For a second year in a row, the Virginia Senate will consider legislation that could pave the way for a casino in Fairfax County.
Senate Bill 756, championed by Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34), was advanced on a 10-5 vote yesterday (Tuesday) by the chamber’s Finance and Appropriations Committee with a key revision — criteria that limited potential casino sites to Tysons have now been dropped.
A Virginia judge ruled Tuesday that a proposed constitutional amendment letting Democrats redraw the state’s Congressional maps was illegal, potentially foiling their efforts to pick up seats in the U.S. House in November.
Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. struck down the legislature’s actions on three grounds, ruling that lawmakers failed to follow their own rules for adding the redistricting amendment to a special session; failed to approve the amendment before the public began voting in last year’s general election; and failed to publish the amendment three months before the election, as required by law.
Democratic lawmakers on Monday advanced a sweeping slate of gun safety proposals — many of them previously vetoed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin — as they test whether Virginia’s new Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, will take a more favorable view of firearm restrictions.
Over nearly four hours, the Democratic-led Senate Courts of Justice Committee approved more than half a dozen bills tightening rules on assault-style firearms, gun storage, concealed carry reciprocity, ghost guns and weapons in public spaces, while rejecting the lone Republican proposal that would have increased mandatory minimum sentences for repeat firearm offenses.
A Virginia Senate subcommittee has advanced the Tysons casino bill, setting it up for further consideration after its 2025 defeat in a House of Delegates committee.
The Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology voted 5-3 today (Friday) in favor of the legislation from Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34) to add Fairfax County as an eligible host for a casino.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34) is once again rolling the dice on legislation to allow a casino in Fairfax County.
A bill that would add the county to Virginia’s list of localities eligible to host a casino was officially introduced yesterday (Tuesday) in the state Senate, which referred it to a Committee on General Laws and Technology.
A requirement established by the Virginia Clean Economy Act could force a Lorton incinerator that converts waste into energy to shut down, undermining the intent of the law, state Sen. Scott Surovell (D-34) says.
The Senate majority leader plans to introduce a bill at the Virginia General Assembly’s upcoming session that would exclude Fairfax County’s I-95 Energy Resource Recovery Facility (9898 Furnace Road) from regulations requiring larger electricity generators to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, starting in 2031.
The Trump administration on Monday suspended leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast due to what it said were national security risks identified by the Pentagon.
Among the affected projects is Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which has been under construction about 27 miles off of the Virginia Beach coast since 2023.
Lawmakers who represent southeastern Fairfax County at both the state and federal levels are looking to clear the way for increased speed enforcement on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Rep. Don Beyer unveiled legislation yesterday (Wednesday) to authorize revenue generated by any speed cameras on roads maintained by the National Park Service, such as the GW Parkway, to be used for speed camera installations, maintenance and construction projects on those same roads.
By the narrowest of majorities, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors went on record today (Tuesday) opposing any state legislation authorizing development of a casino property within the county’s borders.
The 5-4 vote was in support of a proposal from Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn to include a plank in the county’s 2026 legislative package stating opposition to any casino legislation until it is formally requested by a majority of supervisors and meets a number of other criteria.
One new poll suggests that a “growing supermajority” of Fairfax County voters would oppose a casino in Tysons.
The poll, commissioned by the lobbying group Freedom Virginia, found that three-quarters of county residents are against the potential project, with roughly 50% being “strongly” against a casino.
