- Virginia Democrats pass proposal to incentivize small solar projects
- Hundreds of Virginia workers file UI claims tied to federal jobs
- Local law enforcement’s plans for cooperating with ICE vary
- With RPS talent officer on leave, union says workplace morale 'much improved'
- DPU chief presents water crisis draft report to Richmond councilors
How does a 150-year-old Iowa court ruling affect Virginians today?
Believe it or not, larger parts of daily life in Virginia than you might realize are governed by a ruling handed down in the Iowa Supreme Court in 1868. That’s when John Dillon, a justice concerned about corruption by public officials, wrote an opinion finding that local governments needed permission from their state legislatures to do…well, just about anything.
A state “breathes into [localities] the breath of life, without which they cannot exist,” Dillon wrote. “As it creates, so it may destroy. If it may destroy, it may abridge and control.”
The Dillon Rule is why cities and counties across Virginia have to go to the General Assembly for permission to update their charters, set up anti-rent gouging authorities or install speed cameras at busy intersections — unless they’re in school zones, which the Legislature has already OKed.
As part of the VPM News series Curious Commonwealth, reporter Jahd Khalil explored the history of the Dillon Rule and the real-life ways that state law restricts local governments.
BizSense Beat: GreenCity stalls, Diamond District land sale finalized
BizSense Beat is a weekly collaboration between VPM News and Richmond BizSense that recaps the region’s top business stories.
This week, host Lyndon German and BizSense reporter Mike Platania discuss two major Richmond-area developments that appear to be moving in opposite directions. Henrico’s GreenCity project has stalled out after the county accused developers of missing payments and failing to meet an agreed-upon timeline, while the partners behind Richmond’s Diamond District have finalized the $11 million purchase of a parcel of land earmarked for mixed-use development around the future CarMax Park.
