The Half Sheet

Today, from a national stand-point, Virginia is recognized as having a mental health system with results well below the national average.

The immigration system in the United States is broken, and too many Virginians are caught up in it because of minor problems with their immigration status and minor criminal charges. Virginia should not add to this by requiring local and regional jails to treat detainer requests as mandatory without a court order. And the state should not force sheriffs and regional jail officials to choose between a confusing state law and the constitutional rights of individuals, not to mention the possible costs to their local taxpayers.

As lawmakers review the governor’s amendments to the 2016-2018 budget, they should not gloss over these significant cuts to public K-12 education. With these cuts, the state’s support for Virginia’s students and future workforce is down 11.8 percent per pupil since 2009 adjusting for inflation. K-12 has borne its fair share in the state’s austerity efforts now and during the recession.

Some immigrants who are lawfully present can’t legally drive due to their particular type of federal immigration status. The stakeholder task force recommended expanding access to driver’s licenses to these individuals and all legally present individuals. This important recommendation could be put into effect if legislators pass HB2020 (Del. Villanueva) or HB1866 (Del. Lopez), both of which use the draft bill language that was developed by the stakeholder’s task force.

Lawmakers should take are hard look at the proposal for a voucher-like savings account in Virginia, because the research shows that the details matter when it comes to promoting effective school choice options.

Repealing the Affordable Care Act without replacement would be a huge step backwards for our economy and the health and economic security of low and moderate-income families throughout the commonwealth. There have been major strides in providing improved and accessible health coverage to millions of Virginians since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Preserving the gains made and improving upon them through any potential “replace” bill needs to be a top priority for Congress.

As the new administration and Congress begin to move their agendas next month, there is one bipartisan initiative floating around…

Policymakers have been struggling for months with revenue that fell short of forecasts despite a growing economy. Last week, the…

Wealthy individuals can profit from certain “charitable donations” in Virginia. That’s the surprising result of Virginia’s Neighborhood Assistance Program and Education Improvement Scholarship tax credits, both of which allow “double-dipping” – a 65 percent tax credit on top of federal and state deductions for charitable giving. When that 65 percent credit is combined with the federal and state deductions, many wealthy individuals who are subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax or who donate appreciated securities are able to save more money in avoided taxes than they actually donated to the charitable cause. 

Last Thursday, the Virginia Board of Education unanimously approved a set of recommendations that would significantly improve support for Virginia schools. The vote sends a clear message to the General Assembly that it’s time for the state to fix the school funding formula.

The future of Virginia’s children, communities, and commonwealth depends heavily on the quality of K-12 schools, yet Virginia continues to rank among the states that have made the deepest cuts in its support for its schools and students. Virginia should take a better approach – one informed by solid research in the field – and invest the resources needed to be a place where every child, no matter where they live, has a chance to get a top-quality education.

After several years of decline, Virginia (and the United States as a whole) are finally starting to see an uptick in the share of working-age adults covered through employer-sponsored insurance. This encouraging trend may be explained in part by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate. Under the mandate, more firms in 2015 were required to offer insurance to their employees or pay a fine. From 2014 to 2015, 37,000 Virginians gained coverage through increased use of employer-sponsored insurance.