The legislature convened on January 13 for the 2010 General Assembly session. In those 60 days, we passed 871 bills and 727 resolutions. Now that I have had some time to settle back into life in Bath County and catch up on legal work, I wanted to share my thoughts on the session with you.

Update on the State Budget

State budget cuts necessary programs and shuns our responsibilities

The most critical piece of legislation considered during the session was the budget bill. In December, Governor Kaine produced a budget, which was the starting point for the legislature's work. The introduced budget contained over $2 billion in cuts. Those cuts were mitigated by Governor Kaine's proposal to institute a one percent increase in the income tax while eliminating the personal property tax. Needless to say, his proposal was dead in the water. So the legislature was faced with closing a $4.5 billion hole in our budget.

On March 14 we adopted a balanced budget teemed with painful cuts and compromises. Given the poor condition of the economy, the lack of political will to raise new revenue, and the insistence by the House and the Governor that any temporary abatement of the car tax reimbursement would constitute a tax increase, our choices to balance the budget were limited. During the final days of session, the budget conferees developed a compromise budget that includes $95 million in fee increases to lessen the blow to education and public safety. The Senate drew a line in the sand when it came to our schools and worked hard to minimize those cuts. Nonetheless, many school divisions are being forced to make tough decisions about staffing levels and class sizes.

Some of the highlights from the final budget are:

• Cuts K-12 education by an additional $253 million, which was far less than the $685 million cuts proposed by the House
• Maintains $950 million reimbursement to localities for car tax relief
• Eliminates a number of provisions in the introduced budget to cut provider rates, freeze community-based waiver slots, reduce respite care hours, and make eligibility requirements more stringent. Those funds, however, are contingent on our receipt of additional federal Medicaid dollars.
• Restores $98.8 million for our sheriffs and jails, $16.7 for our commonwealth's attorneys, and $22.3 million for localities with police departments in 2011
• Includes a bonus of up to 3 percent for state employees in fiscal year 2011 if funds are available
• Defers $620 million in payments to the Virginia Retirement System
• Reduces funding for the Tuition Assistance Grant program by $5 million each year
• Provides over $46 million in economic development incentives

You can find a summary of the amendments to the budget at the Senate Finance Committee's website: http://sfc.virginia.gov/.

Most notably, the budget does nothing for transportation. We opened our rest areas. We increased the speed limit to 70 miles per hour. But we did nothing for folks sitting in traffic in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. And we did nothing to repair deficient bridges throughout the Commonwealth. To make matters worse, we experienced record breaking snowfall that will cut into VDOTs already lean budget. We have heard rumors of a special session to deal with transportation, but the reality is plain to all who are willing to acknowledge it - we need a dedicated, steady stream of revenue to fix our crumbling transportation infrastructure.

If we are dedicated to growing our economy and to creating jobs, we are sending the wrong message. We are telling businesses we are willing to shutter schools and layoff teachers. We are telling businesses that our priorities are to open rest areas even if our roads are impassable because of congestion and neglect. We are telling businesses that discrimination against some people is okay.

The Virginia I know and love is a different Virginia.

Creigh's 2010 Legislation

16 bills introduced, 7 passed including new revenue to combat crimes against children

Because of the daunting task of passing a balanced budget, I chose to limit the number of bills I introduced this session. This year I sponsored 16 bills. Many of the ideas came from constituents and the local governments I represent. Although I will only highlight a few, you can access information about all of my bills here.

Funding for Alicia's Law

Personally, one of my highlights this session was the passage of SB 620 to increase court fees on misdemeanor and felony convictions to fund Virginia's Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) task forces. Each year we have to scrounge around for dollars to fund these vital programs, and I am pleased that my colleagues in the House and Senate passed the legislation. This bill will provide law enforcement the necessary resources to continue their work identifying and arresting internet predators.

Bipartisan Redistricting

Last week you probably received your 2010 census form. The mailing serves as a reminder that the legislature will be redrawing the district lines in 2011. As I have in the past, I introduced a bill to establish a bipartisan commission to draw the lines rather than allow a political party, be it Democratic or Republican, to run roughshod over the interests of the people. The bill passed the Senate unanimously only to die in an early morning subcommittee in the House. Despite campaign promises to the contrary, the Governor was silent. He failed to support my bill or any other bill to reform this process.

Green Energy/Green Jobs

Finally, I sponsored two bills to promote green energy and green jobs in the Commonwealth. The first bill sought to create a sales tax exemption for the sale of solar- and wind-powered electricity generators for residential use. We need to be leaders in the area of green energy and provide incentives for homeowners to invest in renewable energy sources. My bill passed out of the Senate but ultimately was defeated in the other chamber.

The second bill would have established the Clean Energy Manufacturing Incentive Grant to provide incentives to companies that manufacture or assemble renewable energy systems. My bill was incorporated into a similar bill and carried over for the year.

Response to Ken Cuccinelli's Letter

College campuses are no place for discrimination

Our attorney general injected his formal legal opinion into the discussion with his widely publicized letter to state colleges and universities. At a time when our focus must be on growing our economy and encouraging businesses to come to Virginia, this is not the message we need to be communicating to the public.We should stand firm against all discrimination and do so in a united fashion. In fact, the Senate passed legislation to codify these protections for state employees only to have the bill die in the House.

Along with Senator Mark Herring and Senator Ralph Northam , I wrote a letter to UVA's Cavalier Daily against Ken Cuccinelli's legally questionable letter to colleges and universities. Here is an excerpt:

Like all of you, we were shocked when Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told our colleges and universities they could not prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. Not only was the attorney general's advice legally questionable, but it sends the absolute wrong message about the atmosphere in Virginia. We have always known this to be a welcoming and respectful place, but our attorney general wants to make members of the LGBT community second-class citizens...

So where do we stand now? No matter what Attorney General Cuccinelli says, your schools should continue to be places that welcome the best and brightest from all over the world regardless of age, race, sexual orientation or any other characteristic. Our campuses are, and will continue to be, places where people of all backgrounds and ideologies engage in civil dialogue to produce well-rounded citizens that will be the workforce of tomorrow. (Sen. Creigh Deeds, Electronic mail, March 31, 2010)