Freedom & Prosperity Radio! The weekly radio news magazine from the Virginia Institute for Public Policy.
This week’s first topic covers the book: “The race to zero: How ESG will crater the global financial system” with guest speaker and author of the book, Paul Tice.
Episode 20 of the 2024 season. Held the 25th of February 2024.
With two weeks left in the General Assembly session before Sine Die, the official conclusion of the session, the House and Senate Committees are beginning to slow their pace. One notable bill (HB 742), that is still active in this session, proposes to change the authority to appoint the Commissioner of Elections to the State Board of Elections instead of leaving it in the hands of the Governor. In a suspenseful vote, the motion to kill this bill was unsuccessful in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee this week on Tuesday; one or more committee members of both parties voted to keep the bill alive. After that, one committee member requested delaying the decision of the committee on the bill and that request was agreed to by the committee.
Also of note, last week the Senate and House both made public their proposals for Virginia’s budget and analyses have been produced by various organizations of these budget proposals.
Here’s a reminder of the key dates during the 2024 General Assembly session:
2024 Session Overview Numbers
(Total # of bills and resolutions)
The report below includes bills that fall into alignment with Virginia Institute’s policy recommendations, either for good policy or bad policy, and received a vote in a committee or on the House or Senate Floor last week. See the bottom of the page for a full list of bills we are following.
HB 659 – Open Enrollment
The original version of this bill would have established open enrollment for public schools in Virginia. After being amended, the bill directs the Department of Education to publish guidelines and best practices about open enrollment for the localities that choose to offer open enrollment within their district. It also reiterates that Virginia law already prohibits charging tuition for students participating in open enrollment.
HB 1454 (similar to SB 246) – Driver Privilege Card Extention
This bill eliminates identifying features used to distinguish between citizen and non-citizen state-issued driver’s permits and ID cards, which could facilitate non-citizens voting. – PASSED
SB 246 (similar to HB 1454) – Driver Privilege Card Extention
This bill eliminates identifying features used to distinguish between citizen and non-citizen state-issued driver’s permits and ID cards, which could facilitate non-citizens voting.
HB 441 – More Curbside Voting
This bill expands the practice of curbside voting to not only individuals with a physical impairment but also those who have a mental impairment; this could significantly increase the use of curbside voting. When used at all, we believe the best practice is for curbside voting to be available only for individuals who need physical accommodations.
SB 364 – Protection of Election Officials & Increased Penalities
This bill proposes to create higher criminal penalties for intimidation, harassment, and other offenses against election officials and election office staff, continuing a debunked narrative that election officials frequently experience harassment and threats. Although there was an amendment to clarify that communication like politely asked questions couldn’t be considered intimidation, there have been differing opinions about whether the language of the bill is clear that it would only apply to imminent harm and threats of bodily injury to election officials and couldn’t be applied to benign communications. To protect citizens from inaccurate or subjective allegations, this bill.
HB 939 – Firearms at Precincts
If passed, this bill would prohibit a person from carrying a firearm within 100 feet of a voting location, including a ballot drop box. In addition to the problem of restricting the right to bear arms, this bill could create a situation where someone accidentally violates the law simply by walking on the sidewalk near a drop box. The original text of this bill would have also prohibited a firearm in a vehicle that was within 100 feet of a voting location, but the bill was amended to eliminate that problem. – VOTE DELAYED
HB 1177 (companion SB 606) – ERIC
This bill would require Virginia to re-join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Although ERIC claims to be a service to help states keep accurate voter rolls, Virginia left ERIC last year after serious concerns over data privacy breaches and partisanship influence within the organization. – PASSED
HB 1534 (similar to SB 196) – Voter Challenge Oversight Changes
This bill would alter the procedure for challenging a voter registration. Currently, local registrars handle these cases, but this bill proposes court system oversight which would prevent any Election Day challenges. Registrars, who maintain up-to-date, accurate voter registration lists for their areas, should retain control over this process. – PASSED
SB 270 – Ranked Choice Voting
This bill would have allowed ranked choice voting for presidential primary elections. Ranked choice voting creates unnecessary barriers for voters by making voting confusing and prone to errors, making vote counting extremely complicated and ensuring audits for these elections are difficult (if not impossible) to conduct. – KILLED
SB 315 – Automatic DMV Updates
Although the intent of this bill was to provide the Department of Elections with current information for registered voters who visit the DMV by updating their information automatically, passing this bill would have created errors in registered voter information. Visitors to the DMV often register vehicles that are not housed at their primary residence, but at a secondary residence. There is already a known problem where voters accidentally become registered at the wrong location, where they house a vehicle, after getting that vehicle registered at the DMV. This bill would have exacerbated that problem. – KILLED
HB 570 – Price Setting for Medicine
This bill creates a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. Under this proposed legislation, the Board will be given authority to limit drug payment amounts and reimbursements to an upper payment limit amount for state sponsored and state regulated health plans. – VOTE DELAYED
SB 22 – Dental Interstate Compact
This bill would enter Virginia into an interstate licensing compact for dentists and dental hygienists. Any dentist or dental hygienist licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, increasing access to dental services. – PASSED
SB 239 – Social Worker Compact
This bill would enter Virginia into an interstate licensing compact for fully licensed social workers. Social workers licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, filling a need for more social workers. – PASSED
To see bill text and info: Click HERE
All Bills Virginia Institute is Following
| ISSUE | DESCRIPTION | BILL | Good Policy or Bad Policy |
| Education | Open enrollment for Public Schools | HB 659 | Good policy |
| Election | Deadline for reviewing absentee ballots | HB 1171 | Good policy |
| Election | Re-enter ERIC | HB 1177 | Bad policy |
| Election | Re-enter ERIC | SB 606 | Bad policy |
| Election | Ranked Choice Voting expansion | SB 270 | Bad policy |
| Election | Ranked Choice Voting expansion | SB 428 | Bad policy |
| Election | Cancellation procedures etc | HB 904 | Bad policy |
| Election | Extend license/driver privilege cards | SB 246 | Bad policy |
| Election | Election Officer intimidation & harassment | SB 364 | Bad policy |
| Election | Automatic DMV Update | SB 315 | Bad policy |
| Election | Electoral Boards | HB 998 | Bad policy |
| Election | Voter list maintenance changes | SB 300 | Bad policy |
| Election | Voter registration challenges | HB 1534 | Bad policy |
| Healthcare | Drug Price Setting | HB 570 | Bad policy |
| Healthcare | Certificate of Public Need | SB 277 | Good policy |
| Licensing | Social Work Compact | SB 239 | Good policy |
| Licensing | Dental Compact | SB 22 | Good policy |
| Transparency | FOIA | SB 324 | Bad policy |
This week included some startling developments at the General Assembly. It started Monday with a distasteful series of events where House leadership prevented amendments on HB 404 and forced a vote of the bill on the House floor, and continued into the middle of the week when a long-standing member of the House Appropriations Committee, Delegate Barry Knight, was unexpectedly removed by the Speaker of the House from serving on the committee and replaced with another legislator. Delegate Amanda Batten was also replaced on the House Rules Committee.
