Virginia Lawmakers Archives - The Virginia Star

Lawmakers, Advocates Concerned About Youngkin’s Restoration of Rights Policy

March 24, 2023March 23, 2023 The Center Square

Virginia lawmakers and advocates are raising concern about new policy changes regarding the state’s restoration of rights process, and arguing Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration has lacked transparency by not disclosing the criteria by which a person convicted of a felony has their civil rights restored.

Youngkin’s administration has made changes to state policy pertaining to how someone convicted of a felony in Virginia has their rights restored. Specifically, Youngkin’s administration is moving away from policy followed by previous administrations of automatically reviewing and restoring the rights of some formerly incarcerated felons.

Growing List of Virginia Lawmakers Not Seeking Re-Election

March 3, 2023March 2, 2023 The Center Square

More than a dozen Virginia lawmakers have announced the 2023 legislative session will be their last, revealing they do not plan to seek re-election this fall.

As of Wednesday, 16 lawmakers in the House of Delegates and state Senate had announced they would not be seeking re-election when all 140 General Assembly seats are on the ballot. Lawmaker retirements and the upcoming election mean the General Assembly will likely see some new faces next session.

Virginia Lawmakers Pass Solitary Confinement Bills, Advocates’ Concerns Remain

March 1, 2023February 28, 2023 The Center Square

In the final hours of the legislative session, Virginia lawmakers sent a pair of bills to Gov. Glenn Youngkin that would prohibit the use of solitary confinement in prisons without mandatory out-of-cell time, and stricter reporting requirements.

While the bills received bipartisan support as they advanced out of the General Assembly, the measures as-passed do not contain a key component advocates had pushed for – a 15-day limit on the use of solitary confinement. Without that provision, advocates fear the bill will allow the Virginia Department of Corrections to place people into isolated confinement for extended periods of time, so long as there is a review and daily out-of-cell time.

Virginia Lawmakers Support Banning ‘Foreign Adversaries’ from Buying Farmland

February 9, 2023February 8, 2023 The Center Square

A proposal backed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to prevent “foreign adversaries” from acquiring farmland in Virginia won support in the House and Senate this week when similar measures were passed in both chambers.

Two bills in the House and Senate – Senate Bill 1438 and House Bill 2325 – would prohibit “foreign adversaries” from purchasing agricultural land in the commonwealth starting this year. The bill defines “foreign adversaries” as any foreign government or “nongovernment person” determined by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to have engaged in “a long-term pattern” of conduct threatening national security.

Virginia Lawmakers Asked to Amend Spending to Address Education Funding Shortfall

February 3, 2023February 2, 2023 The Center Square

Virginia lawmakers are being asked to amend their proposed spending plans to address an error with a state calculation tool, that will result in schools across the state receiving millions less in state aid than they initially expected.

The Virginia Department of Education confirmed this week a calculation tool estimating the amount of state funding each school division will receive had an error. The tool did not account for funding changes after the state cut the grocery sales tax on Jan. 1, according to Charles Pyle, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Education.

Panel of Virginia Lawmakers Advance Stillborn Tax Credit Proposal

February 1, 2023January 31, 2023 The Center Square

Virginia could move to create a tax credit for the loss of a stillborn child under a measure advanced by lawmakers in a House of Delegates committee Monday.

House Bill 1915 by Del. Angelia Williams Graves, D-Norfolk, would establish a refundable income tax credit for individual filers or married couples filing jointly of $2,000 for the loss of a stillborn child. The tax credit would be available from 2023 to 2027, and the bill specifies the credit could only be claimed in the taxable year in which the stillbirth occurred.