The House of Delegates passed a two-year budget yesterday totaling $85 billion that takes effect July 1, 2012. Unlike the way Washington works, this budget is balanced. I voted for this budget in part because it provides for increases in funding available for transportation and education.
Transportation: The budget calls for $10 billion for transportation including construction projects and highway maintenance, the highest amount ever appropriated for transportation. The General Assembly does not ear mark transportation dollars for specific projects, but rather the funds are distributed by the Commonwealth Transportation Board and VDOT. As you may know, I have submitted a list of priority projects to the CTB for consideration, and I will continue to work with the CTB and VDOT on an ongoing basis to make sure Northern Virginia gets our fair share of funds for road projects and maintenance.
K-12 Education: The state’s contribution to Fairfax and Loudoun County Public Schools increased in this budget and is one of the largest ever, bringing more of Northern Virginia’s tax dollars back from Richmond for public education. The budget also makes the largest deposit ever to the Virginia Retirement System to help ensure that we can keep our commitments to public employees, including teachers, when they retire.
University Education: The House version of the budget also increases the state’s contribution to public colleges and universities. In particular, funds were added specifically for Virginia Tech, James Madison, UVA and William & Mary to allow 500 more in-state students to gain acceptance to these schools.
Rainy Day Fund: Two years ago, because of the economic downturn, the rainy day fund was used as a way to support the budget and keep it balanced without a tax increase. The current budget will make a $300 million rainy day fund deposit, required by the state constitution, in case of revenue decreases in the event of a future economic downturn.
Please contact me if you need more information about the budget.
On other matters, four of my bills have passed the House and Senate and are headed to the Governor for his signature, while several others continue to move through the legislative process. I expect to provide you with a more detailed update on these items next week.
While my primary focus in Richmond is on issues such as transportation, education, and government reform, including the budget, you may have heard in the news that the General Assembly recently considered legislation related to abortion procedures in Virginia. One bill that has received attention is related to the use of ultrasound. Presently, it is standard practice for abortion clinics to perform an ultrasound scan on a woman to verify the stage of pregnancy prior to an abortion procedure. A House bill considered earlier in the session would have codified this standard practice into law, including the possibility of the use of an internal ultrasound against a woman’s will as a condition of having an abortion. I voted against the bill at that time for this and other reasons related to a lack of clarity of certain provisions in the bill.
The Senate version of the same bill, S.B. 484, came before the House this week. I assisted in drafting an amendment to the bill stating that a woman could not be compelled to have an internal ultrasound. Other clarifying changes were made by the amendment, which was adopted with the support of the Governor. The primary effect of this amended bill, should it become law, would be to require doctors to offer a woman the option of viewing an ultrasound image prior to an abortion. The amended bill passed the House, this time with my support.
I’d like to thank the many people who contacted me recently on this legislation and other bills, both for and against. It turns out that citizens in the 67th district are fairly evenly divided on issues such as abortion and other social issues. I know that no matter how I vote, some people will be happy and other won’t be. I take into account the views of all citizens I represent on social issues and all other matters, and read and consider the bills in detail before making a decision on how to vote. Please know my votes on these issues are made only after careful review, sometimes many hours of consideration. Every message I receive from the people I represent matters a great deal to me.
While social issues have received attention in the media recently, these bills are not the focus of the General Assembly’s 2012 session. Hundreds of bills have passed on matters related to public safety, transportation, the environment, government reform, and social services. As we move toward the close of the session in mid-March, I will keep you informed on the progress of key legislation.
Your comments and suggestions on state public policy are always welcome. Please contact me by email, DelJLeMunyon@house.virginia.gov, or by phone, 804-698-1067.
The General Assembly just passed the halfway point of the 2012 session called “crossover.” All bills that have passed one house will now be considered by the opposite body- House bills in the Senate, Senate bills in the House.
