JOBS = JOB #1
I
have linked here for you a copy of a recent press release which
provides details and highlights of a number of our advances on our key
agenda items on jobs, transportation, education and other core
services. I am pleased to report that the Governor and a bipartisan
majority of the House of Delegates have made job creation our #1
priority and our progress in the legislature reflects that priority. Of
course transportation and education are very much intertwined with our
job environment. Please take a look at the press release to see the
broad overview of the "Jobs and Opportunity" agenda that is
developing at midsession with the passage of such measures as a bill to
exempt new businesses from capital gains taxes, a bill providing that
any royalties from offshore drilling are dedicated to transportation
(80%), a bill to promote small business investment in Virginia, and
bills providing tax credits for green jobs, movie production and our
wine industry, among other job enhancing measures.
LCI Education Funding Formula Fix
I also am pleased to report on the progress on the Local Composite
Index (LCI) Education funding formula issue. As you may know, Governor
Kaine had proposed an unprecedented and arbitrary freeze of the LCI
which is used to determine our share of state education funds and is
recalculated and updated every two years. To reverse decades of
practice was simply bad public policy, fundamentally unfair, and would
have cost Fairfax County, alone, over $60 million in order to save the
state $29 million.
The Northern Virginia delegation was united in our opposition to this
misguided proposal. This was a top priority issue that occupied many of
us in the first weeks of the legislature. We all worked with our PTAs,
parents, and local business community to reverse this action. Our high
quality schools are integral to attracting top businesses. We also
wrote a joint a letter to Governor McDonnell urging him to back the
move to unfreeze the LCI and supported budget amendments to undo this
proposal. I personally spoke with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor,
members of his Cabinet, and staff about this issue, as I know many of
my constituents did.
As you may know by now, our voices were heard. Governor McDonnell
reversed this proposal saying, "The Local Composite Index must be
applied to all localities, at all times, in the same objective and fair
manner by which it has always been utilized." The Republican House
leadership also has embraced Governor McDonnell's decision. While we
still will have many budget challenges, and the actual index itself has
historically been disadvantageous for Northern Virginia, we at least
have a united front in removing the LCI freeze from the budget.
Ongoing Budget Challenges
In the coming weeks, we face an historic budget shortfall in the
Commonwealth. The proposed budget introduced by Governor Kaine
unfortunately only addressed half of the $4 billion shortfall. Governor
Kaine's plan to close the remaining $2 billion through massive new tax
increases in the middle of a recession was already unanimously rejected
(97-0) by the House of Delegates. We will be working in the coming
weeks to identify the spending reductions that will enable us to
balance the budget, while maintaining core services and respecting the
difficulties facing our hard working taxpayers. Many of these cuts will
not be easy, and most of them will require sacrifice, but we will
continue to work together to make those tough decisions today so that
the Commonwealth will be in a stronger position as the economy
recovers.
By focusing on job growth and getting our economy moving again and not
further burdening our stretched businesses and families, Virginia can
continue to be better positioned to weather the tough economic times we
are facing.
Unprecedented Snowstorms
Finally, I wanted to thank so many of you who reached out to us
throughout the recent unprecedented snowstorms in our area. Your
updates and information were helpful in helping us inform VDOT,
Dominion and other government officials about the situation on the
ground throughout the storms. It was also encouraging to hear of all of
the help that neighbors were providing neighbors through the
difficulties. I have spoken with our local Dranesville Supervisor, John
Foust, and we plan on scheduling an "After Action" town hall
meeting to bring together everybody to further address the issues that
arose during the storms.