FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Ian Gallagher
RICHMOND, VA – Virginia Delegate Barbara Comstock (R-McLean) today
highlighted the many legislative successes so far by the House of Delegates at
the halfway point of the 2010 Session of the
Virginia General Assembly. The
announcement comes at the 2010 session’s midway mark, commonly referred
to as “crossover.” By that date, which
this year fell on February 16, each house must have acted on the bills filed by
its respective members.
“In today’s tough
economic times, state government has to learn to do more with less just as our
businesses and families are doing throughout the Commonwealth,” said Delegate
Comstock. “Since the House of Delegates defeated Governor
Kaine’s $1 billion per year statewide income tax plan by a unanimous and
bipartisan vote of 97-0 at the beginning of this Session, we have aggressively pursued fiscally responsible
legislation to create jobs and opportunities for Virginians, reform government
to deliver services more efficiently and address support for core services. I’m pleased with the focus on creating jobs
and the bipartisan support with which we have achieved House passage of scores
of positive reforms.”
“Below is
a partial list of measures I supported that have advanced at the
February 16 midpoint of the 2010 Session.”
Jobs & Opportunity
HB 147 Passed House
98-0
Places a constitutional amendment before the voters to increase the size
of the Commonwealth’s "Rainy Day Fund" to allow the state to save more
money during good times for budget shortfalls.
HB 193 Passed House
98-0
Makes permanent the Aerospace Advisory Council which promotes Virginia as
a center for aerospace industry job growth.
HB 199 Passed House
99-0
Expands the type of incentives that may be offered to Major Employment and
Investment economic development projects to attract more job-creating employers
to Virginia.
HB 384 Passed House
97-0
Streamlines tax procedures for Virginians paying income tax in more than
one state.
HB 389 Passed House
99-0
Promotes development of off-shore wind-powered electric energy generation. Delegate Comstock is a co-patron of this
legislation.
HB 523 Passed House
97-2
Expands investment in science and technology by exempting investment in business
startups from capital gains taxes. This
legislation is a top priority for the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Delegate Comstock is a co-patron of this bill
and it is part of the Governor’s “Jobs and Opportunity Agenda”.
HB 677 Passed House
97-0
Leverages $22 million state investment in biotech research at the Ignite
Institute in Fairfax into $200 million in research and development funding and
415 new jobs. Delegate Comstock is a co-patron
of this bill which went through the Committee of Science & Technology on
which she serves.
HB 787 Passed House
69-28
Expands state policy to promote oil and natural gas exploration,
development and production, not just exploration for natural gas. Delegate Comstock is a co-patron of this legislation.
HB 928 Passed House
99-0
Promotes clean energy research and development by Virginia universities.
HB 1220 Passed House
99-0
Sycnchonizes implementation of federal and state
stormwater management regulations to help businesses.
HB 1372 Passed House
99-0
Enhances the ability of the Economic Development Partnership to bring more
employers and jobs to Virginia. This is
a Governor’s bill introduced and chief patroned by Delegate Comstock.
HB 1384 Pending
Creates a Virginia small business investment credit that will provide
start up funds for entrepreneurs and
small businesses in Virginia. Delegate Comstock
introduced the bill with a fellow delegate and this measure is part of Governor
McDonnell’s “Jobs and Opportunity Agenda”.
The House version passed the Committee on Finance and a Senate companion
bill already passed the full Senate.
Government Reform
HB 114 Passed House
99-0
Prohibits political campaigns from accepting contributions through
anonymous credit cards that can make identifying the source of the funds
difficult. Delegate Comstock is a
co-patron of this legislation.
HB 122 Passed House
99-0
Extends the "Revolving Door" lobbying ban on state lawmakers from
one year to two years.
HB 485 Passed House
99-0
Directs an operational/programmatic performance review
of government agencies to identify cost savings.
HB 524 Passed House
98-0
Reforms the lobbyist disclosure rules to streamline disclosure and
compliance.
HB 740 Passed House
99-0
Increases transparency by requiring disclosure of
salaries from state and local government entities paid to members of the General Assembly.
HB 778 Passed House
86-13
Promotes accountability by making General Assembly voting records more
easily accessible. Delegate Comstock
co-patroned this legislation along with a bipartisan majority of the Freshman
Class.
HB 1034 Passed House
99-0
Reforms information technology governance for state government and
agencies.
HB 1349 Passed House
86-10-2
Allows Virginians to file income tax returns without cost through Virginia
Free File. Delegate Comstock is a
co-patron of this legistion.
HJ 60 Passed House
95-0
Directs the Joint Legislative Audit And Review Commission to study
efficacy of allowing school boards to procure services together.
Education
HB 76 Passed House
63-35
Requires local school boards to report the percentage of their budget
spent on instructional spending, and, if the percentage is less than 65
percent, to develop a plan to increase instructional spending. Delegate Comstock’s bill, HB 898, was rolled
into this measure which will work to target more resources to the classroom.