To discuss some of the legislation considered thus far, I will be holding a tele-town hall meeting this coming Wednesday evening, February 22, at 7:30 p.m. A tele-town hall meeting is similar to a district-wide conference call. I will provide an update about the session and take questions. For the tele-town hall, our office will only call constituents of the 67th district and if you have indicated a “do not call” preference in the past, that will be honored.
Budget
Governor McDonnell introduced a balanced budget for the July 2012-June 2014 period. Next week the House will consider the budget along with amendments proposed by the Appropriations Committee. The Governor’s budget proposal includes providing additional funding for the Virginia Retirement System to help ensure its long-term solvency. As you may know, VRS is the pension plan for state and local employees, including teachers.
Transportation
I reintroduced legislation in the 2012 session, H.B. 599, to require that planned transportation projects be rated based on the amount of congestion reduction achieved per dollar spent on each project. In this way, the highest priority projects that offer the biggest “bang for the buck” can be identified in a publicly available list. Because our transportation dollars are limited, we should be funding these kinds of projects first. H.B. 599 passed the House of Delegates this week and will now be considered by the Senate.
The House also passed H.B. 864, a bill I cosponsored to provide Northern Virginia with more representation on the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which is the decision-making body that allocates transportation infrastructure funds. The bill passed 51 to 47, which was due to the fact that Northern Virginia now has more representation in the House of Delegates as a result of redistricting, following the 2010 census. Northern Virginia’s delegation worked effectively with a coalition of legislators from other regions in Virginia that have traffic problems to provide the winning margin. This vote is significant because it shows that Northern Virginia has more votes than in the past to better address transportation funding issues.
Government Reform
I have been working with the Governor and other members of the House of Delegates on H.B. 1291, to eliminate duplicative and outdated boards and commissions from state government and unnecessary regulations. During the process of considering H.B. 1291, I offered amendments to strengthen the law that prevents the government from competing with the private sector. The General Laws Committee recently approved these amendments. The Governor’s restructuring bill passed the House this week and will now be considered by the Senate.
On another matter, I introduced H.B. 601 to give Virginia a permanent statewide seat on the Metro Board. Virginia provides more than $100 million annually to support Metro rail and Metro bus operations. I believe Virginia needs a permanent watchdog on the board to monitor how our tax dollars are used, especially given the cost overruns and safety problems that Metrorail and Metrobus service has encountered in recent years. H.B. 601 passed the House, 71-26 and will now be considered by the Senate.
As you may know, I was the first member of the House of Delegates to post my voting record online. Legislation I authored last year requires all recorded votes of each member in the House of Delegates to be posted online, effective January 2012. You can access this information by going to my website, www.LeMunyon.com, and clicking on “voting record.”
If you are unable to participate in the tele-town hall meeting on Wednesday, you are always welcome to contact my office by phone, 804.698.1067, or by email, deljlemunyon@house.virginia.gov. I appreciate and value your advice and suggestions.
On February 14, the legislature will reach the “cross over” point of the session. This means all bills originating in the House must be passed or will no longer be considered. After February 14, the House may consider only Senate bills and the state budget. A reciprocal process will take place in the Virginia Senate. In total, 1,630 bills and resolutions were filed for consideration in the House of Delegates this session.
Since the start of the session on January 11, my office has received more than 3,000 email messages, letters and phone calls from constituents regarding various bills and related public policy issues. There are a few topics on which we’ve received a great deal of mail, and I’d like to share with you those that have generated the greatest interest.
H.B. 1291 endeavors to re-organize numerous state agencies, boards, and commissions to streamline and reduce the cost of government. Of particular interest to many constituents was a part of the bill that would deregulate the profession of interior design. Currently, interior designers are licensed by the state. Upon the request of many voters across the state, this element was removed from the bill and interior designers will still be licensed by the state. This bill passed the General Laws Committee with my support and will be considered by the full House next week.
