Thread by @Taniel

Virginia Dems took control of the state government for the first time in decades last year, & have since passed a big slate of progressive goals.

Here's a thread capturing 13 big laws that have passed in that time. 

(I was trying to countdown to a top 10, but gave up on that.)

1️⃣ Virginia has now abolished the death penalty.

A really huge national milestone given the history of capital punishment in this state. theappeal.org/politicalrepor…

2️⃣ Virginia ended prison gerrymandering.

This is the practice that counts incarcerated people where they're detained for purposes of redistricting, skewing political power toward more white areas. theappeal.org/politicalrepor…

3️⃣ Virginia adopted new LGBTQ protections by barring discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation & gender identity: nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-ou…

4️⃣ Virginia adopted a law to increase the minimum wage to $13 by 2023, & potentially $15 by 2026.

But labor leaders & advocates have were disappointed that the $15 rise isn't automatic, & that the initial rise was delayed by 6 months.

thecentersquare.com/virginia/north…

5️⃣ Virginia adopted voting-rights reforms in 2020 that ease voting in a number of ways. Notably, they will make voter registration much easier via:

—automatic voter registration
—same-day voter registration

see: princewilliamtimes.com/news/northam-s… & wjla.com/news/local/nor…

6️⃣ Virginia made voting-by-mail much easier in 2020 by removing the requirement that people provide an excude. (Obviously mattered a lot during the pandemic, though bill was in preparation before.)

theappeal.org/politicalrepor…

7️⃣ Virginia, also in 2020, overturned the state's voter ID law. 13newsnow.com/article/news/l…

And 8️⃣ Virginia, in 2021 this time, passed a state-level Voting Rights Act meant to protect voting rights from rollbacks: npr.org/2021/02/26/971…

9️⃣ Not quite law yet: Legislature adopted a constitutional amendment for all formerly incarcerated people to vote. It needs to pass again in 2022, but Gov just issued executive orders.

Activists had pushed hard to get fully rid of disenfranchisement, tho. theappeal.org/politicalrepor…

1️⃣0️⃣ Virginia decriminalized marijuana in 2020, a big deal esp. given racial inequalities in criminalization.

Then, in 2021, legislature passed bill to legalize. But it's very delayed, & advocates panned it for creating new crimes. Still on Gov's desk.
virginiamercury.com/2020/07/01/mar…

1️⃣1️⃣ Virginia repealed restrictions on abortion in 2020, including lifting the requirement to undergo an ultrasound within 24 hours. cnn.com/2020/04/10/pol…

1️⃣2️⃣ Virginia ended its practice of taking driver's license away from people who owe court debt. This punitive practice compounds poverty & effectively bar access to jobs.

(A lot more work to do for Virginia to confront mounting court debts.)

theappeal.org/politicalrepor…

1️⃣3️⃣ Virginia abolished life without the possibility of parole sentences for minors.

This is a milestone, but also signals the urgency for more reforms linked to the broader obstacles to release from prison in Virginia. theappeal.org/politicalrepor…

There are many other new laws I could mention, but you can drop more ↓↓.

And many bills that were priorities for progressives derailed. I'll note the efforts to:
1) repeal "right to work"
2) end qualified immunity
3) end mandatory minimums
4) restrict solitary confinement