The Jefferson Journal
Commentary
Virginia’s Safety and Health Codes Board on Friday voted down a proposed workplace heat protection standard, strongly opposed by the state’s business community but ardently sought by organized labor and farmworker advocates. The Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) was seeking to push the proposed rules out for a final...
The Governor of Connecticut has abandoned his efforts to enroll that state in the Transportation and Climate Initiative, an interstate compact which would impose a cap, tax and ration scheme on gasoline and diesel fuel. Virginia remains a part of the planning group that developed the compact, which has now...
Virginia’s new collective bargaining law is forcing local government officials to deal with a controversial issue fraught with potential errors and legal risks. If the 2021 election showed anything, it was that Virginia voters felt the Commonwealth was going in the wrong direction. The sweep of Republicans for governor, lieutenant...
Dominion Energy Virginia’s announcement Friday 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. Below are my...
It’s official now: Even the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) has documented and highlighted how poorly Virginia’s economy is performing, how far our state is lagging national growth averages. The admission comes in the most recent summary on state spending trends, an annual report (detailed version here) which was submitted to...
Any claim that Virginia cannot reduce taxes on its citizens without damaging state programs has been further eroded by two recent announcements. The explosion of revenue from recent state tax increases is continuing, pointing to a potential repeat of last year’s $2.6 billion general fund surplus, which the state’s leadership is...
Allowing collective bargaining will put yet another special interest ahead of the parents who simply want a say in what is best for their children. Virginia parents soon could lose even more control over their children’s education. Parents frustrated with school curriculum and other education issues throughout the state have earned national attention. But as that frustration boils over into school board recall petitions and the race...
At the September 28 debate Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe dismissed the 2021 $2.6 billion general fund revenue surplus as entirely due to extra federal COVID relief funds, which is absurd on its face. By definition, every dollar is General Fund state tax revenue. It came from some form of state tax....
Counties, cities towns, and school boards in Virginia now have the ability to allow government unions to collectively bargain on behalf of all public employees. While there is no obligation to allow such monopoly union contracts, local governments and School Boards who wish to consider public sector bargaining should go...