Chamber News

Gov. McDonnell Suceeds in Gaining Broad Bipartisan Suport

RICHMOND- Governor Bob McDonnell’s 2010 legislative agenda enjoyed strong bipartisan support in his first session as Virginia’s Chief Executive, with nearly 80% of his initiatives passing the General Assembly.

Governor’s Inaugural Legislative Agenda Gains Broad Bipartisan Backing in 2010 Session -Extensive Package of Bills Focused on Job Creation, Education Reform, Energy Independence, Economic Development, Public Safety and Good Government- **Nearly 80% of Governor’s Initiatives to Become Law** McDonnell is Successful in Top Three Priorities for First Session: Balanced Budget Passed Without Tax Increase; Job Creation Investments Made; Education Reform Achieved RICHMOND- Governor Bob McDonnell’s 2010 legislative agenda enjoyed strong bipartisan support in his first session as Virginia’s Chief Executive, with nearly 80% of his initiatives passing the General Assembly. Upon taking office McDonnell identified three top priorities for his inaugural session of the legislature. The Governor stressed in his January 18, 2010 remarks to the General Assembly the importance of ensuring a balanced budget was passed on time without a tax increase; making substantive and smart investments in job creation and economic development; and implementing substantive education reform in the Commonwealth. All three priorities have been accomplished. Further, the Governor’s legislative agenda also included successful initiatives to help position Virginia to become the “Energy Capital of the East Coast�; improve public safety and protect victims of domestic violence; honor Virginia’s veterans; conduct audits of major state agencies; and increase the speed limit to 70mph on stretches of Virginia’s interstates. In addition the General Assembly approved virtually all of McDonnell’s $50 million job creation and economic development investment package. Speaking about his first-session legislative agenda the Governor remarked, “This has been one of the most challenging legislative sessions I have witnessed in 19 years of serving in Richmond. We confronted an unprecedented budget shortfall in the middle of the most severe recession in generations. The General Assembly faced the largest budget deficit in history, and I presented the largest amount of budget amendments ever by a Governor. These tough fiscal circumstances placed a premium on prioritization and bipartisan cooperation in our work. With the passage of the budget today, Republicans and Democrats have come together to make the very difficult decisions the voters sent us to Richmond to make, and to balance the budget through responsible reductions in spending, not tax increases. This session was always going to be judged on our ability to timely meet the budgetary challenges in front of us. We have done that. I thank the members of the House and Senate money committees, especially the conferees, for their strong, fiscally responsible, leadership.� McDonnell continued, “Even while the budget demanded a large part of our time over the past two months, we also were able to successfully move forward with a broad legislative agenda. Our nearly 75 pieces of legislation represent one of the most ambitious legislative efforts by a first-session Virginia governor. Nearly 80% of our initiatives will become law, and it’s because of the same bipartisan cooperation that characterized the work on the biennial budget.� He further noted, our “Jobs and Opportunity� Agenda will provide the state, localities, entrepreneurs and business owners with the resources and policies they need to make Virginia a job-creation leader as the nation emerges from this historic economic downturn. We have invested, wisely, in the future prosperity of our Commonwealth and citizens. Similarly, the “Opportunity to Learn� education reform agenda we put forward will position our public school students for success in the future, and help bring more educational resources to every community in the state, and will be particularly beneficial for at-risk and disadvantaged students. We have added new protections for victims of domestic violence, helped traffic move a little faster on our interstates, reopened closed rest stops, stepped-in to serve Virginia’s veterans who have given so much serving us, and positioned Virginia to reap the benefits of environmentally-safe offshore energy exploration and development and become the “Energy Capital of the East Coast.� I thank the members of the General Assembly for working with us this year. Together, we have done good things, even in a tough time, for the people of Virginia.� Speaking about the Governor’s “Jobs and Opportunity� agenda, Delegate Danny Marshall (R-Danville) commented, “I was honored to join the Governor in his effort to position the Commonwealth for job creation and economic development in the years ahead. The measures that we passed, specifically bills to better utilize the Governor’s Opportunity Fund and expand our Enterprise Zones, are proactive policies that will help every region of Virginia prosper. The number one issue facing the citizens in my district, and Virginians statewide, is the need for good-paying jobs. In a tough economy, we have taken important steps to help in this effort, and it was the result of the Governor bringing together Democrats and Republicans to make it happen.� Senator Steve Newman (R-Lynchburg), who played a the lead role in ushering the Governor’s “Opportunity to Learn� education reform agenda through the General Assembly, stated, “When we provide new learning opportunities for our public school students, we give them greater opportunities for future success. That is what we did this year in Richmond, by working across party lines. The “Opportunity to Learn� legislation put forward by the Governor will lead to the creation of more high-quality public charter schools, improve and expand virtual learning, and promote positive partnerships between our world-class colleges and universities and our local public education systems. Virginia’s students, parents and teachers will all benefit from this bipartisan education reform legislation championed by the Governor.� Senator Janet Howell (D-Reston) patroned the Governor’s domestic violence bills in the State Senate and added, “Domestic violence is a tragedy. It tears families apart and destroys the lives of thousands of women and children every year. I joined with Governor McDonnell this session to pass two important reforms that will help to better protect our citizens. We will conform Virginia’s protective orders with those from neighboring states and extend protective orders for domestic violence victims who are still threatened. These common-sense measures were met with bipartisan support, and will provide additional protections to Virginians in every city and county.