The Half Sheet

We believe Virginia needs an economy that works for us all, not just a few. Where every Virginian who works hard can support their family and build a brighter future. Yet for too many in our commonwealth, that opportunity is out of reach.

The 40-hour workweek and time-and-a-half for overtime work are cornerstones of a strong and fair economy. Unfortunately, overtime protections have been allowed to become badly out-of-date. On Wednesday, the Obama administration announced an update to the rule that will give millions more Americans overtime protections and clarify protections for millions more.

With Governor McAuliffe’s announcement last Friday that state revenue collections came in far lower than forecast for April, it’s clear that Virginia is on a crash course to a big problem unless the next two months bring substantial improvement.

Productivity growth can be a driver of growing compensation and increased living standards. Increased employment can be an important way to make sure the gains of the economy are shared with more workers and families. Virginia’s economy is getting healthier, but it still needs consistent increased employment and increased productivity in a broad range of sectors to make up for missed growth over the last eight years.

Closing the coverage gap in Virginia would help 400,000 people get quality, affordable health care. And, as this growing body of research shows, it would also protect them from financial ruin for reasons often beyond their control: illness and injury.

No one suffering from a serious mental illness should be denied the care they need. Without the appropriate medications, there are men and women, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters who are left to struggle without a realistic shot at managing their disease.

Virginia’s growing economy has provided state policymakers with some much-needed additional resources to invest in our state’s schools, families, and communities. Policymakers expect to have $3 billion more in state revenues over the next two budget years than in the last two budget years.

Virginia’s legislators often like to appear tough on crime, yet they rejected funding to properly investigate certain types of crimes and violations that occur in the workplace. Legislators rejected funding that the governor recommended to address a backlog of wage violation claims and to conduct necessary health, safety, and youth employment inspections.

Localities across the state are wrestling with tough questions about how to find the money they need to support their schools. But the fact is, the state bears substantial blame for the situation. State lawmakers made deep cuts to public education during and after the recession, and are only now starting to dig out of that hole.

Policymakers and concerned residents often ask if increased spending really improves student performance, particularly for those students who are struggling most. Well, a new study shows increased spending in low-income school districts raises the test scores of their students and reduces achievement gaps.

Investing in preventing and treating substance use disorders and mental illness is pragmatic and cost-effective. Virginia lawmakers know this is true because they are using state dollars to increase access to these services for some people. Now it is time for them to close the coverage gap to make sure that all Virginians can obtain the quality, affordable care they need to be healthy and productive.

Virginia’s felony theft threshold – the value of stolen money or goods above which misdemeanor theft becomes a felony – hasn’t increased since 1980 when it was set at $200. But prices go up, which means a crime that was a misdemeanor even a few years ago could now be a felony just because of inflation.