An expanded Democratic majority in the Virginia House of Delegates could bode well for a revived bid to let local governments ban gas-powered leaf blowers.
When the General Assembly convenes this month, Del. Rip Sullivan (D-6) recently confirmed to FFXnow that he intends to reintroduce legislation authorizing localities to prohibit or regulate the machines after previous attempts faltered along party lines.
After Virginia Democrats exceeded expectations in yesterday’s elections, optimism is high among Fairfax County lawmakers.
Flipping each of Virginia’s statewide offices with Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi and Jay Jones winning, respectively, for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general was only a portion of the party’s statewide success on Election Day.
A bill to raise Virginia’s minimum wage got the ax in Richmond despite the support of three Fairfax County state senators.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed legislation on March 28 that would’ve increased the minimum wage from $12 to $15 an hour by 2026. Sens. Jennifer Boysko, Saddam Salim and Adam Ebbin, who all represent parts of Fairfax County, were among several Democrats to sponsor the bill.
In the latest round of action on bills, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed 100 bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly, including one to protect Virginians from unlawful discrimination, hate crimes and antisemitism. The governor vetoed four others, including one to create civil penalties for shop owners who fail to advertise they are selling invasive plants that could harm other species.
Among the 100 bills signed is a measure that will codify a recommendation by the Commission to Combat Antisemitism that Virginia revise its laws to better protect Jewish citizens from hate crimes, along with Muslims, Sikhs and other ethnic-religious groups.
Final consideration of state Sen. Saddam Salim’s (D-37) proposal to expand the availability of accessory housing units in Virginia will wait until next year.
A Virginia House of Delegates committee voted on Feb. 23 to table Senate Bill 304, until 2025, suggesting that the delay would give Salim and other legislators more time to refine the bill and collect data on existing local policies allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which are known in Fairfax County as accessory living units (ALUs).
Future developers in Vienna may have half as much time to cultivate tree shade on their properties.
The Virginia State Senate recently passed legislation that would enable Vienna to adopt 10-year tree canopy requirements in place of the current 20-year time frame, getting the town a step closer to accomplishing one of its top priorities for the past couple of years.
(Updated at 4:20 p.m.) A state-level push to ease restrictions on accessory residential units could put Fairfax County at odds with one of its own senators.
The proposed Senate Bill 304 from state Sen. Saddam Salim (D-37) would require localities to permit accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in residential districts and prohibit them from setting certain conditions, including the provision of dedicated parking for the unit.