Of note, further details will be released today, Sunday, February 18th, from the General Assembly about the most recent developments with the state budget proposal. The Chairman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee has made a statement of bold opposition to the Governor’s priority to build a professional sports arena, saying financial backing for the project would not be part of the Senate version of the budget.
Crossover, which is the deadline for House bills to pass the House and Senate bills to pass the Senate, was on Tuesday, February 13th. Here are a number of bad policy proposals that will not be continuing forward this year:
| Donor disclosures | HB 276 |
| Public higher ed campus precincts | HB 941 |
| National Popular Vote | HB 375 |
| Electronic ballot return | HB 796 |
| Counting absentee ballots early | HB 694 |
| Automatic DMV update for voter info | HB 565 |
| Change General Registrar term | HB 1529 |
| Chief deputy registrar required | HB 1530 |
| Prevention for running for office – insurrections |
HB 280 |
Here’s a reminder of the key dates during the 2024 General Assembly session:
With just shy of three weeks left in the 2024 General Assembly session, we’ll continue to follow legislation and provide you valuable weekly updates.
2024 Session Overview Numbers
(Total # of bills and resolutions)
The report below includes bills that fall into alignment with Virginia Institute’s policy recommendations, either for good policy or bad policy, and received a vote in a committee or on the House or Senate Floor last week. See the bottom of the page for a full list of bills we are following.
SB 78: Donor Disclosure Privacy
Originally, this bill required nonprofit donors’ names to be displayed on public ads when they supported a referendum or made other contributions as specified. Online public documents already disclose these donors, but displaying their names on ads would make them exceptionally more vulnerable to targeting and doxing. An amendment to the bill removed the language that required donors’ names to be released when donating to support a referendum. The current amended version of the bill requires donor disclosures only when donating to a 501(C)(4) organization that runs ads about a specific candidate. – KILLED
HB 659: Open Enrollment
The original version of this bill would have established open enrollment for public schools in Virginia. After being amended, the bill directs the Department of Education to publish guidelines and best practices about open enrollment for the localities that choose to offer open enrollment within their district. It also makes a change regarding tuition in these circumstances. – PASSED
SB 606 (companion HB 1177): Voter Registration and Data Sharing
This bill would require Virginia to re-join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Although ERIC claims to be a service to help states keep accurate voter rolls, Virginia left ERIC last year after serious concerns over data privacy breaches and partisanship influence within the organization. –PASSED
HB 1177 (companion SB 606): Voter Registration and Data Sharing
This bill would require Virginia to re-join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Although ERIC claims to be a service to help states keep accurate voter rolls, Virginia left ERIC last year after serious concerns over data privacy breaches and partisanship influence within the organization. –PASSED
SB 196: Process Change for Voter Registration Challenges
This bill would change the process of a challenge to a voter registration to being overseen by the court system instead of the current practice of those cases being handled by local registrars. Since registrars are responsible to keep current and accurate voter registration lists for their locality, we support them retaining oversight of this process. The bill also includes measures that would make it more difficult to raise challenges to a voter’s registration. –PASSED
SB 364: Protection of Election Officials
This bill proposes to create higher criminal penalties for intimidation, harassment, and other offenses against election officials and election office staff, continuing a debunked narrative that election officials frequently experience harassment and threats. Recently, some election officials have stated that they feel harassed or intimidated by polite citizens who simply asked questions or who exercised their right to participate in an election as a poll observer. To protect citizens from inaccurate or subjective allegations, we oppose this bill. – PASSED
SB 428 & SB 270: Ranked Choice Voting
The first bill, SB 428, expands the option for elections to be conducted by ranked choice voting to any race for local or constitutional office. Currently, ranked choice voting is only an option for City Council and Board of Supervisors races. The second bill, SB 270, would allow ranked choice voting for presidential primary elections. Ranked choice voting creates unnecessary barriers for voters by making voting confusing and prone to errors, making vote counting extremely complicated and ensuring audits for these elections are difficult (if not impossible) to conduct. – PASSED
SB 315 (companion HB 565): Automatic DMV Updates
Although the intent of this bill is to provide the Department of Elections with current information for registered voters who visit the DMV by updating their information automatically, passing this bill would create errors in the registered voter information. Visitors to the DMV often register vehicles that are not housed at their primary residence, but at a secondary residence. There is already a known problem where voters accidentally become registered at the wrong location, where they house a vehicle, after getting the vehicle registered at the DMV. This bill would exacerbate that problem. – PASSED
HB 565 (companion SB 315): Automatic DMV Updates
Like SB 315, the intent of this bill was to provide the Department of Elections with current information for registered voters who visit the DMV by updating their information automatically. Passing this bill, however, would have created errors in the registered voter information for the same reasons as listed above. – KILLED
HB 280: Prevention of Public Office
This bill would prohibit persons who have been convicted of offenses related to rioting or unlawful assembly from obtaining elected office (or non elected “positions of public trust”). It establishes in Virginia law that there was an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and establishes that this new law (prohibiting public service) will apply to anyone who was convicted of an offense tied to the events at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. – VOTE DELAYED
HB 363: Affidavit of Innocence
This bill sets forth that any person who has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the U.S. or given aid to enemies of the U.S. is disqualified from serving in a government position. It also establishes a process whereby an individual serving in a public office can be removed if found disqualified in this manner. – KILLED
HB 1529: General Registrar Term
This bill extends the term of General Registrars service from 4 years to 8 years; this would have an effective date in June 2029. It also specifies that the electoral board should presume that the incumbent general registrar wishes to stay in office unless they notify the electoral board otherwise. – KILLED
HB 1530: Deputy Registrar Requirements
This bill requires each locality to have one designated chief deputy registrar. The bill requires chief deputy registrars serving on a full-time basis to be paid at least 60 percent of the salary of the general registrar. It also requires that chief deputy registrars serve on a full-time basis for localities whose population is greater than 10,000. – KILLED
HB 742: Election Commissioner Appointment
This bill changes the process by which the state Commissioner of Elections is appointed. Currently, the Governor appoints the Commissioner; if this bill passes, the State Board of Elections (SBE) would be authorized to appoint the Commissioner instead of the Governor. The SBE would also be authorized to remove the Commissioner from their position. The General Assembly would still need to confirm the appointment for Commissioner. Originally, the bill also included expanding more positions on the State Board of Elections, but that part of the bill has been removed. – BILL REVIVED/RECONSIDERED
HB 570: Drug Price Setting
This bill creates a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. Under this proposed legislation, the Board will be given authority to limit drug payment amounts and reimbursements to an upper payment limit amount for state sponsored and state regulated health plans. – PASSED
To see bill text and info: Click HERE
SB 22: Dentists and Dental Hygienist Compact
This bill would enter Virginia into an interstate licensing compact for dentists and dental hygienists. Any dentist or dental hygienist licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, increasing access to dental services. – PASSED
SB 239: Social Work Compact
This bill would enter Virginia into an interstate licensing compact for fully licensed social workers. Social workers licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, filling a need for more social workers. – PASSED
To see bill text and info: Click HERE
All Bills Virginia Institute is Following
| ISSUE | DESCRIPTION | BILL | Good Policy or Bad Policy |
| Education | Open enrollment for Public Schools | HB 659 | Good policy |
| Election | Deadline for reviewing absentee ballots | HB 1171 | Good policy |
| Election | Re-enter ERIC | HB 1177 | Bad policy |
| Election | Re-enter ERIC | SB 606 | Bad policy |
| Election | Ranked Choice Voting expansion | SB 270 | Bad policy |
| Election | Ranked Choice Voting expansion | SB 428 | Bad policy |
| Election | Cancellation procedures etc | HB 904 | Bad policy |
| Election | Extend license/driver privilege cards | SB 246 | Bad policy |
| Election | Election Officer intimidation & harassment | SB 364 | Bad policy |
| Election | Automatic DMV update for voter info | SB 315 | Bad policy |
| Election | Electoral Boards | HB 998 | Bad policy |
| Election | Voter list maintenance changes | SB 300 | Bad policy |
| Election | Voter registration challenges | HB 1534 | Bad policy |
| Healthcare | Drug Price Setting | HB 570 | Bad policy |
| Healthcare | Certificate of Public Need | SB 277 | Good policy |
| Licensing | Social Work Compact | SB 239 | Good policy |
| Licensing | Dental Compact | SB 22 | Good policy |
| Transparency | FOIA | SB 324 | Bad policy |
We are about half way through the 2024 General Assembly session, with crossover on Tuesday, February 13th. This means that bills are getting rapidly shepherded through committees lasting late into the afternoon and even into the night sometimes, trying to get each bill passed in the chamber it was introduced in before the crossover deadline. With the long hours spent considering new legislative proposals in mind, take a moment to thank a legislator today; as much as they are in the spotlight, it is typically to take hits of criticism and not to receive appreciation for their efforts to serve the Commonwealth. Regardless of similarities or differences, most people are serving in their role as best as they know how.
