Category: Richmond Beat
Mandatory Bicycle Helmet Bill Defeated
Bicycling advocates are happy that legislators have killed a bill requiring all bicyclists under 18 to wear helmets in Virginia.
RICHMOND BEAT: Bill Would Remove Sales Tax on Tampons
Virginia’s General Assembly is considering exempting feminine hygiene products from sales tax.
Proposed State Budget Includes Teacher, Police Raises
Virginia teachers, state troopers and other state employees would all receive pay raises thanks to a state budget agreement moving toward approval in the General Assembly.
House Passes Parental Choice Savings Accounts for Special Needs Students
The House of Delegates passed a bill on Tuesday to permit the parents of special needs students to obtain state funds that could be used toward private school tuition or home instruction.
House Considers ‘Parental Choice’ Bill
RICHMOND – On split votes, two House committees have approved a bill that would give state funds to parents of certain students so they could educate their children at home or in a private school.
Bill Would Ban Criminal History Box on State Job Apps
A Senate committee on Monday narrowly approved a bill that would prohibit state agencies from asking job applicants if they have a criminal history on employment applications.
Bill Seeks to Decriminalize Marijuana in Virginia
A senator from Northern Virginia is urging the General Assembly to decriminalize marijuana possession, as about 20 other states have done.
House Approves 2 Bills to Make College More Affordable
Two bills aimed at making college more affordable were approved unanimously Monday by the House Appropriations Committee.
Senate Committee Kills Minimum Wage Hike in Virginia
Voting along party lines, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Monday killed a bill to raise Virginia’s minimum wage to $8 an hour and then gradually to $10.10 an hour.
Virginia Black Caucus Faces Uphill Battle on Minimum Wage, Medicare, Police Cameras
The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus plans an “aggressive” push this session to raise the minimum wage, expand Medicare and require police officers to wear body cameras – issues that the group acknowledges will face an uphill fight.
