Here is Delegate Scott Lingamfelter‘s report on the General Assembly.
Session Update 4: Busy!!!
Dear Patriots,
This was one of those weeks you look back and it is a blur, for both me and my assistant Andrew. Here are a few highlights:
Sunday Hunting: As you may have heard, the several bills in the House, including mine, that would have repealed the ban on Sunday hunting we’re “tabled”. We just didn’t have the votes to get it through the House of Delegates. This was a disappointing turn of events for a couple reasons. First, it is no secret that permit sales have been down. The long standing tradition of hunting in the Commonwealth is slowly dwindling away as interest in and access to hunting has diminished. The repeal of the ban would allow hard working folks (who wouldn’t otherwise be able to go hunting because they work six days a week) to pass the tradition and skill on to their children. Secondly, allowing hunting on Sundays would have a positive impact on Virginia’s economy- permit sales would increase, jobs would be added, and more out-of-staters would come to Virginia for weekend hunting trips and while they’re at it, spend money at our hotels, restaurants, and local shops.
Making Sure We Are Prepared: One of my bills, HJ 132, passed through subcommittee yesterday and is headed for a hearing before the full Committee on Rules. HJ 132 is a bill that would direct the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the Commonwealth’s homeland security and emergency management planning and preparedness efforts to ensure that they are up to snuff. Over the last year, Virginia has seen numerous natural disasters- we had earthquakes, Hurricane, remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, and some scattered tornadoes. Virginia did quite well responding to these unpredictable natural disasters but there is always room for improvement. In addition to ensuring that Virginia is ready to react at a moment’s notice to these natural occurrences, we need to make sure that we are able to prevent and protect ourselves from more sinister attacks from folks that wish to harm us. This isn’t to frighten folks but I think that you would agree that we need to have plans in place to address any thing that gets thrown our way.
More information on this bill can be found here: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+HJ132
Military Employment: Two of my bills, House Bill 938 and 939, passed through committee this week and are headed for the full House of Delegates. Simply put, these two bills will help reduce the time that our returning servicemen and women have to wait to become licensed to practice certain occupations in the Commonwealth. These are highly skilled men and women who satisfy all the requirements to practice these occupations in Virginia. This bill will help them return home and quickly find gainful employment so that they can support themselves and their families. Watch the progress of these bills here; HB 937: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+HB937 and House Bill 938: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+HB938
Rejecting Tax Increases: As I have written here before, we do a lot tax-raising legislation each session. Despite watching their numbers dwindle in both the House and Senate, some folks are STILL dedicated to raising your taxes. House Bill 124 was introduced by Delegate Morrissey and would have imposed a 20 cent tax on plastic bags at grocery stores. This bill obviously was tabled. I will keep you updated on any new attempts at tax raises.
Republicans are for Jobs: While folks on the other side are looking to legislate tax increases like the plastic bag, Republicans in the House have been busy at work passing legislation to get folks back to work and help businesses grow. Here is what we have passed so far:
- House Bill 33: This bill requires state agencies to ensure that they aren’t mandating Project Labor Agreement with the folks we contract with and that the state isn’t discriminating against folks who CHOSE not to enter into a labor agreement. In short, this bill makes sure that the state is remaining neutral when negotiating transportation and infrastructure projects. In Virginia, we know that competition spurs success. House Bill 33 will increase competition in the State’s dealings and help control project costs. See more here: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+HB33
- House Bill 1102: Sponsored by fellow Prince William Delegate, Jackson Miller. HB 1102 will help expand Virginia’s role as a national high-leader by incentivizing research and development in the Commonwealth. The legislation is a great step towards exploring energy alternatives (to decrease foreign dependence) while boosting job creation. Check out Delegate Miller’s legislation here: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+HB1102
- House Bill 1013: Start-up companies are a vital part of any economy. We must do what we can to make sure that Virginia has a business environment that is inviting for these entrepreneurs so that they move here, start a business, make investments in our community, and hire our fellow Virginians. HB 1013 will do just that by extending the current capital gains tax exemption for start ups. This will allow Virginia’s job creators to expand investment in science and technology by exempting investment in business start ups. Learn more here: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+HB1013
On the Appropriations Committee we have been hearing bills and budget amendments all week as we put the initial pieces of the budget together for us to take up in the coming weeks. Again, our focus is to keep our eye on jobs, fiscal responsibility, and making sure we’re forced on core requirements. The key for me personally is to keep spending under control. This is what the public wants, particularly those who work hard and have to do it for their own family budgets.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions: (804) 698-1031 or va31st@gmail.com. If you want to come and witness the legislative process first-hand, please let us know and we can make arrangements for you to be seated up in the gallery of the House Chamber.
Finally, please take our survey which can be found on our site, www.va31st.com. We have had a ton of folks fill out the survey and the results have been extremely helpful! If you haven’t done so yet, head on over to our site and send me your thoughts.
Have a great weekend!
Sic Semper Tyrannis,