A notable announcement from the executive branch, there is a new cutting edge website tool to facilitate easier permit processing at the state level. It is called Virginia Permit Transparency and the establishment of this tool has been spearheaded by the Office of Regulatory Management. Although currently only permits from a few departments are available through the new website, more agencies will be beginning to utilize it soon.
2024 Session Overview Numbers
(Total # of bills and resolutions)
Here’s a reminder of the key dates during the 2024 General Assembly session:
The report below includes bills that fall into alignment with Virginia Institute’s policy recommendations, either for good policy or bad policy, and received a vote in a committee or on the House or Senate Floor last week. See the bottom of the page for a full list of bills we are following.
SB 78: Donor Disclosure Privacy
Originally, this bill required nonprofit donors’ names to be displayed on public ads when they supported a referendum or made other contributions as specified. Online public documents already disclose these donors, but displaying their names on ads would make them exceptionally more vulnerable to targeting and doxing. An amendment to the bill removed the language that required donors’ names to be released when donating to support a referendum. The current amended version of the bill requires donor disclosures only when donating to a 501(C)(4) organization that runs ads about a specific candidate.
HB 659: Open Enrollment
The original version of this bill would have established open enrollment for public schools in Virginia. After being amended, the bill directs the Department of Education to publish guidelines and best practices about open enrollment for the localities that choose to offer open enrollment within their district. It also makes a change regarding tuition in these circumstances. – PASSED
HB 565: Automatic DMV Updates
Although the intent of this bill is to provide the Department of Elections with current information for registered voters who visit the DMV by updating their information automatically, passing this bill would create errors in the registered voter information. Visitors to the DMV often register vehicles that are not housed at their primary residence, but at a secondary residence. There is already a known problem where voters accidentally become registered at the location where they house a vehicle (instead of their primary residence) after getting the vehicle registered at the DMV. This bill would exacerbate that problem. – KILLED
HB 280: Prevention of Public Office
This bill would prohibit persons who have been convicted of offenses related to rioting or unlawful assembly from obtaining elected office (or non elected “positions of public trust”). It establishes in Virginia law that there was an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and establishes that this new law (prohibiting public service) will apply to anyone who was convicted of an offense tied to the events at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. – VOTE DELAYED
HB 363: Affidavit of Innocence
This bill sets forth that any person who has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the U.S. or given aid to enemies of the U.S. is disqualified from serving in a government position. It also establishes a process whereby an individual serving in a public office can be removed if found disqualified in this manner. – KILLED
HB 1529: General Registrar Term
This bill extends the term of General Registrars service from 4 years to 8 years; this would have an effective date in June 2029. It also specifies that the electoral board should presume that the incumbent general registrar wishes to stay in office unless they notify the electoral board otherwise. – KILLED
HB 1530: Deputy Registrar Requirements
This bill requires each locality to have one designated chief deputy registrar. The bill requires chief deputy registrars serving on a full-time basis to be paid at least 60 percent of the salary of the general registrar. It also requires that chief deputy registrars serve on a full-time basis for localities whose population is greater than 10,000. – KILLED
HB 742: Election Commissioner Appointment
This bill changes the process by which the state Commissioner of Elections is appointed. Currently, the Governor appoints the Commissioner; if this bill passes, the State Board of Elections (SBE) would be authorized to appoint the Commissioner instead of the Governor. The SBE would also be authorized to remove the Commissioner from their position. The General Assembly would still need to confirm the appointment for Commissioner. Originally, the bill also included expanding more positions on the State Board of Elections, but that part of the bill has been removed. – BILL REVIVED/RECONSIDERED
HB 375: Enter Virginia into the National Popular Vote Compact
This bill would require Virginia to give their electoral votes for U.S. President to the candidate who wins the majority of the popular vote in all 50 states and D.C. If passed, this change would not go into effect immediately; it would go into effect once enough states join the compact to equal a majority of the electoral votes nationwide. – KILLED
HB 694: Counting Absentee Ballots Before Close of Polls
This bill would make changes regarding the timing of counting of absentee ballots, including some counting to begin at noon on election day before close of polls. We are concerned these changes could make vulnerable the integrity of elections and potentially influence the outcome of elections as well. – KILLED
HB 1189: Hand Count Audits
This bill would establish random hand count audits of elections at the local level. – KILLED
SB 364: Protection of Election Officials
This bill proposes to create higher criminal penalties for intimidation, harassment, and other offenses against election officials and election office staff, continuing a debunked narrative that election officials frequently experience harassment and threats. Recently, some election officials have stated that they feel harassed or intimidated by polite citizens who simply asked questions or who exercised their right to participate in an election as a poll observer. To protect citizens from inaccurate or subjective allegations, we oppose this bill. – PASSED
HB 796: Electronic Ballot Return
This bill allows ballots to be returned electronically, in cases where the voter is overseas, military, or has a physical impairment. Electronic ballot return raises security concerns. Additionally, once started it could open the floodgate for expanding electronic ballot voting for all voters. – KILLED
HB 1177: Voter Registration and Data Sharing
This bill would require Virginia to re-join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Although ERIC claims to be a service to help states keep accurate voter rolls, Virginia left ERIC last year after serious concerns over data privacy breaches and partisan related influence within the organization. – PASSED
HB 502: Nonbinary Registration
This bill allows individuals to register to vote with their gender listed as nonbinary, along with various other law changes that allow a person to change their legally recognized gender to nonbinary. – PASSED
SB 364: Protection of Election Officials
This bill proposes to create higher criminal penalties for intimidation, harassment, and other offenses against election officials and election office staff, continuing a debunked narrative that election officials frequently experience harassment and threats. Recently, some election officials have stated that they feel harassed or intimidated by polite citizens who simply asked questions or were exercising their right to participate in an election as a poll observer. To protect citizens from inaccurate or subjective allegations, we oppose this bill. – VOTE DELAYED
HB 1171: Absentee Voting
This bill would require more timely processing of returned mail absentee ballots than the law currently requires. This protects voters, ensuring they have enough time to correct any written errors on their ballot before it is time for ballots to be counted.
