Early indicators suggest Virginians responded to a slate of proposed gun control legislation with a noticeable increase in firearm background checks. The bills mark one the most significant shifts in the state’s firearm laws in recent years, and build on previously...
The House of Delegates passed a bill Tuesday that adds additional parts of the James River to a statewide conservation program. Del. C. Matthew Fariss, R-Campbell, introduced House Bill 49, which designates 37 additional miles of the James River in Nelson and Appomattox counties as the James State Scenic River, part of the Virginia Scenic Rivers...
The Senate will consider a bill that could extend the amount of time it takes for public school teachers to receive long-term contracts. Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, introduced House Bill 9, which advanced on a 52-47 vote. The companion bill introduced by Sen. Mark J. Peake, R-Lynchburg, was passed by indefinitely in a Senate subcommittee this...
Two bills introduced by Republicans to halt future minimum wage increases have advanced to the House floor. Minimum wage in Virginia increased to $11 an hour on Jan. 1 and is set to increase to $12 next January. The House Commerce and Energy committee approved House Bill 320, introduced by Del. Nicholas J. Freitas, R-Culpeper, and HB 296,...
Virginia legalized it; mere hours from now, you will legally be able to possess small amounts of marijuana within the commonwealth. But can you legally buy it? Grow it? Well, that's complicated. Let RVA Mag break it down for you. Beginning July 1, 2020, adults in Virginia aged 21 years old or older will be able to legally possess and cultivate...
In the wake of last summer's protests and the pulling down of Confederate monuments around the state, universities within the commonwealth are dealing with the remnants of the Confederacy and of systemic racism that remain on their campuses today. Virginia universities in the former heart of the Confederacy are reckoning with their past as...
Marijuana was originally scheduled to become fully legal in Virginia in 2024, but now Governor Northam has listened to advocates and is now working to move up the timeline, potentially making it legal this summer. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam amended legislation to accelerate the legalization of marijuana possession and home cultivation in the...
Over the course of 15 years in the General Assembly, state Sen. Jennifer McClellan has actively shaped Virginia's political landscape. Now, with her campaign to become Virginia's next governor, she wants to take things to the next level. Sen. Jennifer McClellan is one of 13 candidates vying to become Virginia’s next governor; a state that has...
University of Richmond's School of Law held a six-hour symposium recently about the school-to-prison pipeline and ways students of color are kept at a disadvantage by zero tolerance policies and overpolicing of school grounds. Schools have become places of trauma for students of color and help reinforce centuries of systemic racism by driving...
Thanks to Governor Ralph Northam and the General Assembly, Virginia's long tradition of imposing the death penalty is headed for a permanent end in the near future. We look back at the history to see why this is a positive development for the commonwealth. With Governor Ralph Northam expected to sign a bill that passed through the General...
