Category: The South

 

The South

Virginia (13), North Carolina (15), and Florida (29) add 57 electoral college votes to the total.

Despite Last Week’s Vote, Republican Party of Virginia Still Doesn’t Have a Clear Path to Nominate Candidates

Eric Burk

The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) still doesn’t have a finalized option for how to nominate its candidates, despite the final-sounding words of party officials last week.

The RPV State Central Committee (SCC) has decided to hold a drive-in convention at Liberty University (LU), but after a site visit with LU officials Wednesday, the RPV team determined that convention would not be feasible. In a letter published Friday, RPV Chair Rich Anderson renewed a call for a convention that would have satellite locations across Virginia, and announced that the SCC would hold another Zoom meeting to vote on an unassembled convention again.

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‘Ghost Gun’ Ban Fails in Virginia General Assembly

Eric Burk

The Virginia House of Delegates and Senate failed to come to a compromise over a ban on “ghost guns” – a nickname for firearms that are handmade, improvised, or otherwise assembled from unserialized parts. As a result, the bill died when the General Assembly session ended Monday. Although HB 2276 passed in the House of Delegates, senators worried that the bill could have unintended consequences such as preventing legally owned firearms that had been grandfathered in from being transferred to someone else.

A Senate committee had already changed the bill to allow possession of unserialized firearms, but still banned manufacture, sale, or transfer of the weapons.

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Virginia General Assembly Approves Moving Local Elections from May to November

Eric Burk

The General Assembly has passed legislation to move local elections for city, town council, and school board from May to November, starting in 2022. Proponents say the bill will boost voter turnout, especially among working-class voters, while many city officials say the bill is state interference that will lead to greater partisanship in local elections.

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New Mission PAC Hosts GOP Gubernatorial Forum

Eric Burk

GOP gubernatorial candidates Delegate Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights), Peter Doran, Sergio de la Peña, and Glenn Youngkin met on Zoom on Thursday evening to answer policy questions about school reform, fixing Virginia’s tax code, improving broadband access, and making Virginia more veteran friendly. The New Mission PAC hosted the forum. PAC founder Daniel Gade and former Delegate Chris Saxman asked the questions in a format designed to allow candidates to demonstrate policy positions without engaging in direct debate.

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Glenn Youngkin Creates Virginia Wins PAC to Fund Republican Candidates Across the Ballot

Eric Burk

Gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday he is creating a Virginia Wins PAC to fund Republican political candidates across the ballot in Virginia.

“Youngkin’s investment and fundraising will build a team of local and statewide Republican leaders to restore the Commonwealth, and counter the liberal agenda driven in Virginia by George Soros, who in recent years funded left-wing candidates and efforts aimed at transforming school boards and prosecutor offices,” a campaign press release states.

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Four Months After 2020 Presidential Election in Georgia No Chain of Custody Documents Produced for 404,000 Absentee Ballots Deposited in Drop Boxes; Fulton County One of 35 Scofflaw Counties

Tiffany Morgan

Four months after the November 3, 2020 presidential election, state and county officials in Georgia have failed to produce chain of custody documents for an estimated 404,691 vote by mail absentee ballots deposited in drop boxes and subsequently delivered to county registrars for counting.

As of March 3, only 56 of Georgia’s 159 counties have provided ballot transfer form data to The Georgia Star News. The number of absentee by mail ballots delivered to registrars in those 56 counties total only 195,309, or 32.5 percent, of the estimated 600,000 absentee vote by mail ballots deposited in drop boxes and delivered to county registrars and counted in Georgia’s 2020 presidential.

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Virginia General Assembly Postpones Marijuana Legalization Until 2024

Eric Burk

The Virginia General Assembly passed marijuana legalization bills on Saturday, a move that had been expected to make Virginia the first southern state to legalize marijuana. However, legislators from the House of Delegates and the Senate passed a compromise that delays legalization and retail sale of marijuana until 2024. The compromise, created in a conference committee, also requires another vote in 2022 to confirm parts of the bill.

While some legalization advocates said passage of the bill was progress, others criticized it.

