virginia state budget drama ended Monday with pledges of bipartisan goodwill as the General Assembly passed a compromise two-year spending plan that boosts funding for education and other priorities without increasing taxes. Votes in both the Senate and the House of Delegates were nearly unanimous. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who had raised the specter of an unprecedented state government shutdown by vowing not to sign the budget the legislature passed in March, rushed Monday to sign the new document after a special one-day legislative budget session.
GOP attorneys general, including Miyares, sue Biden administration over rules on gas-powered trucks
A large group of Republican attorneys general on Monday took legal action against the Biden administration and California over new emissions limits for trucks. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers is leading the group of GOP attorneys general who filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn an Environmental Protection Agency rule limiting truck emissions. … States that joined Nebraska’s latest action against the EPA [include] … Virginia.
Virginia Tech student helps lead push for women’s health legislation
At 20 years old, Aarushi Khanna played a central role in getting new legislation passed in Virginia. The Virginia Tech student is an ambassador for the Pad Project, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to menstrual products in places where supplies are limited, and to increasing education on women’s menstrual health. Khanna was one of several activists who pushed for the passage of House Bill 1221, which would allow for all schools in Virginia to provide menstrual education as part as overall health instruction for students middle school-age and up.
An inside look at how AP African American Studies is taught at one Va. high school
Standing in the front of his Lorton, Virginia, classroom in October, Sean Miller told his students that food would be a topic of conversation during the class period. He also said they would talk about the types of goods that emerged in ancient East and West Africa. Part of that would involve how the influence of gold shaped the development of certain African empires. But first, Miller advised the class to pay attention to the video he was about to play. As part of a conversation about the cultural implications of food, he asked the class the types of food they’d expect to see at a Black family reunion.
Republican group takes rare step of targeting GOP incumbent who voted to oust McCarthy
A political action committee that helps Republicans get elected to Congress is doing the unusual — spending more than $450,000 to defeat a GOP incumbent. That incumbent, conservative two-term Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., voted to remove former Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker last fall. It’s just the latest example of how money is flowing into races involving some of the eight Republican lawmakers who voted along with Democrats to oust McCarthy. About $3.3 million has been spent on ads in the Virginia race going into Friday, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact.
UVa Faculty Senate calls for an external review of May 4 clearing of encampment
The University’s Faculty Senate passed a motion at a meeting May 10 to call for a University-wide external review of the events on and leading up to May 4, when police forcibly cleared a pro-Palestine encampment outside the University Chapel. University President Jim Ryan and other administrators attended the meeting, where they answered questions from Senators, including questions regarding their decision to authorize the use of police force at the encampment. The Senate also discussed various senator-proposed motions regarding the events that transpired.
Yancey: From graduation walk-outs to police in riot gear, the campus protests in context
Virginia made national news over the weekend when some students walked out of the graduation ceremonies at Virginia Commonwealth University when Gov. Glenn Youngkin started speaking. Some left to express support for Palestinians, others protested some of Youngkin’s policies and still others the VCU board’s decision not to require that students take a course in racial literacy. Maybe some were protesting all three. This wasn’t the only school that saw some kind of protest at its graduation ceremonies — there were pro-Palestinian demonstrations at multiple schools across the country over the weekend. It’s also not the first time that students have walked out on Youngkin.
Why Fairfax schools may lock student cell phones up during class
To help curb the growing concerns of what kind of impact cellphones have on children in school, officials at Fairfax County Public Schools are about to explore ways to further limit cellphone access. During a meeting to discuss student policies on Thursday, the board approved a motion by Member At-Large Kyle McDaniel for the superintendent to develop a plan for secure cellphone storage, such as lockers or magnetic pouches. The board would consider the plan for the next school year.
What to know about Virginia’s newly revealed budget deal
It took a little while, but Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin have come up with a budget deal both sides can apparently live with. Legislative documents outlining the agreement were released Saturday morning to allow the budget to be voted on today when lawmakers return to Richmond for a special session focused on finishing the budget. The special session is happening because Youngkin and Democratic leaders spent months publicly sparring over budget priorities and didn’t come to an agreement last month under the state’s usual timeline to pass a budget.