If you want to, you can call and talk to Delegate Bob Marshall. What is the possibility you can talk to your congressman or U.S. Senator? Well, if your pockets are big, your chances improve. With that in mind, you might want to keep your government small and as close to home as you can manage. In fact, you might want to give Delegate Bob Marshall some help, and you may wish to visit bobmarshall2012.com.
Virginia Light Bulb Bill up Thursday!
Friends,
I’ve got two major legislative updates below. Both bills are very important and we need to contact our delegates on the committees listed below to make sure these bills become a reality. Thank you for taking the time to read through! – Bob
VA Light Bulb Manufacturer and VA vs. EPA/Corp of Engineers
My HB 66 would allow Virginia companies to manufacture and sell incandescent light bulbs only within Virginia despite the Federal ban on incandescent bulbs which will take effect next year. The federal ban was enacted on grounds that fluorescent lights were more cost effective. Under conditions of normal use the fluorescent lights wear out much faster than incandescent ones which are not affected by constant on and off use. (See http://freedomlightbulb.blogspot.com for problems with CFL bulbs.)
HB 66 will be heard in subcommittee Thursday afternoon, January 26, 2012. Please contact the members of the Labor and Commerce Committee (See below.)
HB 66 will help protect Virginia citizens from possible mercury contamination from incorrect disposal of Compact Fluorescent Bulbs or home accidents which require near hazardous materials treatment. Two hundred and twenty families lost their breadwinner in Winchester, VA when the last American GE plant making Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulbs was shut down in 2010 as a result of the Congressional ban.
These jobs were lost when GE shifted manufacture of the CFL’s out of the country. Lastly, the Federal ban is a 10th amendment issue. Congress should not be telling Virginians what type of light bulbs they should purchase and use. The people of Virginia should be able to choose when it comes to issues such as safety and jobs.
Thanks.
- Delegate Bob Marshall
Commerce & Labor Subcommittee #2
- Chairman Tim Hugo 804-698-1040 delthugo@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Harry Purkey 804-698-1082 delhpurkey@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Tom Rust 804-698-1086 deltrust@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Danny Marshall 804-698-1014 deldmarshall@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Ben Cline 804-698-1024 delbcline@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Jackson Miller 804-698-1050 deljmiller@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Manoli Loupassi 804-698-1068 delmloupassi@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Barbara Comstock 804-698-1034 delbcomstock@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Joe Johnson 804-698-1004 deljjohnson@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Kenny Alexander 804-698-1089 delkalexander@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Jennifer McClellan 804-698-1071 deljmcclellan@house.virginia.gov
Commerce & Labor Other Members
- Chairman Terry Kilgore 804-698-1001 deltkilgore@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Kathy Byron 804-698-1022 delkbyron@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Lee Ware 804-698-1065 dellware@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Don Merricks 804-698-1016 deldmerricks@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate John Cosgrove 804-698-1078 deljcosgrove@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Rob Bell 804-698-1058 delrbell@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Gregory Habeeb 804-698-1008 delghabeeb@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Johnny Joannou 804-698-1079 none
- Delegate Jeion Ward 804-698-1092 deljward@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Lynwood Lewis 804-698-1000 delllewis@house.virginia.gov
- Delegate Roslyn Tyler 804-698-1075 delrtyler@house.virginia.gov
Virginia vs. EPA Clean Water Act Controls
My HB 67 will ensure that Virginia controls and regulates its non-navigable waters. The bill will be heard Thursday, January 26, 2012, in the 7-West Conference Room of the General Assembly Building. This legislation is to help prevent cases where farmers and other property owners have been buried under EPA or Corps of Engineers regulations as a result of a large puddle or very small normally dry pond on their property because of the Migratory Bird Rule (also known as the” glancing goose test”) which in essence says if your property gets wet enough at any time of the year for a migratory bird to see its reflection, then the EPA can regulate that property as a wetland.
Passage of my HB 67 will ensure that this sort of Federal Government micro management does not occur. Please ask members of the Subcommittee (below) to support HB 67.
Thanks.
- Delegate Bob Marshall
House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Chesapeake Subcommittee
- Chairman Ed Scott delescott@house.virginia.gov 804-698-1030
- Delegate Lee Ware dellware@house.virginia.gov 804-698-1065
- Delegate Brenda Pogge delbpogge@house.virginia.gov 804-698-1096
- Delegate Michael Webert delmwebert@house.virginia.gov 804-698-1018
- Delegate Margaret Ransone delmransone@house.virginia.gov 804-698-1099
- Delegate Lynwood Lewis delllewis@house.virginia.gov 804-698-1000
- Delegate Luke Torian delltorian@house.virginia.gov
I have stocked up on lightbulbs to last us 3-4 years. I am hopeful that the federal ban is lifted, but in the interum, at least VA could become a black market for incandescents!
Hubby works in the envirtonmental field and was telling me about new VA regulations that go into affect next year that no fertilzers can be sold that contain phosphourus. He said that’s the most important ingrediant aftter nitrogen. Why do elected officials always slam down the hammer , throwing the baby out with the bath water when faced with a problem? And then, of course, we spend years sorting out bad laws.
RE the Freedom Light Bulb Blog mentioned,
there is special coverage of Bob’s bill, including Virginia background,
local v federal issues etc on
http://freedomlightbulb.blogspot.com/2012/01/virginia-bulb-bill-and-its-background.html
Freedom, by the way – The governor has something on his website.
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=875
What the governor has on his website probably probably provides the most comprehensive picture. Other articles give bits and pieces.
What I suspect is creating confusion is that this is part of something the EPA is doing. Here are a couple of articles on that.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/05/us-chesapeake-jobs-idUSTRE80403Q20120105
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/0a8abbad78684e3889926f7a0059d10c/WV–Chesapeake-Bay-WVa/
The phosphorus prohibition applies to lawn fertilizer. Here is an article.
http://cbf.typepad.com/bay_daily/2011/02/new-fertilizer-law-will-cut-bay-pollution-save-money.html
Frankly, I think it silly to fertilize lawn grass. We don’t eat it. Left alone, it will grow. However, what happens without weed killer and fertilizer is that you get a combination of plants instead of just one monoculture. Because we generally think it prettier, we want just one kind of plant. Unfortunately, the fertilizer and weed killer pollute our water. So regardless of the esthetics, we should not be putting that stuff on our lawns.
Not fertilizing farmland, only the other hand, is dumb. What is important is that we don’t over fertilize. In addition to being a waste of money, the runoff pollutes the water. Problem? Up to a point, over fertilizing increases yields. Because of water quality issues, however, some prohibitions are needed. What prohibitions? That is what we are trying to figure out. It is just a shame we have Obama’s acolytes in charge of the EPA.
Peter – Thanks for the link.