Weekly Column: Senate and House Set Up Fight Over $3 Billion Tax Cut

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of February 28, 2022.

Senate and House Set Up Fight Over $3 Billion Tax Cut  

               In the sixth week of the General Assembly Session each chamber offered their proposed budgets.  Each chamber’s budget is very different.

               First, I was able to secure several changes to the budget that are important to our community.  The Senate Finance Committee included $10 million in the budget to fund the Phase II improvements at Widewater State Park.  Phase II will include a new visitor center, new trails, a loop road, parking areas, and picnic areas.  I have been fighting for this for five years and I am working with Delegate Candi King and Delegate Tara Durant to ensure the House of Delegates will agree to fund it.

Weekly Column: State Legislature Decides on Funds, Addresses Needs

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of August 13, 2021.

State Legislature Decides on Funds, Addresses Needs

On August 10, the General Assembly completed work in a special session to appropriate federal pandemic funds and elect judges. 

In March, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).  ARPA brought $4.3 billion in unexpected funds to Virginia but required it to be invested in specific areas such as water, sewer and broadband infrastructure to respond to the COVID-19 emergency, address pandemic impacts and provide government services suffering from revenue reductions because of the pandemic.  Unlike other counties, Fairfax County received $222 million in direct ARPA funding with similar requirements. 

Weekly Column: Successes in the State Legislature

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of March 12, 2018.

Successes in the State Legislature
Last week brought an end to the regular 2018 session of the General Assembly. Once again, I had some significant successes. The legislature sent 13 of my 61 bills to Governor Northam for his signature. Legislators continued 15 to 2019 for studies and referred several to agencies for administrative consideration.

While several of my budget amendments were included in the Senate budget, including the funding the first staff at brand new Widewater State Park in Stafford, we unfortunately adjourned without adopting a biennial budget due to the Senate Republican Caucus’s refusal to include Medicaid expansion into their budget. Budget discussions have completely stalled out and Governor Northam will call us into special session at some point in the next two months.

Weekly Column: 21 Bills Cross, Predatory Lending Restricted, and Coal Ash Progress

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Mt. Vernon Voice, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of February 6, 2018.

               Week Six of the General Assembly brought us to the midpoint of session, completion of work on all bills in our own chambers, and announcement of the proposed House and Senate budgets.

              Twenty-one of my bills “crossed over” to the House of Delegates including several this week.  First, my legislation continuing the moratorium on permitting the closure of coal ash ponds was continued for fourteen months so the legislature could have more time to gather information. 

Most other states have moved towards recycling coal ash into products such as bricks and concrete instead of burying it the ground for eternity.  Dominion has estimated that recycling will cost $4-8 billion but the recycling community contends that is greatly overstated.  My bill requires Dominion to seek specific recycling proposals from coal ash recyclers and to pass proposals along to the legislature so we can consider the actual cost of recycling next year.  It is important that we have correct information before we decide to make a decision that will pass along over a billion dollars of cost to electricity rate payers.

Leesylvania State Park Under Big Pressure

The Potomac Local reports that Leesylvania State Park has now closed its gates six times this summer due to over capacity problems.

Potomac Local, Popular Leesylvania State Park Turns Away Visitors (Aug. 16, 2017)

This has been a problem for years and only underscores the urgency of getting Widewater State Park in Stafford County open for business.

Stafford County has no public water access.  Two years ago, funding for all three phases of Widewater State Park's buildout was funded in the state budget, but was removed after private campground operators complained about damage to their business.

Free Lance Star, Widewater State Park's State Funding Is Up In the Air (Feb. 18, 2016)

We did get Phase I of three funded and held a groundbreaking last March on a canoe launch and other amenities but no public bathrooms.  

Free Lance Star, Stafford Celebrates Widewater State Park Groundbreaking (Dec. 17, 2016)

Next year we need to fight to get all three ohases funded.  There is clearly demand for more parks on the Potomac River and we need to get this funded as soon as possible so Virginians can enjoy their River.

Weekly Column: Summer Is Here: Time to Visit Your State Parks!

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, The Mt. Vernon Voice and The Potomac-Stafford Local in the week of July 4, 2016.

Eighty years ago this month, Virginia created the first state park system in the United States.   With 35 miles of Potomac River frontage in the 36^th Senate district, our community is lucky to have access to many natural resources, including our state parks. 

 

Our state park system has its origins in the Great Depression.  In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built numerous park and recreational areas throughout the nation, as well as in Virginia. My grandfather grew up in Franklin County, Virginia, a county with no public high school so he had an eighth grade education and when he turned 22 in 1933, no job.

 

He enrolled in the CCC and was directed to report to the Arlington County “countryside” (yes, countryside).  Every day, he walked through farm fields to construct trails and plant trees on Analostan Island in the Potomac River, which had recently been renamed Teddy Roosevelt Island next to Rosslyn.  The CCC also helped build the George Washington Memorial Parkway.   

Weekly Column: The Senate Budget Emerges

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, The Mt. Vernon Voice and The Potomac-Stafford Local in the week of February 16, 2016.

The Senate Budget Emerges

This week, the seventh of this session of the Virginia General Assembly, both the Senate and House of Delegates are considering the state’s two-year budget. After each house passes a budget, a joint conference committee resolves the differences. The Senate budget has good news and bad news.

 

Good News

Revenues have increased more than expenses for the first time in seven years, offering opportunities to address unmet needs.  The Senate Budget makes significant investments in education including an additional $80 million for Fairfax County, $32 million for Prince William County and $22 million for Stafford County over last year’s appropriations including $16 million for a program called “Cost to Compete” which is supplemental funding for high-cost areas like Northern Virginia to pay teachers and support staff.  The plan also includes a two-percent salary increase for all elementary-secondary school teachers.