Tuesday, January 11, 2011
It’s an ‘idea whose time has come in Virginia’
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell hopes to see legislation this year that would give governors the ability to run for a consecutive term. He himself would not benefit from such a change, but it would pave the way for future governors. The Virginia constitution limits the Commonwealth’s governors to one term. They must step down after their first four-year term and are only eligible to run again four years after leaving office. Virginia is the only state in the country that restricts its governors from succeeding themselves. In order to change the constitution, legislation would have to be passed by a majority of the state House and Senate; it would then have to pass by a majority again the following year, in order to make it to a November ballot…
Federal health reform would cost Virginia $2 billion, McDonnell says.
Gov. Bob McDonnell still opposes the individual mandate provision of the 2010 health care reform law, and he wants the state to win its case when its challenge is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled unconstitutional the portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that all U.S. citizens have health insurance by 2014. "This suit is a lot more than health care," McDonnell (R) said in an interview with Patch editors. "This is about what did the founders mean in the United States Constitution. Because if the federal government can say 'all of the citizens of Virginia must buy a good or service and if you don't then we can fine you,' I think there are very little left to the limits …
State still awaiting federal approval for state to take on greater role in immigration enforcement.
Gov. Bob McDonnell said he wants local law enforcement agents trained under a federal program that deputizes them to act as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to investigate criminal acts related to illegal immigration. "Compared to some other states, Virginia has some pretty tough laws for illegal immigration," McDonnell (R) said in an interview with Patch editors. The federal program is called 287(g), and it calls for local law enforcement to operate with ICE under a memorandum of agreement. Currently, the Herndon, Loudoun, Manassas and Prince William County police departments have adopted such a memorandums of agreement. In Prince William County, officers check the immigration status of any person held in physical custody. …
Monday, January 10, 2011
Bipartisan commission is headed by an independent chairman
Gov. Bob McDonnell signed an executive order today to create the Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting in an effort to aid open communication in the redistricting process. This commission is made up of 11 members, equal Republicans and Democracts, two former judges – one former federal judge elected by a Republican president and one former state judge initially elect by a Democratic-led legislature – and one independent chairman. Although the House and Senate make the final plans for redistricting, this new commission will create and review the proposed plans to then make a recommendation to the General Assembly. Other members of the commission are from business, former government service and academia backgrounds, …
Governor hopes to make college more attainable.
Though Virginia has schools that are ranked among the best in the country, Gov. Bob McDonnell doesn't want the state to become complacent. “We’ve overall got good schools, but I tell you we’re really concerned about how we’re doing in both our K-12 system and our colleges compared to other nations,” McDonnell (R) said in an interview Friday with Patch editors. “We cannot get complacent in America. There are some countries in Asia and other developing countries that are really coming on in the quality of their schools [and] the work ethic of their students.” To improve the commonwealth's schools, McDonnell has proposed a pilot program for merit pay for teachers and he plans to create public charter schools, virtual schools and college …
Other transportation plans include $4 billion in road improvements.
The 23-mile extension of existing Metro system that is under way to serve East Falls Church, Reston, Tysons Corner, Ashburn and Herndon may be a bit over budget, Gov. Bob McDonnell said Friday. “We feel pretty good about the Phase I being completed on time in 2013 and reasonably consistent with original budget figures,” McDonnell (R) said. “I am always concerned in construction projects about overruns and delays.” In total, the project will include 11 new stations for the Dulles Corridor. "Some initial numbers we have seen – keep in mind that this project is managed by MWAA [Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority] – indicate that it might be more expensive than originally planned to be able to build the second phase,” McDonnell said…
Votes needed to pass plan for transportation project funding
If Gov. Bob McDonnell has his way, you'll soon be able to buy your groceries and your hard liquor in the same place. In his second year in office, McDonnell continues to pursue his plan to privatize the 332 government-owned Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) stores in Virginia. "Government's supposed to do a lot of things well, but selling Grey Goose and Jack Daniels is not one of them," McDonnell said in an interview with Patch on Friday in Richmond. His plan would end the government monopoly on selling hard liquor, selling off the Commonwealth's ABC stores in the process. Instead, up to 800 privately owned stores would be licensed by the state to sell liquor. "It makes perfect sense from a consumer standpoint," McDonnell said. "I don't …
Northern Virginia topics at the forefront of many 2011 legislation plans
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) is beginning his second year at Virginia’s governor and has an aggressive plan laid out for this year’s legislative session. McDonnell sat down to speak with a few Patch editors in Richmond on Friday, less than a week before Virginia General Assembly gavels into session on Wednesday. There were many topics to talk about, including transportation, education, health care, the cost of college, gas taxes, illegal immigration, redistricting and much more. As a region, Northern Virginia has experienced rapid growth, and along the way, growing pains. McDonnell answered Patch’s questions with both the Commonwealth and our individual region in mind. Northern Virginia’s explosive growth and prosperity has not come …
Andrew Eves
12:05 am on Thursday, January 13, 2011
I agree no thank you. The commonwealth has done quite well without this headache on the citizens of the commonwealth. more ›