Youngkin pursues right-wing agenda
Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin’s legislative priorities call for diverting funds from public schools to charter schools, banning critical race theory, restricting voting, and promoting massive tax cuts.
The following bills and budget amendments introduced in the General Assembly are part of Youngkin’s “Day One Agenda.”
Education
The Board of Education or a local school board would have the authority to approve a charter school. (House Bill 344, Senate Bills 608 and 635)
The Board of Education would be allowed to establish a regional charter school division consisting of two or three existing school divisions with an enrollment up to 3,000 students. (HB 356, SB 125)
Youngkin’s budget priorities call for $150 million over the next two years to create new “laboratory innovation charter schools.”
Public and secondary school principals would be banned from using curricula or instruction that “includes inherently divisive concepts,” such as critical race theory. (HB 1068, SB 570)
Academic year Governor’s Schools would be prohibited from giving a preference to any individual or group based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. (HB 127)
School boards would be required to collaborate with local law enforcement to employ at least one school resource officer in each public elementary and secondary school. (HB 873, SB 415)
Related story: Youngkin selects former school board member Elizabeth Schultz for state office
Principals would be required to report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that might constitute a misdemeanor offense and notify the parents of a student who is the victim of such an act. (HB 308, SB 613, and others)
Each public and secondary elementary school would have to notify parents when a teacher plans to use instructional material that includes sexually explicit content. Parents would be permitted to review such content. Schools would be required to provide alternative materials upon request. (HB 1009, SB 656)
Taxes
Food and essential personal hygiene products would be exempt from all state and local sales taxes. (HB 1008, SB 571, and other bills)
The standard deduction would be doubled to $9,000 for single filers and $18,000 for married people filing jointly. (HB 472, SB 560 and SB11). According to Youngkin’s budget priorities, this would reduce general fund revenue by $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2023 and $825 million in FY 2024.
Taxpayers would get a tax rebate of $300 for single filers and $600 for married couples filing jointly. (HB 935, SB 579). This would reduce state revenue by $202.8 million in FY 2023.
A business or a self-employed individual who is a U.S. citizen or legal resident alien that has fewer than 50 employees and has no more than $10 million in gross receipts would be eligible for a one-time tax credit. (HB 332, SB 540). Youngkin’s budget proposal calls for a $75 million reduction to cover this tax credit.
Local governments would be required to hold a referendum before increasing property tax rates above a certain level. (HB 1010, SB 620)
Voting
The requirement for a photo ID would be reinstated. The Department of Elections would conduct periodic assessments to ensure voters are in the correct district. The State Registrar of Vital Records would transmit weekly lists of decedents to the Department of Elections. General registrars would be required to promptly cancel the registration of anyone known to be dead. (HB 305, SB 371)
Labor
The law allowing collective bargaining for local government employees would be repealed. The requirement for contractors for state public works projects to pay a prevailing wage would also be repealed. (HB 883, SB 374)
Anyone who loses a job due to misconduct would not be denied unemployment compensation if the misconduct refers to the refusal to get a Covid vaccination. (HB 1201, SB 646)
Equity
The title for the director of diversity, equity, and inclusion would be renamed. The word “equity” would be dropped. The new title would be director of diversity, opportunity, and inclusion. Among the responsibilities of that office would be “ambassador for unborn children” and upholding the rights of parents. (HB 1300)
Youngkin’s nominee to head this office, Angela Sailor, has written extensively about her opposition to critical race theory and supported former President Trump’s efforts to promote a “patriotic education.”
22 responses to “Youngkin pursues right-wing agenda”
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This is a shame.
I believe many of those who voted for Youngkin didn’t realize these would be his primary agenda items.
Former Governor Terry McAuliffe ran a terrible campaign.
He tried to tar and feather Youngkin as being the same as Trump when Youngkin ran as a “common-sense moderate” who supports parents and families. McAuliffe fell into the trap of appearing to support public school teacher unions and the government over parents.
Instead, McAuliffe should have hammered Youngkin incessantly by slamming his policies which will badly hurt those Virginians most at-need, especially Virginia’s families; and how McAuliffe’s policies help those most in need.
McAuliffe’s hyper focus on tying Youngkin to Trump until the last few days of the campaign, when Trump was not on the ballot, and when most people are sick and tired of Trump and would prefer he go away (and want Democrats to stop focusing on Trump and instead focus on serving their constituents) was a very bad, bordering on incompetent, General Election campaign strategy.
In fact, the real failure of the McAuliffe campaign is not found in the number of people who voted for Youngkin; but in the number of Virginians who have voted for Democrats in the recent past (especially in Northern Virginia) who did not come out and vote for McAuliffe because McAuliffe did not give them a reason to do so.
