General Assembly 2015 is here!

Do you feel it? Our state lawmakers have crept in under the cover of night (or day, I don’t know when they arrived). And they’re ready to get to work!

January 13, 2015; 6:35 AM • by Susan Howson

The General Assembly begins Wednesday, January 14th, and here are some issues you can expect them to tackle.

Budget

Cuts have been made, but Virginia still falls very low in state economy rankings, mostly due to federal cuts in military, which, turns out, makes up a lot of our dollars. There will be more cuts, you can bet!

Child Care

A bunch of parents and grandparents testified to the state legislature last week about loss and injury of their children as a result of, what they felt, were incidents directly related to their child care providers not being licensed. Licensure rules will probably be addressed.

Drones!

Virginia banned non-manned aircraft in 2013, but the moratorium expires in July of this year. Will it be renewed? WILL WE BE MONITORED BY POLICE DRONES?

Education

So many things. In-state tuition rates for DACA folks, some homeschool inclusion stuff, starting-school-before-Labor-Day possibility, and many other reform proposals from both sides of the aisle. Expect some discussion around standardized testing, accreditation, and teacher development. 

Equality

McAuliffe will further the cause of same-sex spouses and their rights, proposing that every single mention of “man and woman” or “husband and wife” in the Virginia code be changed to “spouse.” He also intends to try to equalize pay for women, crack down on sexual assault (particularly on college campuses), and get rid of that pre-abortion ultrasound business. Best of luck to you, Terry.

Ethics

McDonnell’s fall will likely add some righteousness to arguments about gifts to state and local officers and Assembly members. That rustling sound is everyone double-checking their bank statements.

Groundwater

…is a big deal. This extremely long page has many illustrations, thank goodness, and explains why groundwater is so crucial for us to preserve. And Virginia has some issues with its supply. 

Taxing Electronic Cigarettes

Should we or shouldn’t we? There are reasons, namely that tobacco product taxes get put into a fund specifically earmarked for health care purposes, and it’s not proven that vapor products affect health at all. It’s one of those things that if you think about it too hard, the entire system of everything starts to make zero sense.

Transportation

Uber and Lyft vs. traditional taxicab companies. For whatever reason, this is a legislative issue.

Stay tuned as General Assembly season 2015 unfolds!

Photo by: imagematters1

January 13, 2015 6:35 AM 2