H.B. 576 addresses employment of public school teachers and principals. The bill as amended by the Education Committee does not affect teachers and principals currently on “continuing contracts” (sometimes referred to as tenure), except to ensure that teachers receive regular performance evaluations. As new teachers enter the teaching profession in Virginia, they would be offered three-year term contracts after a probationary period.
Issues remain with the bill regarding the circumstances under which teachers on a three-year term contract could be released from employment. I met privately with the Governor on this issue yesterday, and I expect that additional amendments to the bill will be made.
H.B. 947 would establish a five-year pilot program to allow home-schooled students to try out for public school athletics under certain conditions. I considered the “pros” and “cons” and good arguments exist on both sides of this issue. I decided to support the bill for several reasons: testimony in committee indicated a small number of students statewide would take advantage of the program, home-school families pay taxes that help support the sports programs, and finally, if this pilot program doesn’t work for some reason it will expire.
Prior to the 2012 General Assembly session, there was widespread speculation regarding whether or not the General Assembly would consider taking steps toward lifting the 30-year ban on uranium mining in Virginia. No Delegate or Senator introduced legislation to lift the ban during the 2012 session. I expect that a bill may be considered in the coming years related to this topic, but want you to know that it will not be addressed this session.
I hope that you have found this summary of these “hot topics” helpful. As always, I value your input and hope that you will continue to communicate your concerns and support for legislation before the Virginia General Assembly. Please feel free to send an email message to DelJLeMunyon@house.virginia.gov or call 702-264-1432. Your call will automatically forward to my office in Richmond.
It is an honor to sit in your chair and work at your desk each day in the Capitol. I’d like to extend my thanks to all who have contacted me to express points of view on various issues. I value the opinions of all citizens regardless of whether we agree or disagree on a particular issue.
Several weeks ago, I issued a constituent survey for 2012 and more than 600 people responded. If you responded, thank you. We have tabulated the responses, and I hope you’ll take a few moments to review the results of the survey on my website, here.
Two of the questions on the constituent survey pertained to the ever-increasing tolls on the Dulles Toll Road. Tolls are scheduled to increase in order to pay off more than $1.2 billion in debt issued so far to pay for the Dulles Rail project. Another $1 billion or more is planned. The results of my survey indicate that more than half of those who use the Toll Road have already reduced their use of the road because of these toll increases. This is consistent with what voters told me while I was knocking on doors during the 2011 campaign. We need to fully utilize the Dulles Toll Road or more congestion will be created on other roads. The Fairfax Times published an op-ed that I wrote related to this topic. To read the article in full, click here.
I have introduced legislation to prevent additional debt from being used for Dulles Rail if it is to be paid off with toll increases. Candidly, this legislation is not supported by many other Northern Virginia legislators, as it is difficult to find other funding sources to pay for the Dulles Rail and could slow completion of the project. I believe we should take the necessary time now to ensure that financing of this project is done right rather than saddle residents of Northern Virginia with more debt than we can afford and high tolls for decades to come.
Related to this issue, this year I reintroduced legislation to require that planned transportation projects be rated based on the amount of congestion reduction achieved per dollar spent on each project. In this way, the highest priority projects that offer the biggest “bang for the buck” can be identified in a publicly available list. Because our transportation dollars are limited, we should first be funding the projects that help get Northern Virginia moving. This bill, H.B. 599 passed a transportation subcommittee this week and will be considered by the full committee next week.
Two other transportation bills I introduced are moving through committee. H.B. 626 provides for evaluations of roads with increased traffic noise in order to help local governments make better decisions about placement of sound walls and use of quiet pavement technology. H.B. 625 requires VDOT to review changes of local zoning plans, specifically to make note of any possibility of increased congestion or a reduction of mobility in the event of a homeland security emergency in our area.
Last week, I reported that the education subcommittee that I chair voted to repeal the so-called “Kings Dominion” law, a law requiring school boards to open school after Labor Day. I am happy to report that H.B. 1063, a bill I cosponsored, passed the House of Delegates 76 to 23 and will now be considered by the Senate in the coming weeks.
