Politics

Governor Ralph Northam today announced that as COVID-19 hospitalizations and infection rates continue to decline and vaccinations rise in Virginia, certain outdoor sports and entertainment venues may begin to operate at increased capacity starting Monday, March 1. He amended Executive Order Seventy-Two with the next steps of the “Forward Virginia” plan to safely and gradually ease public health restrictions while mitigating the spread of the virus.

“Thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of all Virginians, hospitalization and positivity rates across the Commonwealth are the lowest they have been in nearly three months,” said Governor Northam. “As key health metrics show encouraging trends and we continue to ramp up our vaccination efforts, we can begin to gradually resume certain recreational activities and further reopen sectors of our economy. Even as we take steps to safely ease public health guidelines, we must all remain vigilant so we can maintain our progress—the more we stay home, mask up, and practice social distancing, the more lives we will save from this dangerous virus.”

Today the Virginia House of Delegates passed Senator Scott Surovell’s legislation to raise Virginia’s auto insurance minimum coverage limits. SB 1182 has now passed out of the Senate and House of Delegates. The legislation awaits Governor Ralph Northam’s signature to become law.

Virginia’s insurance minimum coverage limits have not changed since Surovell was 4 years old in 1975. They constitute the lowest level of insurance that is required to drive a car.

Are there any Republicans left in Fairfax County?

Conservatives in the deep-blue county are waking up to the fact their interests are not being represented in Richmond.

Virginia has made headlines in recent months for criminal justice reform measures but advocates say more needs to be done. They are disappointed lawmakers in both chambers of the General Assembly recently killed proposals to reduce qualified immunity protections for police officers.

State lawmakers so far this session have advanced bills to legalize marijuana, remove mandatory minimum sentences and abolish the death penalty. During the special session called last year, the General Assembly banned police from using no-knock search warrants and chokeholds.

The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill on Thursday which would provide paid leave to essential workers.

House Bill 2137, introduced by Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Woodbridge, would require essential businesses to offer paid leave to their workers, according to the bill. Employees must be offered a minimum of one paid hour off for every 30 hours they’ve worked, although the bill does not prevent employers from offering additional paid time off. A qualifying employee must work at least 20 hours a week.