We are now in the heart of the 2012 General Assembly Session. Between subcommittee and committee meetings to House floor sessions, we are working hard considering bills filed by our colleagues and advancing legislation we have introduced. It sometimes makes for a breakneck pace, and it can occasionally be challenging just to keep on track.

I would like to thank everyone who answered last week’s poll question on Sunday hunting. The results showed that thirty-five percent of respondents support keeping the Sunday hunting ban in place while twenty-three percent support allowing Sunday hunting on private property only, and forty-two percent support allowing Sunday hunting on both public and private land. Interestingly enough, I asked this same question during my telephone town hall, and sixty-six percent supported keeping the Sunday hunting ban in place while twenty-two percent support allow Sunday hunting on private property only, and twelve percent support allowing Sunday hunting on both public and private property.

This week’s question is on voluntary party registration. Please click here to tell me where you stand on voluntary party registration. I look forward to finding out where everyone stands on this issue.

As a final reminder, January 31st is the last day my 2012 Legislative Survey will be available. You can take my survey at www.kirkcox.com/survey.

Improving Care for Those with Intellectual Disabilities

This week, Virginia took a big step forward to improve care for some of our most vulnerable citizens, those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

On Thursday, Governor McDonnell announced that Virginia will move forward with the transition to community-based care by adding 4,710 new Intellectual Disability (ID) waiver slots and closing four of the five training centers around the state. An ID waiver funds services to help individuals with an intellectual disability remain in the community and avoid institutional care. This is long-overdue news for many families across the Commonwealth who are waiting for an ID waiver.

Since 2002, the General Assembly has increased the number of ID waiver slots by about 58 percent, from about 5,386 slots to 8,467 slots currently. At the request of Governor McDonnell, I sponsored legislation last year that invested $30 million into a trust fund to begin the process of transitioning those with intellectual disabilities from institutional care to community-based care.

House Republicans Highlight Education Reform

House Republicans, working with Governor McDonnell, are committed to giving every child in the Commonwealth the opportunity to receive a top-quality education. On Monday, I led off a House Republican Caucus press conference where we highlighted our K-12 education reforms designed to improve education in Virginia. One reform permits businesses to sponsor educational improvement scholarships for lower income children – particularly those in underserved areas of the Commonwealth. Another reform bill allows any institution of higher education in Virginia to operate a college partnership laboratory school. These and other announced reforms, along with Governor McDonnell’s proposed investment of an additional $492 million in our schools, will give our teachers the additional resources and tools needed to provide the top-quality education our children deserve and ensure the solvency of the teacher retirement fund.

Continuing on the topic of education, I met with a number of presidents from our colleges and universities this week, including Richard Bland College, George Mason University, Virginia Tech, Radford University, Old Dominion University, James Madison University, William & Mary University, University of Virginia, Longwood University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Military Institute. My conversations with the presidents focused on the Top Jobs Higher Education reform legislation from last year’s Session and Governor McDonnell’s additional $200 million investment in higher education. Last fall, Virginia colleges and universities were able to admit 5,800 additional in-state students because of the legislation. The college presidents are strong supporters of the additional investments in their universities. The additional investments supports the Governor’s objective of increasing access to our colleges and universities at an affordable cost for our families.

Weekly Visitors

I always do my best to meet with constituents who take the time out of their busy schedules to make the trip up to Richmond. It was great to meet with many constituent groups visiting the Capitol over the past week including the Chesterfield Farm Bureau representatives led by their president Howard Nester, a number of teachers representing the Virginia Education Association, Dr. Sam Galstan along with a group of dentists, and members of the Virginia Credit Union wearing their signature red scarves.

Also this week, I was proud to be the host for the Military Officers Association of America’s (MOAA) “Storming the Hill” day on Monday, January 23. This is the fifteenth year that I have hosted their statewide leadership visit to the General Assembly. There were more than fifty leaders from around the state at this year’s event. They not only visited their delegates and senators in support of their legislative objectives, but senior leaders from the administration and the legislature exchanged views with the entire group. MOAA members also visited the Senate and House Galleries, and I was privileged to introduce the MOAA statewide leadership on the floor of the House of Delegates.

Unfortunately, I am not able to meet with every constituent and am sorry I missed the Humane Society of the United States/ASPCA in its first official lobby day at the General Assembly. Visiting in this group was Yvonne Royster, who was the driving force behind a bill I introduced in 2009 to require a bittering agent in anti-freeze to prevent children and animals from being harmed by ingesting the previous sweet substance. Yvonne showed what a difference a private citizen can make – she testified and garnered co-patrons and we were able to pass this important bill after several years of effort.

In Closing

As we are now in Session, my General Assembly office is open and can be reached by phone at 698-1066 or by email at DelKCox@house.virginia.gov. If my staff or I can be of service to you, please don’t hesitate to contact me. If you make the trip up to the Capitol, please stop by my office in Room 948 on the 9th Floor of the General Assembly Building.

Thank you for the privilege of serving as your Delegate.

Regards,

Kirk

Share/Bookmark