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Youngkin to propose $350M for site development
Gov. Glenn Youngkin will propose allocating a new $350 million investment for industrial site development next week, the governor said in a speech delivered Friday at the Virginia Chamber’s Virginia Economic Summit & Forum on International Trade. In the 2022-24 budget, which Youngkin signed in June, the state allocated $150 million for the Virginia Economic […]
Legislators nipped Va.’s budding cannabis industry, advocates say
RICHMOND, Va. — Jacob Williamson grows, makes and sells hemp-based CBD products through his family’s Hens and Hemp farm. He went through the permitting process to be a hemp farmer when it became legal in 2019, but now he is leaving the industry. “We can’t keep up with the multimillion-dollar cannabis industry coming into the […]
Va. bills advance to halt minimum wage increases
RICHMOND, Va. – Two bills introduced by Republicans to halt future minimum wage increases have advanced to the House floor. Minimum wage in Virginia increased to $11 an hour on Jan. 1 and is set to increase to $12 next January. The House Commerce and Energy committee approved House Bill 320, introduced by Del. Nicholas […]
Lawmakers debate human trafficking bill
RICHMOND, Va. — Legislators raised a few questions with a measure that would deploy hotel staff to help combat human trafficking. The bill introduced by Del. Shelly A. Simonds, D-Newport News, was heard Thursday in a House subcommittee. House Bill 258 would authorize the Department of Criminal Justice Services to create an online mandatory course […]
Va. General Assembly to convene special session on Aug. 2
The Virginia General Assembly will convene in Richmond on Aug. 2 for a special session to allocate more than $4.3 billion in federal relief funding, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday in a proclamation. In May, Northam and Democratic leaders from the Virginia State Senate and the House of Delegates outlined their priorities for the special […]
Lawmakers OK recreational marijuana, cultivation
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers signed off on amendments that make the possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana and homegrown plants legal in the state in July as opposed to 2024. “On July 1, 2021 dreams come true,” Marijuana Justice stated in a tweet. The group has worked to legalize the use and possession […]
Northam seeks to include part-time workers in state IRA fund
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has proposed a change to a bill to allow part-time employees to participate in a newly created state-administered retirement fund for workers without 401(k) access, the governor’s office announced Friday. Northam also has signed legislation expanding an existing broadband pilot program to increase internet access in underserved areas of the state, […]
UPDATED: Va. becomes 2nd state with consumer data protection law
Updated March 2: Gov. Ralph Northam signed the Consumer Data Protection Act on Tuesday. In a statement, sponsor Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax, said, “This is a huge step forward. By creating this omnibus bill, we take the lead in data privacy in the United States. This omnibus bill is clear, concise and holds companies accountable for […]
