Virginia Legal*Political Blog

The Virginia Senate on Friday approved a bill that would close the door on open-end loans offered by payday lenders.
As reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the unanimous vote looked like payback for what some leaders felt was dishonorable dealing by the payday lending industry after negotiations on restrictions at last year’s session.
The House of Delegates [...]

[Read more →]

A bill to clarify confusion about where Virginia college students should register to vote won approval from a House subcommittee yesterday.
As The News & Advance reports, the bill doesn’t mention college students specifically, but seeks to clarify some of the issues that some Virginia registrars said they found unclear, particularly in college communities.
The [...]

[Read more →]

The Virginia Senate today gave approval to an election proposal that had been quickly dismissed by a House subcommittee earlier in the session.
Senate Bill 810 would allow qualified voters to vote absentee – without having to provide an excuse – for 45 days prior to an election.  It cleared the Senate on a 24 to [...]

[Read more →]

The House of Delegates today swore in Del. Charniele Herring after her recount victory was confirmed by a three-judge panel in Alexandria Circuit Court.  “We only wonder what took you so long,” quipped House Speaker William Howell as Herring was welcomed to the House.
By Peter Vieth

[Read more →]

The judge who slammed Gloucester County citizens with an $80,000 legal fee award has come in for vehement criticism, while three legislators are offering bills to eliminate any penalty for seeking recall of elected officials.
Substitute Circuit Judge Westbrook J. Parker said the citizens who asked the court to remove four Gloucester supervisors abused the judicial [...]

[Read more →]

Sen. Mark D. Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, made himself a lightning rod for criticism by introducing a bill that would require a woman to report her miscarriage to police with 24 hours.
Obenshain explained that he introduced Senate Bill 962 in response to a situation in Harrisonburg where authorities could not locate a fetus that was thrown in [...]

[Read more →]

A Senate bill that would force Virginia drivers to carry at least $100,000 in auto liability coverage faces stiff opposition from the insurance industry.
Sen. W. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Martinsville, introduced Senate Bill 1360 at the request of the Carroll County Farm Bureau, according to his office.  The bill would make the minimum coverage for auto policies [...]

[Read more →]

Those of you who relish a good old-fashioned separation of powers dustup will enjoy this item.
Those of you who hate to see the courts, especially the Supreme Court of Virginia, pulled into a smashmouth political battle won’t be so happy.
A number of legislators didn’t like it when the Supreme Court tried to tell them how [...]

[Read more →]

A Newport News law firm contends House Bill 1762 could bring severe limits on recoveries for victims of asbestos exposure.  Lawyer Bobby Hatten calls it “an absolutely evil bill,” according to the Daily Press.

[Read more →]

A House of Delegates subcommittee voted along party lines to kill bills that would have provided for no-excuse early voting in Virginia and for a bipartisan redistricting commission.
The Roanoke Times reports the early-Monday-morning meeting of the six-member panel brought out a large crowd.
Posted by Peter Vieth

[Read more →]