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General Assembly Update
February 14, 2010
Dear Friends:
As
we move towards Crossover, Tuesday, February 16th, the Senate
is working to consider all the bills remaining in our chamber.
By midnight on the 16th, all Senate bills that passed must be
communicated to the House of Delegates and vice versa.
The large volume of bills has been reduced and the hardest
work—the budget—will begin in earnest.
The
Senate Finance Committee must produce its recommended budget
by Sunday, February 21st. While I have not heard
specifics, what is quite clear to me is in order to bridge a
$4 billion shortfall, there will be severe cuts in programs
and government personnel throughout the Commonwealth.
Government can, and will, be leaner and the belt-tightening
must continue until the economy improves. Governor
McDonnell is making an effort to work with the leadership and
money committees of both houses of the General Assembly, so
that a viable budget can be adopted in a bipartisan manner.
As I have said before, nothing is to be gained by party
bickering, as the budget is too important for us to allow
political posturing to negatively impact our constituents.
Medicaid funding continues to be a huge concern, as expressed
to me by many of you in the district. I continue to talk
to my colleagues regarding the importance of that funding to
our hospitals, those folks on waiver waiting lists and waiver
recipients who face reductions. Children’s Hospital of
the King’s Daughters would probably suffer most in our area,
as about half their patients are covered by Medicaid.
CHKD gets additional “disproportionate share” hospital
funding to offset the losses from such large percentage of
Medicaid patients, approximately $88 million last year.
Other hospitals face large operating deficits as well.
We have a responsibility to care for our most fragile
citizens, so it is my hope that the budget will reflect that
obligation.
A
bill I carried for the Governor, Senate Bill 601 which, should
we be allowed by the federal government to develop energy
projects on our outer continental shelf, allocates funds
derived from offshore energy development in Virginia to
transportation (70%), energy research (20%) and localities
affected by offshore activities (10%), unfortunately was
defeated on the Senate floor in a 22-18 party line vote.
The rationale for the “no” votes was that we currently are
prohibited from developing offshore resources by the federal
government, thus any royalties from such activities do not
exist. To continue their line of reasoning, this gives
Virginians “false hope” regarding funds derived from
offshore development. This is a ridiculous argument, to
put it mildly, as the preparation for infrastructure
build-outs, energy transmission lines to bring electricity to
shore from wind turbines, and yes, the royalty allocation for
offshore development should be worked out in advance of any
project. To be clear, I believe we need to pursue the
exploration and development of oil, natural gas and wind off
our coast, as all are components of a comprehensive energy
plan that promotes energy independence. However, to
achieve the renewable energy goals that the federal government
has mandated, there will surely have to be development of wind
energy off Virginia’s coast. Until that permission is
granted by Washington, is there any reason why we should not
work out the details and be ready to roll on these projects?
This bill is one of many that fell victim to party
politics on 22-18 votes.
However,
two bills that I submitted that deal with Career and Technical
Education are on the Senate floor and should achieve passage
before Crossover. One of the bills ensures that a
focused sequence of elective courses shall provide a
foundation for further education or training or preparation
for employment, supporting the Academic and Career Plan as
described in Board of Education regulations. The second
bill provides for the award of verified credit for passing
scores on industry certifications, state licensure
examinations and national occupational competency assessments
approved by the Board of Education. These bills are most
important in that they recognize the value of the Career and
Technical Education curriculum in workforce development, as
well as necessity of documenting the achievements of C&T
students in the aforementioned examinations.
Particularly at this time in the economy, it is vital that we
have students who are prepared to enter the workforce with the
necessary skills and training and that student certifications
are available for employers to evaluate potential employees.
Bills
of note this week include Senate Bill 595, which closed the
so-called gun show loophole. This bill was withdrawn
from the docket by its patron in committee, so no further
action will be taken on the bill this session. Senate
Bill 622, which prohibits insurance companies from setting
rates dentists can charge for non-covered procedures, passed
the Senate with only one negative vote. And, House Bill
1323, introduced by a delegate from Leesburg, authorizing a $2
toll on the Hampton Roads and Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnels,
was carried over until 2011 in the House Transportation
Committee. Another issue of note is the Virginia
interstate rest areas that were closed by Governor Kaine will
begin re-opening this week, including those in Rural Retreat,
Smyth and Radford, until all are opened by April 17th.
To
follow my bills, or other bills of interest, please access the
General Assembly website: http://legis.state.va.us.
Last
week I had the pleasure of greeting constituents who attend
Radford University, area representatives from the Virginia
Offshore Wind Coalition, visitors from James Madison
University and an International Baccalaureate student from
Princess Anne High School, who also attends the Governor’s
School for the Performing Arts.
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
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