SB 315: Voter Registration
Although the intent of this bill is to provide the Department of Elections with current information for registered voters who visit the DMV by updating their information automatically, passing this bill would create errors in the registered voter information. Visitors to the DMV often register vehicles that are not housed at their primary residence, but at a secondary residence. There is already a known problem where voters accidentally become registered at the location where they house a vehicle (instead of their primary residence) after getting the vehicle registered at the DMV. This bill would exacerbate that problem.
SB 428 & SB 270: Ranked Choice Voting
The first bill, SB 428, expands the option for elections to be conducted by ranked choice voting to any race for local or constitutional office. Currently, ranked choice voting is only an option for City Council and Board of Supervisors races. The second bill, SB 270, would allow ranked choice voting for presidential primary elections. Ranked choice voting creates unnecessary barriers for voters by making voting confusing and prone to errors, making vote counting extremely complicated and ensuring audits for these elections are difficult (if not impossible) to conduct.
HB 1532: Voter Registration
Virginia is one of the most expensive states in the nation to acquire the voter roll. This bill would reduce the cost to purchase the voter roll file from the Virginia Department of Elections. – KILLED
SB 606: Voter Registration and Data Sharing
This bill would require Virginia to re-join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Although ERIC claims to be a service to help states keep accurate voter rolls, Virginia left ERIC last year after serious concerns over data privacy breaches and partisanship influence within the organization.
HB 502: Nonbinary Registration
This bill would allow individuals to register to vote with their gender listed as nonbinary instead of male or female, along with various other law changes that allow a person to change their legally recognized gender to nonbinary.
HB 796: Electronic Ballot Return
This bill allows ballots to be returned electronically, in cases where the voter is overseas, military, or has a physical impairment. Electronic ballot return raises security concerns. Additionally, once started it could open the floodgate for expanding electronic ballot voting for all voters. – KILLED
SB 277: Certificate of Public Need Process Change
This bill would expand an expedited application and review process for Certificate of Public Need. – PASSED
SB 22: Dentists and Dental Hygienist Compact
This bill would enter Virginia into an interstate licensing compact for dentists and dental hygienists. Any dentist or dental hygienist licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, increasing access to dental services. – PASSED
SB 239: Social Work
This bill would enter Virginia into an interstate licensing compact for fully licensed social workers. Social workers licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, filling a need for more social workers.
SB 407: Teacher Mobility Compact
This bill would enter Virginia into the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. Teachers licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, filling a need for more educators. – KILLED
HB 1414: Reinstating the Death Tax
This bill proposes to reinstate the estate tax for deceased persons. – KILLED
All Bills Virginia Institute is Following
| ISSUE | DESCRIPTION | BILL LINK | Good Policy or Bad Policy |
| EDUCATION | Education Savings Account (ESA) | SB 533 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Education Savings Account | HB1164 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Education Tax Credit | HB1180 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Open Enrollment for Public Schools | HB 659 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Local Authority for ESA | SB 380 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Donor Disclosure | HB 276 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 14 days of Early Voting | HB 932 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 14 days of Early Voting | HB 1200 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting expansion | HB 658 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Election Reform | HB 393 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Pulic Higher Ed Campus Precincts | HB 941 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Deadline for Reviewing AB returns | HB 1171 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | FOIA Bill | SB 324 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Non Binary Voter Registration | HB 502 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Re-enter ERIC | HB 1177 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Re-enter ERIC | SB 606 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | National Popular Vote | HB 375 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting Expansion | SB 270 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting Expansion | SB 428 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Electronic Ballot Return | HB 796 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting Expansion | HB 841 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Extend License/Driver Privilege Cards | SB 246 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Insurrection, Rebellion, Riot | SB280 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Insurrection, Rebellion, Riot | HB363 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Counting AB Before Close of Polls | HB694 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | EO Intimidation & Harassment Penalties | SB 364 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Removal of Same Day Registration | SB 92 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | SSN Administration Verification for Voters | SB32 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 21 Days of Early Voting | SB42 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Photo ID Required for Voting | SB45 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Photo ID Required for Voting | SB81 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Voter Roll Cost Reduction | HB 1532 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 30 days of early voting | HB44 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Omnibus | HB 1176 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | ID Type Noted for Provisional Ballot | HB 1170 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Automatic DMV update for Voter Info | HB 565 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Automatic DMV update for Voter Info | SB 315 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Printed Receipt for Voter | SB 303 | Good Policy |
| ENERGY | California Car Repeal | HB3 | Good Policy |
| HEALTHCARE | COPN – Psychiatric Beds | HB 628 | Good Policy |
| HEALTHCARE | COPN Repeal | HB 1188 | Good Policy |
| LICENSING | Social Work Compact | SB 239 | Good Policy |
| LICENSING | Dentist & Dental Hygienist Compact | SB 22 | Good Policy |
| LICENSING | Teacher Compact | SB 407 | Good Policy |
| REG REFORM | Reg Budget Bill | HB 722 | Good Policy |
| LABOR | Portable Benefits Related | HB 734 | Good Policy |
| TAXES | Reinstate the Death Tax | HB 1414 | Bad Policy |
| TAXES | Flatten the Tax Rate | HB 89 | Good Policy |
This week many good policy ideas were rejected by House and Senate committees, including a bill to allow K-12 students to attend a school outside of their zone, a bill to repeal certificate of public need, a bill that would require parental notification for children who desire to be treated as transgender at school, a bill to allow education dollars to follow the student, and a bill to lower the cost for purchase of voter registration roll data. Despite the highly positive impact these reforms would have had on the Commonwealth, the majority of the legislators who voted on these ideas chose to keep more kids in failing schools, more patients with unmet medical needs, and more voters without confidence in elections.
However, one highlight of the week was a rejected legislative proposal to allow electronic ballot return under certain circumstances. Robust testimony from technology experts convinced legislators on both sides of the aisle that this was not a good path for Virginia, preserving the integrity of our elections.
