Virginia House of Delegates Passes ‘Divisive Concepts’ Ban

The House of Delegates passed HB 787, Delegate Dave LaRock’s (R-Loudoun) bill focused on controversial teaching in schools.  On Tuesday, the bill passed 50-49, with Delegate Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield) joining Democrats in opposition and Delegate Kim Taylor (R-Dinwiddie) not voting.

Before hearing the Democratic amendments, House Education Chair Glenn Davis (R-Virginia Beach) explained a Republican amendment, “which makes it very clear that you can teach literature, history, whatever you’d like that takes into account the past or present beliefs that are set in subsection A above, Mr. Speaker.”

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Senate Commerce and Labor Committee Ends State Sen. Obenshain’s Efforts to Reverse Collective Bargaining Law in Virginia

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee killed two bills from Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Rockingham) aiming rollbacks at Virginia’s collective bargaining laws. SB 374 would have removed locality authority to enter into collective bargaining agreements with public employees, and would have removed locality authority to require contracts to be performed at prevailing wage.

“The effect of these legislative changes that I’m seeking to undo is that, really, we’ve thrown open the doors for large out-of-state union contractors to come in and take jobs and opportunities away from Virginia contractors, Virginia employees. It deprives us of the benefit of our right to work status,” Obenshain said to the committee chaired by Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw (D-Fairfax). “This is a pro-jobs, pro-Virginia, pro-individual liberty, pro-Virginian piece of legislation.”

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Speaker of the House Gilbert Takes the Dais, Republicans Preview Agenda on First Day of 2022 General Assembly Session

Virginia House Republicans took power on Wednesday with the formal election and swearing-in of Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah). The first day of the 2022 General Assembly session was marked by ceremony and by minor squabbles between Democrats and Republicans over House rules. In the morning, Gilbert and other Republican leaders previewed their legislative goals for the session in a press conference.

“Our agenda for 2022 is a direct response to what we heard from voters on the campaign trail,” Gilbert said. “Throughout the campaign, voters consistently told us they were worried about their children’s education, inflation was making it harder to take care of their families, and they wanted to see the safety of their communities improved.”

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Democrats Pressure Virginia Delegate LaRock to Resign for Questioning Election Results

Delegate Dave LaRock (R-Hamilton) is under fire from Democrats after he called for Vice President Pence to nullify the 2020 General Election and attended the January 6 pro-Trump rally that turned violent. Loudoun County Chair Phyllis Randall, the Loudoun chapter of the NAACP, and three northern Virginia Democratic chapters are among those demanding LaRock’s resignation. LaRock is one of the last Republican delegates in Northern Virginia.

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Virginia Progressive Prosecutors for Justice Call for More Criminal Justice Reform

A group of Commonwealth’s Attorneys has released a letter to the General Assembly calling for more criminal justice reform. In the letter, the Virginia Progressive Prosecutors for Justice (VPPFJ) call for automated expungement of criminal records, ending mandatory minimum sentences, ending cash bail, abolishing the death penalty, and ending the “three-strikes” felony enhancement for petty larceny.

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Virginia Politicians Split on Objecting to Biden Electors

Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) said in a Tuesday press call that legislators who challenge electoral results are undermining Americans’ faith in democracy, but three of Virginia’s Republican congressmen support a challenge, and two have committed to vote to challenge the results.

Warner said, “We’ve got what traditionally has been a pro-forma event happening tomorrow, January 6, where the House and the Senate meet in tandem to basically count the certified electoral votes.”

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