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Things are extremely busy in Richmond these days as we continue to move legislation through the process. Given that this is a short session, things are compacted into a much shorter period of time. Last year in my first session, which was a long session, I had the time to meet with constituents and groups on a regular basis. This year, because the session is so compacted, I find myself in committee meetings or on the floor of the Senate almost all of the hours during the day.
As things continue to go forward, I was pleased this week that my Senate Bill 910 passed the Senate. This bill is a reform measure on what we call robo-calls. Many of you know that there are computerized mechanisms which can dial fifty to five hundred people at a time. When you answer you either don’t get anything or you would get a recorded message. The most aggravating thing about this is it always happens at dinner time. Senate Bill 910 was introduced to stop this. It passed out of the Senate with almost unanimous support. This seems to me that people should not have to be subjected to this sort of thing. As we all know, with computer technology, they can bombard us with these calls whether we want them or not.
Second, I co-sponsored Senate Bill 1336 which is the Broadband Advisory Council. As you know, I was appointed to the Governor’s Broadband Advisory Council when I was first elected and that council came to an end. We, therefore, started this new council to continue to help us get broadband into our rural areas. That bill passed the full Senate as well.
Also, I co-sponsored Senate Bill 1087 with Senator John Miller of Hampton. This bill adds a couple extra seats to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission Board. Our watermen in this jurisdiction have long been subjected to the policies and regulations that are adopted by the V.M.R.C. Board. Senator Miller and I have had lengthy discussions with the waterman over the past year and, as a result, we determined that they needed a stronger voice on the board. As you know, our watermen are good, hardworking, honest people and they are affected by the regulations that V.M.R.C. passes. It only stands to reason that they should have a voice on that board. We were pleased that this measure passed the full Senate this week as well.
Finally, I know that many of you have seen the articles regarding Virginia’s expenses between $3,000,000 and $5,000,000 on the Presidential inauguration. While I understand that Virginia may have an obligation to foot the bill for some of the security measures that are necessary for the inauguration. I do not believe that Virginia should have to spend a million dollars on bussing people to the inauguration. The Governor has said that he had the authority to do this and spent this money out of certain funds he had control over. Whether you are a democrat or a republican, this to me seems plainly wrong. Our police forces are being cut. Our schools are being cut. Our local governments are being cut. Our healthcare, Medicare, and everything else you can think of is being cut, but yet we can spend millions of dollars on this with a million dollars going to bus people to the inauguration. I find this to be plainly wrong and looking at ways to try to correct this.
As always, I appreciate the opportunity you have given me to serve you in the State Senate. If I can be of any service, I can be reached at my senate office, 804-698-7528, P. O. Box 396, Richmond, Virginia 23218 or my district office, 804-493-8892, P. O. Box 1146, Montross, Virginia 22520, or by email at
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