On March 12, Gov. Ralph Northam announced a ban on all official out-of-state travel for state employees for at least the next 30 days.

Northam has also ordered an implementation of telework policies for state employees.

The 2020 session of the Virginia General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 12.

The assembly completed the final actions for the session, including approval of the budget bill.

Legislators will reconvene on April 22 for the annual one-day veto session.

Under consideration are Gov. Ralph Northam’s vetoes and recommended amendments on any bills still pending.

The Virginia State Crime Commission cancelled their planned November 12 meeting regarding gun control.

The meeting was scheduled to discuss eight bills proposed by Gov. Ralph Northam during the July special session.

Republican Majority Leader Todd Gilbert also stated the November 18 reconvened special session will become pro forma and lawmakers will not have to report to the General Assembly.

With the Democrats controlling the Legislature, lawmakers are expected to reintroduce the gun control issue in the upcoming January session.

Democrats won a majority of seats in both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly on November 5.

Democrats gained six seats in the House of Delegates and two in the Senate.

This will be the first majority for Democrats in over 25 years.

With Gov. Ralph Northam serving as governor, Virginia Democrats form a state government trifecta.

The Virginia General Assembly convened and adjourned a special session.

The session was called to consider stricter gun legislation in response to the Virginia Beach shootings on May 31.

For the special session, Gov. Northam proposed eight bills.

The Governors bills included background checks on all firearm sales, a ban on dangerous weapons, and allowing only one handgun purchase a month.

Assembly leaders referred all of the governor’s bills to the state Crime Commission for a full review.

The General Assembly will reconvene November 18 to vote on the proposed bills.

Federal judges have appointed a University of California political science professor, Bernard Grofman, to redraw House of Delegates congressional maps.

In June, the court ordered lawmakers to redraw lines to address racial gerrymandering by the end of October.

The General Assembly was not able to agree on a legislative solution and Gov. Northam promised to veto any redistricting bills sent to his desk.

The court will hold another conference to schedule the process but has indicated a new map will be enacted by March 28, 2019.

Pictured: University of California professor Bernard Grofman

Lawmakers in the Virginia House of Delegates have canceled a redistricting session scheduled for October 21.

Gov. Ralph Northam has previously stated his intentions to veto the current redistricting proposal, House Bill 7003, if the bill reaches his desk.

Without a legislative solution, the redistricting of House districts will be handled by a court appointed independent party.

Gov. Ralph Northam signed a proclamation calling Virginia lawmakers into a special session on August 30.

The purpose of the special session is to redraw districts of the House of Delegates.

A U.S. District Court ruled on June 26 that House of Delegates districts were racially gerrymandered to concentrate black voters.

The court ordered new boundaries to be drawn by October 30 for use in next year’s elections.

Gov. Ralph Northam called for a special session of the Legislature this week to finish work on the state’s budget.

The session will convene April 11, just one month after the adjournment of the regular session.

Lawmakers voted unanimously last week to request the special session.

Lawmakers must pass the two-year budget by June 30 in order to avoid a government shut down on July 1.

Virginia’s General Assembly adjourned its 2018 regular legislative session Saturday, March 10.

During the 60-day session, legislators were unable to pass a state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Gov. Ralph Northam promised to call a special session in the next two to three weeks to reconsider the state’s spending plans.

The budget impasse came over Medicaid expansion, and was not a disagreement between parties, but rather between the House and the Senate.

If a budget is not passed by July 1, the state will face a government shutdown.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam will be Virginia’s next governor after defeating former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie.

In what was expected to be a close race, Lt. Gov. Northam won by nearly nine points, the largest margin of victory in decades for a Virginia governor.

By winning over a large number of suburban voters, who typically lean Republican, the resounding win is seen by many as a rebuke of President Trump.

Northam will be joined by fellow Democrats Justin Fairfax and Mark Herring, who easily won races for lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Another Virginia special election has been scheduled for January 7, 2014.

The seat in Senate District 6 will be vacated when Sen. Ralph Northam becomes lieutenant governor.