Legislative Update
It seems these days that the most asked question is, “have we gotten a budget yet?” Unfortunately, the response remains the same, “No, we have not been able to work anything out just yet, but…” However, what comes next has been a bit different. Now I can say that the House adopted a compromise on Wednesday, April 19th, that shows real promise to speed this stalemate to an end. This new compromise was passed with a 90-2 vote, showing strong support from both Republicans and Democrats.
What the House has decided to do is set aside a little over a billion dollars from the budget and hold a special session at a later time to work out the transportation situation. By doing this the House and Senate are free to work on and pass the other items in the budget. We would be able to allocate the money for schools, healthcare, economic development, etc. that are vital to keeping the communities within our state running smoothly. Without this money from the state it is hard for those dependent on state funds to draft their own budgets.
On Wednesday, April 19th, we also held our veto session to go over all of the Governor’s vetoes and recommendations. In the end all of the Governor’s vetoes were upheld and a majority of his recommendations were incorporated into the legislation.
The day before the special session, I had the opportunity to speak with the Warsaw Rotary Club. While there I gave an update on the General Assembly and answered questions about the transportation plans, dog bills, menhaden, and many other issues facing this area.
Functions like this provide me with an opportunity to know what my constituents are looking for. As I said last week I will begin looking for a steady revenue stream to fund the Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts. At this point I am looking to know how constituents feel about this idea and how they would like to fund it (which is why filling out the below survey is so helpful). Once I have established a base consensus I would like to go on the road with the idea. I plan on doing a series of listening tours this fall to refine the research I am doing now. So, if you could please send me your responses to the below questions I would very much appreciate it. You can send them by email, robwittman@verizon.net, or postal service, P.O. Box 995, Montross, Virginia, 22520. Or you can give your responses over the phone to my district office at 804-493-0508. Also, please include your full name, address, phone and email (if available) so I can easily contact you if I need more information. I look forward to hearing your responses.
Do you believe that there needs to be a steady funding source for the Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort?
Do you believe that funds to clean up the Chesapeake Bay should come from money in the General Fund?
Would you support a tax increase designated to funding Bay cleanup?
What type of tax increase would you support?
What the House has decided to do is set aside a little over a billion dollars from the budget and hold a special session at a later time to work out the transportation situation. By doing this the House and Senate are free to work on and pass the other items in the budget. We would be able to allocate the money for schools, healthcare, economic development, etc. that are vital to keeping the communities within our state running smoothly. Without this money from the state it is hard for those dependent on state funds to draft their own budgets.
On Wednesday, April 19th, we also held our veto session to go over all of the Governor’s vetoes and recommendations. In the end all of the Governor’s vetoes were upheld and a majority of his recommendations were incorporated into the legislation.
The day before the special session, I had the opportunity to speak with the Warsaw Rotary Club. While there I gave an update on the General Assembly and answered questions about the transportation plans, dog bills, menhaden, and many other issues facing this area.
Functions like this provide me with an opportunity to know what my constituents are looking for. As I said last week I will begin looking for a steady revenue stream to fund the Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts. At this point I am looking to know how constituents feel about this idea and how they would like to fund it (which is why filling out the below survey is so helpful). Once I have established a base consensus I would like to go on the road with the idea. I plan on doing a series of listening tours this fall to refine the research I am doing now. So, if you could please send me your responses to the below questions I would very much appreciate it. You can send them by email, robwittman@verizon.net, or postal service, P.O. Box 995, Montross, Virginia, 22520. Or you can give your responses over the phone to my district office at 804-493-0508. Also, please include your full name, address, phone and email (if available) so I can easily contact you if I need more information. I look forward to hearing your responses.
Do you believe that there needs to be a steady funding source for the Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort?
Do you believe that funds to clean up the Chesapeake Bay should come from money in the General Fund?
Would you support a tax increase designated to funding Bay cleanup?
What type of tax increase would you support?
posted by Blake Hite at 12:04 PM
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