Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gov. Ralph Northam details plans for teacher raises, abolishing death penalty

Gov. Ralph Northam discussed teacher raises, legalizing marijuana and abolishing the death penalty during this State of the Commonwealth Address Wednesday evening.

The governor’s annual speech kicked off the 2021 General Assembly session. Northam had a lengthy list of priorities as he enters his final year in office, with a heavy focus on addressing long-standing racial disparities in a state that was once home to the capital of the Confederacy, the Associated Press reported. Northam and fellow Democrats remain in full control of the General Assembly after flipping the chamber in the 2019 elections.

Northam also discussed Virginia’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic and detailed proposals to support small businesses, give teachers a raise of more than two percent, expand access to early childhood education, legalize marijuana, and abolish the death penalty.

Read the governor’s full speech here.

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