Tag: Delegate Luke Torian

Virginia Delegate Receives Pushback After Report Saying She Wants to Make it Abuse to Not Affirm a Child’s Gender Identity

Eric Burk

Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-Prince William) is working to introduce legislation that could make it child abuse or neglect for parents to not affirm their child’s sexual identity or gender orientation, according to a Thursday report from WJLA. That proposal triggered widespread criticism on Friday, and Guzman later criticized WJLA’s reporting. “My bill will state in the Code of Virginia that bullying a child from the LGBTQ community, and this includes mental or physical abuse, to be abused for their sexual orientation or gender identity, that would be considered a Child Protective Services charge,” Guzman said in a video of the WJLA interview. Guzman said that’s a reaction to the Youngkin administration’s draft model policies governing school transgender policies, which would require parental involvement in situations including if a child wanted to change their name or pronouns. Guzman said her bill would expand the definitions of child neglect and abuse. Virginia law requires certain people to report child abuse, including medical professionals, law enforcement, public and private school teachers, and religious leaders like ministers, priests, and imams. “If the child shares with those mandated reporters, what they are going through, we are talking about not only physical abuse or mental abuse,…

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Delegate Cordoza Says He Was Denied Entry to Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, Showing Caucus Not About Being Black, but Being Leftist

Eric Burk

Freshman Delegate A.C. Cordoza (R-Hampton) said in a Thursday speech in the House of Delegates that the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (VLBC) wouldn’t allow him to join due to political differences, but VLBC Chair Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico) told The Virginia Star that it was due to concern over Cordoza’s motives.

“When I came to this assembly, I expected to be welcomed with open arms by my brothers and sisters in the Legislative Black Caucus. Instead, I was rejected by a vote. While I’m sure a few of my brothers and sisters voted for me to join them, the majority did not,” Cordoza said in his speech. “This was disheartening but not shocking. The questionnaire for entry had little to do with being black, and had more to do with being leftist.”

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Virginia Rep. Wittman Backs Prince William County’s Request for Money to Build a Mental Health Crisis Center

Eric Burk

Representative Rob Wittman (R-Virginia-01) is supporting Prince William County’s efforts to build a crisis stabilization center, asking Virginia’s House Finance Committee Chair Luke Torian (D-Prince William) to use federal COVID-19 relief to help fund the project.

“The impacts of mental health have major reverberations throughout our communities. From students experiencing anxiety and intense loneliness due to extended virtual learning, to extreme cases of depression as a result of a veteran’s PTSD, the need for effective and available mental health services to support those suffering from a mental health crisis or occurrence is a critical necessity,” Wittman wrote in an October 27 letter announced in a Friday press release.

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Virginia General Assembly Passes Compromise ARPA Allocation Bill

Eric Burk
Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax sp ... inance Chair Senator Janet Howell.

RICHMOND, Virginia – After hammering out a compromise between the House of Delegates and the Senate, the Virginia General Assembly voted to send its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) budget bill to Governor Ralph Northam. The bill passed the House 78-20 and passed the Senate 23-16.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) said that she and other senators fought for the Senate’s amendments in a conference committee with representatives from the House.

“As you look at the conference report you will see that on several items our position was affirmed, and on others we were able to compromise,” she reported to the Senate.

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State Senator Bill Stanley Filing Lawsuit on Behalf of NASCAR Driver Hermie Sadler to Keep ‘Skill Games’ Open

Matthew Hall
State Senator William "Bill" Stanley

On Monday, State Senator William “Bill” Stanley (R-Franklin) will file a lawsuit against Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring, and the Virginia Alcohol Beverage and Control Board on behalf of former NASCAR driver Hermie Sadler. Sadler, an Emporia, Virginia resident, wants the newly signed legislation banning “skill games” in the Commonwealth to be deemed unconstitutional.

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Virginia Legislators Lay Out Priorities for ‘American Rescue Plan’ Funds

Eric Burk

The American Rescue Plan will provide $7.2 billion for Virginia: $2.9 billion allocated for municipalities, and $4.3 billion for the state government, according to a Tuesday announcement from Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. On Wednesday, Governor Ralph Northam and Democratic General Assembly leaders released their priorities for the $4.3 billion, including upgrading public health infrastructure, funding the Rebuild Virginia small business recovery plan, adding funds to the Unemployment Trust Fund, modernizing public schools, and deploying broadband across Virginia.

“This is a unique opportunity to invest in Virginia’s long-term future. We intend to be good stewards of these taxpayer dollars, in full compliance with fiduciary guidelines. We reject calls to refuse these federal dollars, and we support the law’s prohibition on cutting state taxes to substitute federal dollars. We embrace this rare opportunity, and we choose to invest,” Northam and the legislators wrote.

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PPP Loan Tax Exemption Bills Go into Conference in Virginia General Assembly

Eric Burk

The General Assembly has so far failed to find middle ground for tax breaks on forgiven Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loans, and will now form a committee of three senators and three delegates to reconcile differences between the two chambers.

While a Senate bill calls for a $100,000 cap on income deductions claimed under PPP expenditures, the House of Delegates bill calls for only a $25,000 cap. When the two chambers considered each other’s bills, the House modified SB 1146 to a $25,000 cap, while the Senate amended HB 1935 to a $100,000 cap. After passing the modified versions, both chambers then rejected the modified versions of their original bills. On Friday, the two chambers agreed to form a conference committee to work together to create a bill that can pass both chambers.

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Virginia House Passes $134B Budget with Rental and Utility Assistance, Justice and Police Reform Funding

Jacob Taylor

The Virginia House of Delegates passed its two-year $134 billion budget on Tuesday with specific funding for rental and utility assistance, public education, internet access, affordable housing, criminal justice and police reform.

The revised budget from the House does not perfectly lineup with the proposed budget Governor Ralph Northam presented to the General Assembly at the beginning of the 2020 special session.

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