Cox & McAuliffe announce education plans, House leaders block Lee Carter's attempt to bring 'Right to Work' to floor, and more.
Senate abolishes death penalty, McAuliffe and Cox announce new plans, and more from Virginia politics.
“But it was a very difficult vote for most members and would not have happened without the leadership of Governor Northam and many of my colleagues looking into their hearts and reaching clarity about the justice system and society we aspire be.” - Senator Scott Surovell.
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*This newsletter is sponsored by the Legal Aid Justice Center. They partner with communities and clients to achieve justice by dismantling systems that create and perpetuate poverty. Justice means racial justice, social justice, and economic justice.*
Virginia Senate votes to abolish the death penalty
The Virginia state Senate voted on Wednesday to abolish the death penalty in the Commonwealth.
The bill was sponsored by Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), a criminal defense attorney in Virginia. He says he pushed this bill for several different reasons, including the 174 people that were sentenced to death before later being exonerated for those charges.
Surovell also said that he believes a fair trial cannot take place when the death penalty is being considered and that there is a clear connection between the death penalty and racial discrimination. Statistics show that white victims only account for approximately one-half of all murder victims, while 80% of all capital cases involve white victims.
Additionally, abolishing the death penalty would save the Commonwealth money. The Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission prepared a report last year saying that it would cost $72,000 to move the two individuals currently on death row in Virginia. Surovell notes that removing the Capital Defender’s Service alone would save Virginia several million dollars.
Several Republicans spoke against the bill in an attempt to clarify their pro-life positions.
House Kills Bill Requiring Hazard Pay For Essential Employees
By Cameron Jones
Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. — Lawmakers unanimously shot down legislation this week that would have required employers to provide hazard pay to essential employees and provide protective equipment in the event of a stay-at-home order. Del. Hala S. Ayala, D-Woodbridge, said she introduced House Bill 2015 to help protect and further compensate employees required to work during a shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order.
The measure required that employers authorized to remain open must pay 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for hours worked during a stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order. Employers who failed to comply with the bill would be subject to civil penalties not exceeding $1,000 for each violation. A substitute for the bill defined essential employees as healthcare, homecare, airport, transit driver and essential retail workers. The substitute excluded restaurant workers.
Va. House leaders block delegate’s effort to force vote on right-to-work repeal
With his proposal to repeal Virginia’s right-to-work law bottled up in committee for the third year in a row, Del. Lee Carter, D-Manassas, tried unsuccessfully to force his Democratic colleagues to bring it to a floor vote Wednesday. Carter, a self-described socialist running an anti-corporate, pro-worker campaign for governor, asked the Democratic-led House to allow his bill to be released from the House Labor and Commerce Committee and brought to the floor for a vote, initiating a direct confrontation with party leaders who seem content to allow the bill to die another silent death.
Kirk Cox calls for aggressive steps to get Virginia students back in schools while he campaigns for Governor
In the announcement, Cox outlined ten specific proposals, all of which he said could be paid for with federal relief funds, to help students move forward after the pandemic.
"Last July, I joined a number of fellow legislators in urging Governor Northam to prioritize five days of in-person learning,” Cox said. “He didn't listen, and for months our school buildings sat shuttered while students languished in virtual and remote settings that did not meet their needs, despite the best effort of Virginia’s hardworking teachers.”
Cox specifically called on the General Assembly to take the following actions to attack learning loss immediately:
Provide additional state funding for one-on-one and small group tutoring on a personalized level through local school divisions for the rest of the 2021 school year and the summer
Create the READ Fund to directly reimburse parents for supplemental learning opportunities, supplies, and additional tutoring
Open summer remediation programs to all students through opt-in program, with costs covered by federal relief funds
Require DOE to issue statewide guidance on remediation best practices, with an emphasis on math and reading, no later than March 31, 2021
Require DOE to develop a statewide screening process for school divisions no later than March 31, 2021, that will help identify the specific learning losses and academic recovery needs of their students
Provide overtime and supplemental stipends for teachers willing to work with students after hours in in-person small group settings
Increase teacher compensation for participating in summer school programs and make that compensation tax free for 2021
Mobilize retired and substitute teachers to serve as temporary instructors for tutoring and summer schools by allowing them to earn tutoring and summer school compensation state-tax free for 2021
Partner with universities to allow teaching students to earn credit toward student teaching requirements for serving as tutors and summer learning instructors
Provide flexibility and streamline re-enrollment process for students returning to public schools this fall
“We need to get students back in the classroom now,” he said on Thursday. “I am glad that the Governor, President Biden, and other Democrats are finally starting to follow the science. That does not, however, excuse them from being held accountable for the damage their failed leadership has done."
