General Assembly Update: July 14, 2010

The annual July 4th Naturalization ceremony at Monticello is always a special event.This year, 71 people from 32 different countries became United States citizens. Tracey Ullman spoke to the crowd and reminded people that they should not forget their background because that is part of what makes America great.We celebrate so many things on July 4th - our liberty, the importance of the rule of law, the role of dissent, the embracing of change, and the diversity that is such a great strength in our country.

July also marks the month when new laws passed by the General Assembly in the last session take effect. Effective July 1, 2010, any person emailing or texting who uses profane, threatening or indecent language can be found guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. It is also against the law to text while driving. The General Assembly passed, and the Governor signed, a new law that allows persons with concealed handgun permits to carry a weapon into a restaurant so long as they do not consume alcoholic beverages on premises. The law also changed to require safety belt use for persons under the age of 18 years who are seated in the rear seats of vehicles. Previously, the law applied only to younger children. Another new law that affects drivers is the requirement that drivers on a four lane highway move over one lane of traffic when approaching vehicles displaying flashing red, blue or amber lights. This law now also protects tow truck drivers and highway workers, in addition to police and emergency vehicles. The first offense is now only a traffic infraction, while a second offense is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.

In the energy arena, we created the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority to facilitate and support the development of the offshore wind industry. For those of you who are interested in energy-related issues, I taped a show for cable on last Thursday in the City Council chambers with representatives from Dominion Power, the City and the County, and the LEAP program. The show is designed to provide citizens with information about how they can save energy and how certain low and moderate income persons can qualify for limited grants operated by the private and public sectors to assist with the cost of heating and cooling their residences. The powerpoint from the program with contact information for each of the organizations will be posted on my website, and the program will be re-broadcast multiple times over the next several months.

Finally, I will be having a series of coffee conversations with constituents in late July and early August.Four are presently scheduled for late in the afternoons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The forums are free, but space is limited so sign up early (Sign up by clicking here or by calling my office at (434) 220-1660). I will be providing an update of the General Assembly session and discussing issues of concern to constituents.

As always, it is an honor serving you in the Virginia General Assembly.Please pass this email along to friends that you believe may have an interest so that they may sign up to receive these updates in a periodic fashion.

Sincerely,

David

FACT OF THE DAY: Here is yet another perspective on our transportation funding woes: the Richmond Times Dispatch reported that Prince William County, with its 380,000 residents, had its transportation funds reduced from "several million dollars...a few years ago" to only $1,600.00 this year, hardly enough to build a decent sidewalk. Charlottesville and Albemarle face the same problem as the state continues to inadequately fund core services of government.