The third full week of the General Assembly session was an extremely busy one as committees considered twenty of the thirty-four bills I introduced. All bills are sent to committees for vetting, and only those that are approved in committee are considered by the entire House.
The Teachers and Administrative Action Subcommittee, which I chair, passed a bipartisan bill with my support to allow local school boards to set the start date for the school calendar, eliminating the post-Labor Day opening requirement commonly known as the “Kings Dominion Law.” I expect that the full Education Committee will consider this bill, H.B. 1063, next week.
I have received many phone calls, e-mails and visitors, especially from educators in the district, who expressed concerns over a H.B. 576, a bill that if passed, would reform teacher contracts and evaluations. My staff and I are meeting with the Governor’s staff, officials at the Virginia Department of Education, principals, teachers, and representatives from local school boards to carefully evaluate the bill and look for ways to improve the legislation to the benefit of both teachers and students. The Teachers and Administrative Action subcommittee, that I chair, will consider this bill next week.
In response to the numerous calls and emails I received during the election last fall related to robocalls, I introduced a bipartisan resolution, H.R. 9, to urge political candidates to voluntarily agree to refrain from calling people whose numbers are listed in “do-not-call” registries, such as the National Do Not Call Registry. Unfortunately, the resolution failed in committee, but I have registered with the National Do Not Call Registry and plan to utilize it.
I have proposed an additional $400,000 in the state budget for the State Police to more effectively conduct background checks for individuals desiring to purchase a firearm. Recently, a constituent brought to my attention the significant delays some purchasers were experiencing in receiving the results of their background checks due to insufficient staffing to conduct the checks. It is important that the State Police have the resources to perform background checks thoroughly and in a timely manner so that firearms are not sold to criminals or the mentally ill, and so that law abiding citizens receive prompt service.
The Governor introduced H.B. 1291, a bill to reform a significant number of state boards and commissions, to make state government more efficient and to save tax dollars. I anticipate this legislation will be considered by the General Laws Committee, of which I am a member, this coming week.
I expect that we will also see further action regarding my transportation bills next week. Please contact my office if you have any comments or suggestions on legislation that appears before the General Assembly this session.
Today, the Teachers and Administrative Action Subcommittee of the House Education Committee, Chaired by Delegate Jim LeMunyon (R-67 Fairfax/Loudoun), passed House Bill 1063, introduced by Delegate Bob Tata (R-Virginia Beach) at the request of Governor Bob McDonnell. H.B. 1063 allows local school boards to set the school calendar and the opening of the school year, by eliminating the post-Labor Day opening requirement, commonly known as the “Kings Dominion Law.”
“Virginia law requires 180 instructional days in the school year. Starting school after Labor Day means that schools must remain open until mid-June, weeks after standardized testing is completed. Since the standardized testing dates can’t be changed due to federal requirements, children are only benefiting from 165 to 170 instructional days before testing occurs,” said LeMunyon. “Not only are students placed at a disadvantage, but also it costs the Commonwealth of Virginia $50 million dollars per day to keep schools open, when both the state and local funding contributions are considered. We can’t afford to underutilize more than $500 million of taxpayers’ dollars each year by keeping children in school for weeks after testing is completed.
“Since I was first elected in 2009, I have met with fifteen principals from schools in the 67th district in addition to dozens of parents and teachers. There is overwhelming support for this change in Virginia law,” said LeMunyon.
House Bill 1063 passed the Teachers and Administrative Action Subcommittee on a vote of seven to one with LeMunyon voting “yes.”
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The first full week of the 2012 legislative session of the Virginia General Assembly is coming to a close. I have introduced a total of thirty-four bills and resolutions for consideration during the 2012 session, which can be found on my website, www.LeMunyon.com. I’d like to take a moment to update you on a few bills related to my main priorities: transportation, education and making our government better without making it bigger.
HB599: I have reintroduced legislation from 2011 to require that transportation projects in Northern Virginia be prioritized according to which projects would provide the greatest congestion relief. Transportation dollars are limited and must be spent where we’ll get the biggest bang for our buck.
HB600: The Commonwealth Transportation Board is the body that determines transportation project priorities for the entire state and controls construction money. This body was formed in the 1930s with membership reflecting Virginia’s population distribution at that time. I introduced HB 600, which would alter the membership on the Board to reflect the current population. This would provide more representation for Northern Virginia in determining which projects receive state funding.
HB627: While going door-to-door during my 2011 campaign, I often heard complaints regarding increased tolls on the Dulles Toll Road. These tolls are being raised every year to cover the cost of construction of the Metrorail to Dulles Airport. The burden of funding construction of Metro has been inappropriately placed on the Toll Road users. HB 627 would ban tolls from being used to fund Phase 2 of Dulles Rail. In my view, the cost of Metrorail to Dulles should be borne by people who will ride the train and not those driving on the road, in addition to federal, state, and local government contributions. These tolls are already discouraging motorists from using the road, which creates more congestion on other, already crowded roads.
HB602: I reintroduced legislation to give local school boards the flexibility to start the school year prior to Labor Day. Governor McDonnell recently announced his support for doing so. One immediate impact of changing this date is to more closely align standardized test dates with the end of the school year. This bill and related bills will be considered by the Teachers and Administrative Action Subcommittee, which I chair, on Thursday, January 26.