A new cutting edge website tool was announced this week by the Governor to facilitate easier permit processing at the state level. It is called Virginia Permit Transparency and the establishment of this tool has been spearheaded by the Office of Regulatory Management. Although currently only permits from a few departments are available through the new website, more agencies will be beginning to utilize it soon.
2024 Session Overview Numbers
(Total # of bills and resolutions)
Here’s a reminder of the key dates during the 2024 General Assembly session:
The report below includes bills that fall into alignment with Virginia Institute’s policy recommendations, either for good policy or bad policy, and received a vote in a committee or on the House or Senate Floor last week. See the bottom of the page for a full list of bills we are following.
HB 1180: Parental Tax Credit
This bill establishes the Virginia Parental Tax Credit (PTC). The tax credit would provide families more educational flexibility and choice. If parents decide to provide their student’s education through in-home instruction or private school, it allows them to receive a tax credit for qualifying educational expenses. This would include curriculum, tuition, and tutoring. – KILLED
HB 1164: Education Excellence for All Program
This bill would establish the Education Excellence for All program, to allow education dollars to follow a student if a student leaves the public education system to utilize alternatives like private school or homeschool. Parents would then receive education dollars to cover costs like tuition or curriculum. Students would be eligible for this program if their parents’ income was at or below 300% of the poverty level. – KILLED
SB 552: Open Enrollment
This bill would allow open enrollment for public schools in Virginia. The proposed legislation would allow a student the option to attend a different public school in the county they live in, other than the one assigned to them based on their address. – KILLED
SB 364: Protection of Election Officials
This bill proposes to create higher criminal penalties for intimidation, harassment, and other offenses against election officials and election office staff, continuing a debunked narrative that election officials frequently experience harassment and threats. Recently, some election officials have stated that they feel harassed or intimidated by polite citizens who simply asked questions or were exercising their right to participate in an election as a poll observer. To protect citizens from inaccurate or subjective allegations, we oppose this bill. – VOTE DELAYED
HB 1171: Absentee Voting
This bill would require more timely processing of returned mail absentee ballots than the law currently requires. This protects voters, ensuring they have enough time to correct any written errors on their ballot before it is time for ballots to be counted.
SB 315: Voter Registration
Although the intent of this bill is to provide the Department of Elections with current information for registered voters who visit the DMV by updating their information automatically, passing this bill would create errors in the registered voter information. Visitors to the DMV often register vehicles that are not housed at their primary residence, but at a secondary residence. There is already a known problem where voters accidentally become registered at the location where they house a vehicle (instead of their primary residence) after getting the vehicle registered at the DMV. This bill would exacerbate that problem.
SB 428 & SB 270: Ranked Choice Voting
The first bill, SB 428, expands the option for elections to be conducted by ranked choice voting to any race for local or constitutional office. Currently, ranked choice voting is only an option for City Council and Board of Supervisors races. The second bill, SB 270, would allow ranked choice voting for presidential primary elections. Ranked choice voting creates unnecessary barriers for voters by making voting confusing and prone to errors, making vote counting extremely complicated and ensuring audits for these elections are difficult (if not impossible) to conduct.
HB 1532: Voter Registration
Virginia is one of the most expensive states in the nation to acquire the voter roll. This bill would reduce the cost to purchase the voter roll file from the Virginia Department of Elections. – KILLED
SB 606: Voter Registration and Data Sharing
This bill would require Virginia to re-join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Although ERIC claims to be a service to help states keep accurate voter rolls, Virginia left ERIC last year after serious concerns over data privacy breaches and partisanship influence within the organization.
HB 502: Nonbinary Registration
This bill would allow individuals to register to vote with their gender listed as nonbinary instead of male or female, along with various other law changes that allow a person to change their legally recognized gender to nonbinary.
HB 796: Electronic Ballot Return
This bill allows ballots to be returned electronically, in cases where the voter is overseas, military, or has a physical impairment. Electronic ballot return raises security concerns. Additionally, once started it could open the floodgate for expanding electronic ballot voting for all voters. – KILLED
HB 628: Certificate of Public Need
This bill removes certain hospitals from the Certificate of Public Need requirement. – KILLED
HB 1188: Certificate of Public Need
This bill would create a three-phase process to eliminate the Certificate of Public Need requirements for many categories of medical care facilities and projects. – KILLED
SB 22: Dentists and Dental Hygienists
This bill would enter Virginia into an interstate licensing compact for dentists and dental hygienists. Any dentist or dental hygienist licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, increasing access to dental services.
SB 239: Social Work
This bill would enter Virginia into an interstate licensing compact for fully licensed social workers. Social workers licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, filling a need for more social workers.
All Bills Virginia Institute is Following
| ISSUE | DESCRIPTION | BILL LINK | Good Policy or Bad Policy |
| EDUCATION | Education Savings Account (ESA) | SB 533 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Education Savings Account | HB1164 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Education Tax Credit | HB1180 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Open Enrollment for Public Schools | HB 659 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Local Authority for ESA | SB 380 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Donor Disclosure | HB 276 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 14 days of Early Voting | HB 932 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 14 days of Early Voting | HB 1200 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting expansion | HB 658 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Election Reform | HB 393 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Pulic Higher Ed Campus Precincts | HB 941 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Deadline for Reviewing AB returns | HB 1171 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | FOIA Bill | SB 324 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Non Binary Voter Registration | HB 502 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Re-enter ERIC | HB 1177 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Re-enter ERIC | SB 606 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | National Popular Vote | HB 375 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting Expansion | SB 270 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting Expansion | SB 428 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Electronic Ballot Return | HB 796 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting Expansion | HB 841 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Extend License/Driver Privilege Cards | SB 246 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Insurrection, Rebellion, Riot | SB280 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Insurrection, Rebellion, Riot | HB363 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Counting AB Before Close of Polls | HB694 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | EO Intimidation & Harassment Penalties | SB 364 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Removal of Same Day Registration | SB 92 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | SSN Administration Verification for Voters | SB32 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 21 Days of Early Voting | SB42 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Photo ID Required for Voting | SB45 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Photo ID Required for Voting | SB81 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Voter Roll Cost Reduction | HB 1532 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 30 days of early voting | HB44 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Omnibus | HB 1176 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | ID Type Noted for Provisional Ballot | HB 1170 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Automatic DMV update for Voter Info | HB 565 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Automatic DMV update for Voter Info | SB 315 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Printed Receipt for Voter | SB 303 | Good Policy |
| ENERGY | California Car Repeal | HB3 | Good Policy |
| HEALTHCARE | COPN – Psychiatric Beds | HB 628 | Good Policy |
| HEALTHCARE | COPN Repeal | HB 1188 | Good Policy |
| LICENSING | Social Work Compact | SB 239 | Good Policy |
| LICENSING | Dentist & Dental Hygienist Compact | SB 22 | Good Policy |
| LICENSING | Teacher Compact | SB 407 | Good Policy |
| REG REFORM | Reg Budget Bill | HB 722 | Good Policy |
| LABOR | Portable Benefits Related | HB 734 | Good Policy |
| TAXES | Reinstate the Death Tax | HB 1414 | Bad Policy |
| TAXES | Flatten the Tax Rate | HB 89 | Good Policy |
The General Assembly hit the ground running on January 10th and will soon have been in session for three weeks. The same day that the legislature came back, Governor Youngkin delivered his State of the Commonwealth address. One remark from his address, “Please don’t bring me a bill that impacts Virginians’ Right to Work, as it will be met with the business end of my veto pen” is a statement that we hope is a foreshadowing of his plan for all anti free market legislation.
