Governor’s Paid Leave “Fix” Leaves the Biggest Problems Untouched
Earlier this year, I warned that Virginia’s proposed Paid Family and Medical Leave Act would create one of the most expansive and expensive paid leave programs in the country. I had hoped the Governor’s new amendments issued just before midnight last night would fix those concerns. They don’t. The legislation would still establish a statewide insurance system funded by mandatory payroll contributions from workers […]
Governor Spanberger: Don’t Make Principals Jump Through Hoops to Keep Students and Teachers Safe
By Ali Ahmad and Derrick A. Max Conservatives across the country are salivating at the idea that Virginia’s new governor may sign a bill that opens her to the charge that she is siding with school bullies and delinquents over teachers and principals. House Bill 298, patroned by Delegate Delores McQuinn, is now on Governor Spanberger’s desk. […]
The Schoolhouse as Clinic: The Dangerous Mission Creep of Public School Mental Health Screenings
Virginia parents should be alarmed that the Virginia General Assembly just passed House Bill 355 which mandates annual mental health screenings for all public school students in grades 6 through 12. While framed as a compassionate response to a very real “mental health crisis,” it represents a fundamental shift in the mission of public education: from academic instruction to clinical surveillance. By institutionalizing mandatory mental health screenings, HB 355 threatens […]
The Virginia General Assembly Passed Nine Bills to Increase Electricity Costs
The 2026 Virginia General Assembly has passed at least nine separate new laws that will increase the cost of your electricity. Not one of the bills creates a single megawatt of additional energy for our use. Most of the bills create new ways for the utilities to take money from all their ratepayers and spend it […]
Will Voters Bring Gerrymandering Back to Virginia?
Unless Virginia voters reject the constitutional amendment on the ballot April 21, gerrymandering will return to Virginia. Five years ago, 66% of Virginia voters — 2.8 million Virginians — approved a bipartisan redistricting constitutional amendment ending gerrymandering. The result was a map that is widely regarded as one of the fairest in the country. The new proposal, however, for […]
Collective Bargaining Will Only Further Divide Virginia’s Universities
Cardinal News ran my guest column this morning warning that collective bargaining at Virginia’s public universities will only further depen the political divides that are undermining Virginia’s once esteemed system of higher education. The push to unionize university workers in Virginia is not about increased pay, better working conditions, or fairness. Beneath the rhetoric it is clear this debate […]
First They Came for the Data Centers, But Will It Stop There?
Building Virginia into the leader of the data center industry for the United States and the world has been a bipartisan goal of several recent governors and General Assemblies. The golden egg laying goose they nurtured is now in danger of being butchered. What is happening to this one industry during the 2026 General Assembly […]
The Rocket Caboose Confirms the Progressive Majority’s Real Priorities
By Ali Ahmad, Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment Over the last four years, I served as a senior aide to former Governor Glenn Youngkin, including as Policy Director and Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy. One of my main roles was in support of the Governor’s weighty responsibility to review legislation sent to […]
The General Assembly’s 22.5% “Labor Tax” Gamble
As the Virginia General Assembly enters the final weeks of its 2026 session, a wave of new labor mandates is about to reach the Governor’s desk, two of which she has promised to sign, and one she seems inclined to support as well. House Bill 5 (Paid Sick Leave), Senate Bill 2 (Paid Family and Medical Leave), and House […]
House and Senate Budgets Propose No Major Tax or Spending Increases
The Senate and House of Delegates’ financial committees met on Sunday to approve competing sets of amendments to the next Virginia budget, neither proposing any general tax increases. The Senate version included modest tax reform: a small taxpayer rebate for this year and an increase in the income tax standard deduction. The Senate, however, allows […]