Some of the immigration bills affecting employers have passed one of the General Assembly’s chambers. Now that all bills have “crossover” to the other chamber, here is the status of those bills.

HB90: Allows state regulatory boards to suspend or revoke the license, certificate or registration of a business if it has been convicted of knowingly hiring someone who is not eligible to work in the U.S. Left in Rules Committee.

HB 227: Requires applicants for a contractor’s license to submit a statement promising they will verify employee’s status and not hire an illegal immigrant knowingly. Left in Rules Committee.

HB 926: Allows corporations and LLCs to be dissolved if they are convicted of a pattern of hiring undocumented workers. Corporations would be ineligible for reinstatement for a year. Passed House 98-0 and sent to Senate Committee for Courts of Justice.
HB928: Several measures, including requirement that public bodies and their contractors work with the Department of Homeland Security to participate in federal work authorization program. Requires state agencies offering services to verify the recipient’s immigration status. Left in Rules Committee.

HB 1047: $100 fine each day for a business that employs an undocumented worker. Left in Rules Committee.

HB 1249: Allows employee who is replaced by an ineligible worker grounds to take action against former employer. Left in Rules Committee.

HB 1298: Amended to say that all state contractors must not knowingly hire an illegal immigrant. Passed House of Delegates 96-3. Referred to the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice.

HJ164: Directs the Virginia Commission on Immigration to study how many licensed contractors in the state hire ineligible employees and their effect on the work force and the economy. Left in Rules Committee.

SB90: Prohibits employers from hiring workers before their legal eligibility has been verified. Passed by indefinitely in Senate Courts of Justice Committee.

SB385: Requires applicants for local business licenses to certify they are not employing undocumented workers. Passed by indefinitely in the Courts of Justice Committee.

Virginians aren’t used to this much attention.

We tend to be ignored in the presidential elections.

In the general election, we’ve been seen as reliably red. In the presidential primaries, Virginians usually vote long after the nominee has been decided.

That’s all changed this year.

With no clear Democratic front-runner after Super Tuesday, Virginia has grasped the attention of campaigns.

Democratic nominees Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both planning to speak at the state party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner on Saturday evening.

It also means candidates — both Democratic and Republican — are finally spending money in Virginia to put ads on TV.

Virginia can bask in this attention for only five more days. We’ll never be an Iowa or New Hampshire.

But fear not. With recent Democratic gubernatorial and senatorial wins, the parties may see a need to campaign here throughout the general election.

Maybe we won’t feel so ignored anymore.

A bill to prevent gerrymandering has passed the Virginia Senate and been sent to the House of Delegates.

The bill, supported by a wide range of lobbying groups and Virginia officials, would help prevent the majority party in the state legislature from drawing voting districts to protect their majority status. The bill would likely create better representation for Virginians, but may hurt some of the most conservative or liberal incumbents, some of whom have been able to keep their seats because of gerrymandered districts.

The will would create a bipartisan commission to draw redistricting lines for the General Assembly and congressional races.

The process tries to remove politics through a number of steps. It would require the Supreme Court to nominate 24 retired judges to a pool. No more than 12 judges with the same party affiliation could be named to the pool. Then the majority and minority leaders in both chambers would select a commissioner each. Those four commissioners would then select a fifth judge from the pool to serve as chairman.

Similar legislation failed in the House last year after passing the Senate. Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine and Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling have both voiced support for the bill.

It’s not just the business lobby questioning the practicality of the General Assembly’s proposed “homestead exemption” act.

A senior economist at U.Va.‘s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service has said the provision could cash-strap localities and fails to help renters, who often represent the state’s low income residents.

In his study, professor John Knapp outlines problems with the proposed constitutional amendment.

Knapp points out that when Gov. Tim Kaine first proposed the exemption during his 2005 gubernatorial campaign, assessments were skyrocketing. Now, cash-strapped localities might be unlikely to lower the tax rate to provide real relief to homeowners.

He also questions whether local governments would ask the General Assembly for another taxation avenue, such as a local income tax. Knapp also highlights how the tax could harm the state’s “tax friendliness” system as the local tax burden shifted to industrial and commercial properties.

With federal funding for the 23-mile Metrorail extension in danger, is the project essentially dead?

The Washington Post reported today that Gov. Tim Kaine said burdensome toll increases on the Dulles Toll Road might be needed to make up for the funding shortfall if the Federal Transit Administration doesn’t provide its share of the project. Kaine says he would be unlikely to support such a toll increase.

Federal transportation officials told Virginia leaders last week that is unlikely to agree to the $900 million federal share of the $5 billion project.

The state still has some time to revise the project.  But if federal funding is in doubt, rail to Dulles may never become more than a pipe dream.