Tag: General Assembly

One-Fourth of Bills Passed in 2021 Virginia General Assembly Sessions Passed Along Party Lines

Eric Burk

In 2020 and 2021, the Democrat-led General Assembly passed nearly 20 percent more bills through strict party-line votes than in the three previous years when Republicans controlled both chambers. According to a data visualization from the Virginia Public Access Project, in 2020, 24 percent of bills passed were passed along party lines with Democrats voting for and Republicans voting against. In 2021, that number grew to 25 percent. In the Republican controlled sessions of 2017, 2018, and 2019, the percentage of bills passed along party lines was respectively 7.7 percent, 4.7 percent, and 5.7 percent.

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Out-of-Court Settlement Reached to Provide Space for Virginia Legislators to Meet With Constituents

Eric Burk

On New Years Eve, Senator Bill DeSteph (R-Virginia Beach) struck a deal with leaders of the Virginia General Assembly that will provide space for constituents to meet with legislators near the Capitol grounds even though the Pocahontas Building and Capitol Building remain closed to outsiders due to COVID-19.

DeSteph said the out-of-court settlement was a win. “This will allow citizens, subject matter experts, and other professional staff to meet face-to-face with legislators during the upcoming regular session. This is a huge victory for the First Amendment and for open access to government for all Virginians,” the press release states.

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Bedford County Passes Resolution Opposing Repeal of Qualified Immunity

Eric Burk

The Bedford County Board of Supervisors (BOS) unanimously passed a resolution repudiating efforts to repeal qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that provides extra protection to law enforcement officers from personal liability while on-duty unless they commit willful misconduct. An effort to repeal qualified immunity was defeated in the Virginia Senate during the recent special session.

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Governor Northam Signs Revised State Budget

Eric Burk

Governor Ralph Northam signed Virginia’s new biennial budget, according to a Wednesday press release. The budget is the product of a recent months-long Special Session held by the General Assembly and features key provisions for homeowners, children, and businesses.

“This budget gives us the tools we need to contend with the challenges brought on by the ongoing pandemic,” Northam said in a press release.

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Fear Drives Record Gun Sales

Eric Burk

Virginia is setting records for gun sales this year; already the FBI has processed 617,472 firearms background checks, beating 2019’s total of 512,766.

Bob Marcus owns Bob’s Guns in Norfolk. He said the increase in sales began a year ago. “We saw it after the General Assembly turned over back in November. It started with the election, and then the General Assembly went into session. And there were threats of the so-called assault weapons ban, and other restrictions, so it continued through January, February, and into March.”

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Virginians to Decide Gerrymandering Amendment

Admin

An anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment that would change the way legislative districts are drawn in Virginia will be decided on the ballot.

The amendment is intended to prevent gerrymandering by establishing a 16-person bipartisan redistricting commission that would propose redistricting plans to the General Assembly. The General Assembly would be allowed to approve or decline the proposals, but would not be allowed to offer any amendments.

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Gov. Lee Considers Calling Special Session of Legislature to Pass Bill Giving Businesses Protection From COVID-19 Lawsuits

Jason M. Reynolds

Gov. Bill Lee is thinking about calling the Legislature in for a special session to pass a bill to provide retroactive COVID-19 legal protection for businesses, the Chattanooga Times Free Press said.

The General Assembly ended their session on Friday without the House passing the Tennessee Recovery and Safe Harbor Act. It received 46 of 50 votes needed. House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) questioned whether the measure was legal under Tennessee’s Constitution regarding the impairment of contracts. (The Senate had approved the bill.)

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Concerned Citizens: Leahy Takes Listener Calls and Breaks Down the Consequences of Governor Lee’s Refugee Stance

Julie Carr

“So what the governor’s letter is going to do is make Tennessee a magnet. Tennessee will be a magnet for refugees,” host Michael Patrick Leahy told listeners Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am.

