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The Rust Report
 
Posted: February 27, 2009
Greetings!
 
If everything goes according to schedule tomorrow, the House of Delegates will adjourn sine die and the 2009 regular session of the General Assembly will be over.  Many of my colleagues agree this has been a particularly fast session.  The 15 bill limit rule in the House, which was imposed this year, has allowed us to take a closer look at the bills which we are voting on, but of course, we have seen slightly less legislation than in past sessions.  In the 45 day session, 2558 pieces of legislation were considered.  This session was also more transparent as votes were recorded in subcommittee and constituents could watch each day's sessions via the internet.  With all of the bills we have considered, the two topics that are now dominating our attention, and rightly so, are the state budget and the American Economic Stimulus and Recovery Act.
 
STATE BUDGET
 
The final details of the budget are still being worked out by the House and Senate budget conferees, and tomorrow I will see and vote on a final version of the budget.  I will be happy to report on the implications and my final analysis of the budget in both a future Rust Report and in my annual end of session summary letter.
 
STIMULUS
 
Our information on the Stimulus package and its implications to the state are constantly changing, but I would like to share what I know at this time. Virginia will receive about $4.5 Billion over two years.  Roughly about $2.2 Billion of that money will go to education to restore the state fiscal stabilization fund, with about $1 Billion going to k-12 education and about $200 Million going to Higher education.  An additional $203 Million will go to Title 1 funding with $295 Million going to special education.  Virginia will receive about $1.4 Billion which will go to Medicaid.  In the area of transportation, $699 Million will go to highways, $137 Million will go for transit, and $12 Million will go to fixed guideways.  Other areas for funding will include: rehabilitation services, health and human services, social services, housing and energy programs, unemployment and training programs, clean water funding, and public safety.  Many of these funds will have conditions attached to them which will have to be reviewed carefully.  Generally, it will be our position to use these funds for onetime expenses and not for continuing or new programs since the federal funds will cease in two years.  Again, I will continue to keep you updated on these figures as more information becomes available.
 
MY LEGISLATION
 
This week, I had just two bills left to get through committee.  One bill, HB 2152,  passed committee and was voted on in the Senate without much difficulty.  The other measure was one that many of you have written me to express your support.  HB 2021 was brought to me at the request of the Towns of Herndon and Vienna.  The bill stated that when an individual was pulled over for the second time without ever having an operator's license, the vehicle being driven would be impounded.  (The bill was for those who had never had a license; it was not applicable to those who simply did not have the license present.)  The automobile would be impounded for up to 30 days or until the driver produced a valid operator's license.  The Mayor of Herndon, the town attorney, the police chief, and I all worked diligently on this bill because we knew it would make our state safer as about 60,000 citations are issued for this violation annually.  In addition the Virginia Municipal League and the State Association of Chiefs of Police supported the bill.  The measure passed the House of Delegates 88-9.  When the bill was sent to the Senate it was assigned to the Courts of Justice Committee.  On the final day the committee met, the chairman put the bill in a special sub-committee consisting of only two Senators.  I, along with the mayor argued for the bill for about 45 minutes.  Finally, one Senator moved to report and the chairman stated he did not feel comfortable doing so, so the bill was left in committee.  I think the inaction of this committee was a mistake, as the bill would have certainly helped make the Commonwealth's roads safer as about 1 in 5 off all fatal accidents are caused by unlicensed operators.
 
At the conclusion of the session, I am pleased to report that the followings bills I patroned passed both houses:  1724, 1725, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2150, and 2152.  The following bills that I co-patroned have all passed both houses: 1599, 1662, 1693, 1694, 1707, 1712, 1727, 1732, 1782, 1792, 1805, 1828, 1877, 1938, 1943, 2002, 2024, 2037, 2039, 2044, 2108, 2214, 2268, 2322, 2371, 2423, 2428, 2473, 2474, 2550, 2575, 2576, and 2577.   And House Bill 2654, which I drafted and patroned is now a study.  Please visit http://legis.virginia.gov/ to review any of the mentioned legislation.
 
TELEPHONE TOWN HALL
 
I recently held a telephone town hall meeting, and I hope that you were able to participate.  I enjoyed the opportunity to update everyone on the major issues before the General Assembly, to highlight my committee assignments, to discuss some of the bills I am sponsoring, and to take your questions.  It was interesting to me that many of the questions and comments concerned the federal stimulus package.  Because I know so many of you are interested in this, I will be sure to write more about it in future reports.  If you did not get a chance to share your thoughts or questions during the telephone town hall, or did not leave a message at its conclusion, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at 703-437-9400 or Trust@TomRust.org.
 
It has been a great honor to serve you again this session in the House of Delegates.

Warm regards,
 
Tom Rust
 
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