This is a daily newsletter covering Virginia politics from top to bottom. Please consider becoming the ultimate political insider by supporting non-partisan, independent news and becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter today.
Today’s Sponsor: Clean Virginia
Meeting with elected officials face-to-face is the best way to advocate for affordable and clean energy during the Virginia General Assembly legislative session. Save your spot now to make your voice heard at the 2024 Day of Action for Affordable Energy on Tuesday, February 6th.
Miyares is suing the NCAA
Attorney General Jason Miyares is suing the NCAA alongside Tennessee’s attorney general to try to help student-athletes have more freedom in earning money for their participation in college sports.
Miyares alleges that the NCAA’s restrictions on the ability of current and future student-athletes to negotiate and benefit from their Name, Image, and Likeness rights (NIL) violate federal antitrust law and are harmful to current and future student-athletes.
“Student-athletes generate massive revenues for the NCAA, its members, and corporations within the college sports industry, especially in football and basketball,” said Miyares. “Student athletes should have more freedom over negotiating and earning money for their skills and ability.”
Miyares says that despite new state laws allowing student-athletes to be compensated, the NCAA has adopted a shifting and opaque series of rules and guidelines that “thwart the ability of student-athletes to get fair compensation for their NIL.”
The announcement from Miyares states that prospective student-athletes are:
prevented from negotiating with collectives;
unable to review NIL offers prior to making enrollment decisions; and
cannot adequately consider the full scope of NIL-related services a school might offer upon enrollment.
“Colleges and universities benefit dramatically from the success of their student-athletes,” Miyares said Wednesday. “It’s only fair that student-athletes also get the full picture of how they may benefit from their choice of school as well.”
Sponsor: Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association
The Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association, which advocates for the journalists who cover the General Assembly, invites advocates, lawmakers and members of the public to its annual dinner, Feb. 15, at the Capital Ale House. Tickets are available online, and proceeds from the event help sustain the work of the association.
Today’s General Assembly Schedule
10:00 a.m.House Appropriations - Higher Education Subcommittee; House Appropriations Committee Room - 1200, General Assembly Building (sub-committee info)
11:00 a.m.House Democratic Caucus; Ho Room 1, The Capitol
11:15 a.m.House Republican Caucus; House Room 2, The Capitol
11:15 a.m.Senate Democratic Caucus; Senate Room 1, The Capitol
11:15 a.m.Senate Republican Caucus; Senate Room 2, The Capitol
12:00 p.m.House Convenes; House Chamber, The Capitol
12:00 p.m.Senate Convenes; Senate Chamber, The Capitol
15 min aftHouse Finance; House Committee Room B - 205, General Assembly Building - 15 Minutes after adjournment of House (Provide Comment) (committee info)
1/2 hr aftHouse Appropriations; House Appropriations Committee Room - 1200, General Assembly Building - 1/2 hour after adjournment of House (committee info)
Adj fullHouse Appropriations - Transportation and Public Safety Subcommittee; House Appropriations Committee Room - 1200, General Assembly Building - Immediately upon adjournment of Appropriations Committee (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info)
Adj subHouse Appropriations - Commerce, Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee; House Appropriations Committee Room - 1200, General Assembly Building - Immediately Upon adjournment of T & P S Subcommittee (Provide Comm (sub-committee info)
30 min aftSenate General Laws and Technology; Senate Room B, General Assembly Building - 30 minutes after adjournment (View Meeting) (committee info)
30 min aftSenate Courts of Justice; Senate Room A, General Assembly Building - 30 minutes after adjournment (View Meeting) (committee info)
1hr 15 minHouse Courts of Justice; House Committee Room C - 206, General Assembly Building - 1 hour 15 min. after adjournment of House (committee info)
1 hr aftHouse Courts of Justice - Criminal; House Committee Room C - 206, General Assembly Building - 1 hour after adjournment of the House (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info)
1 hr aftHouse Courts of Justice - Civil; House North Subcommittee Room - 200, General Assembly Building - 1 hour after adjournment of the House (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info)
4:00 p.m.House Agriculture Chesapeake and Natural Resources - Agriculture Subcommittee; House South Subcommittee Room - 210, General Assembly Building (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info)
4:00 p.m.House Transportation - Highway Safety and Policy; House Committee Room A - 008, General Assembly Building (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info)
In Virginia, permitless hound hunting may become a thing of the past - Radio IQ
by Brad Kutner
They say George Washington hunted with hounds in Virginia when the nation was founded, but as the Commonwealth’s largest farms get cut into smaller parcels, modern hound hunting is running headlong into property rights advocates who say they’ve had enough.
“It gets your heart pumping, you hear the dogs coming, you know somethings coming your way,” said Powhatan hound hunter John Lewis, describing his love of dog hunting, or using dogs to chase down prey and then hunt them as they come into sight.
Virginia House panel scuttles plan for cruise ship casinos in state waters - Va Mercury
by Graham Moomaw
After hearing from angry Yorktown residents who said they don’t want to encourage more cruise ships in coastal Virginia, a House of Delegates panel voted 5-3 Tuesday to reject a proposal to allow large cruise ships to activate their casinos within Virginia waters.
The vote doesn’t mean the legislation is fully dead, because it’s still advancing in the Virginia Senate. But it’s a sign one of the more unexpected gambling bills of the 2024 legislative session may be in trouble.
At a meeting of a House subcommittee that deals with gambling and alcohol, Del. Paul Krizek, D-Alexandria, said he opposed the bill because it’s not following the same referendum process Virginia has used in the past to allow casino gambling.