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Delegates Receive $8,651 Average in Per Diems from 2021 Sessions

Eric Burk

Members of the Virginia House of Delegates earn $17,640 per year and a per diem of $211 while in session, including days off during the session. The per diem is meant to help legislators pay for housing costs ($145/day) and food ($66/day) while in Richmond, but legislators have continued accepting the per diem even during the virtual house sessions of 2021 and 2020. For the 2021 sessions alone, that added up to an average total per diem per delegate of $8,651 — over $800,000 for all 100 delegates, according to reporting by The Virginian-Pilot.

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Virginia General Assembly Passes Dunnavant’s In-Person Learning Bill

Eric Burk

For the 2021-2022 school year, Virginia’s schools will be required to provide both full-time in-person and virtual learning options to students, thanks to Senator Siobhan Dunnavant’s (R-Henrico) SB 1303. A bipartisan effort in the House Education committee led to a bill that passed out of the House of Delegates 88 to nine, and was approved by the Senate on Thursday 36 to three. Although Republicans weren’t able to get support for an emergency clause that would have triggered the requirements before July, Governor Ralph Northam is also calling for schools to begin phasing in in-person learning.

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Alexandria Collective Bargaining Proposal Would Not Allow Employees to Challenge Vote Determination

The Center Square

The City of Alexandria in Virginia is considering an ordinance to provide collective rights to workers, but the current proposal would not allow employees or the city government to challenge the determination of certain votes.

As it is currently written, the proposal would allow a labor relations administrator to determine the results of a majority vote in the following areas: a petition for certification without an election, certification by representation election and decertification. No person, whether it be employees or the government, would have the right to challenge this determination.

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Sen. Tim Kaine Discusses the $1.9T Relief Bill, His Lingering COVID Symptoms, Reflects on January 6th Capitol Breach

Eric Burk

Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) appeared on the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA) Patients Come First podcast on Sunday. Kaine explained two upcoming financial relief packages, provided an update on Virginia’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, and explained his Medicare-X Choice Act.

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Governor Northam Approves Cultural Competency Requirement for Teacher’s Licenses

Eric Burk

Governor Ralph Northam approved legislation on Thursday to require cultural competency training for educators to be licensed by the Virginia Board of Education. HB 1904, introduced by Delegate Clinton Jenkins (D-Suffolk), and companion SB 1196, introduced by Senator Mamie Locke (D-Hampton,) require that anyone seeking licensure or re-licensure must complete cultural competency training by the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year. Licenses with social science or history endorsements require additional training in African American history.

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GOP Lieutenant Governor Candidates Ramp Up Their Campaigns

Eric Burk

71 percent of Republican voters are undecided about the GOP Lieutenant Governor candidates; a recent Christopher Newport/Wason Center Poll found just eight percent of voters supported Delegate Glenn Davis (R-Virginia Beach), with Tim Hugo in second place at four percent. But the Republican Party of Virginia nomination convention is just over two months away, and the five candidates for the nomination are working to build the biggest list of delegates to the convention.

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Virginia General Assembly Kills Bill to Require Equal Educational Opportunities Across All Schools

Eric Burk

After passing in the Senate 34 to one, Senator Bill Stanley’s (R-Franklin County) constitutional amendment to require equitable educational opportunities in all Virginia schools was killed by the House of Delegates Privileges and Elections Committee. Virginia’s constitution requires that free school be provided for all school-aged children. Stanley’s bill SJ 275 would have added a requirement that those schools include “equitable educational opportunities” for all school-aged children.

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Virginia Budget Agreement Includes Five Percent Teacher Pay Raise, Tax Relief for Businesses

The Center Square

A Virginia budget compromise will include a 5% pay raise for teachers and tax relief for businesses negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic after several weeks of debate among lawmakers.

The budget legislation still needs to pass both chambers of the General Assembly, which is expected. Then, the bills will head to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk at which time he can choose to sign the legislation or propose changes to it and send it back to the legislature.

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Virginia General Assembly Votes to Remove Statue of Former Governor Harry Byrd, Sr.

Eric Burk

The Virginia Senate voted 36 to 3 Tuesday to remove the capitol’s statue of former Democratic Governor Harry Byrd, Sr. His legacy is marked by his expansion of Virginia’s economy and roads, and is tarnished by a battle to block desegregating schools. The House of Delegates had already voted in favor of the bill, HB 2208, introduced by Delegate Jay Jones (D-Norfolk.) Governor Ralph Northam is expected to approve the bill.

