Conservative Caucus agenda supports bills that lower taxes, strengthen gun rights

The Virginia Conservative Caucus, co-chaired by Del. Ben Cline, released a new agenda Wednesday in support of bills to lower taxes, limit government, strengthen gun rights and promote school choice. Cline, R-Rockbridge, called it an exhaustive platform designed to highlight positive conservative goals — including job creation, protecting families and defending personal freedom — as well as push back against Democrats in power. Read More...

McAuliffe wants to reinstate Va. gun sale restrictions

ARLINGTON, Va. (WJLA) – During their final debate in the 2014 Virginia gubernatorial race, Ken Cuccinelli scoffed that his Democratic opponent had flunked a test of character – namely, that Terry McAuliffe received a grade of “F” from the National Rifle Association.

McAuliffe quick-fired a stunning rebuttal, more or less putting his election prospects where his mouth is. “I don’t CARE what grade I got from the NRA,” he said. Read More...

School Leaders, Lawmakers Debate Fees For Busing, Kindergarten

Loudoun County School Board members this morning got a chance to tell legislators why they want state law changed to allow them to charge for full-day kindergarten and student transportation. Read More...

Fight to keep canceled health plans continues in Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. – The fight over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — or ObamaCare for short — never seems to end.

Virginia’s Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment has introduced two separate bills with the same goal — making sure heath insurance companies can continue health insurance plans otherwise discontinued by President Obama’s signature health care law. Read More...

After hours of strife, lawmakers pass budget without Medicaid expansion

RICHMOND — The Virginia General Assembly adopted a long-delayed state budget late Thursday, acting after an hours-long debate among newly ascendant Senate Republicans who fought among themselves over whether the plan threw up sufficient barriers to Medicaid expansion. Read More...

State budget passes with Medicaid amendment

RICHMOND (AP) — The General Assembly passed a new state budget late Thursday night after adopting a Republican-backed amendment to ensure that Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe cannot expand Medicaid without legislative approval. Read More...

State passes budget with Medicaid restriction

RICHMOND — Senate Republicans on Thursday night used their new majority to pass a two-year budget that eliminates any opportunity for Gov. Terry McAuliffe or a year-old legislative commission to expand Medicaid or a private insurance alternative. Read More...

McAuliffe vetoes National Guard religious expression bill

Reaction to Gov. Terry McAuliffe's veto of a bill giving National Guard chaplain wide latitude to sermonize -- another front in the ongoing separation of church and state debate -- has been wide-ranging.

The social conservative Family Foundation in an e-mail said the governor denied "good sense and the General Assembly's voting record" in favor of acquiescing "to the ACLU's wishes" by vetoing "a commonsense, uncontroversial bill." Read More...

Va. mental health admission law out of step with other states

WASHINGTON -- The tragedy involving Sen. Creigh Deeds and his family has drawn the spotlight to mental health services in Virginia. And one of Virginia's mental health laws regarding emergency admissions is out of step with similar laws in other states. Read More...

Opposition mounts to major Loudoun-Prince William parkway

A cadre of six influential Republican legislators stood up Monday and said “No way” to the proposed 45-mile highway that is planned to run from I-95 in Prince William County, past Dulles Airport and all the way to Route 7 in Loudoun County. Read More...

The great (transportation bill) divide

When you have state Del. David Ramadan, the Grover Norquist pledge-signing, Ken Cuccinelli-palling conservative, praising the stance of Chap Petersen, a Democratic state senator from Fairfax, you know you're dealing with an anomalous issue. Read More...

Assembly Clears Path For Balch Library Endowment

The passage of Senate Bill 890 Friday allows the wishes of Leesburg resident Virginia L. Bowie to establish an endowment for the Thomas Balch Library for Genealogy and History to be honored. The longtime library volunteer left a bequest of almost $618,000, but the Town of Leesburg could not legally accept the funds for library use. Read More...

Virginia Senate kills right-to-work, charter school amendments

The Virginia Senate narrowly killed a pair of constitutional amendments dealing with two perennial Republican favorites: right-to-work and charter schools.

Sen. Dick Black, R-Leesburg, proposed giving constitutional protection to tough right-to-work measures that prevent union membership from being a condition of employment. But it fell one vote short of the necessary 21 votes needed to advance after all 20 of the chamber's Democrats voted against it. Read More...

Senate approves bill on presidential ballot access

RICHMOND - Qualifying for the presidential ballot in Virginia would get easier under a bill that passed the state Senate Monday.

Under Sen. Dick Black’s SB 690, the number of valid Virginia voter signatures presidential candidates must submit to qualify for primary or general election ballots would drop to 5,000 signatures with 200 each from of the state’s 11 congressional districts. Read More...

Panel votes to ease candidate rules, tighten voter IDs

RICHMOND - A Senate subcommittee has blessed bills that would make it easier for presidential candidates to qualify for elections, but harder for some voters to cast ballots by eliminating some currently accepted forms of identification.

Those measures, both sponsored by Republican Sen. Dick Black of Loudoun County, received favorable recommendations from a subset of the Committee on Privileges and Elections Wednesday morning. Read More...

New Law Cures “Curriculum Description” Headache

Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better. Virginia’s vague requirement that homeschoolers annually submit a “description of the curriculum to be followed” has caused headaches for years. But in virtually every case, a school system that made an unreasonable demand for information would back down when HSLDA got involved. Read More...

School vouchers get tax credit from Va. Senate

The Virginia Senate voted narrowly Friday to give tax credits to those who donate private- and parochial-school tuition to poor, middle-class and disabled students, a move that Republicans said would change lives for the better but that Democrats warned would undermine public education. Read More...

Maryland workers outnumber Virginians on Dulles Rail project

The Dulles Metro rail project, one of the largest public works projects in the country, is based in Virginia and funded mainly by Virginians, but most of the people being paid to build it are from Maryland. Read More...

Bills seek to link benefits, drug tests

RICHMOND—Receiving unemployment? How about welfare benefits? You’d better be clean and sober, according to legislation proposed by several Republican lawmakers. Read More...

Virginia General Assembly Opens With High Hopes For Republican Bills

(WUSA) -- The Virginia General Assembly kicked off is 2012 session with high hopes for legislation supported by Republicans. For only the second time since the Civil War, Republicans control both the General Assembly and the Governor's mansion. That change in balance could hurt Northern Virginia, especially in education funding. Read More...