The legislation was proposed in response to the violent white nationalist Unite the Right rally last August.
Governor Terry McAuliffe issued a press release Wednesday unveiling recommendations for six pieces of legislation to address the laws surrounding opiate and heroin abuse. The Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse drafted the legislation, which will be proposed in the Virginia General Assembly 2015 session.
Virginia Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn has proposed a bill which will require university campus police to report sexual assault cases to their local commonwealth attorney within 48 hours. House Bill 1343 is intended to increase prosecution of sexual assaults that take place on college campuses. Filler-Corn held a press conference Tuesday to promote the bill.
Del. Joe Morrissey (D-Henrico) was sworn into the Virginia House of Delegates this week after resigning his position last month following a sex scandal with an underage girl. In his most recent campaign, Morrissey ran as an Independent and defeated both Democrat Kevin Sullivan and Republican Matt Walton. He garnered 42 percent of the total votes, while Sullivan and Walton totaled 33 percent and 24 percent of the total votes, respectively.
In a special election on Tuesday, the 74th district of Virginia will vote to fill the seat Joseph Morrissey had until December in the Virginia House of Delegates. Throughout a controversy-ridden campaign, the candidates have challenged each other to hold a stance on specific issues. Morrissey faces Republican Matt Walton and Democrat Kevin Sullivan.
Albemarle County Sheriff Chip Harding said he wants to see an expansion of the Virginia DNA databanks. Harding said he believes that if Jesse Matthew had his DNA collected in 2010 when he was charged with a misdemeanor, the DNA would have matched the 2005 sexual assault case.
University Hall was the last precinct in the state of Virginia to report their final vote tally to the state Electoral Board on Monday after a voting machine broke during Tuesday’s election.
Politics Prof. Larry Sabato hosted his annual Crystal Ball predictions Monday night, predicting Republican gains in Tuesday’s congressional and state elections. Sabato and his team said they predict the Republican Party would gain a total of eight seats in the Senate to gain a 53-47 majority as well as nine seats in the House of Representatives, which which would give them a 243-192 majority.
If you’ll be staying around Grounds this summer, here’s a run-down of some of the big stories to watch out for.
Negotiations on the Virginia budget remain at a stalemate, with the contention over Medicaid expansion bringing Richmond to a continued partisan standstill.
University of Virginia Board of Visitors member William H. Goodwin Jr. was appointed as a finance committee co-chair for Ed Gillespie’s senatorial campaign Wednesday. Gillespie, a communications consultant and former White House aide, is the likely Republican nominee for the Virginia seat in the Senate currently filled by Sen. Mark Warner.
Virginia Tech paid a $32,500 fine in February after a review by the United States Department of Education (DOE) concluded that it failed to respond appropriately during the 2007 mass shooting.__
The Virginia Democratic Party appointed Robert Dempsey to serve as the new executive director, Party Spokeswoman Ashley Bauman announced Monday. Dempsey will replace Lauren Harmon, who worked as executive director for the Democratic party for less than a year.
The US Census Bureau released population statistics Thursday that showed growth in Northern Virginia caused much of the increase in Virginia’s population.
The Office of the State Inspector General and State Inspector General Michael Morehart released a report Thursday, having completed an investigation of the stabbing of Sen. Creigh Deeds at his home last November.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday said Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe’s approval rating is at 44 percent, with 29 percent disapproval and a 2.7 percent margin of error.
On Thursday Virginia Democrats launched a website claiming that Ed Gillespie, the Republican candidate for Virginia Senate, has been inconsistent in his stance on the Affordable Care Act.
Virginia Organizing, a liberal advocacy group, held a rally in nearby Waynesboro Friday encouraging the Virginia state legislature to pass a large expansion of the Medicaid program.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe exercised his right to veto a state bill for the first time Wednesday on House Bill 962. The bill would have clarified existing legislation about guns stored in motor vehicles when the owner does not have a concealed weapons permit. It stipulated that the guns must be in “secured” containers, such as glove compartments or consoles, but not necessarily locked containers. McAuliffe’s objection to the bill was that not requiring the containers be locked was a public safety risk.
Following the November tragedy in which Gus Deeds, son of Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, stabbed his father before committing suicide, both the House and the Senate have proposed bills to prevent future incidents. The measures garnered broad, bipartisan support in a series of votes before the legislature left for recess earlier this month.
