Press Release
BOLLING ANNOUNCES 2009 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
-Agenda focuses on solutions for economic development, transportation, education, health care challenges and government reform-
Wednesday, January 21, 2009Richmond - Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling today released his 2009 Legislative Agenda. Lieutenant Governor Bolling's agenda builds on the efforts he has made over the past two years to work on a bipartisan basis to find realistic, workable solutions to the challenges facing Virginia.
"My 2009 Legislative Agenda offers specific proposals for getting Virginia's economy moving again, beginning the process of solving our transportation challenges, improving the quality of the educational opportunities we provide to our children, and making health care more available and affordable for more Virginians," Lieutenant Governor Bolling said. "In addition, my Legislative Agenda embraces a number of important proposals for reforming the way government works."
"I want to thank my colleagues in the House and Senate for sponsoring these bills and look forward to working with the members of the General Assembly to promote these issues and secure their passage during this year's legislative session," Lieutenant Governor Bolling said. "By embracing these new ideas for Virginia's future we can begin the process of solving the most pressing issues facing our state and build a better Virginia."
Highlights include:
GETTING VIRGINIA'S ECONOMY MOVING AGAIN
-Providing an additional $10M to the Governor's Economic Opportunity Fund (Wampler)
-Restoring budget cuts of $3.6M to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Virginia Tourism Council
-Instituting a $2,500 per person ($5,000 per couple) tax credit for the purchase of a new home (Stosch)
-A comprehensive package of reforms to help promote the development of wind energy in Virginia (Wagner/Miller, J.)
-Tax credits and sales tax exemptions to promote the expansion of broadband access in rural Virginia (Nutter)
"At a time when the nation's economy is struggling, it is important for us to take action to position Virginia's economy for a strong recovery. We can do this by pursuing these commonsense legislative recommendations this year," Lieutenant Governor Bolling said.
RESTORING TRUST, IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND PROVIDING MORE MONEY TO SOLVE VIRGINIA'S TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGES
-Dedicating 10% of future revenue growth to highway construction and maintenance, beginning in the 2010-2012 budget (Miller, J)
-Allowing Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia to retain future revenue growth from the Port of Virginia, Dulles International Airport and Reagan International Airport to help address transportation challenges in those regions of the state (Oder)
-Passing a Constitutional Amendment to prevent money in the transportation trust fund from being transferred to other government programs (Martin/Oder)
-Conducting an external, independent, top to bottom management review of the Virginia Department of Transportation to make certain that transportation dollars are being spent wisely (Lingamfelter)
"The most important issue currently facing Virginia is the need to direct more resources to highway construction and maintenance," Lieutenant Governor Bolling said. "We can increase the amount of money that is available for transportation construction and make certain that our transportation dollars are spent wisely and for the purposes they were intended by passing this important legislation."
IMPROVING EDUCATION OPPORTUNTIES FOR OUR CHILDREN
-Requiring that at least 65% of educational expenditures be spent in the classroom, as opposed to the central office (Loupassi)
-Providing more options for educational choice for parents and students (Obenshain/Saxman)
"We must constantly be looking for ways to improve the quality of education we are providing to our children," Lieutenant Governor Bolling said. "We can accomplish this by spending our educational resources more wisely, providing more educational choice for students and their families, and demanding more accountability from everyone involved in the educational system."
MAKING QUALITY HEALTH CARE MORE AVAILABLE AND MORE AFFORDABLE
-Allowing small business owners to purchase basic health insurance policies for their employees, policies that are free from the state mandates that apply to other policies (Marshall, D.)
-Providing tax credits for small business owners who provide health insurance for low income employees (Martin)
-Reforming Virginia's Certificate of Public Need laws to promote more health care competition (Hamilton)
"We must work to make quality health care more available and more affordable for more Virginians," Lieutenant Governor Bolling said. "By making it easier for small business owners to provide health insurance for their employees, and promoting more health care competition, we can begin the process of addressing this important issue."
REFORMING GOVERNMENT TO MAKE IT WORK FOR THE PEOPLE OF VIRGINIA
-Creating an Efficiency Review Commission to systematically review every agency of state government to make certain that they are necessary and are performing their work efficiently and without redundancy (O'Bannon)
-Implementing a transparent budget website that enables the people of Virginia to access a clear, detailed and understandable version of the state budget (Cuccinelli/Cline)
-Allowing the General Assembly to increase contributions to the Revenue Stabilization Fund from 10% to 15% of state GF revenues (O'Bannon)
-Establishing a bipartisan Redistricting Commission to assist the General Assembly in adopting legislative districts that are compact, contiguous and of a reasonable common interest (Deeds)
"Government is intended to work for the people of Virginia - to conduct its business in a cost effective manner, and to pursue programs that provide opportunities for the people of Virginia to enjoy a higher quality of life," Lieutenant Governor Bolling said. "However, government doesn't always work in the most efficient manner, and we need to constantly be looking for ways to make government more efficient and more effective."
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For additional information contact Randy Marcus at 804-814-7117 (cell) or randy.marcus@ltgov.virginia.gov.
