Virginia Prescription Drug Affordability Bills Not Included in Latest Signed Legislation

Though lawmakers applied pressure to the governor this week by publicly calling on him to act, companion bills creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Board for Virginia were conspicuously missing from the list of 150 bills he signed on Thursday evening.

The Senate bill, introduced by veteran Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, is meant to reduce the price of expensive medications for Virginians. SB 274 would authorize an appointed board to restrict what the state and other payers pay manufacturers for certain drug products in the commonwealth. Those medications are then sold to wholesale distributors, government purchasers, or pharmacy benefit managers, next to pharmacies, and finally, to the consumer.

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State Senator Bill Stanley Filing Lawsuit on Behalf of NASCAR Driver Hermie Sadler to Keep ‘Skill Games’ Open

State Senator William "Bill" Stanley

On Monday, State Senator William “Bill” Stanley (R-Franklin) will file a lawsuit against Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring, and the Virginia Alcohol Beverage and Control Board on behalf of former NASCAR driver Hermie Sadler. Sadler, an Emporia, Virginia resident, wants the newly signed legislation banning “skill games” in the Commonwealth to be deemed unconstitutional.

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Virginia Abolishes Death Penalty

Virginia became the first state in the south to abolish the death penalty when Governor Ralph Northam announced Thursday that he signed twin death-penalty repeal bills introduced by Delegate Mike Mullin (D-Newport News) and Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax). Virginia joins 22 other states that have also repealed the death penalty.

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Virginia Legislators Expect to Legalize Marijuana in 2021, but Massive Changes Needed Might Slow the Process

It’s not quite a nonpartisan issue, but Virginia legislators expect an effort to legalize marijuana will receive enough bipartisan support to pass in the 2021 regular session. The biggest hurdle to the plan is the massive legislative changes that are required. Legislators have to choose how the cannabis business will interact with many sectors of business and government including banking, law enforcement, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Taxation, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority.

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Herring Quits Governor’s Race, Says He’ll Run for Attorney General Again

Attorney General Mark Herring (D) will run for a third term, and is canceling his bid for the 2020 gubernatorial race, according to the Associated Press.

In December 2018, Herring told the Washington Post that he planned to run for the governor’s seat, but in February 2019, four days after censuring Governor Ralph Northam for his blackface scandal, Herring admitted to having worn blackface as an undergraduate, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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Virginia Senator Bill Stanley Disturbed by the Duplicity of the Special Session

Tuesday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredericks welcomed Virginia state Senator Bill Stanley to the show to discuss the Virginia General Assembly’s special session and the destruction of downtown Richmond.

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