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Virginia Legislators Call for New Parole Board Investigation After More Details Leaked About Release of Man Convicted of Killing Police Officer

Eric Burk

Legislators are calling for a new investigation into alleged misconduct by the Virginia Parole Board (VPB). Last summer, a leaked six-page report from the Office of the State Inspector General detailed how the VPB violated laws and policies when, in April 2020, it decided to parole Vincent Martin without giving his victims the required 50-day notice. Martin was serving a life sentence for killing police officer Michael Connors in 1979, and was released last June. But a new 13-page draft of the report leaked this week, first reported by WTVR, revealing more details about the alleged misconduct by the board and by former Chair Adrianne Bennett, who is now a judge.

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Virginia Gov. Northam Relaxes More Outdoor COVID-19 Restrictions, Announces Vaccine Progress

Eric Burk

As warmer weather starts to tempt Virginians out of their COVID caves, Governor Ralph Northam announced another round of relaxed restrictions on outdoor activities, effective March 1. On Wednesday, Northam amended Executive Order 72 to allow up to 25 people at outdoor social gatherings, allows outdoor venues to have the lesser of either 1,000 people or 30 percent of their capacity, allows overnight summer camps to begin operations on May 1, and extends alcohol sales curfews until midnight, when restaurants must still close.

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Virginia General Assembly Approves Bill That Would Require Absentee Provisions at Conventions

Eric Burk

The Senate and the House of Delegates passed HB 2020, a bill that, after it goes into effect in 2024, could effectively ban completely in-person nominating conventions like the one the Republican Party of Virginia is planning to hold this year. On Tuesday, the Senate passed their version of the bill, and on Wednesday, the House approved the Senate’s changes. Sponsor Delegate Dan Helmer (D-Check) said the bill isn’t meant to target any specific process, but rather to ban processes that don’t allow legitimate voters to participate.

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Virginia Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics Releases Stunning Effects of COVID Lockdown on Children

Peter D'Abrosca

The Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released the results of a survey about the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on children in the state, which it calls “alarming.”

“In the nine months since the issuance of the COVID-19 emergency declaration, our patients have experienced a major disruption in their lives, including disruptions to academic structure, participation in activities, peer interactions, lifestyle, and overall physical and emotional health,” the group explained. “To better identify and address the concerns of our patients and providers in Virginia, the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics conducted a survey in December 2020 of 203 pediatric providers in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

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DoorDash Giving $3,500 Grants to Small Virginia Restaurants

Eric Burk

Food delivery service DoorDash is giving about 125 small Virginia restaurants $3,500 each in partnership with the Virginia Restaurant Lodging Travel Association (VRLTA) but time is running out — the deadline to apply for the grant is 5 p.m. March 1.

“Virginia’s restaurants have faced unprecedented challenges the past year,” VRLTA President Eric Terry said in a press release. “DoorDash’s donation to the state’s restaurant relief efforts will offer much-needed help to small businesses.”

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Georgia Senate Approves Election Reform Package, Including Absentee Ballot Signature-Match Overhaul

The Center Square

The Georgia Senate approved four measures Tuesday that make changes to the election process as a response to November’s presidential election.

Georgia gained national attention after a close presidential election prompted three recounts and lawsuits and threats from former President Donald Trump’s campaign and supporters. Several questions and allegations arose from Georgia’s absentee-ballot process.

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Virginia General Assembly Approves Styrofoam Ban

Eric Burk

The General Assembly passed a polystyrene (Styrofoam) ban for serving food in restaurants and similar vendors in Virginia. The bill, passed on Wednesday, will first take effect in July 2023 to large vendors with more than 20 locations; in July 2025, it will apply to all vendors, although vendors can apply for temporary exemptions to their localities. Violation can result in a $50 per day fine.

Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) pushed HB 1902 in the Senate as a compromise to allow the House of Delegates to pass a bill adjusting regulation of new recycling technology. Republicans opposed the polystyrene ban, saying it would harm small businesses, but supported Senator Emmet Hanger’s (R-Augusta) advanced recycling regulation bill.

