Legislators in Manassas, Virginia - Essay Example

Chris Petersen, one of Virginia's most able legislators, was a patron of the Senate bill that repealed abusive driver fees. Chris Petersen had the opportunity to write the final version of the bill that had been passed. His next legislative goal is Petersen's Clean Energy Future Act, which sets benchmarks for increasing alternative energy usage statewide, reducing current usage and creating a fund for energy research and development. In addition, Petersen supports the Dulles rail project, exhorting his colleagues to craft a new strategy to accomplish it. Petersen has been one of the youngest members of the Fairfax City Council, House of Delegates and now the Senate. He knows he has to work on his patience. He stated that he tends to be one of those people who get very passionate about issues, and he is not afraid to stand up and speak. Senator Mark Herring led the vote on the transportation bill.. Herring stated that the reason why he had voted against the original transportation package because it shifted most of the responsibility off of the state legislature and onto the local governments. He thought that the original bill is unworkable. Herring did support the transportation plan brought back by Governor Timothy Kaine (D), even though he admits it was not a perfect package. He did not regret that vote because he thought that it was the right thing to do. Serving as the Leesburg District supervisor beginning in 1999 gave Herring a unique perspective on the decisions he made as a part of the General Assembly. He stated further that the local government is really a prerequisite for serving in the General Assembly. Herring ran on a platform of focusing on the three issues: transportation, education and managed growth. Sandy Sullivan, president of the Loudoun Education Association, who endorsed Herring this year, worked on Herring's campaign two years ago. Herring got funding for the projects on his list and delivering results to the citizens.Herring vowed that he will focus not only on finding funding for new projects, but ensuring that the money already allocated for specific roads stays there. Herring said illegal immigration has been a concern of some citizens. Herring said he has worked on two pieces of legislation that would help address the issue of illegal immigration and public safety. The first would require courts to check citizenship status of everyone arrested for a felony and withhold bail from those in the country illegally. He reasoned that if a felon is an illegal immigrant, then he is a flight risk. The second measure would make consequences tougher for businesses that are not following the employment laws. Herring believes in a good and quality education for the young people of Virginia. He also wants to make sure that the local schools are retaining quality teachers year after year. Herring worked on legislation that will give grants to Virginians who graduated from a local community college and want to transfer to a Virginia university. Herring's dedication to education is total. The Loudoun Education Association has acknowledged his support. His motivation for becoming a legislator was the same as his motivation for becoming a lawyer. He said that helping people solve their problems motivates him as a legislator. Senator Herring fought hard to repeal the abusive driver fees. Then he therefore, co-sponsored Senate Bill 1. Senate Bill 1 is a bill which would not only repeal the abusive driver fees but it would also refund with interest any fees that drivers have already paid. The hated abusive driver fees were the wrong approach to trying to solve the transportation problems of Virginia. The consequent impact studies on the abusive driver fees have shown they have not been effective at deterring bad driving behavior. Herring aims to continue to work with other members to try to find ways to improve the transportation funding package. To help restore the public trust in the land use process, he introduced a package of local government ethics reform. These measures would require developers to disclose the names of everyone who directly benefit from a rezoning or other land use application and require work supervisors to publicly disclose any business interests or campaign contributions from a developer immediately before the vote. The package would require supervisors to disclose all real estate interests they have, wherever located, and disclose the names of any co-owners of that property. The measures would also require supervisors file campaign finance reports electronically so the public would have almost immediate access to information. The package would prohibit a supervisor from accepting employment for one year after leaving office with any person or business which was a party to a transaction that the supervisor voted on or participated in an official capacity. Senator Charles Colgan has these committee assignments: Commerce and Labor, finance, General Laws and Technology and Rules. He was chief patron of the motor vehicle insurance license tax: revenue dedicated to mass transit. The bill provides for the Insurance license tax revenue.The insurance license tax revenue dedicates an amount equal to the difference between one-third of the estimated revenue to be collected for all insurance license tax for each fiscal year and the estimated revenue from the motor vehicle insurance license tax. The bill also stipulates increases in the motor vehicle insurance license tax from two and one-fourth percent to four and one-half percent. According to his district office, Senator Charles Colgan had secured funding for multiple road projects in Virginia: the Route 234 Bypass, the four-lane Route 234 from Manassas to Route 1 and the widening of the I-66 from four to eight lanes between Route 234 businessand the 234 Bypass. Due to his work, he received the 2005 Legislatorof the Year Award from the Mass TransitAssociation for budget work earmarking US $75 million dollars for transit. The building of new roadsinPrince William County and the development of the infrastructure helped the residents to spend more timewith their families and less time stuck in traffic. Senator Colgan also addresses the needs of the elderly in Virginia. He continues to fight for less expensive prescription drug care options, the senior state tax deduction is safe and he continues to protect the exemption that safeguards Social Securityfromincome taxes in Virginia. He also wants to expand the availability of community-based independentAdult living centers. Senator Colgan continued to access money for the educational system of Virginia. He firmly affirms that education is an investment in our future and the future of our children. He wants the salaries of the teachers to be brought up to the national average or above. He got funding for lower class sizes Futhermore, he ensured the expansion of tertiary education in Virginia. Senator Colgan secured the funding to build the George Mason UniversityPrince William Campus and will expand the campus. Senator Colgan got the investments to to double thesizeoftheManassasand Woodbridge Campus of the NorthernVirginia Community College. The creation of GMU Prince William as well as the expansion of Northern VirginiaCommunityCollege provided new jobs and attracted new high techindustry to PrinceWilliamCounty. Senator Colgan helped the veterans to have their Veterans Care Centers and he helpsveterans to address medical and benefit concerns. References: Jacobson, Erika. "33rd Senate: Herring Hopes to Build On Successes." (October 18, 2007.) Available at URL: http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asparticle=89034&paper=67&cat=197 "A Snapshot of Chris Petersen." The Fairfax Chronicle. February 29, 2008. Available at URL: http://www.chroniclenewspapers.com. Virginia State Assembly- List of Legislators. Available at URL: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe061+sum+SB725 . Colgan for Senate. Available at URL: http://colganforsenate.org/page_id=11. Read More