Political positions
Redistricting
In 2020,as a member of the Virginia House of Delgates,VanValkenburg championed a bipartisan constitutional amendment (House Joint Resolution 615) to establish an independent redistricting commission aimed at curbing partisan gerrymandering in the drawing of congressional and state legislative districts. The measure passed the General Assembly and was approved by voters with 66% support in November of that year,creating a 16-member body composed of eight legislators and eight citizens to oversee the process every decade. [7] [8] However,amid national discussion of mid-decade redistricting efforts by Republican-led states in 2025,VanValkenburg joined fellow Virginia Democrats in a surprise special legislative session convened in late October to advance a new constitutional amendment (House Joint Resolution 6007) that would carve out an exception,permitting the Democratic-controlled General Assembly to redraw congressional maps if another state undertook non-decennial redistricting for partisan purposes—effectively allowing a targeted form of gerrymandering in response. [9]
Labor relations
VanValkenburg opposes the use of covenants not to compete (also known as non-compete agreements) in certain cases,such as for relatively low-wage workers or workers who do not have access to sensitive trade secrets,such as sandwich-makers,baristas or gym trainers. He filed a bill in 2019 which would prohibit employers from enforcing non-compete agreements when no trade secrets were involved. VanValkenburg's bill would apply only to workers whose average weekly earnings were less than the state's average weekly wage. [10]
Civil liberties
In 2019,VanValkenburg announced a bill to reform Virginia's anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) laws. VanValkenburg's proposed bill came after Virginia's anti-SLAPP laws,which were intended to protect people from being intimidated or silenced by frivolous lawsuits,were criticized for being overly lax,allowing plaintiffs such as actor Johnny Depp and California Congressman Devin Nunes to file lawsuits in Virginia that may have been dismissed under California's more stringent laws. [11] [12] VanValkenburg's bill,modeled after California's,would allow defendants in defamation cases to file motions to dismiss potentially-frivolous defamation suits earlier in the process. If successful,they would be able to recover attorney fees. [11]
College Sports Betting
In 2024,VanValkenburg filed a bill to update Virginia's sports betting laws. The measure,Senate Bill 124,would amend the in-state college sports betting prohibition. Sen. VanValkenburg told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that college sports betting happens whether regulated or not. This bill would remove any potential conflicting bets and the idea that those living outside Virginia can bet on Virginia college games for locals. [13]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
