The vote was largely along party lines — of the 59 yeas, 57 were Republicans; of the 39 nays, 29 were Democrats (plus one Independent). The 40-member senate is evenly split, but a tie-breaking would be cast by Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling. Gov. Bob...

Only Romney and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) will appear on the Virginia primary ballot March 6. The other candidates — former House speaker Newt Gingrich and former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.) — did not qualify. Romney has already announced a leadership team...

“There’s just some things that we’ve got to work out,” he said. “There’s a lot of stumbling blocks along the way. It’s called the political process.” Democrats have strongly objected to how Republicans organized the Senate on the first day of session,...

All six Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee voted against the budget bill produced by the Republican-controlled panel Sunday. While Republicans have working control of the evenly divided Senate, they will need at least one Democratic vote to pass...

From here, the bill goes to the State Senate, which is divided equally between Republicans and Democrats, but where a tie would be broken by the Republican Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, who just so happens to be running for Governor in 2013 and faces a...

McDonnell understands the importance of keeping Virginia's citizens employed and facilitating a climate of economic opportunity for young people. The day he took office, he appointed Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling as the chief jobs creation officer. Since then,...

Norment and another GOP senator, John Watkins of Powhatan, refused to vote. In General Assembly parlance, they walked. That prevented a tie vote in the evenly divided Senate. It would have been broken — in McDonnell's favor — by his chosen heir, Lt. Gov.

Passage came with Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling's tiebreaking vote, and over the protests of Democrats who said the measure will sap money from public schools that will be left with fixed costs and who questioned its constitutionality. "This is a...

"Anytime you have a bill like this before you, you have to weigh the civil liberty questions against the positive public policy implications of the bill," Bolling said. "If this would have been a bill that would have required drug testing of all...

Bill Bolling's tie-breaking vote enabled Republicans to deliver a legislative victory to Gov. Bob McDonnell on Friday, as the Virginia Senate passed legislation to award tax credits for contributions to private school scholarships for needy students. ...

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling looked around the Senate on Friday after casting the tiebreaking vote on a bill dealing with private-school scholarships. It was his 10th tiebreaking vote of the session. View More: No tags are associated with this article Not what...

The American Federation for Children—the nation's voice for school choice—has worked closely with allies in Virginia to pass legislation that would expand educational options for children in low-income families. Senate Bill 131 narrowly passed the state...

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling broke a tie vote on tax credits for school vouchers. (Steve Helber - AP) After a prolonged and passionate debate, the evenly divided Senate split 20-20 on the measure, with Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) breaking the tie with a vote in...

Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling breaking the tie, the Senate today approved a bill allowing corporations to receive a 65 percent tax credit for paying for low-income students to attend private schools. After a lengthy floor debate involving multiple...

Thursday's most pressing concern, however, was reaching a deal between Senate Democrats and Republicans. They have been feuding since a GOP power play relegated Democrats to minority status on the opening day of the General Assembly on Jan. 11. That...

Can they succeed? The GOP controls the House, Gov. Bob McDonnell is a Republican, the Senate is a tie vote -- with Republican Lieut. Gov. Bill Bolling is there for that all-important tie-breaking vote. We need one Republican to say, "Enough of this...

So it comes as no surprise to me that what started as an act to ensure voter identification quickly spiraled into an act of voter suppression. Last Monday, Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling helped secure approval for a bill that would require Virginians...

(Steve Helber - AP) Senate Democrats will play a key role in approving a budget this year, even though Republicans control the equally divided chamber. That’s because Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who presides over the Senate, has said he can’t vote on the...

Senate has already passed an ultrasound bill, and Republican Governor Bob McDonnell is expected to sign the legislation when it lands on his desk. He does not have a formal position on the personhood bill. The Virginia state Senate is evenly divided...