State and National Government
The Virginia General Assembly resumes its work today on bills that so far have made it through either the State Senate or House of Delegates. Our political analyst says some of the proposals receiving relatively little news coverage to this point demonstrate the path state lawmakers are taking. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
Photo: peterdoran.org
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Another northern Virginia executive is joining the Republican race for governor.
Peter Doran of Arlington announced Tuesday that he is seeking this year’s GOP gubernatorial nomination.
Doran is former CEO of the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis. In his role he warned about Russian efforts to undermine Western democracies.
Doran is making his first run for public office. He initiated efforts after the 2019 legislative elections in Virginia to recruit more Republicans to run for office.
Doran is the third northern Virginia executive to enter the race, along with former Carlyle Group CEO Glenn Youngkin and tech executive Pete Snyder, who was active in northern Virginia’s business community but now resides in Charlottesville.
A bill stemming from the police shooting death of a Roanoke County teenager won’t be going into effect this year after it was left in committee. WFIR’s Ian Price has details:RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers are considering dueling proposals to restore voting rights for people convicted of a felony.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that there appears to be strong support for the concept among Democrats. But because the House and Senate have approved different proposals, lawmakers will have to decide how far they want to go within a matter of weeks.
A resolution introduced by Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, would automatically restore voting rights for people who had been convicted of a felony, upon their release from prison. A resolution proposed by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, aims to go further by eliminating any language that removes a person’s right to vote due to a felony conviction or because they’ve been deemed mentally incompetent.
More than half a million people previously convicted of a felony live in Virginia, and the state estimates that about 1 in 7 are ineligible to vote. An additional 33,000 people who are incarcerated in Virginia due to a felony conviction would regain their right to vote from prison under Locke’s resolution.
In recent years, the state’s governors have used their powers to grant people their voting rights back, but the process is a messy one that is not applied equally across the state. Gov. Ralph Northam, who has restored voting rights to 40,000 people, is championing Herring’s measure.
Republicans have proposed resolutions to restore voting rights for felons only after they’ve completed their sentences and paid any fees or debts owed related to their crimes.
In order to take effect, a proposed state constitutional amendment would have to clear the House and the Senate this year and next year. It would then have to gain the support of a majority of voters in a statewide referendum.
RCHMOND, Va. (AP) — A bill aimed at preventing suicides at Virginia shooting ranges by requiring a background check for gun rentals has been rejected by the state Senate.
The Senate voted Thursday to send the bill back to the Judiciary Committee, ending its chances of being passed this year.
The legislation was proposed by Democratic Sen. Creigh Deeds, who cited two suicides within five days last year at the Green Top Shooting Range in Hanover.
Both men were in their 20s and had a history of mental health issues. Neither man was subjected to a background check before he was allowed to rent a gun and turn the weapon on himself.
Currently, neither federal nor state law requires background checks for gun rentals at shooting ranges.
“The thing about these two young men in Hanover County is that neither one could purchase a firearm cause they had problems in the past,” Deeds continued. “A background check would have shown that.”
WRIC-TV reported that the Senate voted 21-18 to send the bill back to committee.
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation Friday that would legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, with retail sales starting several years down the road.
Work on the complicated legislation has been a priority for Democrats who control state government. But the process is far from finished — there are substantial differences between the two chambers’ bills that must be worked out before they can be sent to Gov. Ralph Northam, who could also seek to make additional changes.
“I think that Virginia is on a path to an equitable legalization plan for marijuana. There have been a few bumps, but I’m hopeful that we’ll have a polished bill we can agree upon in the next few weeks,” said Sen. Adam Ebbin, one of the chief patrons of that chamber’s bill.
If the legislation is signed into law, Virginia would join 15 other states and the neighboring District of Columbia in legalizing small amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The House passed its version of the legislation on a 55-42 vote. The Senate advanced its bill 23-15.
Both chambers’ measures would legalize possession of an ounce of marijuana or less for those 21 and older, though that provision has different start dates. Both bills would also start the process of expunging some previous misdemeanor marijuana-related offenses, starting July 1. Both measures envision retail sales starting in 2024, overseen by a newly created regulatory entity. And both would use the biggest portion of the tax revenue from sales to fund pre-K for at-risk kids.
Among the differences between the two bills: the Senate version allows localities to opt out of allowing retail stores and it requires a second vote by lawmakers next year to finalize the legal framework.
This year’s push for legalization comes after the new Democratic majority at the General Assembly passed decriminalization legislation last year, making simple possession a civil penalty that can be punished by a fine of no more than $25.
Northam, also a Democrat, took a new position in November supporting legalization. He said there were many reasons why he changed his mind, including unequal punishments for marijuana-related crimes among people of color.
In his annual address to lawmakers last month, he said legalization would ensure Virginia is a “more just state that works better for everyone.”
“We’ve done the research, and we can do this the right way, leading with social equity, public health, and public safety,” Northam said at the time.
Law enforcement groups, religious advocacy groups and addiction prevention advocates have been among those opposed to the measure.
Regina Whitsett, executive director of Substance Abuse Free Environment, Inc., said legalizing marijuana will increase the number of drug-impaired driving crashes and the use of marijuana among youth. The group is also concerned that edible marijuana products could get into the hands of young children and could result in accidental poisonings.