HB547: I co-patroned this bill which would incentivize school districts to find areas of cost savings and then allow the school system to use surplus funds for one-time teacher bonuses up to 3 percent.
HB604: To honor the victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy, I introduced this bill to create a specialty license plate available through the DMV. In order for this bill to pass the House of Delegates, 450 motorists must fill out prepaid applications for these plates. You can help us reach 450 by pre-ordering your license plate here.
HB616: Campaign season wasn’t that long ago, and I received numerous complaints about the number of political signs (as well as commercial signs) posted along road ways. HB 616 raises the fine from $100 to $250 dollars for a single sign in the right-of-way of a road. It also financially incentivizes VDOT to contract with local governments to enforce the law and remove signs that are illegally placed along roadways. This bill will be considered by a transportation subcommittee on Monday.
Be on the lookout for more email updates as the session progresses. You can view my votes in committee and on the House floor by clicking here. Be sure to use the pull down menu to find my name. If you have any questions or comments on these, or other bills I have introduced, please contact my office by phone, 804-698-1067, or by email, DelJLeMunyon@house.virginia.gov.
LeMunyon Appointed Chairman of Teachers and Administrative Action Subcommittee
Richmond – Today, in an organizational meeting of the House Education Committee, Delegate Jim LeMunyon (R-67 Fairfax/Loudoun) was appointed Chairman of the Teachers and Administrative Action Subcommittee. Delegate LeMunyon is in his second term as a Member of the House of Delegates and third session as a Member of the House Education Committee.
“I am honored that Delegate Tata, Chairman of the Education Committee, extended this responsibility to me. This subcommittee will consider matters related to the responsibilities of teachers and the essential role they place in educating more than one million young people every school day in Virginia,” said LeMunyon, who is the son of a career third grade public school teacher.
House Speaker Bill Howell commented, “It is uncommon that a second term Member be given the responsibility of chairing a subcommittee in the House of Delegates. Jim’s appointment to this important subcommittee reflects the confidence Members of the House of Delegates have in his ability.”
The 2012 General Assembly Session convened January 11 for a 60-day session. I have introduced thirty-one bills and resolutions for consideration during the 2012 session, including six transportation bills, which can be reviewed on my website at http://www.lemunyon.com/issues-ideas/. The committees in the House have all organized and will begin considering legislation on Monday.
In keeping with a 2009 campaign promise, I introduced bipartisan legislation in 2010 and 2011 requiring the House of Delegates to electronically publish the voting records of every Member of the Virginia House on the Virginia General Assembly website, indexed by Member name. The House of Delegates passed H.R. 64 to accomplish this in 2011.
I am delighted to inform you that the voting record system is now operational. Adding this feature to search by a Delegate’s name creates more openness and transparency. You can access this new feature by clicking here and using the drop down menu to find my name. Please let me know if you have suggestions on ways to improve this feature.
We’ve received more than 500 responses to my 2012 constituent survey so far. If you haven’t completed the survey yet, please do so here. Of course, I welcome your ideas and suggestions on legislation that comes before the General Assembly. Please stay in touch.
P.S. Did you know that today, January 13, is recognized as Korean-American Day in the Commonwealth of Virginia? I salute the many contributions of Korean-Americans that make our community and Virginia a better place to live, work and raise a family.
The third full week of the General Assembly session was an extremely busy one as committees considered twenty of the thirty-four bills I introduced. All bills are sent to committees for vetting, and only those that are approved in committee are considered by the entire House.
The Teachers and Administrative Action Subcommittee, which I chair, passed a bipartisan bill with my support to allow local school boards to set the start date for the school calendar, eliminating the post-Labor Day opening requirement commonly known as the “Kings Dominion Law.” I expect that the full Education Committee will consider this bill, H.B. 1063, next week.
I have received many phone calls, e-mails and visitors, especially from educators in the district, who expressed concerns over a H.B. 576, a bill that if passed, would reform teacher contracts and evaluations. My staff and I are meeting with the Governor’s staff, officials at the Virginia Department of Education, principals, teachers, and representatives from local school boards to carefully evaluate the bill and look for ways to improve the legislation to the benefit of both teachers and students. The Teachers and Administrative Action subcommittee, that I chair, will consider this bill next week.
In response to the numerous calls and emails I received during the election last fall related to robocalls, I introduced a bipartisan resolution, H.R. 9, to urge political candidates to voluntarily agree to refrain from calling people whose numbers are listed in “do-not-call” registries, such as the National Do Not Call Registry. Unfortunately, the resolution failed in committee, but I have registered with the National Do Not Call Registry and plan to utilize it.
I have proposed an additional $400,000 in the state budget for the State Police to more effectively conduct background checks for individuals desiring to purchase a firearm. Recently, a constituent brought to my attention the significant delays some purchasers were experiencing in receiving the results of their background checks due to insufficient staffing to conduct the checks. It is important that the State Police have the resources to perform background checks thoroughly and in a timely manner so that firearms are not sold to criminals or the mentally ill, and so that law abiding citizens receive prompt service.
The Governor introduced H.B. 1291, a bill to reform a significant number of state boards and commissions, to make state government more efficient and to save tax dollars. I anticipate this legislation will be considered by the General Laws Committee, of which I am a member, this coming week.
I expect that we will also see further action regarding my transportation bills next week. Please contact my office if you have any comments or suggestions on legislation that appears before the General Assembly this session.
