General Assembly Update

February 7, 2010

Dear Friends:

The weather took center stage in Richmond this past week, as even the General Assembly canceled Friday’s sessions due to the oncoming storm.  Members and staff scrambled to get home Thursday evening before the new snowstorm hit.  As the folks in Northern Virginia are still digging out from under 30+ inches of new snow, the cancellation was a wise decision.  I hope all of you are faring much better at the Beach, as we fortunately did not have an accumulation.

The budget continues to be the biggest issue of the session.  The Governor and his finance team have met with the leadership of both houses of the General Assembly, as well as the House Appropriations and Senate Finance staffs, to develop budget priorities and areas of potential savings through cuts.  The Governor is trying to build a consensus on the budget, as it will not pass without bipartisan support.  I cannot stress how important it is that all 140 members work together with the common goal of closing the budget gap.  This is not the time for mean-spirited attacks or bickering, but rather the difficult work of making the hard choices that will least impact our constituents.  We need to cut spending, period, without adding new tax burdens to the citizens of the Commonwealth.

Floor sessions and committee meetings grew longer as we move towards Crossover, where the bills from each body much cross over to the opposite chamber by midnight on February 16th.  Bills of import that passed the Senate last week include the Healthcare Freedom Act, which states that Virginia’s citizens cannot be forced to purchase health insurance.  I was pleased to support the fundamental rights of all Virginians in voting for three Senate bills that included that language.  Another bill of interest that passed is Senate Bill 537, which increases the speed limit on roads that are currently 65 mph to 70 mph. 

And, two bills of particular interest in our area are still moving through the system.  These bills allow for a pre-Labor start for schools in Virginia.  The House bill passed and has been sent to the Senate for consideration.  The Senate bill was reported out of committee on a 10-5 vote, but once on the floor that bill was re-referred to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee for further action.

Another of my bills passed last week and was sent to the House for consideration.  SB 395 delays the implementation of any new stormwater regulations until December 1, 2011, to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a Chesapeake Bay-wide Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for run-off, which includes such elements as phosphorus content, nutrient pollutants and the like.  This allows business and industry more time to adapt to the new allocation of TMDL from the EPA, which in turn encourages business reinvestment and expansion in Virginia without further depressing the housing market through an additional regulatory burden. Quicker implementation of the regulations would simply be bad public policy, which was confirmed in stakeholder meetings that included business, industry, local government and conservation groups.  All stakeholders participated in developing the language in my bill, designed to keep Virginians working as businesses move forward with reinvestment plans. And, my Senate Bill 627, another environmental bill, also gained passage last week.  SB 627 clarifies who receives credit for the nutrient reductions associated with a stormwater nonpoint nutrient reduction offset.  The 2009 General Assembly authorized the use of “nonpoint nutrient offsets” to achieve compliance with construction site stormwater nutrient discharge requirements.  The nonpoint nutrient offset system works very much as wetland banks do.  Referencing my previous bill, the coming Bay TMDL regulations will assign nutrient allocations (a target amount of nutrients) to watersheds within Virginia.  These measures are a balancing act, allowing the building industry to reinvigorate the economy, while protecting the Bay from pollutants as well.  To follow my bills, or any other bills of interest, please access the General Assembly website:  http://legis.state.va.us.

Last week I had the pleasure of greeting visitors from the Virginia Beach Hospitality and Tourism Industry, local representatives of AARP, NASA Langley and the Virginia Spaceport at Wallops Island, the March of Dimes, Methodists on Methodist Day and Virginia Tech alums on Hokie Day.

I hope you will contact my office with any concerns you may have.  I depend upon you, my constituents, to keep me informed on the issues of the day.  If you visit the Capitol, please come by Room 312 to say hello.

Sincerely,

Frank Wagner

Contact Information Jan. 13, 2010 – Mar. 13, 2010: 

804-698-7507-Richmond Office

District07@senate.virginia.gov

PO Box 396, Richmond VA  23218