“It’s really not marijuana legalization, it’s marijuana commercialization they’re trying to pass,” Whitsett said.
Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, said law enforcement officials are concerned that legalization will drive up use of marijuana overall and cause more impaired driving crashes.
“The issue of looking at this as a profit industry for Virginia is negated by health care costs, by impaired driving costs, by the fact that young people are exposed to this,” Schrad said. “There are just a lot of other issues and costs that come from marijuana legalization.”
Both versions of the legislation have safety provisions that deal with packaging, advertising and consumer education.
Legalization is expected to bring in substantial tax revenues. A recent study conducted by the legislature’s research and watchdog agency, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, found that legalizing and taxing commercial marijuana sales could generate between $154 and $308 million by the fifth year of sales.
House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, who is the chief patron of the House bill, said the legislation is a matter of urgency for people of color who have been disproportionately penalized for marijuana-related offenses.
The commission’s study found that Black Virginians comprise a disproportionately high percentage of individuals arrested and convicted of marijuana offenses. From 2010–2019, the average arrest rate of Black individuals for marijuana possession was 3.5 times higher than the arrest rate for white individuals, according to the study, which also found Black individuals were also convicted at a much higher rate — 3.9 times higher than white individuals.
“These communities have been hurting. The time to provide redress is now,” Herring said.
Republican and Democrats are more than a billion dollars apart on what a new “American Rescue Plan” should look like. Virginia’s two Democratic US Senators now have a full-court press going, as they champion the larger COVID relief package. An update from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
Rep. Morgan Griffith
A new President, all three executive branches of government now controlled by the Democrats. 9th District Salem-based Republican Congressman Morgan Griffith spoke with WFIR’s Gene Marrano yesterday on a variety of issues – starting with why he would not vote to remove Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments. Here is a “Longer Listen”:
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A proposal to eliminate Virginia’s death penalty is half-way home to passage in the General Assembly. The State Senate gave its approval Wednesday after lengthy and emotional debate. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would abolish the death penalty, a measure that if passed into law would mark a major policy change for a state that has historically led the nation in the number of executions it has carried out.
The Democrat-controlled chamber approved the bill on a 21-17 vote, which came after a lengthy, emotional floor debate.
“I cannot think of anything that is more awful, unspeakable and wrong for a government to do, than to use its power to execute somebody who didn’t commit the crime they’re accused of. The problem with capital punishment is that once it’s inflicted you can’t take it back, it can’t be corrected,” Sen. Scott Surovell, the bill’s sponsor, said as he introduced it.
Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has said he supports a full repeal, and a House version of the bill is advancing in that chamber.
Virginia has executed nearly 1,400 people in more than four centuries, more than any other state, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. In modern times, Virginia is second only to Texas in the number of executions since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
A bill that would require every Virginia public school system to make both virtual and in-person learning available to students has passed the State Senate, but its chances of House passage appear less certain. Supporters of the proposal say students have lost too much this year by being out of classrooms — not just educationally, but socially and emotionally as well. Opponents cite health safety concerns in more crowded schools and say the state should not enact mandates for local school systems. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — After a lengthy and impassioned floor debate, the Democrat-controlled Virginia Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would require every local school division to make both virtual and in-person learning available to students.
The measure was sponsored by Republican Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, who is a doctor.
“We must open schools,” Dunnavant said, urging her colleagues to “listen to the science.” She said there’s no evidence to support keeping children out of in-person school and warned that vulnerable children were being left behind.
Virginia currently has a patchwork approach to schooling, with some public and private schools offering in-person learning while others offer only virtual school. Supporters of Dunnavant’s bill said that’s harming children whose parents don’t have the resources to pay for costly tuition.
Dunnavant’s succinct measure simply says that each school division must make virtual and in-person learning to available to all students “by choice of the student’s parent or guardian.”
“This is the most important bill that we will vote on this legislative session,” GOP Sen. Ryan McDougle said during a floor debate in which about half the members of the chamber weighed in.
The debate came as pressure is building on school systems across the U.S. to reopen classrooms to students who have been learning online for nearly a year.
Democrats who spoke against the bill warned about creating mandates for school districts, and they raised concerns about the well-being of teachers and school support staff, as well as a mutated version of the virus first identified in South Africa. Public health officials are concerned that version spreads more easily and vaccines could be less effective against it.
Sen. Ghazala Hashmi warned that because the bill wouldn’t take effect until summer, it could complicate the efforts of local school districts that are already moving forward with partial reopening plans.
“This bill is not going to pass in the form it’s in right now,” he said.
Still, he said the bill would send a message.
Gov. Ralph Northam’s spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky, said the governor would review the bill “if and when it reaches his desk.”
“The Governor has made it clear that children need to be back in school, and that it is possible to do so safely. That’s why he has put significant COVID relief funding towards K-12 education, and why he has prioritized vaccinations for teachers and school staff,” she wrote in an email.
She also noted that Northam, a Democrat and a physician, recently rolled out new guidance aimed at getting more public schools open for in-person instruction. He described the guidance at a news conference last month, saying that the state’s new policy is: “Schools need to be open, and here are the ways to do that safely.”
The guidelines are not mandates and individual school districts still have final say in how they operate.