Virginia
Virginia attorney general denounces ESG investments in state retirement fund
Virginia’s attorney general has advised officials from the state’s retirement system against making investment decisions that prioritize environmental issues, social issues and corporate governance, according to a nonbinding legal analysis released Friday.
Jason Miyares, a Republican who serves as Virginia’s top prosecutor, said in an advisory opinion that the board of trustees for the Virginia Retirement System should instead make investments “based on securing the best financial results for VRS beneficiaries.” The retirement system’s members include state employees, public school teachers and employees of political subdivisions, such as counties, towns and cities.
“Investments must be driven by careful, calculated financial foresight, not clouded by unfounded ESG fads,” Miyares said in a statement. “This Opinion firmly reinforces the Virginia Retirement System’s responsibility and legal obligation to make objective investment decisions free from the sway of social or political agendas. Secure futures require sound economics.”
Miyares’ advisory opinion, written at the request of Republican Del. Nick Freitas, comes after some state pension programs have opted to prioritize environmental, social and corporate governance policies when making investments, also known as ESG investing.
Virginia Sowers, a retirement system spokesperson, said in an email that the retirement system does not have a policy to prioritize such investments.
“To meet its fiduciary duty, VRS carefully analyzes economic factors and assesses monetary risk to achieve the highest level of return for a given level of risk over the long term,” Sowers said. “This analysis does not include reviewing investments through a ‘social screen,’ nor does VRS deploy dedicated ESG funds in its retirement plans.”
States such as Illinois and Maryland are required to consider sustainability and climate risks in their asset-related decisions. In Maine, the state’s pension fund is required to divest from fossil fuels by 2026, according to a policy passed in 2021.
Other states such as Florida, Indiana and Kansas, among others, created legislation against ESG investing.
In Virginia, legislators considered a 2022 bill requiring the retirement system to divest from fossil fuels, though it did not become law. Another 2023 bill that would restrict investments based on environmental and political factors did not pass.
Friday’s release was Miyares’ 10th opinion memo in 2024. Opinions by the attorney general give legal advice but are not binding on the courts.
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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Virginia
Honking on the highway: Family of geese escorted off I-66 in Virginia
Those honks you heard on I-66? They weren’t from cars.
Police officers in Northern Virginia herded a family of Canada geese off the highway Thursday afternoon, as lanes were shut down to keep everyone safe.
The geese were spotted on I-66 westbound near the exit for Sycamore Street. Metro Transit Police got to them first, and Arlington County officers and Virginia State Police also responded to help, acording to Arlington County Police.
Video shows police vehicles slowly following the geese — two adults with a cluster of fuzzy yellow goslings — as they waddled along the far right shoulder toward milemarker 69.6.
Lane closures were put into effect about 1:30 p.m., and police were able to escort the geese off the highway within about 15 minutes.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/2693381161043880
County police quipped on Facebook: “What’s good for the goose…is probably to stay of I-66. 🪿 Virginia State Police , Metro Forward Police Department, Virginia Department of Transportation and ACPD officers worked together to assist a family of geese off a busy highway in a feat so great it gave us goosebumps!”
Virginia
More than 300 pounds of marijuana worth $1M seized in Bristol, Virginia State Police says
BRISTOL, Va. (WCYB) — More than 300 pounds of marijuana worth more than $1 million were seized this month in Bristol, according to the Virginia State Police.
Multiple search warrants were executed this month by VSP and the Holston River Regional Drug Task Force in at various areas across the city between May 1 and May 13.
On May 1, a search warrant was executed at a business on Euclid Avenue. Around three pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $13,500. The location was within a school zone and a childcare facility.
On May 6, another search warrant was executed at a warehouse in Bristol. Virginia State Police seized 250 pounds of marijuana (street value of $1,135,000), 192 marijuana plants ($576,000), 50 pounds of THC edibles ($22,700). Charges are forthcoming, police said.
Another search warrant was executed on May 13 at a business on West State Street. Around 25 pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $112,500. Additional evidence was also seized.
In addition, another search warrant was executed on May 13 at a business on Paulena Drive. About 30 pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $135,000. Additional evidence was also seized.
The Office of the Attorney General is reviewing the investigation for any possible applicable civil enforcement actions.
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The Holston River Regional Drug Task Force includes the Town of Abingdon Police Department, Bristol Police Department, the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, and the Town of Lebanon Police Department, as well as Virginia State Police.
Virginia
Va. governor concerned redistricting battle could make voters reluctant to cast ballot this fall – WTOP News
Days after Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court as part of their ongoing redistricting battle, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she’s focused on the fall midterm elections and ensuring voters are motivated to turn out.
Days after Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court as part of their ongoing redistricting battle, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she’s focused on the fall midterm elections and ensuring voters are motivated to turn out.
After a bill signing at Inova Schar Cancer Institute on Wednesday, Spanberger made her most extensive public comments about the state’s redistricting plan. She cited the state’s May 12 deadline for any map changes, and said as a result, this year’s elections will proceed under the current map.
Spanberger’s remarks came a few days after Virginia’s Supreme Court struck down the Democrat-led redistricting push. Primaries in the state are scheduled for Aug. 4, with the November general election to follow.
“What needs to happen is we need to focus on the task at hand, which is winning races in November,” Spanberger said.
“I believe, somewhat doggedly, that we will win two to four seats in the House of Representatives. … That is my goal. That is what I know is possible.”
The map Democrats proposed, experts said, could have resulted in a 10-1 Democratic majority representing Virginia in the U.S. House. But Republicans challenged the process Democrats in the General Assembly used to put the constitutional amendment before voters.
In a 4-3 opinion issued Friday morning, Virginia’s Supreme Court sided with the Republican challengers.
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gave Republicans until Thursday evening to respond to Democrats’ request for the emergency appeal.
Spanberger defended the process the General Assembly used, adding: “I think I certainly would have wanted to, and did want to, see a different outcome with the Supreme Court ruling.”
Over three million people participated in the rare April special election, and Spanberger said she’s concerned those voters “have had the experience of casting a ballot in an election that was very important to them, including those on both sides of the referendum vote, only to have it be overturned, essentially, by the Supreme Court of Virginia.”
Elected officials, she said, will have to work to ensure “that people know that their votes do matter, and that when it comes to the ballot they’re going to cast — whether it’s for a primary over the summer or for the general election into the fall — that they shouldn’t feel depleted or defeated, that their votes matter.”
Spanberger called the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court “important, but when it comes to the execution of elections, no matter the outcome in that case, we will be running our elections beginning next month with early voting on the current maps that we have.”
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