Progress-Index: Delegates see budget, jobs, transparency as key issues
BY MASON BROWN (CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE)
RICHMOND – As the General Assembly enters the third week of its 2012 session, the delegates representing the Tri-Cities – Kirk Cox of Colonial Heights, Rosalyn Dance of Petersburg and Riley Ingram of Hopewell – took time to discuss their legislative goals.
Cox, the Republican majority leader in the House of Delegates, said his major focus is simple: passing a state budget for the next two years. But he has other goals, such as ensuring adequate funding for programs such as the Virginia Retirement System.
“If every state employee wanted to retire today, which wouldn’t happen, we would only be able to pay 70 percent of them,” Cox said. “If every teacher wanted to retire, we would only be able to pay 65 percent. We have got to bring those numbers up.”
During the 60-day session, Dance, a Democrat, hopes to promote employment opportunities.
“One thing is certain,” Dance said. “It’s not about the party politics with these issues; it’s about the business communities.”
Ingram, a Republican who has served in the House for two decades, wants to maintain government transparency. He opposes bills that would remove government notices from newspapers.
“I rely on newspapers for foreclosures, city and county zoning ordinances, among other things,” Ingram said. “I feel people need to know and we need to keep the government as open as possible.”
Cox: Craft a Budget, Help Military
Cox said he hopes Virginia will be able to set aside $600 million in its rainy day fund by 2014. Rainy day funds are a type of savings account governments can tap for emergencies.
Cox also wants to eliminate what he sees as budget gimmicks, such as the accelerated sales tax, a requirement that many businesses pre-pay their July sales tax in June to boost the state’s year-end revenue. And he wants to limit new state programs.
Cox said the state’s Federal Action Contingency Trust fund also will be used to offset cuts from the federal government. Gov. Bob McDonnell has proposed adding $20 million to this fund.
“You don’t want to create new programs that don’t make any sense,” Cox said. “We are going to support the FACT fund and really push for that rainy day fund.”