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Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee Kills Ban on Cyber Flashing

Eric Burk

Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler’s (D-Virginia Beach) HB 2254 passed with unanimous support in the House of Delegates. The bill would ban people from sending unsolicited obscene images to others. But after the House sent the bill to the Senate, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted eight to five to table the bill February 17, citing concerns that the bill could be applied too broadly.

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Virginia GOP Leadership Votes to Hold Drive-In Convention at Liberty University

Eric Burk

The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC) voted 37 to 31 to issue a call for an in-person drive-in-style nominating convention to be held at Liberty University (LU) on May 8 at 9 a.m. Before passing that vote, the SCC voted against changing party rules to allow an unassembled convention, and voted against holding a canvass. The nearly four-hour-long Tuesday evening Zoom meeting hit the same notes of exasperation as previous SCC Zoom meetings and again highlighted a sharp divide between the pro-convention faction, led in the meeting by Mike Ginsburg, and the pro-primary faction, led in the meeting by Jeff Ryer.

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Dunnavant’s In-Person Learning Bill Moves out of Committee

Eric Burk

The House Education Committee voted Monday to approve changes to Senator Siobhan Dunnavant’s (R-Henrico) bill to require schools to provide in-person learning. After passing the Senate with bipartisan support, the House of Delegates Education Committee proposed a substitute that Republicans said would have effectively left the status quo intact. However, Dunnavant worked with the committee to create a new substitute including specific definitions for the in-person requirement, creating a compromise bill that received bipartisan support in the committee. The bill would be effective for the 2021-2022 school year — efforts to give the bill emergency status were shot down.

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Virginia Bill to Allow Absentee Ballot Distribution by Contractors Heads to Governor’s Desk

Virginia Star Staff

Legislation that would allow third-party contractors to handle the distribution of absentee ballots is headed to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk as other voting reforms await further action.

Senate Bill 1239, sponsored by Sen. John Bell, D-Broadlands, would allow general registrars to contract to these third parties for printing, assembling and mailing the ballots. This would not allow third parties to handle ballots that have already been cast. The Democratic-led bill passed with some bipartisan support, clearing the Senate 27-12 and the House of Delegates 70-30.

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General Assembly Votes to Make Virginia First Southern State to Abolish Death Penalty

Eric Burk

The Virginia General Assembly passed a death penalty repeal on Monday. Governor Ralph Northam is expected to sign the bills, which would make Virginia the first state in the South to ban capital punishment. Advocates have argued that the death penalty is vulnerable to wrongful conviction, is expensive, cruel, and applied unfairly, but opponents say some of the most heinous crimes require a death penalty to make sure the criminal doesn’t get free. During the 2021 session, House Republicans have emphasized the names of victims of particularly serious crimes, who they say are being ignored by Democrats.

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General Assembly Passes Bill to Study Gold Mining, but Removes Gold Mine Moratorium

Eric Burk

The General Assembly passed HB 2213, Delegate Elizabeth Guzman’s (D-Prince William) bill to create a work group of scientists, local representatives, activists and state officials to study the impacts of gold mining. Although the bill originally included a two-year moratorium on permits for new gold mines bigger than 10 acres, the Senate removed that clause before passing the bill Tuesday 23 to 16. The House passed the amended version Thursday 56 to 43, sending it to the Governor for final approval.

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Virginia Poised to Mandate ‘Cultural Competency’ Evaluation, Black History Training for Teachers

Virginia Star Staff

A pair of bills that recently cleared the Virginia state legislature will mandate that all teachers in the state undergo “cultural competency” training, with history and social science teachers required to undertake additional training regarding African-American history.

The bills, one in the state House of Delegates and one in the Senate, would add “cultural competency” evaluations to the standard slate of regular evaluations to which teachers in the commonwealth are subject and require “each teacher and any other school board employee holding a license issued by the [state Board of Education] to complete cultural competency training, in accordance with guidance issued by the Board, at least every two years.”

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Senator Amanda Chase Still Dominates Virginia Gubernatorial Conversation as Other Candidates Announce New Policy Plans, Make Campaign Stops

Eric Burk

More gubernatorial polls this week show most voters are undecided, allowing contest leaders to continue to claim front-runner status while allowing everybody else to claim theoretical wins. But there’s more gubernatorial news than that — this week’s campaign news features new policy announcements, major endorsements, messaging controversy, and a late-night television mention.

