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Members gather before the first meeting for the House of Delegates Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation.
Jan 16, 2020

House committee tackles consumer protections and cybersecurity

RICHMOND, Va. — In one of the more modern meeting rooms at the over two centuries old State Capitol, 22 lawmakers gather on Mondays to confront the increasing cybersecurity threats looming over Virginia residents. This session the House Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation will consider a variety of issue[...]

Equal Rights Amendment supporters gathered to greet legislators Wednesday afternoon at the Virginia State Capitol. (Alexandra Zernik, VCU Capital News Service)
Jan 15, 2020

‘The end is in sight’: ERA moves closer to ratification in Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. — Resolutions to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment swiftly passed the General Assembly Wednesday. The House version passed 59-41 and the Senate bill cleared with a 28-12 vote. The next step will be for each resolution to pass the other chamber, sometime in February. “As the House sponsor of the bill, it is [...]

Jan 15, 2020

Northam declares state of emergency ahead of Capitol gun rights protest

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency Wednesday in advance of expected gun-rights demonstrations scheduled for Capital Square on Monday, Jan. 20 . Law enforcement intelligence analysts identified credible threats of violence surrounding the event, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of demonstrators, Northam said. The threats include white nationalist rhetoric […][...]

Jan 14, 2020

DMAS surveys new Medicaid enrollees

At the one-year mark for Medicaid expansion in Virginia, the number of newly enrolled adults in Medicaid has nearly doubled from 200,100 to 370,000. And survey data from an online dashboard released Tuesday by the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) indicates that before gaining health coverage from Medicaid, nearly two-thirds of enrollees went […]

Jan 13, 2020

State General Fund revenues increased 7.6% in December

Total state General Fund revenues rose 7.6% in December with help from growth in payroll withholding, sales and use taxes and recordation tax collections, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday. “This continued strong revenue performance gives us confidence that we can achieve the forward-looking agenda I have laid out, while also putting money into our cash […]

Del. Lee Ware
Jan 7, 2020

Bipartisan bill seeks to demonopolize state electric energy market

State Dels. Mark Keam, D-Fairfax, and Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, held a press conference Tuesday to announce a bipartisan legislative effort to demonopolize Virginia‘s electric energy market. The Virginia Energy Reform Act — which does not yet have a bill number —would establish a competitive market for electricity retailer[...]

Jan 7, 2020

State Democrats unveil 2020 legislative agenda

Gov. Ralph Northam and the leaders of the state legislature’s new Democratic majority unveiled their 11-point ‘Virginia 2020 Plan’ for the General Assembly session that begins Wednesday. House Speaker-designee Eileen Filler-Corn, incoming Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw, incoming House Majority Leader Charniele Herring and incoming Senate Caucus Chair Mamie Locke announced the plan with […][...]

Jan 7, 2020

Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services names chief deputy

Ellen Montz was named chief deputy for the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) as of Jan. 3, DMAS announced Tuesday. Montz will be second-in-command for the agency, which oversees the state’s Medicaid program and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). She will maintain her role as the agency’s chief health economist and director […]

Jan 6, 2020

Northam proposes Election Day state holiday

Gov. Ralph Northam announced legislative proposals on Monday to allow early voting during the 45-day period before an election and to make Election Day a state holiday by abolishing the state’s longstanding Lee-Jackson Day, which honors the birthdays of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Virginia currently requires voters who wish to […]

Jan 3, 2020

Unemployment remained low for November in metro areas

Although not each individual city or county fell under a 5% unemployment rate in November 2019, Virginia‘s 11 major metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below 3%, according to data released Friday by the Virginia Employment Commission. Statewide, the locality with the lowest unemployment was Arlington County, at 1.7%. Buchanan County in far Southwest Virginia had […]

A new voice
Dec 30, 2019

A new voice

For the first time since 1993, Democrats are in charge of Virginia‘s legislative and executive branches. Back then, Gov. L. Douglas Wilder was serving the last year of his four-year term and Thomas Moss Jr. of Norfolk was the speaker of the House of Delegates. Del. Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, faces a totally different l[...]

Approaching equality
Dec 30, 2019

Approaching equality

Women may make up more than half of Virginia‘s population, but their presence in the statehouse has always fallen far short of parity. This year’s election brought a seismic change, however. Rachel Bitecofer, assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, says that women n[...]

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