2024 Session Overview Numbers
(Total # of bills and resolutions)
Here’s a reminder of the key dates during the 2024 General Assembly session:
The report below includes bills that fall into alignment with Virginia Institute’s policy recommendations, either for good policy or bad policy, and received a vote in a committee or on the House or Senate Floor last week. See the bottom of the page for a full list of bills we are following.
HB 276: Donor Disclosure
This bill would require, in some cases, nonprofit donors’ names to be displayed on public ads when they support a referendum or make other contributions as outlined in the bill. Online public documents already disclose these donors, but displaying their names on ads would make them exceptionally more vulnerable to targeting and doxing. – PASSED
SB 380: Local Authority for ESA
This bill would have required each school board to create a process allowing a qualified student to access funding set aside for alternative educational opportunities to earn class credit or satisfy a graduation requirement. This bill proposed to facilitate the option for education dollars to follow the student at the local level. – KILLED
SB 421: Foster Child Scholarship Program
This bill would have established the Foster Child Scholarship Program to allow school-age children in foster care who reside in Virginia to attend the participating public or private school of their caregiver’s choice. – KILLED
SB 533: Education Savings Account (ESA)
Would have established the Education Excellence for All program, to allow education dollars to follow a student if a student leaves the public education system to utilize alternatives like private school or homeschool. Parents would have then received education dollars to cover costs like tuition or curriculum. Students would be eligible for this program if their parents’ income was at or below 300% of the poverty level. – KILLED
SB 552: Open Enrollment for Public Schools
This bill would have allowed open enrollment for public schools in Virginia, which would give a student the option to attend a different public school than the one assigned to them based on the address of their residence. – KILLED
SB 421: Foster Child Scholarship Program
This bill would have established the Foster Child Scholarship Program to allow school-age children in foster care who reside in Virginia to attend the participating public or private school of their caregiver’s choice. – KILLED
SB 22: Dentist & Dental Hygienist Compact
This bill would enter Virginia into an interstate licensing compact for dentists and dental hygienists. Any dentist or dental hygienist licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, increasing access to dental services. – PASSED
SB 239: Social Work Compact
This bill would enter Virginia into an interstate licensing compact for fully licensed social workers. Social workers licensed in any state participating in the compact would be able to practice in any compact state, filling a need for more social workers. – PASSED
SB 315: Automatic DMV update for Voter Info
Although the intent of this bill is to provide the Department of Elections with current information for registered voters who visit the DMV by updating their information automatically, passing this bill would create errors in the registered voter information. Visitors to the DMV often register vehicles that are not housed at their primary residence, but at a secondary residence. There is already a known problem where voters accidentally become registered at the location where they house a vehicle (instead of their primary residence) after getting the vehicle registered at the DMV. This bill would exacerbate that problem. – VOTE DELAYED
SB 428: Ranked Choice Voting Expansion
This bill expands the option for elections to be conducted by ranked choice voting to any race for local or constitutional office. Currently, ranked choice voting is only an option for City Council and Board of Supervisors races. Ranked choice voting creates unnecessary barriers for voters by making voting confusing and prone to errors, making vote counting extremely complicated and ensuring audits for these elections are difficult (if not impossible) to conduct. – VOTE DELAYED
SB 606: Re-enter ERIC
This bill would require Virginia to re-join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Although ERIC claims to be a service to help states keep accurate voter rolls, Virginia left ERIC last year after serious concerns over data privacy breaches and partisanship influence within the organization. – VOTE DELAYED
SB 364: Election Officer Intimidation & Harassment Penalties
This bill proposes to create higher criminal penalties for intimidation, harassment, and other offenses against election officials and election office staff, continuing a debunked narrative that election officials frequently experience harassment and threats. Recently, some election officials have stated that they feel harassed or intimidated by polite citizens who simply asked questions or were exercising their right to participate in an election as a poll observer. To protect citizens from inaccurate or subjective allegations, we oppose this bill. – VOTE DELAYED
SB 32: SSN Administration Verification for Voters
This bill would have ensured that the Social Security Number an individual provides when registering to vote actually belongs to them. – KILLED
SB 42: 21 Days of Early Voting
This bill would have reduced the in-person absentee voting time frame from 45 days to three weeks (21 days). – KILLED
SB 45 & SB 81: Photo ID Required for Voting
To require a photo ID when voting. – KILLED
SB 303: Printed Receipt for Voter
Requires a voting machine to print a receipt for each voter that casts a ballot. – VOTE POSTPONED
All Bills Virginia Institute is Following
| ISSUE | DESCRIPTION | BILL LINK | Good Policy or Bad Policy |
| EDUCATION | Education Savings Account (ESA) | SB 533 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Education Savings Account | HB1164 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Education Tax Credit | HB1180 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Open Enrollment for Public Schools | HB 659 | Good Policy |
| EDUCATION | Local Authority for ESA | SB 380 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Donor Disclosure | HB 276 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 14 days of Early Voting | HB 932 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 14 days of Early Voting | HB 1200 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting expansion | HB 658 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Election Reform | HB 393 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Pulic Higher Ed Campus Precincts | HB 941 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Deadline for Reviewing AB returns | HB 1171 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | FOIA Bill | SB 324 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Non Binary Voter Registration | HB 502 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Re-enter ERIC | HB 1177 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Re-enter ERIC | SB 606 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | National Popular Vote | HB 375 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting Expansion | SB 270 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting Expansion | SB 428 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Electronic Ballot Return | HB 796 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Ranked Choice Voting Expansion | HB 841 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Extend License/Driver Privilege Cards | SB 246 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Insurrection, Rebellion, Riot | SB280 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Insurrection, Rebellion, Riot | HB363 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Counting AB Before Close of Polls | HB694 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | EO Intimidation & Harassment Penalties | SB 364 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Removal of Same Day Registration | SB 92 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | SSN Administration Verification for Voters | SB32 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 21 Days of Early Voting | SB42 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Photo ID Required for Voting | SB45 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Photo ID Required for Voting | SB81 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Voter Roll Cost Reduction | HB 1532 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | 30 days of early voting | HB44 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Omnibus | HB 1176 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | ID Type Noted for Provisional Ballot | HB 1170 | Good Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Automatic DMV update for Voter Info | HB 565 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Automatic DMV update for Voter Info | SB 315 | Bad Policy |
| ELECTIONS | Printed Receipt for Voter | SB 303 | Good Policy |
| ENERGY | California Car Repeal | HB3 | Good Policy |
| HEALTHCARE | COPN – Psychiatric Beds | HB 628 | Good Policy |
| HEALTHCARE | COPN Repeal | HB 1188 | Good Policy |
| LICENSING | Social Work Compact | SB 239 | Good Policy |
| LICENSING | Dentist & Dental Hygienist Compact | SB 22 | Good Policy |
| LICENSING | Teacher Compact | SB 407 | Good Policy |
| REG REFORM | Reg Budget Bill | HB 722 | Good Policy |
| LABOR | Portable Benefits Related | HB 734 | Good Policy |
| TAXES | Reinstate the Death Tax | HB 1414 | Bad Policy |
| TAXES | Flatten the Tax Rate | HB 89 | Good Policy |
The Intricate Dance of Funding and Educational Outcomes in the Wake of a Pandemic
In the realm of education, the allocation of resources has always been a topic of fervent discussion. Per Pupil Expenditures (PPE) and, by proxy, teacher salaries often serve as a
barometer for gauging educational investment within the political discourse. However, the question that looms ever larger is whether an increase in PPE invariably leads to enhanced
educational outcomes. This debate has gained even more traction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which introduced the pressing issue of “learning loss.”
