State and National Government
Virginia’s US Senators think more American dollars need to be spent to help Ukraine retain its sovereignty. WFIR’S Camden Lazenby has more.
Virginia Tech Professor and WFIR Political Analyst Bob Denton says if the U.S. Supreme Court does indeed overturn Roe v. Wade, it will have significant implications for Virginia politics in the years just ahead. The draft opinion made public Monday suggests the court is poised to overturn the landmark case and would leave it up to states to decide how abortion should be regulated within their borders. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement in a civil complaint against a Virginia county and the state’s retirement system over the employment rights of a Virginia Army National Guard soldier.
His rights were guaranteed under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, according to a Justice Department news release on Friday.
In its complaint, the federal government said Guard Maj. Mark Gunn had been a Prince George County Police Department detective for 14 years when, in January 2016, he was called to active duty. The Justice Department also alleged that when Gunn returned from active duty service, the county refused to allow him to return to his detective position and assigned him to a patrol unit officer position.
Also, the complaint said the county denied Gunn employment benefits that he would have accrued during his active-duty service, including a bonus. The county’s actions, acccording to the federal government, led Gunn to leave his police department job and return to active duty with the Guard.
Governor Youngkin’s proposed state gas tax moratorium died Wednesday in Richmond when it failed to get out of a Democratic-controlled Senate committee. The governor had proposed suspending the 26-cent tax this summer for 90 days. But Youngkin says he remains hopeful some form of a gas tax moratorium will become part of a new state budget once lawmakers can agree upon one. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
(From Kimberly Lowe Twitter)
Potential 9th District Republican Congressional candidate Kimberly Lowe went to a Federal Court in Richmond today, requesting it give power to the Virginia Department of Elections to intercede “when a party commits fraud to prevent ballot access.” Lowe tells WFIR she has enough valid signatures to run against Morgan Griffith in the June primary. The Franklin County resident claims that Virginia code allows for the nominee to lose ballot access is fraud is proven – if true, that could make Kimberly Lowe the Republican party 9th District nominee in November. We have reached out to the district GOP party chair for comment; Adam Tolbert threw out more than 500 of Lowe’s signatures last week, meaning Lowe did not reach the 1000 signature minimum.
Roanoke City Council will appoint someone to fill Robert Jeffrey Jr.’s seat on Monday. WFIR’s Ian Price has more.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A bill that will require Virginia schools to notify parents if their children are assigned books or other materials with sexually explicit content was among more than 100 measures Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law this week, his office said Friday.
Youngkin held up the measure as part of an effort to fulfill a campaign pledge to empower parents’ involvement in their children’s education.
In a statement, he said he was pleased to sign it into law, “along with many other bipartisan bills that will enhance education, improve public safety, provide tax relief, and make government work better for the people of Virginia.”
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, was one of Youngkin’s legislative priorities. It tasks the Department of Education with developing model policies for parental notification and making them available to school boards by July 31. Each school board must adopt the policies by Jan. 1, 2023, according to the measure, which uses a definition of sexually explicit content that already exists in state law. It also requires that students be given an alternative assignment at a parent’s request.
Democrats who objected to the bill argued that it smacked of censorship and that valuable pieces of literature would be targeted. Supporters emphasized that no books were being banned or censored and that the bill simply allows parents to be notified of explicit materials.
The measure cleared the Democrat-controlled Senate after two moderate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance it. It passed the GOP-controlled House on a party-line vote.
Youngkin faces an action deadline next week for measures passed during this year’s regular session of the General Assembly. Youngkin can sign or veto bills or send them back to lawmakers with proposed amendments. He has vetoed only one so far, according to the online legislative information system — a local policing oversight measure that involved only Arlington County.
Among the other measures the governor signed into law this week:
— A bill extending for at least two years the ability for dining establishments to sell cocktails to go. That flexibility was initially offered as a way to help businesses struggling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
— A bill permitting hunting on public land on Sundays, as long as it takes place more than 200 yards (180 meters) from a place of worship.
— A series of animal welfare bills proposed in the wake of violations uncovered at a Cumberland County dog-breeding facility.