The Democrat-controlled chamber voted to advance a bill from Sen. Scott Surovell to a third and final reading after rejecting a Republican senator’s proposed changes that would have significantly altered it.
Virginia Dems Prepare to End Death Penalty Gov. Ralph Northam (D., Va.) / Getty Images
January 28, 2021 1:51 PM
Virginia Democrats plan to abolish the state s death penalty will soon get a full hearing in the state Senate, a process likely to end with the Old Dominion state becoming the first in the south to end capital punishment.
Senate Bill 1165, which would end executions and convert Virginia s outstanding death sentences to life without parole, advanced through two committees over the objections of a minority of Republicans before making it to the Senate floor on Wednesday. It will now face a full vote in the state s upper chamber, but Democratic control of both houses and of the governor s mansion indicate an eventual passage is likely.
RICHMOND â The Virginia Senate narrowly passed a measure Thursday to move any municipal elections still held in the spring to November.
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a Democrat, broke a 19-19 tie on the bill by Sen. Lionell Spruill, D-Chesapeake, following a lengthy debate. Advocates said November elections allow more voter participation, while opponents worried about national partisan politics tainting local races.
âI put this bill in for the people,â Spruill said.
The bill now moves on to the House of Delegates for its consideration.
Spruill said that most local elections in Virginia are still held in May. Voter turnout is substantially lower, especially among people of color, than in November elections. He also said it would be more fiscally responsible to consolidate the local elections onto the November ballot.
As the 2021 General Assembly session begins, lawmakers are set to consider a slate of bills that aim to reform Virginiaâs system of electric utility regulation with the goal of bringing down customer bills.
âThis work is an extension of the work we did last session to commit Virginia to massive clean energy investments,â said Del. Sally Hudson (D-Charlottesville). âThereâs two pieces going on here: Thereâs confronting climate change and investing in clean energy. And then thereâs doing it at a fair price.â
More than a dozen legislators, largely from the House of Delegates but drawing on both sides of the aisle, are behind the push, which builds on a smaller handful of proposals put before the General Assembly in 2020.
: :
Virginia Speaker of the Houser Eileen Filler-Corn seated at the head of the House of Delegates chamber. (Photo: Craig Carper/VPM News)
Members of Virginia’s House of Delegates may be meeting remotely, but most will still collect $211 daily payments during their virtual 2021 session to supplement their salaries.
The so-called session payment rate is pegged to federal estimates of Richmond meal and hotel prices. Unlike formal per diems normally given to lawmakers who travel to Richmond during session, the 2021 payments are subject to taxes.
The payments are separate from part-time delegates’ annual salary ($17,640), office stipend ($15,000 for most delegates) and compensation for non-session meetings ($300 for a half-day, $400 for a full day). Each lawmaker s legislative assistant will also collect the $211. Del. Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) and Del. Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper) have declined the payments, according to Elizabeth Mancano, the Ho