The Cost of Focusing on Cost
It’s a seemingly straightforward equation: more funds should equate to better resources, leading to improved education. With a boost in PPE, schools, in theory, can employ more adept
educators, reduce class sizes, and invest in state-of-the-art technology. Yet, by and large, statistical evidence suggests little to no relationship between increasing educational funding and
measurable benefits to educational outcomes for children.
An interesting example is the district-level spending afforded by the monies in the American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ARP ESSER). A
recent working paper published by NBER observed no statistical significance to the effect of ARP ESSER funding categories on the year-over-year changes, positive or negative, in testing
proficiency for both the English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. This could be for one of two reasons: the programs are near-universally ineffective, or the programs are near-universally “theoretical,” i.e., unimplemented beyond what was initially required to receive funding.
The observations in this study echo long-standing and oft-replicated research bringing into question the argument that good educational outcomes are a function of high education
spending. Although some spending, whether done publicly or privately, is certainly required to fund any service, the question remains: does increasing funding lead to better outcomes?
Considering the penultimate growth in education funding in contrast with the mild and, at times, inverse progress made in educational outcomes, the answer is, most assuredly, no.
As indicated by NBER’s working paper, the pandemic has added a layer of complexity to this subject. Schools, particularly Virginia schools, face considerable gaps in those foundational
skills children must have to succeed in the modern world. A scorecard tracking education recovery produced collaboratively by Stanford and Harvard Universities provides a record of the
gains or losses in education suffered since the epidemic began. Virginia’s students have suffered more than most other states, with nearly every district behind by approximately 1.5 years in ELA and mathematics by the end of the 2022 school year.
While additional expenditures can potentially address some of these gaps for some kids, the relationship between funding and outcomes is neither linear nor particularly significant. While
we continue to wait to see exactly where the ARP ESSER funding has landed in each district, it is important to recognize that past performance, parental involvement, and teacher autonomy are going to play a comparatively outsized role in whether or not the current generation of students ever recover from the learning loss foisted upon them by poorly considered pandemic
lockdowns.
Money makes the world go-‘round, but not particularly well.
But why isn’t there any consistent correlation between additional funding and increased outcomes? The answer here is simple; funding does not necessarily equate to more resources,
better teachers, or greater opportunities for learning. Funding only guarantees some resources, some teachers, and some opportunities without any consistent assurance of quality.
The key to quality is fundamentally about group incentives. Several key identities are involved in the education system, each operating under dissimilar needs. Teachers may be socially or
morally incentivized to endeavor to become excellent at their job, but collectively, their number one incentive is compensation. Teaching is the way in which they care for their own families,
after all. Administrators are much the same, but as the perceived arbiters of quality control in public and private education, they have an added incentive to avoid regular (or any) interaction
with “abusive” or hyper-involved parents. Teachers’ unions are incentivized to collect more and higher dues. To accomplish this goal, they must be perceived as effective representatives of the
teachers’ interests with their employer. In the case of public instruction, this means an effective apparatus for lobbying the state and tweaking public opinion.
Students are broadly incentivized to graduate, but there is probably a much more disparate series of incentives for students than any other group, given the conventional challenges of maturing in a modern first-world society. Finally, parents, as a group, have the strongest incentive to see real and positive outcomes from their children’s education. Cynically, this might be attributed to a desire for their children to move out as soon as possible or a hope that their children will supplement their care in their old age. More reasonably and charitably, however, parents do genuinely love their children and care very much about their future.
Oddly, the American public school system has successfully divorced the incentives of educators from that of parents as the only interested party with an inherent and near-universal collective
desire for positive educational outcomes. This is, of course, not what we see from other goods and services we utilize for the benefit of our children. Summer camps, tutoring services, toys,
and even snack foods all tend to be provided exactly within the spectrum of quantity and quality that different families are hoping to consume. This is because the incentives of the providers of these goods and services (e.g., to receive compensation and avoid complaints) align directly with the desires of their target consumers (e.g., family-friendly fun, education, enjoyment, or
playtime).
To simplify, third-party payers disconnect the service provider’s incentives from the consumer’s needs. If teachers and administrators rely on the government for the food on their tables, they
have little intrinsic need to perform services to the standards of the average Joe sending their child to school.
What’s going on today?
Of course, effectively zero percent of the American public wants to revisit the decision to have a public education system. Even parents who educate their children at home hope their local public school continues operating as it has. People do, by and large, trust in the good faith efforts of their local teachers and school administrators, and that’s certainly a good thing. But all the outstanding data suggests we could, and should, be doing much better. This said, several interesting experiments being performed around the country have provided additional education
opportunities outside the traditional model with promising levels of success – Education Savings Accounts, tax credits, and Virginia’s own EISTC program, for example. Governor Youngkin’s
recent efforts to provide access to ARP ESSER funding in the form of “learning recovery” grants, directly providing one-time funding to get extra educational help for children who need it,
is a positive step or at least a well-intentioned and considered step, bearing in mind the operational difficulty the program has faced at its outset.
These experiments, although politically challenging to enact regardless of the partisan makeup of a state, stand to provide massive amounts of data and numerous opportunities to refine and
reinvent American education for the better. As anyone who has truly considered the miracles of the internet, Amazon, or even a simple grocery store in the context of world history will know,
choice and accessibility are nearly always the cure for widely divergent beliefs and needs in a civil society. The challenge is that it is much easier for political leaders to see a one-size-fits-all
solution as a viable and necessary option, even when we all recognize that one size doesn’t ever really fit anybody.
Another more concrete difficulty is how the balance of the $2.2 billion ARP ESSER funds has been used or may be used. Although annual reporting was a requirement for receiving federal
funding, the Commonwealth and its districts have reported only how much of the grant has been spent, about $1.7 billion as of the end of the 2022-2023 school year. Virginia does not, however, provide any detail as to what the funding has been used for other than the state and local plans initially submitted to receive the funding. Nor does the state or its various localities seem to indicate whether the activities, personnel, goods, or services purchased have been delivered. As far as fiscal accountability is concerned, the federal government, the average Virginian, and possibly even the state government have been left in the dark.