HB 599 Passed House 55-44
Expands educational opportunity by providing future tax credits for
investment in public and private education scholarships.
HB 1390 Pending
Facilitates the expansion of charter schools in the
Commonwealth by making the charter school application process more transparent
and requiring that the procedures be in place for receiving, reviewing, and
ruling upon applications for charter schools. This is a priority
bill for Governor McDonnell which would demonstrate that Virginia is committed
to supporting charter schools and improves Virginia’s chances for receiving
$350 million in federal funding it is seeking for a multi-billion dollar program
that President Obama has proposed for charter schools. Governor McDonnell
has strong bipartisan support for this measure, including the support of former
Governors Kaine and Wilder. Delegate Comstock is a co-patron of this
bill.
Health Care
HB 548 Passed House
97-0
Provides for discounts on group health insurance premiums for employer's
with a wellness program.
HB 556 Passed House
97-0
Expands availability of basic health insurance by
including HMOs along with insurers and corporations among offerors of such insurance. Delegate Comstock is a co-patron of this
measure.
HB 726 Passed House
99-0
Requires review of all health insurance mandates for medical efficacy.
HB 733 Passed House
98-0
Protects Virginia's taxpayers by cracking down on medicaid fraud.
HB 1039 Passed House
97-0
Requires notification to Virginians if medical or insurance information is
breached.
HB 1263 Passed House
93-5
Promotes health care choice by prohibiting dental plans from setting
prices for services not covered by such plans.
HB 1375 Passed House
99-0
Updates diagnostic criteria for drugs to treat cancer.
Transportation
HB 214 Passed House
78-17
Extends for one year access to HOV lanes for clean special fuel vehicles,
regardless of the number of occupants.
HB 276 Passed House 59-37
Mandates that VDOT do a study
using scientific, assets based standards to determine what roads, bridges, and tunnels
should get top priority attention based on need. The study would also determine how
transportation funds would be allocated if such standards were utilized. Delegate Comstock is a co-patron of this
bill.
HB 333 Passed House
88-10
Allows the Commonwealth Transportation Board to name some transportation
infrastructure for a living person, group or private entity that pays the cost
of the highway, bridge, interchange or facility.
HB 665 Passed House
63-35
Increases the amount of the general fund surplus to be deposited in the
Transportation Trust Fund. Delegate Comstock
is a co-patron of this measure.
HB 756 Passed House
71-26
Requires at least 80 percent of royalties from
off-shore drilling be dedicated to transportation funding. Delegate Comstock’s bill, HB 900, was rolled
into the bill which would provide a new dedicated stream of funds for
transportation.
HB 970 Passed House
81-18
Increases the amount of a general fund surplus to be deposited in the
Transportation Trust Fund. Delegate Comstock
is a co-patron of this bill.
Law Enforcement & Public Safety
HB 15 Passed House
87-7
Prohibits the federal government from using state or local correctional
facilities for suspected or convicted terrorists.
HB 281 Passed House
91-7
Increases penalties for animal cruelty.
HB 682 Passed House
99-0
Protects students from gangs by expanding Gang-Free Zones to bus stops and
other public facilities frequented by students.
Delegate Comstock is a co-patron of this legislation.
Veterans & Military
HB 128 Passed House
99-0
Provides free fishing licenses to disabled, active duty military personnel
during their treatment at a veterans or military hospital. Delegate Comstock is a co-patron of this
legislation.
HB 149 Passed House
99-0
Places constitutional amendment before voters in 2010 to exempt disabled
veterans from property tax.
HB 174 Passed Houe
98-0
Expands coverage of Wounded Warrior Program to all injuries sustained by
military service personnel, regardless of whether the injuries were sustained
in combat areas.
HB 262 Passed House
99-0
Waives fees for veterans starting a new business through the one-stop
business permitting program.
HB 419 Passed House
98-0
Enables Virginia to lead the nation in processing veterans disability
claims by upgrading systems to support electronic claimsprocessing.
HB 479 Passed House
99-0
Provides burial vaults at cost for veterans and their
family members interred at state veterans cemeteries.
HB 760 Passed House
97-0
Promotes employment of veterans by establishing a skill matching database
for employers and veterans looking for jobs.
HB 1118 Passed House
99-0
Exempts Virginia Military Family Relief Fund benefit payments from
taxation.
HB 1235 Passed House
99-0
Protects the right to vote for military and overseas voters by reforming
the absentee ballot law.
Federalism
HB 10 Passed House
72-26
Protects Virginians from Federal government requirements or mandates to
carry health insurance. Delegate Comstock
is a co-patron of this bill.
NOTE: This list of bills and resolutions is not
a complete record of all legislation sponsored and passed by the House of
Delegates. The short summaries above are
provided for convenience and are not meant to be a complete description
of the highlighted legislation.
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