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Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education (FREE), a business interest association in Richmond, recently released their report card for all legislators in the state. According to the “powerful business coalition,” Del. Matt Lohr scored a 63 in cumulative business rating, a 56 rating for this year’s session, and an 87% on the 2008 Voter [...]

A year ago, I posted something about the possibility of Sen. Mark Obenshain running for Attorney General. The only thing that’s changed between then and now is that Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling has decided to stay where he is, so AG Bob McDonnell can run for governor.
Yesterday, the Richmond Times reported, “His decision means [...]

Last week, Gov. Kaine signed a bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Obenshain and Del. Todd Gilbert, which requires any private entity from imposing tolls or user fees on “any existing rural Interstate highway” [Interstate 81] without the prior approval of the General Assembly. In other words, legislators voted to give themselves more authority.

There’s a story in USA Today that mentions Gemeinschaft. The story was prompted by a report from the Eisenhower Foundation, a nonprofit group that analyzes and advocates programs for what they describe as “inner city, the truly disadvantaged, children, youth and families.”

What if there’s bad weather or a major emergency on voting day? Should voting hours be extended past 7:00 to ensure everyone in the “affected region” gets a chance to vote? That’s what Senate Bill 796 proposes. The State Senate is currently deliberating it. I spotted this gem on dailypress.com today:
McEachin and Sen. Mark Obenshain, [...]

Sen. Mark Obenshain’s SB542, which was drafted “to prohibit any group providing abortions from also providing information or course materials on human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases” in schools, was mentioned in today’s DNR article about tolls on 81. SB542 was killed in the State Senate yesterday, along with two other abortion-related bills.

It’s pretty much unanimous: the “abusive driver fees” General Assembly passed last year were a bad idea. So, the Assembly made it a priority this year to undo what they had done last year. Only one problem: a 130-year-old state Supreme Court ruling prohibiting lawmakers “from ordering local courts to stop collection of fees or [...]

Today Senator Mark Obenshain introduced SB782 to the Courts and Justice Committee. The bill would amend the state code so that state regulatory bodies can revoke an employer’s license if s/he employ “persons who are not legally eligible to be employed in the United States.”
Earlier this month, Obenshain told the DNR that “he does not [...]

In the wake of last year’s Michael Vick trial, and mounting criticism of Virginia’s cockfighting laws, several new bills in the House and Senate — some of which are backed by Attorney General Bob McDonnell — are expected to have more support this year than last.
But Senators Mark Obenshain and Emmet Hanger aren’t sold on [...]

Senator Mark Obenshain just introduced SB565, a bill that would regulate an unregulated industry: car title lenders.

Here’s a brief look at the five city precincts, and 29 in the county:

I’ve already posted the ballots for Tuesday’s election. Reader Annie left a comment suggesting hburgnews publish a voter guide. I’ve decided to profile the two legislative positions; State Senate and House of Delegates. Someone else can profile the other positions and candidates. Here’s what I can tell you about the State Senate candidates:

The other day, Waldo pointed out on his blog that VPAP now has a feature where you can tell where political campaign contributions come from, geographically speaking. Interestingly, it looks like the largest contributions by locality for Obenshain came from Harrisonburg and Rockingham, while the largest contributions for Lohr by locality came from Richmond.

In Maryland and North Carolina, cockfighting is a felony. In Virginia, cockfighting [for money] is a Class 3 misdemeanor. Congressman Bob Goodlatte voted for a bill that makes it a felony to transport animals across state borders for the purpose of fighting them. Bush recently signed the bill into federal law.