Hardworking families across the Commonwealth are disappointed as Republican members of the House Finance Subcommittee #1 rejected Delegate Marcia Price’s HB1312, a bill to make the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) fully refundable.
Richmond, Virginia—Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee worked to protect our progress once again, this time on gun rights. They rejected several bills that would make our community less safe.
Going through the bills that were filed this session, I noticed a disturbing pattern: many of the worst bills were all sponsored by the same guy. Who, you might ask? None other than Delegate Nick Freitas.
In a significant, necessary move to improve education throughout the Commonwealth, members of the Senate Education and Health Public Education Subcommittee voted to move forward SB157, Senator Ghazala Hashmi’s bill requiring teacher salaries to be at or above the national average.
Richmond, Virginia—Republican members of the House Committee on Commerce and Energy, Subcommittee #2 voted to pass HB320 and HB296, two bill that would cap the minimum wage at $11 an
In a pivotal step away from justice today, Virginia community members are concerned today after members of House Courts of Justice Committee Subcommittee #1 voted down HB369, Delegate Angelia Williams Graves’ bill requiring defendants to have access to a lawyer the very first time they appear before a judge.
Continuing their streak, Senate Democrats on the Privileges and Elections Committee stood up today to protect our progress on voting rights, voting to shut down a slew of voter suppression bills sponsored by Republican Senators.
In the first major test of this legislative session, Democratic members of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted to protect our progress and rejected SB173, a bill sponsored by Senator Mark Peake that would cap the minimum wage at $11 an hour and prevent it from rising to the $15 an hour promised by previously passed legislation.
At their meeting this morning, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee passed SB104, sponsored by Senator Joe Morrissey, which will eliminate mandatory minimums for nearly all crimes. The bill was passed and referred to the Senate Finance Committee, where we hope it will also pass.
Navient has taken advantage of too many hard working people in our community who are now saddled with unaffordable student loan debt. Forgiving student loan debt is good for families, small businesses, and the economy as a whole. This is a good step in the right direction, but we must continue to push for student loan forgiveness for everyone.
