The Twelve Days of Assembly
On the first day of session, the Assembly gave to me:
A budget that balances right (no gimmicks)
2 fewer agencies
3 thousand fewer gov’ment jobs
4 dollars less to hunt and fish
5 billion in cuts
6 more days to deposit funds
7 billion to help local govs.
80 billion in spending
9 weeks of bipartisanship (we hope)
10 million less in DMV fees
11 Congressional districts (drawn fairly)
12 billion less in hidden tax credits
A budget that balances right (no gimmicks)
– The VA Constitution requires that Virginia operate with a balanced budget, but often this is accomplished with accounting gimmicks, sometimes from the governor. Art. X, Sec. 7 specifically states that “the Governor…shall ensure that no expenses of the Commonwealth…exceed total revenues.”
– To encourage your legislator to balance the budget without any gimmicks, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
2 fewer agencies
– The governor’s Reform and Restructuring Commission proposed two fewer agencies: Virginia Dept. for the Aging and Virginia Dept. for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing are to be merged into the Department of Rehabilitative Services.
– To encourage your legislator to reduce the number of state agencies by at least two as Gov. McDonnell has recommended, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
3 thousand fewer gov’ment jobs
– VA has already cut 2,500 state jobs over the past two years. Let’s more than double it.
– To encourage your legislator to cut at least 3,000 more government jobs in Virginia, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
4 dollars less to hunt and fish
– Va. to start charging access fee at wildlife management areas
– To encourage your legislator NOT to enact these fees which would be an increase in taxes, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
5 billion in cuts
– The governor has requested proposals from all state agencies with cuts in spending of 2, 4, and 6 per cent. This could amount to at least $5 billion in cuts to an $85 billion proposed budget.
– To encourage your legislator to cut at least $5 billion in the Virginia budget as Gov. McDonnell has suggested, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
6 more days to deposit funds
– The governor’s mandate review has determined that state funds and estimated tax payments could be deposited weekly or even monthly, rather than daily, which is a heavy administrative burden. (See Item 57 on Page 60.)
– To encourage your legislator to relax this requirement and ultimately reduce the cost of government, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
7 billion to help local govs.
– The governor’s mandate review has determined that Virginia local governments face an estimated cost of more than $7 BILLION to comply with the Watershed Implementation Plan under the Chesapeake Bay TMDL and stormwater regulations. Not only does the compliance with these requirements pose a significant financial burden to local governments and developers, in many cases rural governments lack the ability to obtain cost-effective expertise needed to ensure compliance. (See Item 13 on Page 15.)
– To encourage your legislator to relax these regulations and ultimately lower the cost to local governments by more than $7 BILLION, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
80 billion in spending
– The governor has proposed a budget that includes $85 billion in spending. That’s too much! The legislature should pair it back to $80 billion.
– To encourage your legislator to reduce spending by $5 billion thus making the overall spending plan $80 billion, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
9 weeks of bipartisanship (we hope)
– Though the Republicans have the governorship and the House of Delegates, the Senate is split 20-20, with the lieutenant governor, a Republican, casting tie-breaking votes on most bills. For 60 days over nine weeks, we shall see how Virginia’s political leaders define bipartisanship.
– To encourage your legislator to work on what’s best for Virginia, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
10 million less in DMV fees
– McDonnell wants $10 million in new DMV fees as part of budget plan
– To encourage your legislator NOT to enact these fees which would be an increase in taxes, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
11 Congressional districts (drawn fairly)
– Va. House GOP expecting lawsuit on congressional redistricting
– To encourage your legislator to hammer out a fair plan that will keep the decision out of the courts—and ultimately reduce the amount of taxpayers’ dollars being spent on this wrangling—please go to Who’s My Legislator?
12 billion less in hidden tax credits
– In 2008 alone, more than $12.5 billion in tax incentives to special interests were paid by We the Taxpayer for special deals cut by the Virginia General Assembly and sundry groups and individuals, including movie producer Steven Spielberg. And it’s all hidden.
– To encourage your legislator to make the list of recipients of tax credits transparent, please go to Who’s My Legislator?
