As National School Choice Week 2022 concludes, the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy today released results of a polling question demonstrating the overwhelming popularity of Virginia’s sole education choice program. Support is particularly strong in the state’s Black community. The question, contained in a poll about current General Assembly...
New Governor Glenn Youngkin has now submitted his tax cut proposals to the 2022 General Assembly in the form of bills and budget amendments, and if all his campaign pledges are adopted it will be the most significant tax cut in the state’s recent history. “There is one vital thing...
The high consumer cost of Virginia’s forced conversion to a fossil fuel free economy remains unpopular with Republican and Independent voters, but is supported by many Democrats, a recent poll revealed. Even Democrats, however, dislike a new carbon tax that is now targeted for repeal. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public...
As a handful of localities push to give government unions a monopoly over public employee contracts, lawmakers in Richmond are looking to protect public employees around the state. Del. Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper, has introduced a suite of bills to help protect the rights of public employees, promote union democracy and...
“The Department of Energy, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, shall analyze the life cycle of renewable energy facilities, including solar, wind, and battery storage components. The analysis shall assess the (i) feasibility, costs, recycling and salvage opportunities, waste strategies, and liability for the decommissioning of materials; (ii)...
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) will proceed to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative carbon tax compact by the same route Virginia entered it: He will push to repeal the underlying regulation. As with much else in his promised “Day One” agenda, it will actually take time. What he...
Dominion Energy Virginia’s November announcement that its proposed offshore wind project has jumped almost 25% in cost to $10 billion, with years to go before construction even starts, has put Virginia’s energy policy and its response to claims of climate disaster on the front burner for 2022. Dealing with these...
One of big financial winners with the May 2021 and then January 2022 Virginia minimum wage increases is the state itself, because the entire raise is subject to a 5 percent state income tax. With its low standard deduction and personal exemption amounts, Virginia squeezes income tax out of even...
In 2020 the Virginia Assembly changed a decades-old law and allowed local governments to collectively bargain with most public employees. The law went into effect on May 1, 2021 and gives “a county, city, or town… [which includes] any local school board” the ability to adopt a local ordinance or...
(Author’s Note: Eight years ago, we suggested incoming Governor Terry McAuliffe pursue a bold education funding reform that would modernize and supercharge Virginia’s education infrastructure. He chose not to. We offer it again, verbatim, to Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin … because we believe the idea crosses ideological lines and party divides...