First, the poll: 49 percent of Democratic voters and 55 percent of Republican voters are undecided, according to a Christoper Newport University/Wason Center Poll. Former Governor Terry McAuliffe leads Democrats with 26 percent, while Senator Amanda Chase leads Republicans with 17 percent.

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As High School Football Begins, Northam Allows up to 250 Spectators at Outdoor Sports

Eric Burk

Governor Ralph Northam released an amended Executive Order 72 that allows outdoor sports to have up to 250 spectators or 30 percent of venue capacity, whichever is less, effective Monday. The February 17 amendment modifies language that previously allowed just two guests per player, up to 30 percent of venue capacity. Indoor sports are still limited to 25 persons per field.

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Bill to Ban Guns Near Polling Places Heads to Virginia Gov. Northam’s Desk

The Center Square

Legislation that would prohibit most people from possessing guns near a polling place passed the Virginia Senate on Thursday and is heading to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk for his signature.

If signed into law, House Bill 2081, sponsored by Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, would prohibit knowingly possessing firearms within 40 feet of the locations beginning one hour before polls are open and an hour after they close. Violation would be a Class 1 misdemeanor if convicted, which is punishable by up to 12 months in jail, a fine up to $2,500 or both.

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PPP Loan Tax Exemption Bills Go into Conference in Virginia General Assembly

Eric Burk

The General Assembly has so far failed to find middle ground for tax breaks on forgiven Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loans, and will now form a committee of three senators and three delegates to reconcile differences between the two chambers.

While a Senate bill calls for a $100,000 cap on income deductions claimed under PPP expenditures, the House of Delegates bill calls for only a $25,000 cap. When the two chambers considered each other’s bills, the House modified SB 1146 to a $25,000 cap, while the Senate amended HB 1935 to a $100,000 cap. After passing the modified versions, both chambers then rejected the modified versions of their original bills. On Friday, the two chambers agreed to form a conference committee to work together to create a bill that can pass both chambers.

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Bipartisan Effort to Create an In-Person Learning Bill Slowly Moving Through the Virginia General Assembly

Eric Burk

Senator Siobhan Dunnavant’s (R-Henrico) SB 1303 requiring schools to provide both in-person and virtual learning options is still moving through the House of Delegates, but slowly. Dunnavant’s bill earned bipartisan support in the Senate, thanks in part to support from Senators Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) and Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond.) But a House Education subcommittee initially introduced several amendments to the bill that would effectively leave the status quo intact, prompting opposition from House Republicans

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Virginia GOP Fights off Two More Attempts to Block a Nominating Convention

Eric Burk

Two attempts to force the Virginia GOP to reconsider its decision to hold a convention failed this week, the latest scene in the ongoing drama among the party’s leadership.

The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC) has voted to hold a nominating convention. Because the SCC can’t muster the three-fourths approval needed to declare an unassembled convention, it is stuck with a default in-person convention. The SCC has spent months rehashing the decision in formal Zoom meetings and private discussions.

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Virginia Man Sentenced to Three Years for Driving Through BLM Protest

Peter D'Abrosca

A Virginia man was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to charges stemming from driving through a crowd of Black Lives Matter protestors last year. 

Emmanuel “Manny” Wilder pleaded guilty to failure to appear, reckless driving, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace, according to WAVY. Wilder did not hit anyone during the incident. 

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A More Restrained Bicycling Safety Act Passes the Virginia Senate

Eric Burk

Delegate Chris Hurst’s (D-Montgomery) Bicycling Safety Act passed the Senate on Wednesday. The Senate version of the bill focuses on increasing passing safety. It requires drivers to move over a lane if there isn’t room to pass bicyclists by three feet, and it also allows two bicyclists to ride side-by side in a lane. It also creates a study of the potential effects of a ‘Safety Stop,’ a traffic law that would allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields under certain conditions.

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General Assembly Advances Bills That Allow Abortion Coverage in Health Care Plans on Commonwealth Exchange

Eric Burk

The House of Delegates has approved SB 1276, a bill that allows abortions to be included in coverage from private insurance companies listed on the commonwealth’s healthcare exchange. On Thursday, the Senate passed a companion bill, HB 1896, 22 to 17.

