The Virginian-Pilot
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After striking language that would have placed protections for gay and lesbian workers into law, Virginia's Senate today unanimously approved an economic incentive bill requested by Gov. Bob McDonnell.
The bill gives the governor greater flexibility to use state grants and other financial tools to attract companies such as Northrop Grumman, which is in talks with state officials to move its headquarters here.
Earlier this week, James City County Republican Sen. Tommy Norment added an amendment to the bill calling for the state to maintain "an ecumenical atmosphere in its sexual orientation hiring policies."
Norment asked to remove it Thursday, reasoning that the anti-discrimination edict McDonnell issued Wednesday solved the situation he hoped to address.
McDonnell issued an executive directive to state agencies instructing them not to discriminate in the workplace for any reason or characteristic, including sexual orientation. The decree doesn't have the force of law.
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Right for Virginia?
Yes, the Governor needs this flexibility to weigh in and incent a good deal for Virginians, but the way to attract Businesses to Virginia is very simple; a transportation system that works, a public education system that provides a competent background for workers to learn, and human services and public safety that provide a high quality of life. So what is the score card for Governor McDonnell and the Legislature; total failure to address transportation, draconian cuts to K-12 education, cuts in human services and public safety, and a hugh step backward in support for the arts and humanities. Now, with this kind of record, the firms we realy want will beat feet to more progressive states, and we will "buy" less attractive firms with the use of incentives. Is that the kind of Commonwealth that is right for Virginia?