Richmond, VA-–This weekend marks Virginia’s annual sales tax holiday. During this three-day window, qualifying school supplies and back-to-school clothing are exempt from the sales tax, as are some weather preparedness supplies and EnergyStar-certified appliances. Even modest relief from rising costs can be a big help to working families, but critics of sales tax holidays say they […]
Press Releases
ICYMI: Workers At DC Airports Win Four-Year Campaign for Paid Sick Leave
Washington, DC-–Frontline union members and service workers at DC’s major airports are celebrating this week as their four-year fight for paid sick leave has ended in victory. Starting in January of 2025, workers at Reagan National and Dulles International Airports will receive 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. For the first time, frontline airport […]
Supreme Court Rejects Meritless Mifepristone Case- Abortion Pill Access Remains Legal in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine
Richmond, VA – Today, the United States Supreme Court released their decision in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, ruling to maintain access to the abortion pill, mifepristone. Today’s decision ensures continued access to this safe, effective and popular abortion method for all Virginians. As abortion restrictions spread across the country, Virginia remains a crucial access point […]
Youngkin’s Move on EVs Is Reckless, Costly, and Probably Illegal
Richmond, VA-–Despite his party’s failed attempt to roll back Virginia’s best-in-class emissions standards in the last legislative session, today Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that Virginia would no longer be permitted to enforce the robust emission standards voted on by the General Assembly in 2021 and instead, would be required to return to the more lax […]
In a Time Of National Debate On Contraception, Youngkin’s Veto Is Ominous
Richmond, VA-–When Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an eleventh-hour veto of the Contraceptive Equity Act last month, he entered into what has become an increasingly fraught national debate around the right to access and use contraception. The bills, sponsored by Senator Ghazala Hashmi and Delegate Marcia Price, would have guaranteed that medical professionals would be legally allowed to prescribe contraception and […]
Virginia’s Largest Police Force Will Operate Without Body-Worn Cameras For Another Year
Richmond, VA-–An amendment that would have required officers of the Virginia State Police to wear body cameras was quietly stripped from this year’s state budget, which was finalized on Monday. The amendment, sponosred by Delegate Lashrecse Aird, would have purchased body cameras for all VSP officers and would have staffed a program to collect and review the […]
ICYMI: Glenn Youngkin Is Required To Appoint a DEI Director. Why Hasn’t He?
Richmond, VA-–On Monday, Governor Glenn Youngkin, whose office once declared that “DEI is dead,” found himself signing a state spending bill that apportioned $3.6 million to the Office of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion. The bill also mandated that Governor Youngkin must return the word “equity” to the office title after attempting to change the office’s name to […]
Progress Virginia Condemns Violent Crackdown on Peaceful Campus Protests
Richmond, Virginia—Progress Virginia stands in solidarity with the protesters at Virginia Tech, University of Mary Washington, and Virginia Commonwealth University who were arrested, tear-gassed and threatened by armed law enforcement officers for engaging in their Constitutional rights of free speech and free assembly. Virginia student protesters are part of a greater national movement calling for an […]
Virginia Coalition for Progressive Values To Host a Press Conference Ahead of Veto Session on the Status of Progressive Legislation
Richmond, Virginia—Progress Virginia and the Virginia Coalition for Progressive Values will host a press conference to discuss the status of several vetoed pieces of legislation. The press conference will feature remarks from legislators, as well as stories from people whose lives were personally impacted by the legislation. Focus areas will include minimum wage, paid family […]
Youngkin Vetoes Bills That Protect Patients Seeking Abortion Care
Richmond, Virginia—As states across the country ramp up their efforts to criminalize patients for exercising reproductive choice after the Dobbs decision, Virginia has become a sanctuary for people escaping draconian laws passed in their own states. By vetoing several bills that protected patients and their care teams, Governor Glenn Youngkin has failed Virginians by refusing […]