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Virginia House Passes Same-Sex Marriage-Ban-Repeal Bill SJ 270, But the Constitutional Amendment Still Has a Long Road Ahead

Eric Burk

The Virginia General Assembly has taken another step towards repealing the one-man-and-one-woman marriage clause from the Virginia Constitution. On Monday, the House of Delegates passed Senator Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) SJ 270 in a bipartisan vote.

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Virginia Senate and House Disagree over How to Restore Felon Voting Rights

Eric Burk

The Senate and the House of Delegates face a disagreement over constitutional amendments to end felon disenfranchisement. SJ 272, introduced by Senator Mamie Locke (D-Hampton) and HJ 555, introduced by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria) both effectively restore felon voting rights after the term of imprisonment is completed. However, the two bills feature different language, and on Wednesday, the Senate shot down an attempt by the House to change SJ 272 to match HJ 555. Now, the two chambers will attempt to draft a compromise bill in conference.

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Virginia GOP State Central Committee Bypasses Chairman Anderson, Calls for Saturday Meeting to Vote on a Nomination Canvass

Eric Burk

On Saturday more shots were fired in the ongoing battle between the pro-primary minority and pro-convention majority factions of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC). Over one-third of the 72 SCC members called for a meeting to vote on a party canvass this Saturday, February 20. By banding together to issue the call, the minority bypasses Chairman Rich Anderson, who had called for a meeting February 27, four days after a deadline to call for a state-run primary to nominate the party’s candidates for 2021.

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Gubernatorial Candidate Youngkin Announces Plan for an Election Integrity Task Force

Eric Burk

Citing a need to restore trust in elections, gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin announced an Election Integrity Task Force on Monday.

“This is not a Democrat issue or a Republican issue, it’s a democracy issue,” Youngkin said in a press release. “Both parties have long raised concerns, and we must restore Americans’ faith in the integrity of our elections.”

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Virginia COVID Vaccine Registration Site Launched, Immediately Crashes

Peter D'Abrosca

A website launched by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Tuesday allowing residents to register online to receive the COVID-19 vaccine immediately crashed due to high volume.

“The website was crashing early Tuesday morning, but was still working for some people,” WAVY reported. “As of 10:30 a.m., the issues appeared to have mostly subsided.”

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Huge Rise in Failing Grades in Lynchburg Blamed on Remote Learning

Peter D'Abrosca

An investigative report shows a massive uptick in failing grades in Lynchburg high schools, which parents are blaming on remote and hybrid learning during the COVID-19 school shutdowns. 

ABC13 asked Lynchburg City Schools for grade reports from the first quarter of the 2019-2020 school year, and grade reports for the same time period during the 2020-2021 school year.

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General Assembly Votes to Give Virginia Teachers a Raise, Senate Passes In-Person Learning Bills

Eric Burk

The House of Delegates and the Senate both voted to give Virginia teachers’ a pay raise in the budget bills passed with bipartisan support Friday. HB 1800, passed 68 to 30, features a five percent teachers’ raise for Fiscal Year 2022, while its counterpart SB 1100, which features a three percent teachers’ raise, passed 31 to eight. The Senate also passed an amendment to the budget that requires schools to provide in-person learning options in 2021-2022; however, the House defeated a similar floor amendment on Friday.

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State Senators Dunnavant, Petersen Call for Education Reserve Corps to Address Looming School Staffing Shortage in Virginia

Eric Burk

Citing school staffing shortages, Senators Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) and Siobhan Dunnavant (R-Henrico) are proposing the creation of an Education Reserve Corps in Virginia.

“As we’ve known, other than getting people vaccinated and keeping them alive, the most important issue, and we’ve been consistent about this, is reopening schools,” Petersen said on the Senate floor on Monday. He pointed to staffing parallels in the medical field.

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Bill to Ban Guns at Polling Places Passes Virginia Senate Committee

Peter D'Abrosca

A bill that would ban guns within 40 feet of any polling place in Virginia passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday. 

“My Safe Elections Bill (HB2081), banning guns at polling places and vote counting centers, just passed the Senate Judiciary Committee! This bill protects both voters and election workers from intimidation. Those with guns don’t make the rules. Voters do,” Delegate Mark Levine (D-VA-45) said on Twitter.

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