Terry McAuliffe released a plan that he says will make Virginia the top state to receive a STEM-H and computer science education
Terry McAuliffe today released his bold plan to make Virginia the best state in the nation for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Healthcare (STEM-H), and computer science and computation thinking (CS & CT) education.
The McAuliffe campaign says that with this plan his administration would partner with K-12 leaders, institutions of higher education, and private sector partners to develop regional Technology Innovation Labs, offer career-oriented regional workshops, and create internships and apprenticeships to foster both in-person and virtual learning and experience.
Key points from the plan:
Address the digital equity gap
Build STEM-H, CS & CT literacy into educator curricula and increase diversity
Invest in STEM-H and computer science-specific professional development opportunities for educators with a focus on equity and inclusion
Fund additional supplemental STEM-H and computer science programs in underserved communities for students of all ages.
Expand and create a systemic approach to deliver informal, culturally competent educational campaigns about STEM-H, CS & CT.
Senator shocked by DOC estimate of $23 million to end solitary confinement in prisons - Richmond Times-Dispatch
by Patrick Wilson
State agencies put price tags on lawmakers’ bills, but Sen. Joe Morrissey had never seen one like this. The Virginia Department of Corrections projected that it would cost $23 million a year to enact his bill to end most uses of solitary confinement in state prisons.
The Collective PAC Endorses Jay Jones for Virginia Attorney General
Today, The Collective PAC, the nation’s largest political action committee dedicated to increasing Black political representation across all levels of government, endorsed Jay Jones (D-Norfolk) for Virginia Attorney General. Founders of The Collective PAC, Quentin James and Stefanie Brown James, released the following statement:
“The Collective PAC is thrilled to endorse Delegate Jay Jones for Virginia Attorney General, our first statewide endorsement for the 2021 cycle. Jay has a proven track record of championing progressive policies to ensure every working family can thrive and succeed, and has brought a much-needed voice and fresh perspective to Richmond as the state’s youngest Black legislator. In the push to build a better Commonwealth, he’s a generational leader who can usher in a refreshing wave of action and progress. Virginians deserve better than career politicians who have proven themselves unfit to lead based on their records of upholding racially-biased practices. With Jay in this critical office, Virginians will finally have a champion for racial equity and justice, who will reimagine reform, and rebuild a broken system that for too long has not delivered justice to Black and brown people. We're excited about Jay's vision for the future and look forward to supporting his historic race to become Virginia's first Black attorney general.”
Amended bill to limit solitary confinement heads to Senate floor
By Noah Fleischman
Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. — David Smith remembers dancing to music in his head and having conversations with television shows during 16 months in solitary confinement at Norfolk City Jail. “Your mind plays tricks on you,” Smith said. “There was a slow disconnect with reality. I didn’t recognize the pain that was happening in me, nor did I have the emotional strength to fight back, institutionally.”
Smith is no longer an inmate, but his goal is to end the torture that he said Virginia inmates have endured while sitting in solitary confinement. Smith served a three-year sentence after pleading guilty to 10 counts of possession of child poronography in 2013. Now Smith works with the Virginia Coalition on Solitary Confinement to lead the charge for legislative change.
Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Richmond, introduced Senate Bill 1301, to prohibit solitary confinement in adult and juvenile correctional facilities. The Senate Appropriations and Finance Committee voted 12-4 Wednesday to advance the bill with amendments.
Virginia House advances bill to weigh impact of justice changes on people of color before action - Progress Index
by Bill Atkinson
Legislation that would require a state panel to prepare racial and ethnic impact statements on criminal-justice proposals is on its way to the state Senate after clearing the House of Delegates Monday night with bipartisan support.
The bill from Del. Lashrecse D. Aird, D-Petersburg, would allow, upon request of the chairs of the House and Senate justice committees, the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission to study legislative proposals to determine the potential for adverse effects upon communities of color. JLARC would then submit a copy of its findings to the requesting chair and the sponsor of the proposal.
Virginia Hospitals Say They Have Administered More Than 435,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses So Far
According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, hospitals in the Commonwealth have administered 435,358 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in the time since the first shipment of doses arrived in mid-December. The current figure reflects doses administered by hospitals as of Tuesday, Feb. 2 and it represents a 37 percent increase from the more than 317,000 administered doses reported by VHHA last week. VHHA will continue to provide weekly vaccination updates, which will be available on the Virginia Hospital COVID-19 Dashboard.