With the noted exception of Governor Youngkin’s highly visible grant program, the Commonwealth’s rather nonchalant disinterest in public transparency compounds the challenges
that Virginia is facing regarding education, broadly, and learning loss, more particularly. Without the ability to track the use of this money, there is no way to determine what local efforts worked and which did not. If we cannot replicate or reject educational programs based on measures of outcomes in the context of cost, then all the programs are simply moot.
The cost of regulation between 1980 and today is estimated to be more than $5 trillion representing a 25% shortfall in would-be economic growth. This number is exceedingly difficult for most people to visualize, so this simple mental exercise can be beneficial in communicating just how much has been lost:
Five million seconds is about 58 days;
Five trillion seconds is 158,440 years.
As anyone can see, this loss of real value to our economy is not insignificant. In response, the Virginia Institute for Public Policy’s regulatory reform initiative proposes the implementation of a Regulatory Budget Program coupled with establishing a Universal Regulatory Sandbox. These measures aim to promote economic growth, innovation, and regulatory efficiency by limiting or eliminating the continued inflation of regulatory requirements while providing an environment where compliance burdens are temporarily removed to enhance and promote experimentation and development of new products, services, and business methodologies in the Commonwealth.
VIPP Policy Primer: Regulatory Reform (2023)
Click HERE to view or download.
Yesterday, Saturday (02.25.2023), the General Assembly adjourned Sine Die, ending the regular legislative session for 2023. Negotiations on the budget failed to reach full fruition, but before they adjourned the assembly members passed what they are calling a “gapstop” budget bill. It is four pages long, and covers a small number of items on which consensus was reached, allowing negotiations to continue in the coming weeks for the remaining controversial items. Governor Youngkin has indicated that as soon as the rest of the budget decisions are determined he will call a special session for the budget vote.
2023 Session Overview Numbers
(Total # of bills and resolutions)
The report below includes bills that fall into alignment with Virginia Institute’s policy recommendations, either for good policy or bad policy, and received a vote in a committee or on the House or Senate Floor last week.
HB 1437 & SB 1165: Database Storage of License Plate Info – DEAD
These bills were designed to allow for expanded use of devices that scan vehicle license plates. It would allow devices to be placed on the side of the road that would collect license plate data from every vehicle that passes by, invading the privacy of citizens without their knowledge and without cause. These devices are currently used by law enforcement in some areas of Virginia to find criminals, but this bill expands where and how they are permitted to be used.
The legislators carrying these bills both decided to have their bills sent back to committee, realizing that they would not pass on the Floor. See details below:
HB 1784: Digital Tokens & Decentralized Autonomous Organizations – DEAD
This bill would have formalized the use of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations to create an exception from security regulations regarding digital tokens. It would have also removed barriers for small tech companies to start businesses in Virginia, utilizing block-chain and algorithmic technology to increase business efficiency.
Disdain was shown last week by various public servants in the General Assembly for increased parental involvement in K-12 education and alterative education opportunity options. “While we are in favor of parental involvement, some of these bills were just a bridge too far,” Senator Lucas, the Senate Education and Health Committee Chair said. “Our trash can is full because we have dispensed with a lot of those bills today.” See below for details of some of the bills that filled the senate trash cans last week. Of note, in addition to bills killed, a Senate budget amendment was put forward to cut the only school choice program in Virginia, the Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit. This cut would exclude from the current program 700 student participants from low and middle income families.
In other news, Monday is the last day for Committees to meet in the 2023 legislative session. The session is scheduled to adjourn Sine Die this Saturday, February 25th.
2023 Session Overview Numbers
(Total # of bills and resolutions)
The report below includes bills that fall into alignment with Virginia Institute’s policy recommendations, either for good policy or bad policy, and received a vote in a committee or on the House or Senate Floor last week.
HB 1821: Expansion of Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit – DEAD
This bill expands the Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit (EISTC) program, which provides education grants to children from low income families.
HB 1507: Parental Rights and School Transparency – DEAD
This bill reiterates and protects parental rights and provides parents with more education transparency in schools.
HB 1909: Opportunity Classrooms – DEAD
If passed, this bill would establish the Opportunity Classroom program for schools. It would allow a teacher or a parent (with the support of a teacher) to establish an agreement with the school board to teach an alternative curriculum in a classroom designated for that purpose in a school.
HB 1444: Requirement for Photo ID – DEAD
This bill seeks to establish a variety of measures to increase the security of elections, including requiring an excuse for absentee voting, better voter ID requirements, requiring mailed ballots to be returned on or before the close of polls on election day, and reducing the number of in-person early voting days to 7 days prior to an election.
HB 1680: Same Day Voter Registration – DEAD
This legislation would require individuals who register to vote on Election Day or soon before Election Day to sign a statement affirming they will only cast one ballot.
HB 1693: Ballot Drop Box Ban – DEAD
This bill would prohibit the use of Drop Box locations to return a mailed ballot.
HB 1793: DMV Voter Information Transfer – DEAD
This bill would help maintain accurate voter information that is collected from voter visits to the DMV. It proposes to require permission from the DMV customer before any relevant voter information is transferred from the DMV to the Department of Elections.
HB 1877: Reduced Early In-Person Voting – DEAD
This bill would reduce the in-person absentee voting timeframe from 45 days to 14 days.
HB 1947: Repeal Permanent Absentee Ballot List – DEAD
This bill would replace the permanent absentee ballot list with an annual absentee ballot list. An application would need to be completed annually to receive mailed ballots.
HB 1948: Absentee Ballot Verification Method
This bill would replace the current witness signature requirement on a completed absentee ballot with the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security Number (SSN). Although more work needs to be done to ensure that SSNs are verified to belong to the voter, this method would be an improvement to the currently unverified witness signatures on absentee ballots. It also makes it easier for proper completion of an absentee ballot for individuals who live alone.
HB 2234: Repeal of Same Day Voter Registration – DEAD
If passed, this bill would eliminate the practice of registering to vote on Election Day and casting a ballot the same day, with a few exceptions (including uniformed service members).
HB 2454: Voter Roll Maintenance | Voter Address Information
Updates – DEAD
If passed, this legislation would require that local registrars receive information monthly about voters who have moved to a new address or who need their voter registration changed or removed. This would be a positive change to enable a more accurate voter roll on a consistent basis.
SB 1180: Private Interests Funding Elections – DEAD
This legislation seeks to repeal critical aspects of the prohibition on private funding in elections that the General Assembly passed on a bipartisan basis last year. It would allow local registrars to solicit grants from non-governmental entities to fund election administration and train election officials.
SB 854: Nonprofit Donor Names Disclosure – DEAD
This bill would require nonprofit donors’ names to be displayed on public ads when they support a referendum and in certain cases if the nonprofit has a score card for legislators. Online public documents already disclose these donors, but displaying their names on ads would make them exceptionally more vulnerable to be targeted and doxed.