Now, we are put into the position of resisting the Youngkin Administration for the next four years and taking back the House of Delegates.
It certainly didn’t help that people who are looking forward didn’t want to vote for a step backwards to a previous governor.
Or that the previous governor is basically a Clinton.
Or that the previous governor’s record as governor is quite disappointing.
Or that despite the diversity of the party, yet again the candidate doesn’t reflect that.
How many more heir apparents to whatever office will we run and lose before we figure this out? Will our democracy be intact long enough? Or will I have to vote to Terry again in 2 years?
‘The requirement for a photo ID would be reinstated. The Department of Elections would conduct periodic assessments to ensure voters are in the correct district. The State Registrar of Vital Records would transmit weekly lists of decedents to the Department of Elections. General registrars would be required to promptly cancel the registration of anyone known to be dead. (HB 305, SB 371)’
‘Restricting voting.’ Not really an accurate description of what is written above, unless keeping dead people from voting, a great strategy employed in past elections, is considered restrictive.
Boy is he taking us backwards. To give office to a Trump ‘ supporters is defying reasons. Someone that would support the notion that the election were stolen ,that votes were rigged and illegals ,make people that elected this ignoramus, still believe that, is truly troubling and totally shameful. Well VA you got what you voted for. We like many others here in the US, are becoming the laughing stock of the world.
True
I’m delighted with Youngkin’s common sense agenda.
I’m so glad Terribly McAwful committed electoral suicide by saying parents should have no say in what their kids are taught.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/oct/26/editorial-mcauliffes-diss-of-parents-is-a-disquali/
I’m also glad Mark “Red” Herring is no longer AG. Miyares should revoke all of Herring’s unilateral actions.
You already have to show a photo I.D. to vote here, do you not? I’m always asked for one when I vote. And the department of elections is already notified when people die. When my dad died, my mom and I got a letter from them notifying us that he was removed from the voter rolls. So I don’t see the point of either of those rules.
Glenn Youngkin had best remember that he narrowly won the election and act accordingly.
I find it hilarious that the right is now all of a sudden so concerned with what is being taught in schools, where were you the last 20-30 years/ever? Do these parents think they are going to shape the curriculum? What qualifications do they have in doing that? What happens if the teacher shortage continues and your kids don’t have someone properly trained to educate them? Teachers have always been dramatically underpaid and are now the subject of vile threats and hate. Why would anyone want to teach now when you have to deal with some folks who suggest cameras in the classroom?
As usual, there are no solutions provided, just made-up political arguments that entice folks to vote because they are the minority in this country and need to do something to gain power at any cost. Do they want this country to look like the Handmaid’s Tale?
How does this story qualify as the ultra-local-community news that should be Annandale Today’s forte? It is a story that I could read in multiple state and national news outlets. But what happened to the local/community news story it replaced? It never came to life.Instead of the difficult, time-consuming business of reporting, you simply repurposed stories from other news outlets. Lazy, lazy, lazy. Your previous focus made your predecessor blog a “must-read.” If this departure continues, you will loose purpose and readers.
Did you actually bother to scroll back more than a page? Lol.
Don’t worry Annandale Today, you won’t “loose” me. What happens in Richmond affects the fine (and not so fine) citizens of Annandale. If I’m not interested in something, I just keep scrolling.
How come when Terry McAulliffe did something the title wasn’t McAulliffe pursues liberal-socialist agenda?
Yea, you never saw ‘Terry McAulliffe pursues left wing agenda.’ Come on Annandale Today, you can be better.
Terry McAuliffe a liberal? GTFOH.
From an (I think) Native American saying, “Youngkin speaks with a forked tongue.”
A lot of us, I expect, will continue to read. What goes on in Richmond doesn’t stay in Richmond.
Thank goodness that we have a visionary, someone who believes in hard work and opportunity, someone who believes that merit and not skin color should rule the day, and someone who doesn’t want to tax people into oblivion and not put the funds in the communities.
👍
Those economic tenets and associated governance paradigms lead to white supremacy because others can’t compete with whites and Asians in an unfair capitalist system. True comrades fight for equitable infrastructure justice.
I much non political articles and local interest stories about Annandale. Local news is what can hold us together as a community- a common understanding of what’s happening in our community. Thank you
How is asking people for a legal photo ID at the polls a bad thing? Making sure that pollsters can confirm address and identification is voter suppression?
Imagine saying that Youngkin is restricting voting because he wants it done legally. Imagine the mental gymnastics one has to do to come to that conclusion.
‘right wing’
i’m sensing an agenda myself