Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and the legislators of both parties who have given him at least some of the tax reforms he asked for need to stop being shy and take a real victory lap. He has been in office less than two years and has diverted $5 billion from tax...
The following has been submitted to the State Corporation Commission via the public comment portal it has established for Dominion Energy Virginia’s pending 2023 Integrated Resource Plan. It was drafted by Jefferson Institute Senior Fellow Stephen D. Haner. Dominion Energy Virginia is acting reasonably and prudently by planning to maintain...
“Our balance sheet couldn’t be stronger…this is our moment to soar.” So said Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Wednesday. Every year, our governors come to the legislature to report on the end of the fiscal year financial result, and often they say something like that. They always prefer to bring a...
The front line in the war against fossil fuels in Virginia has now shifted back to the State Corporation Commission, and as usual only one side has fielded an army and brought heavy weapons to the battlefield. Those who might defend the continued use of coal and natural gas are...
From the ‘50s to the mid-‘70s, the Republican Party was known as “the stupid party” – locked in the past, making foolish decisions, promoting unwise and counterproductive policies. Today, in Virginia, “the stupid party” has returned. But it is no longer Republican. The current battle over Virginia’s budget and the prospects...
Virginia is one of only two states that hold their major legislative elections this odd-numbered year, with the other being New Jersey. In New Jersey, the state’s offshore wind aspirations have become a major political issue, with even Democrats now starting to question the wisdom of the plan. The Democrats control...
The latest preliminary figures from the Virginia Department of Revenue put the current general fund budget surplus at more than $5.1 billion for fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30. This is more than double the $1.94 billion surplus the commonwealth posted in 2022. This huge surplus is money left over after every single...
With growing turmoil in the offshore wind industry finally being reported, it would be nice to turn the clock back a year and revisit the State Corporation Commission’s failed 2022 effort to impose a real performance standard on Dominion Energy Virginia’s $10 billion, 176-turbine project. No such luck, Virginia. While two projects...
Not only are the leading Virginia Senate budget negotiators adamantly opposed to providing Virginians with additional tax relief in this election year, but they are now hinting at partial roll back of one of the major individual tax reforms approved just last year. When the 2022 General Assembly approved a...
The following paragraph was written five months ago. It is reproduced now with some emphasis added. The 2023 Virginia General Assembly tax debate is just another revival of an old political show. Last year it ended well for new Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and for those hoping to pay less in state...
