We are now in the busiest week of the legislative year. On Sunday, the House and Senate budgets were unveiled. Today, February 5, is “crossover,” the day on which all bills must be passed in one legislative body to cross over to the other side of the Capitol for consideration. We … [Read more...]
Crossover
We are now at the midpoint of the General Assembly session, a time that we call “crossover,” aptly named for the process by which bills passed in one house “crossover” to the other body. The hours are long and the debates frequently heated as many controversial bills get … [Read more...]
Medicaid Expansion and Ethics Reform Lead the 2014 Session
We are two weeks into the General Assembly and the dominant issue remains Medicaid expansion. Almost every interest group in Richmond, from the Chamber of Commerce to the Medical Society of Virginia to the Hospital Association to various anti-poverty groups have supported efforts … [Read more...]
New Virginia Laws in Effect as of July 1, 2013
July 1, 2013, marked the date on which legislation passed in the previous session took effect, including any changes in the budget. Included in these are the following: Various fees and taxes will be reformed as part of the recently enacted bipartisan transportation bill. As … [Read more...]
Power Grab
General Assembly Again Makes Headlines Virginia has yet again become fodder for late night talk show comedy. It would be funny if it were not so serious. In a dramatic power grab, Senate Republicans passed a wholesale redistricting bill and sent it to the House this week. The … [Read more...]