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Here is a look back at Virginia Scope’s coverage from this week:
Democrats on House committee block five additional Youngkin appointments
Democrats on the House Privileges and Elections Committee are blocking five appointments from Gov. Glenn Youngkin. This is in addition to the nine appointments that the state Senate already blocked.
The committee removed a former Democratic state senator as well as a Dominion Energy employee from the list of appointments they approved Friday morning.
One of the blocked appointees is former Democratic state senator Lionell Spruill. Youngkin appointed him to serve on the Norfolk State University Board of Visitors.
Spruill served in the House of Delegates from 1994 until 2016. He served in the Senate from 2016 until he lost in a primary race against Senate Pro Tempore Louise Lucas in 2023 after redistricting placed them in the same district.
The committee also blocked David Botkins, an employee for Dominion Energy, from his appointment to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees.
Democrats use legislative tactics to force Sears to vote on contraception bill
Democrats in the state Senate pulled a political maneuver to force Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears to cast a tie-breaking vote on a bill involving a woman’s right to contraception. Sears, who voted against the bill Tuesday, is running for governor later this year and Democrats are already attacking her for the vote.
The bill would guarantee a right to obtain contraceptives and engage in contraception in Virginia.
To set up the move, Democrats, who had a 21-18 majority in the chamber on Tuesday due to a missing Republican, created a 19-19 vote by having Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, abstain and Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, vote against the bill.
The rest of the Democrats voted in support, and all of the Republicans voted against it.
Sears was then forced to do one of her two constitutionally mandated duties: cast a tie-breaking vote.
She killed the bill.
The rule that permits a member who voted against a bill to ask for it to be reconsidered allowed McPike to bring it back up for a vote.
There is a bipartisan effort to reform probation in Virginia
Five Republicans and all 51 Democrats in Virginia’s House of Delegates voted in support of a GOP-sponsored bill Thursday that would establish criteria for reducing supervised probation periods in Virginia. Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick, is sponsoring the legislation. The companion bill in the Senate, also sponsored by a Republican, sailed out of committee unanimously.
The legislation would give individuals on probation incentives to shorten their time by completing specific requirements for at least six months. These requirements include having health insurance, maintaining a job, completing educational activities, finishing any state-certified or state-approved mental health or substance abuse treatment program, and maintaining a permanent residence.
“By focusing on rehabilitation over punitive measures, this legislation will reduce caseloads, cut costs, and create a more efficient system that helps people reintegrate, rather than cycling through incarceration and supervision,” Williams said in a statement to Virginia Scope.
He believes this approach would free up resources and allow the state to focus more on serious offenders in the system.
Three Republicans are currently seeking the lieutenant governor nomination
The fields are starting to shape up for Virginia’s statewide races later this year. So far, seven Democrats and three Republicans are running for lieutenant governor.
The three Republicans who are seeking the nomination have not been elected to any state-level office.
One is a talk-radio host, one is a member of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors and one is a defense consultant.
"Skill" games prey on Virginia’s hardest-working residents, disproportionately targeting poor and minority communities. These machines drain household incomes, exploit vulnerable populations, and bring crime and addiction into our neighborhoods. Learn more here.
School districts across Virginia try to reassure families over immigration worries
School leaders across Virginia are trying to reassure students and families after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office removing protections against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids from sensitive places, including schools, hospitals and places of worship.
The Migration Policy Institute estimated in 2019 that 17,000 enrolled students in Virginia were undocumented. In the days since the Trump order was signed, school districts across the state have been working to ease the concerns of families.
The U.S. Department of Education has previously stated that “all children in the United States are entitled to equal access to a public elementary and secondary education, regardless of their or their parents’ actual or perceived national origin, citizenship, or immigration status.”
This is reinforced by the 1982 Supreme Court decision Plyler v. Doe, which established that all children, regardless of immigration status, have the right to a public education. Additionally, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), enacted in 1974, protects students’ privacy.
In Richmond, Superintendent Jason Kamras sent a message to the community assuring students that they would be safe at school.
Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Rich Anderson announced that he will not be running for lieutenant governor later this year. He never officially jumped into the race, but he considered seeking the nomination later this year after President Donald Trump’s victory in November.
“For months now, Republicans across Virginia have encouraged me to seek the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, a prospect that I have considered in recent weeks,” Anderson said Tuesday. “After consulting with my family and Republican colleagues across Virginia, I have concluded that I will not be a candidate for office in 2025.”
Anderson served in the House of Delegates representing part of Prince William County until he lost to Hala Ayala during the “blue wave” in 2017.
He was then elected to chair the state party in 2020.
Fairfax Supervisor Pat Herrity, conservative talk show host John Reid and military veteran John Curran are currently seeking the nomination.
John McAuliff, a small business owner in Warrenton, announced his candidacy for HD-30 Tuesday. Republican Geary Higgins currently represents HD-30.
“Growing up, I learned the value of hard work and community from my grandparents in Piedmont,” McAuliff said in his announcement. “From my experience renovating my family’s home into a thriving small business to my work helping farmers and small businesses lower their electric bills by embracing clean energy, I’ve seen firsthand how we can create opportunity when we work together. I’m running for Delegate to protect our farmland, defend our rights, and help Virginians buy their first home and start their first business – an American dream that’s becoming harder to achieve.”
McAuliff owns the Chilton House Bed and Breakfast and is the former chief of staff for Del. David Reid, D-Loudoun. Reid endorsed his campaign Tuesday.
I take exception to the way "Democrats use legislative tactics to force Sears to vote on contraception bill" is narrated. It makes it look like Republicans are against contraception which they really aren't. They really oppose Plan B contraception being forced onto entities that have religious opposition to it. Younkins veto last year on the same Bill was pretty clear that we need to keep access to contraception while also not violating constitutional religious freedoms. Democrats refuse to cede this point which fundamentally would force all entities regardless of religious beliefs to provide the Plan B contraception. The Democrats then forced the vote so that Sears was left to vote on the tie. After the bill failed, the two Democratic representatives then flipped there vote to a YES to pass the bill. It is a political hit job staged by the Democrats.
I take exception to the way "Democrats use legislative tactics to force Sears to vote on contraception bill" is narrated. It makes it look like Republicans are against contraception which they really aren't. They really oppose Plan B contraception being forced onto entities that have religious opposition to it. Younkins veto last year on the same Bill was pretty clear that we need to keep access to contraception while also not violating constitutional religious freedoms. Democrats refuse to cede this point which fundamentally would force all entities regardless of religious beliefs to provide the Plan B contraception. The Democrats then forced the vote so that Sears was left to vote on the tie. After the bill failed, the two Democratic representatives then flipped there vote to a YES to pass the bill. It is a political hit job staged by the Democrats.