Archive for March, 2010

2010 General Assembly Wrap-Up

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Dear Neighbor,

Last night, the General Assembly concluded its 2010 Regular Session.  Like most states, Virginia continues to confront its most difficult budget challenge in memory due to the national economy.

Facing the largest revenue decline in Virginia history, the General Assembly adopted a lean and balanced budget that cut billions in spending and that had no general tax increases.  State spending has now been reduced to 2006 levels.

At the same time, I worked with my colleagues in the legislature to minimize the impact of budget cuts to core priorities, such as education, public safety and health care services to those who are most vulnerable.

Here are some highlights of my work on your behalf this session:

Reversing the LCI Freeze

One of my top priorities was to reverse the LCI freeze.  Delay in recalculating the local composite index, the formula that determines how much state education funding is distributed to each locality, would have cost Loudoun County $35 million and Fairfax $61 million.  I am pleased my budget amendment to restore this funding was adopted by the Senate and included in the final budget.

Legislation

Of the 17 bills I introduced this Session, 10 of them passed both the Senate and House of Delegates and will now make their way to the Governor’s desk for his signature. Most of these measures passed with strong bipartisan support. You can log on to the General Assembly’s website for detailed look at all of the legislation I carried this year. Here are a few highlights:

The State Government Spending Accountability Act- SB 431

I have been a strong proponent of common sense measures that promote transparency and accountability in government. During tough economic times such as these, government must strive to live within its means just like hard-working Virginians and their families must do. Citizens of the Commonwealth are entitled to know where their tax dollars are being spent, and what the government is spending money on.

This legislation requires state agencies to place their check register on their agency’s website. It also directs the Auditor of Public Accounts to conduct a review of Commonwealth Data Point, the state’s online database for expenditure and revenue information, and to incorporate best practices used by other states to make the site more user-friendly and improve transparency of state agency expenditures. There are common sense actions the state can take to ensure your tax dollars are spent wisely.

The Virginia Innovation Investment Act- SB 428

Promoting technology-based economic development and job creation have been among my top legislative priorities as your State Senator. Encouraging the investment of new capital in Virginia will lead to the creation of high-quality, high-paying jobs. This legislation provides a targeted, long-term capital gains tax exclusion for new investment in science and technology start-up companies in Virginia if the investment is made in the next three years.

As always, representing you in the General Assembly is an honor and a privilege. I welcome your input, so please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can ever do for you. The telephone number for my district office in Leesburg is 703-729-3300. You can also contact me by email at senator@markherring.org. If you are on Facebook, you can receive updates on my page which can be found at www.facebook.com/markherring33 and please remember to visit my newly redesigned website, www.markherring.org.

Sincerely,

Mark

Mark

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Senator Herring Releases Statement Regarding Cuccinelli Opinion

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Richmond, VA – Today, Senator Mark Herring (D-Loudoun and Fairfax) released the following statement regarding Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s recent opinion that public colleges and universities in Virginia cannot include “sexual orientation” in their nondiscrimination policies:

In recent weeks, Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has been making headlines for the wrong reasons.  Most recently, it has been revealed that Cuccinelli sent a letter to state college presidents and other officials advising them that they do not have the authority to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. Cuccinelli’s statement would give the green light to firing professors and denying admission to applicants for no other reason than their sexual orientation.

Discrimination is unacceptable, period, and it certainly should not be permitted in employment and admissions at public colleges and universities in Virginia.

Cuccinelli’s letter is reprehensible. It not only threatens the quality and competitiveness of Virginia’s higher education system, it severely damages the progress Virginia has made in recent years to embrace diversity and become the best place in America for business. By not repudiating his statement, Governor McDonnell has made it clear that his administration is content with turning the clock back on civil rights.

This distraction comes at a time when the General Assembly is facing its toughest budget process in years, with painful cuts due to an unprecedented decline in state revenues. Instead of focusing on fixing our economic problems, the Attorney General and the McDonnell Administration seem to be intent on scoring political points with their base. This is not the sort of problem-solving, pragmatic leadership Virginians were promised during last fall’s campaign.

Attorney General Cuccinelli’s letter is an embarrassment to our Commonwealth. His position and Governor McDonnell’s tacit support of it are moving Virginia out of the mainstream and into the political fringe.

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Budget Amendment to reverse the freeze on the reformulation of the Local Composite Index (LCI)

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Here is a letter to the editor that Senator Herring wrote about this issue:

The legislature will face many difficult decisions this session. One of the most important issues of concern to Loudoun County will be whether to reformulate the Local Composite Index (LCI), which determines how much education funding each locality receives from the state.

The LCI is meant to distribute money equitably, so poor districts get more school funding from the state and wealthy districts get less. Many of us in Northern Virginia have long found it unfair to shoulder such a large share of education funding. Every two years, the formula is recalculated, using updated data on enrollment, income, retail sales and real estate values. This year, for once, Loudoun stands to benefit from the reformulation because of dramatic declines in the housing market.

However, the proposed budget offered by Governor Kaine, unfortunately, includes a delay in reformulating the LCI. This proposed delay would result in Loudoun County Public Schools losing out on nearly $35 million it ought to receive. That equates to six cents on the real estate tax rate here in Loudoun. There are always winners and losers whenever the LCI is reformulated. Much of the rest of the state benefits from the delay, but it comes at an enormous cost to a handful of other jurisdictions and Loudoun is hit disproportionately hard.

I have introduced a budget amendment to reverse this proposed delay and proceed with the reformulation of the LCI.

This is a fairness issue. While there have been aspects of the LCI that many of us have felt were unfair, we have nevertheless abided by the formula and paid more than our fair share. It is patently unfair that the one time reformulation of the LCI stands to benefit Loudoun and some other Northern Virginia jurisdictions; a proposal comes forward to break with our court-tested and time-honored procedure.

I will use every effort at my disposal to secure passage of the amendment and I will support no budget that treats Loudoun County and our school children and taxpayers unfairly.

Sincerely,

Senator Mark Herring

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