Dear Friends,

At the turn of the New Year we began the legislative session in Richmond with two paramount issues before us: reforming our mental health system and enacting the recommendations of the Virginia Tech review panel, and closing a growing deficit in our state budget. I'm pleased to report that this Thursday the General Assembly is likely to pass the spending blueprint for the next two years and we have already sent the Governor important legislation crafted in the wake of the tragedy last April.

Once again this year I put forward a legislative agenda of my own designed to continue moving us forward and give a stronger voice to Virginians from all walks of life. While there were both successes and failures along the way, I spent the last two months fighting to make our state the best place for you to live, work and raise a family.

Keeping Virginia Safe and Secure. Last year's tragedy at Virginia Tech drove much of the work at the state capital this year. On behalf of Governor Kaine, I passed a bill requiring all of our public colleges and universities to develop emergency response plans. Legislation I introduced to establish new standards for outpatient commitment in mental health cases was incorporated into another bill and also awaits the Governor's signature.

In January, I worked to fashion a compromise measure to close the gun show loophole. While Seung-Hui Cho, the perpetrator of the massacre at Tech, did not purchase his weapons from a gun show, I believed it was incumbent upon us as leaders to recognize the flaws in our background check statutes and bring lawmakers together to fix it. The amendments I offered to Senator Henry Marsh's bill would have required instant background checks on all sales at gun shows, exempting purchasers with a valid concealed weapon permit and those purchasing antique firearms, along with other technical amendments I wrote in response to testimony on the issue from both sides.

Recently, I was pleased to learn that Senate and House budget negotiators are planning to include more than $1 million in funding for Alicia's Law, a proposal I introduced and carried on behalf of the National Organization to Protect Children. This will provide increased capacity for Virginia's two Internet Crimes Against Children task forces to find and prosecute child predators.

Two of my proposals that didn't receive much attention in the news media have also passed: legislation requiring police offices around the state to develop and maintain a written policy for responding to crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence, and a bill allowing the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to access the National Criminal Information System when processing license applications.

Fulfilling Our Promise to Virginia's Teachers, First Responders and Families. Due to a nearly $2 billion budget deficit, many of the proposals this year for new programs or increased funding of current efforts were put off for another year. But tough budget times or not, leaders must define clear spending priorities and fight for them.

That's why this year I carried legislation mandating that we pay our teachers no less than the national average. Our state constitution mandates that every child receive a free, public education of high quality, and we know from experience and through research that investing in our children early is the key to ensuring their success in the 21st century economy. Virginia currently ranks 31st nationwide in teacher pay.

I've often said we can't be tough on crime and cheap on crime. This year I fought to increase the number of deputy sheriffs in our communities, restore state funding for local law enforcement and to provide overtime pay for our state troopers. Keeping our state safe and secure is about more than just enacting the right laws and tough penalties--it requires giving our first responders the training and the tools they need, and the pay they deserve, to fight crime and protect our communities.

Virginia's single parents don't have a high-paid lobbyist working the halls of the state capital for them. I believe one of my responsibilities as an elected representative is to be an advocate for all Virginians, certainly single moms and dads trying to make ends meet while raising children on a limited income. To that end, I carried legislation this year to eliminate the Single Parent Tax, a $25 yearly fee on all parents who receive help from the state to collect the child support they're owed.

Fighting for the Dream of Home Ownership. Before the subprime mortgage crisis made national headlines, I was fighting in the General Assembly for reform. This year, working with consumer protection advocates and my colleagues in the legislature, I introduced measures to protect homeowners from irresponsible lenders. But the lending and mortgage servicing industries have a powerful lobby and countless friends in the legislature who were able to derail this year's effort. Even after stripping the bill down to include provisions preventing fraud and requiring background checks for anyone with access to a homeowners personal financial information, I was unable to pass the measure through the Senate.

But this year I was able to make some headway by passing a measure giving the City of Charlottesville new tools to develop affordable housing. The bill specifies that developers can either set aside a fixed portion of construction to be designated as affordable housing or make a contribution to the city's affordable housing fund.

Protecting Virginia's Environment and Natural Resources. Throughout my career in the General Assembly I have fought to clean up Virginia's toxic waste sites and enact progressive policies to preserve open space and protect our environment. This year I included two policy amendments to the state budget to help reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. One proposal requires state buildings to meet stringent energy efficiency requirements set by the U.S. Green Building Council. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification leads to the construction and renovation of buildings that are cheaper to operate, produce less waste, conserve energy and water, and are healthier and safer for occupants. The other requires state agencies to purchase Energy Star rated appliances and equipment whenever they are available.

As the author of Virginia's law governing the acquisition and preservation of open spaces, I have been working to update and enhance these statutes to set aside more land for conservation. This year I sponsored legislation to make it even easier to donate conservation easements to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation by eliminating a layer of bureaucracy in the process.

Many times the inspiration for new legislation comes from citizens who bring a concern to my attention by contacting my office. This year I passed a bill allowing private individuals to process and prepare certain foods to then sell at home or at local farmer's markets. As we all continue to be concerned by the growing climate crisis, many are looking to local food options as a way of reducing our impact on the environment. I support these efforts and was proud to bring both sides of this issue together to forge a compromise.

Giving Virginians a Voice in Their Government. We made tremendous progress this year advancing the cause of redistricting reform: my proposal to establish a bipartisan redistricting process to eliminate the bitterness and bickering in Richmond, and give citizens a real choice in elections, passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support 33-5. Despite the support of four Governors, the sitting Lt. Governor, and a who's who list of business leaders throughout Virginia-from every part of the ideological spectrum-the votes of just three Republican members of the House of Delegates killed the proposal for the year. Over the next two years, we will have more opportunities to pass redistricting reform. We can amend our constitution, in a manner similar to my proposal last year, or we can once again pursue an approach that retains the role of the General Assembly, similar to this year's effort. However, it does not require legislative action to draw political boundaries that put the interests of the people before the interests of the legislature. Virginia's next Governor could use the amendment and veto process to do just that.

I was also unable to convince my colleagues in the House of Delegates to pass a change in our absentee voting laws, allowing any qualified voter to cast an absentee ballot. Current law requires that you meet certain criteria in order to vote early. However, in a little noticed change to our election law, I was able to make a substantial difference this year. Following the debacle in Florida during the 2000 presidential election, Virginia amended our election laws to make it more difficult for an accurate recount following a close contest. Under a bill I passed this year that awaits the Governor's signature, all optical scan votes (also known as "bubble sheets" or "SCANTRON" ballots) must be rerun during a recount.

Should the General Assembly complete work on the budget on Thursday as expected, all 140 legislators will return again in April to consider the Governors vetoes and amendments to the bills we've passed this session. It has been my distinct pleasure to serve you in the halls of the state capital again this year. My new legislative aide, Davis Walsh, is already back in my Charlottesville office and is available to assist my constituents in whatever way he can. He can be reached by e-mail at senatordeeds@embarqmail.com or by phone at 434-296-5491. I hope to see you back in the district or out on the campaign trail soon.

Very Truly Yours,

Senator Deeds

(Sen. Creigh Deeds, Electronic mail, March 11, 2008)