All results / Stories / Delegate Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum
Commentary: Helping the Working Poor
In the season of giving when thoughts turn to what can be done to help friends and neighbors in the community who do not make enough to make ends meet, there are many efforts to help them with a basket of food at the holidays, a food and clothes closet and other well-meaning and important giving programs.
Commentary: Justice for Juveniles
I often quote from papers written by the staff of the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis; they provide the most fact-based, nonpartisan, clear analysis of key issues facing Virginians (http://www.thecommonwealthinstitute.org/).
Column: Summertime at the General Assembly
Legislators in the earliest days of the Republic were mostly of the planter class; women, blacks and non-landowners could not vote or hold office. The best time to get away from the plantation and the crops was in the wintertime. That probably started the custom that continues to today whereby the General Assembly holds its regular session in the winter beginning on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January.
Column: Billion-Dollar Give-Away!
By the time you are reading this column Virginia will have reached the milestone by having refused to accept a billion dollars of monies paid by Virginia taxpayers to close the coverage gap for 400,000 working poor Virginians who cannot afford health insurance!
Column: Return on Investment
Constituents contacted me recently about a Richmond Times Dispatch article headline they felt was misleading: “Ken Plum says Pre-K education leads to less crime and welfare.”
General Assembly Underway
The General Assembly convened for its annual session on Jan. 14. Although the session scheduled to adjourn at the end of February is termed “the short session,” it will have a full agenda of opportunities and challenges.
Column: At the Half
The General Assembly has reached “crossover,” the point on the legislative calendar when each house must have completed work on bills introduced into its respective chamber. That point was Tuesday for all bills except for adjustments to the budget that will be considered on Thursday.
Column: Staying Ahead of the Feds
The federal government is not always wrong. At the same time, the state government is not always right.
The Virginia House and the Senate have penned similar but competing mid-point versions to the 2014-2016 biennial budget.
Commentary: Efficiency Over Effectiveness
At the time of this writing, the General Assembly seems to be on course for an earlier than scheduled Feb. 28 adjournment date. For a part-time legislature that in recent years has found it difficult to stay within its 60-day session in the even-numbered years and 45-day session in the odd-numbered years, finishing work ahead of schedule would be unprecedented.
Column: What Else Was Done?
Previous columns have focused on major legislation passed in the 2015 General Assembly session, but this column will describe other legislation that passed. Implications for these bills may be more limited in the number of persons affected, but you can be sure that for those persons these bills may be the most important.
Commetary: The Lady's Got Clout
Each year the Library of Virginia honors women who have distinguished themselves in many different ways in the state’s history
Commentary: Political Prospects for Medicaid Expansion
Virginia voters in areas with contested primaries went to the polls last week to select their candidates for the Nov. 3 general election when all seats in the General Assembly are up for election as are many local offices.
Commentary: The “T” Word
Governor Terry McAuliffe will address the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees on Dec. 17 in a statutorily required report on the state’s finances. The news will not be good nor will it be surprising. For the last two years the state has seen a steady erosion of its revenue base.
Redistricting Remains an Issue
Although the drawing of legislative district lines is supposed to take place each decade after the federal census, the controversy over where and how lines are drawn keeps the issues alive every year. Most recently a federal court declared the current Congressional district lines in Virginia invalid because the way the lines are drawn discriminates against minorities being able to get elected. Essentially the black population is packed into one district.
Column: Two Ladies Named Alice
I am blessed to have known both of them!
Column: The Climate is Changing
“Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present,” according to a report, Climate Change Impacts in the United States, that was released this year and that includes the findings of 300 experts affiliated with the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee (http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/).
Column: Medicaid Expansion Lite
Virginia’s first governor, Patrick Henry, was elected to four one-year terms. Henry’s reputation as a leader was well established before he became governor with his famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech made in St. John’s Church in Richmond before the Revolution.
A Virginia Statesman
Commentary
I first heard of Vincent F. (Vince) Callahan, Jr. in 1965 when he ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of Virginia. It was his first run for political office, and while it may seem that he aimed high to start in those days it was easy to get the Republican nomination since the Republicans always lost.
Column: Energy Plan Moves Virginia in Right Direction
Governor Terry McAuliffe had two interesting supporters speak at his press conference on Virginia’s latest Energy Plan—the heads of the state Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters. Both endorsed his update of the state’s Energy Plan as a step in the right direction.
Overdue Ethics Reform
Commentary
For the first time in a history that goes back to Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, a Virginia governor has been indicted on federal corruption charges. Although information on the activities of the federal grand jury had been leaking out for many months, the former governor and his wife who was indicted with him and their stable of taxpayer-paid-for attorneys were able to stave off the formal indictment until he left office. But the alleged wrong doing took place while he was in office during which time he and the first lady accepted a total of at least $165,000 in cash, loans and lavish gifts from the CEO of a diet supplement company.