January 25th, 2012 by Waldo Jaquith
It’s surprisingly difficult to find out who represents you in Richmond. There are a smattering of websites that perform that service, but none have been updated in many months, and don’t reflect the recent redistricting. The only decent source that I know of is the legislature’s own “Who’s My Legislator?” page, but even that is wrong. (For instance, it claims that I am represented by Sen. Bryce Reeves when, in fact, I’m represented by Sen. Creigh Deeds, an error presumably resulting from my precinct being split between the two.) To address this problem, Richmond Sunlight now provides the ability to look up your legislator, a feature created by combining the Yahoo PlaceFinder API, the Sunlight Foundation’s Open State Project API, and Richmond Sunlight’s own database.
To find out who your Senator and Delegate are, just go to the “Your Legislator” page, enter your address, and you’ll immediately be told which two members of the General Assembly represent you. Please share this page with friends so that they can see what their legislators are up to during this session!
January 13th, 2012 by VCU Capital News Service
By Claire Porter
Capital News Service
RICHMOND – Virginia Democratic leaders are speaking out against Republican legislation that they said seeks to make abortion illegal and even might restrict access to some forms of legal birth control.
The Democrats lashed out at House Bill 1, which would define a human embryo or fetus as a person under state law. The bill, introduced by Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, states that, beginning at conception, unborn children have “all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of this Commonwealth,” regardless of their stage of development.
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January 11th, 2012 by Waldo Jaquith
This year’s two-month General Assembly session got underway today, with promise of being a lively one. As expected, there was a 20/20 vote in the Senate over leadership positions, Democrats voting to keep themselves in power and Republicans voting to put themselves in the chairmanships. Also as expected, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, a Republican cast the tie-breaking vote, and all of the Senate chairmanships have claimed by Republicans. All of those new committee memberships and chairmanships are duly reflected on Richmond Sunlight’s committee listings.
You can watch the legislation roll in each day. Tag some bills (that’s what makes the magic happen), comment on legislation, and track those that interest you in Photosynthesis. We’ve got a powerful new search engine powering the site, too, so make sure you use that “search” box at the top of the page!
One final note about this session. Last year, experimentally, we partnered with VCU’s Jeff South, who runs the Capital News Service, which has undergraduate journalism students cover the General Assembly, writing stories about legislation that would have been big news 10–15 years ago, but that go without coverage today. As the capital press corps shrinks to just a few people, the sort of coverage that they offer has become enormously valuable. So Richmond Sunlight published all of their articles to our blog, and linked to those articles from any legislation mentioned within them, so that people looking at bills can read articles that explain them. That went really well for everybody, so we’re doing it again this year, as what we envision as a permanent partnership. The first story appeared just today: Chaneé Patterson’s “Momentum Builds to Let Schools Open Before Labor Day,” an article looking at the eight bills that would change or outright eliminate the statewide school calendar. This coverage will continue throughout the session, and I know you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I do.
January 11th, 2012 by VCU Capital News Service
By Chaneé Patterson
Capital News Service
RICHMOND – Parents should think twice about scheduling a family vacation at the end of August or in early September.
Gov. Robert McDonnell wants to give Virginia school systems the authority to start classes before Labor Day.
McDonnell has proposed repealing Virginia’s so-called “Kings Dominion law,” which prohibits public schools from opening before Labor Day unless they obtain a waiver from the state.
Such waivers have become commonplace: Of the 132 school districts in Virginia, 77 of them received a waiver for this school year.
“So now the exception has become the rule,” McDonnell said at a news conference outlining his education agenda for the 2012 legislative session. “When that happens, it seems like the rule should be modified.”
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January 1st, 2012 by Waldo Jaquith
On this, the first day of 2012, Richmond Sunlight has been refreshed for the 2012 session, which starts in just ten days. Only 169 bills have been filed so far, but they’ll really start pouring in soon. This is a budget session, held on even-numbered years, so this year’s session will run for eight weeks, rather than the six weeks of odd-numbered years.
There’s some added excitement this year, in the form of a divided Senate. The formerly majority-Democratic chamber is now split 20/20 between Democrats and Republicans, with Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling acting as the tie-breaking vote. Short of an unlikely power-sharing agreement, this will result in Republicans taking over the chairmanship of Senate committees, and gives Republicans control of both chambers. With Republican Bob McDonnell as governor, this leaves Republicans able to pass any legislation that they care to, provided that they can keep their Senate caucus in order; a single defection would prevent that. In years past there were centrist Senators who might have been easier to peel off, but with the last two moderates gone this year (William Wampler (R-Bristol) and Fred Quayle (R-Suffolk)), that leaves Democrats with the more difficult task of trying to peel off center-right Republicans like Harry Blevins (R-Chesapeake) Jim LeMunyon (R-Oak Hill), surely a more difficult task. Keep an eye on those dynamics this session!
April 8th, 2011 by VCU Capital News Service
By Alyx Duckett and Kayla Wamsley
Capital News Service
Public high schools, colleges and universities in Virginia must accept American Sign Language toward fulfillment of foreign language requirements under a bill that received final approval by the General Assembly this week.
House Bill 1435 says high schools must “count completion of an American Sign Language course toward the fulfillment of any foreign language requirement for graduation.” Moreover, such courses “shall be counted toward satisfaction of the foreign language entrance requirements of a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth.”
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April 7th, 2011 by VCU Capital News Service
By Erica Terrini
Capital News Service
RICHMOND – Abortion will not be covered by certain private insurance plans in Virginia after the General Assembly on Wednesday upheld Gov. Bob McDonnell’s amendments to Virginia’s Healthcare Exchange Act.
The General Assembly on Wednesday night approved the governor’s proposals to ban private insurers from covering abortions if they participate in Virginia’s health-care exchange program.
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April 7th, 2011 by VCU Capital News Service
By Fletcher Babb
Capital News Service
RICHMOND – The state Senate has ensured that Virginians will still ask that age-old question: “Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?”
The Senate on Wednesday night overturned Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal to eliminate state funding for public broadcasting over the next two years.
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April 4th, 2011 by VCU Capital News Service
By Tracy Kennedy
Capital News Service
RICHMOND – Community leaders and concerned citizens turned out en masse Monday to protest proposed redistricting maps at the General Assembly’s final public hearing.
“Because of elections this year, unlike in most state, the redistricting timetable here is short,” Sen. Janet Howell, D-Reston, explained as she led the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections’ public forum. “It’s only been one month since Virginia received corrected census numbers.”
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April 1st, 2011 by VCU Capital News Service
By Fletcher Babb
Capital News Service
RICHMOND – Gov. Bob McDonnell has proposed a series of amendments to legislation that would require large employers to provide insurance coverage for autistic children.
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