Virtual Quorum, Cocktails to Go, and Protecting Gay Marriage
IN THE NEWS:
From the UVA Board of Visitors to the Virginia Potato Board, open records laws have requirements for what qualifies as a public meeting. Now those requirements are shifting online for state agencies, regional bodies and local advisory commissions. Public bodies that were once allowed to conduct 25 percent of their meetings virtually are now able to conduct 50 percent of those meetings online.
Cocktails-to-go was one of the silver linings of the pandemic, new rules allowing restaurants to sell margaritas or old fashions in takeout containers. Now a new law in Virginia will extend the pilot program for that indefinitely. But state regulators say third-party vendors like DoorDash and Uber Eats are compliant only half the time.
Nine years ago, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage and overturned the part of Virginia's Constitution that banned it. Now, Governor Youngkin has signed a law ensuring that same-sex marriage will remain legal in Virginia regardless of any future court decisions.
At the Watercooler:
The media's continuing focus on President Biden's mental condition--and its effect on the November election
When was the last time a Democrat running for President won a majority of the white vote--and what does that tell us?