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Social Justice Warriors at The Tennessean Publish Op-Ed Claiming ‘Tennessee Is a Racist State and So Is Its Legislature’

Jason M. Reynolds

A progressive social justice warrior-community organizer has labeled the entire State of Tennessee as racist with the aid of The Tennessean, which ran her ranting op-ed Wednesday. Aftyn Behn describes herself as the statewide organizer of Indivisible for Tennessee and Kentucky. Her op-ed blaming the state – especially the General Assembly – for a host of social ills is available here. She says, Let me be clear: Tennessee is a racist state. Racism is in the air we breathe, permeating the State Capitol, codified in the legislation being passed at the detriment of women, communities of color, and the working poor. Our problem with racism in this state is wild and untamed, and Justin Jones has turned a mirror to the legislature and the gubernatorial administration, inviting them to look inward and prompt introspection towards their ideologically destructive agendas. Lawmakers are responsible for rising black maternity rates, not allowing ex-felons to vote and is “the motivation behind undermining years of tireless organizing efforts from women of color to pass Nashville’s Community Oversight Board,” among other social ills, she said. Not expanding Medicaid is also a part of her complaint. The Tennessee Star has reported on Justin Jones, who allegedly threw…

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North Carolina House Elections Committee Chairs Announced

A.P. Dillon

North Carolina’s Speaker of the House Tim Moore has announced the appointment of State Representatives Holly Grange (R-D20) and Destin Hall (R-D87l) as co-chairs of the North Carolina House Committee on Elections and Ethics Law. “These two House members have a strong legal background and will be an integral part of how we restore confidence in our elections systems in North Carolina,” state House Speaker Tim Moore said in a statement. The new co-chairs replace former long-time chair David Lewis (R- D53). Representative Lewis, having been reappointed, will continue as chairman of the House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House. In the statement put out by the Speaker’s office, Grange said the committee will be holding oversight hearings which will look into absentee ballot laws and practices. “We saw this election cycle and in previous years that there are unacceptable gaps in the integrity and reliability of our elections systems,” Representative Grange said. “It is our duty as state lawmakers to identify those concerns and address them through oversight and legislation on behalf of our constituents and their confidence in North Carolina’s democratic process,” Grange said. Representative Hall, who is a practicing attorney from Lenoir, North Carolina,…

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Kasich Vetoes Bill Expanding Benefits for Families of Fallen First Responders

Anthony Gockowski

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) vetoed a bill Friday that would expand benefits for widows and children of deceased first responders because it also included legislative pay raises. According to The Dayton Daily News, Senate Bill 296 included a provision that would increase pay for lawmakers by 4 percent in 2020, 3 percent in 2021, and then 1.75 percent each subsequent year until 2028. That provision, however, was tacked on at the list minute, and provided Kasich with reason to veto the legislation. The main intention of the bill was to increase benefits for families of first responders killed while on duty, which could be passed again next session and signed into law by Gov.-elect Mike DeWine (R-OH). “I would have signed such a bill into law,” Kasich told The Cincinnati Enquirer. “Unfortunately, I cannot support or condone the last-minute rush to include a controversial pay raise for elected officials into what was an otherwise commendable bill.” State Sen. Jay Hottinger (R-Newark) believes Kasich vetoed the bill out of frustration with the General Assembly for failing to pass a “red flag” law. “What I find ironic is there have been a heck of a lot of lawmakers doing work while…

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Tennessee Firearms Association Blisters Republican-led Legislature For ‘Pitiful’ 2nd Amendment Protections

Jason M. Reynolds
Firearms blue

The recently ended legislative year in Nashville was “pitiful” in terms of protecting gun rights, a state firearms advocacy group says in a report. The “Tennessee Firearms Association 2018 Legislative Report and Review” takes the Republican super-majority in the General Assembly to task on 15 new laws and/or amendments to existing laws. “Based on their actions this year there is really no evidence that the Republican super-majority, as a whole, is a strong proponent and defender of those individual and personal rights which are recognized and protected by the 2nd Amendment and Article I, Section 26 of the Tennessee Constitution,” the report says. That is despite 57 bills that were either introduced or were active after Jan. 1 of this year that “would have implemented changes that would have made Tennessee a much better state for the free exercise of our constitutionally protected rights.” The Tennessee Firearms Association says those “good” bills that failed would, among other things, have: Implemented constitutional carry; Implemented permitless open carry; Implemented the 2018 Second Amendment Protections Act (a significant rewrite of several existing laws) to bring them more in compliance with the 2nd Amendment’s prohibitions against government infringements. This includes a prohibition on local…

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