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Virginia lawmakers advance annual mental health screening bill for grades 6-12
Lawmakers advanced a House bill requiring two state agencies to develop best practices for annual mental health screenings for students in grades six through 12, at a time when data shows rising reports of students struggling with mental health. Del. Debra Gardner, D-Chesterfield, introduced House Bill 355 to require schools to begin annual mental health screenings at no cost. A substitute to the measure now requires the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health, to suggest the guidance and best practices for such screening by Jan. 1, 2027.
Power grab or leveling the playing field? Parties react to redistricting
A substantial power grab is how local and state Republicans are describing the new Democrat-created congressional redistricting maps going to the voters this spring, telling citizens to vote no at the polls. Virginia Democrats claim the district changes will restore fairness in the upcoming elections in response to President Donald Trump’s efforts since last summer to get other states to redraw their voting districts to favor him ahead of the mid-term elections this November. The maps are part of a national battle over unusual mid-decade redistricting attempts, launched by Trump ...
State supreme court affirms SCC decision in Aspen to Golden line
The Virginia Supreme Court affirmed the State Corporation Commission's approval of Dominion's Aspen to Golden transmission line on Feb. 19. Loudoun County and the Lansdowne Conservancy appealed the SCC's approval of an approximately 9-mile-long 500- and 230-kilovolt transmission line project, which was heard by the state Supreme Court earlier this year. ... Upon review, we conclude that the Commission did not err when it approved the (certificates of public convenience and necessity) for the projects at issue. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments of the Commission," the opinion said. ... Appellants had been pushing for parts of the lines to be placed underground.
Letiecq, Gibson and Finkelstein: Strong universities depend on a union contract
As Virginia lawmakers consider historic legislation that would expand collective bargaining for public employees, university administrators are urging the exclusion of 37,000 higher education workers from the bill. They warn that allowing faculty and staff to negotiate for better working conditions could raise costs or complicate governance. Those concerns merit discussion, but they should not overshadow a more fundamental question: how best to protect academic freedom and fair employment in Virginia’s public universities.
McGraw and Rogish: Collective bargain legislation an unnecessary overreach
After our party’s sweeping victories in last November’s general election, we were encouraged when Virginia leadership promised a governing coalition that would be restrained, smart, disciplined and focused on what voters want. Sadly, those ideals are absent from a pair of collective bargaining bills that are rocketing through the General Assembly. In short, SB 378 and HB 1263 would be a burden for local taxpayers and employees across the commonwealth. This legislation, if approved, would amount to unnecessary, wasteful oversight in local affairs as it would impose a one-size-fits-all unionizing process for all counties, cities, towns and local school boards in the commonwealth.
General Assembly budget proposals address federal cuts, ending data center incentives
An earlier sunset for data center tax exemptions, wage increases for educators and state employees and premium assistance for health insurance bought through the Marketplace were included in budget amendments presented by the General Assembly on Sunday. Biennial budget proposals by the General Assembly’s money committees differed widely between the two chambers — the House proposal outlines $71.5 billion in appropriations over the biennium while the Senate proposed spending roughly $74 billion. But both chambers found common ground in efforts to increase pay for educators and state workers as well as the need to counter federal funding cuts. Neither budget proposal sought to increase taxes.
Virginia congressman bringing alleged Epstein victim to State of the Union
Another Democratic member of Congress has announced plans to bring an alleged Epstein survivor to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Northern Virginia Congressman James Walkinshaw said on Saturday that he planned to bring Jess Michaels. Michaels says she was sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein in 1991 at the age of 22.
How restrictive will the General Assembly be on skill games?
The long-running and hard-fought General Assembly battle over skill games is coming down to how much tougher Virginia will be than other states that allow the slot machine-like devices in convenience stores, gas stations and truck stops: A little tougher or a lot? Unusual alliances, including some of the General Assembly’s most liberal and most conservative legislators in opposition, face shrinking but still strong enough support for legalization in a bipartisan coalition swayed by arguments that the games are a source of revenue for mom-and-pop convenience stores that would otherwise have to close their doors.
Senate, House bills prohibiting local solar bans pass their respective chambers
A bill that would override locally imposed bans on solar farms has passed both General Assembly chambers and is on its way to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk. Companion legislation passed the state Senate and is now under consideration by the House of Delegates. The bills’ sponsors say the legislation would still leave final decision-making authority with localities. However, the Virginia Association of Counties, which opposes the legislation, contends the bills would effectively invalidate percentage-based solar caps like those adopted by Isle of Wight and Surry counties.
The ‘Godfather of Data Centers’ in Loudoun County Is Making Offers Big Tech Can’t Refuse
Loudoun County’s growth into a mecca for one of the largest infrastructure build-outs in American history kicked into gear when Buddy Rizer taped a list of companies to his office door. The housing crash was hammering local government finances in 2008. Rizer, a radio DJ-turned county executive director for economic development, bet big on a rebound in the form of a seemingly arcane tech-industry need: data centers. Rizer jetted to the West Coast with the list as his guide, pitching Loudoun County to the likes of Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook with a simple but compelling idea. “The first rule is to make it easy for people to spend money,” he said recently.