Local Connection
April 2010

Richmond Briefing

Veto Session
On Wednesday, lawmakers returned to Richmond to consider amendments proposed by Governor McDonnell to the state's two-year spending plan and legislation passed during the 60-day session earlier this year. While the General Assembly approved more than 90% of the Governor's 200+ amendments, a few contentious issues, like restrictions on state funding for abortion services and proposed cuts to public broadcasting, led to prolonged bouts of spirited debate. 

On a positive note, the Governor was able to secure an additional $6 million for the Governor's Opportunity Fund in year two of the budget. In addition, lawmakers approved an amendment that would restore 2/3 of the Section 199 Domestic Production Deduction (DPD), an important tax deduction that makes domestic companies more competitive in the global economy. Originally, this major tax policy change was imbedded in the biennial budget. Had the Governor not amended this budgetary maneuver, Virginia's reputation for sound fiscal management and transparency would have been damaged.  

Finally, the Governor tweaked legislative language that would have permanently eliminated the 'dealer discounts,' a tax policy implemented in the 1960s that provides a small reimbursement to retailers for the costs they incur while acting as tax collection agents for the state. The House and Senate agreed to suspend rather than eliminate the dealer discounts. 

Special Elections - House of Delegates
Governor McDonnell recently announced that special elections to fill two vacant seats in the House of Delegates will occur on Tuesday, June 15th.  Former Delegate Sam Nixon recently left his 27th House district seat to head the beleaguered Virginia Information Technologies Agency.  So far, Chesterfield Optometrist Roxan Robinson is the only officially declared candidate, though many are expected to run in this solidly Republican district. In the 26th House district, which includes the City of Harrisonburg and northern parts of Rockingham County, voters will pick choose a replacement for Delegate Matt Lohr who was recently appointed as Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The filing deadline for both seats is Friday, May 14th.
See more here. 

Audits Galore for VDOT 
On Monday, Governor McDonnell announced a series of independent audits of the Virginia Department of Transportation launched to identify ways to improve agency performance and transparency. According to the Governor's news release, the transportation reviews underway include:

• HB42 and SB201, which commission the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to conduct a review of the commonwealth's planning and programming activities.
• An independent performance audit of operations and maintenance practices at VDOT to be conducted by Cherry, Bekaert and Holland, LLP.
• A review of research programs administered by the Virginia Transportation Research Council to be conducted by the Turner Fairbanks Highway Research Center at the Federal Highway Administration.
• A program assessment of the Virginia Public-Private Transportation Act program to develop standardized goals, processes, priorities and program delivery tools for these public-private projects. This review will be conducted by KPMG Corporate Finance, LLC.  

The underlying goal of these audits may be to lay the groundwork for a special session on transportation, an issue that has been mired in partisan gridlock for the several years.  The Roanoke Regional Chamber and several other business organizations throughout the Commonwealth eagerly await any substantive steps that will lead to improving Virginia's aging transportation network.  

On a related note, VDOT will complete a final round of layoffs under their restructuring program this week. With approximately 360 employees leaving the agency on Saturday, VDOT will have completed its mandated goal of reducing its staff by 1,000 full-time and 450 part-time employees.  

Debate over Stormwater Regs Continues
During the 2010 session,  a compromise was brokered that would delay the implementation of new statewide stormwater regulations (see HB1220 and SB395). Two Republican lawmakers are now challenging the accuracy of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) statistic upon which the new regulations will largely be based. Armed with the analysis from Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc, a private firm located in Prince William County, Delegate Tim Hugo (R-Fairfax) and Senator Ryan McDougle (R-Hanover) claim that a widely cited EPA statistic about the growth of impervious surfaces in six Chesapeake Bay watershed states is inaccurate. In a letter to the Governor, Hugo and McDougle request that the Governor explore why the EPA continues to use faulty data and urge the Governor to insist that all state agencies and the EPA use sound science, the favorite mantra of doubting thomases everywhere, as the basis for new statewide storm water regulations. See more here.

Offshore Drilling and the Feds
A few weeks ago Governor McDonnell signed legislation (HB756) that would allow Virginia to become the first state on the East coast to collect future royalties from offshore oil and natural gas resources. A proposed sale of oil and natural leases in a tract 50 miles off of the Virginia coast could begin as early as 2012. However, a major hurdle must be overcome at the federal level before Virginia would reap any benefit from these offshore resources. Currently, there is no revenue sharing agreement between Virginia and the federal government. Four coastal states do share 37.5 % of revenues from drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the Senate last year soundly defeated a revenue sharing proposal for other coastal states. According to a recent Politico article, three interior- state Democrats who also chair important Senate committees remain opposed to a new revenue sharing agreement. However, should a provision for revenue sharing be included a broader Senate climate bill that is currently gaining momentum, the prospects for a compromise on revenue sharing improve considerably. 

Stat of the Month: 7.4% See more here. 

Local Government Briefing

Spring 2010 Election Overview

Roanoke City Council Election - May 4th
As has been widely reported, there is a crowded and diverse field of seven candidates seeking three Roanoke City Council seats. Below is a list of candidates and hyper-links to their campaign websites:

Democrats

Ray Ferris

Bill Bespitch

David Trinkle* 

*Incumbent

Republicans
Bob Craig

Mike Powell
Tony Walker

Independent
Carl Cooper (website unavailable)

For more on this important election, see here and here. 

Salem City Council Elections - May 4th
Randy Foley*

John Givens*(website unavailable)

Wayne Adkins

*Incumbent

Localities Prepare Budgets

City of Roanoke

Faced with significant declines in both local and state revenue sources, the City of Roanoke's finance team defended its FY2010-2011 budget plan on Monday to an inquisitive City Council . In addition to the recently approved two percent increase in the City's meals tax which is projected to generate $4.3 million for education, the $253 million plus budget also includes several fee adjustments (increases) and reductions to services and programs. The Director of Finance, Ann Shawver, also called for a $1.4 million contingency to mitigate future budget uncertainty.  To review the City's FY2010-2011 recommended budget, click here. 

The budget process moving forward includes:

Public Hearing on May 3 at 6:00 PM

Budget Study on May 6th and May 7th (if needed) 

Budget Adoption on May 10th at 2:00PM. 

Roanoke County
Budget negotiations also continue in Roanoke County as the Board of Supervisors inches towards a final vote on their FY2010-2011 budget. Despite the difficult economic climate and flat or declining revenues, the County produced a balanced budget without a tax increase, significant disruptions to citizen services, or major layoffs of personnel. For more information on Roanoke County's budget, click here. 

The County has released the following budget schedule:

Public Hearing on April 27th

First Reading on May 11th

Second Reading on May 25th

Budget Adoption on May 25th

  Quality of Life Projects Briefing

One of the Chamber's priorities is to monitor the development of quality of life projects in our region.  Enhancing our region's considerable amenities is vital to attracting and retaining young workers, fresh capital, and innovative thinking. Below is a list of recent developments:

Green Ridge Recreation Center-Beating Projections
Despite some early acrimony over the merits of this project, growth at Roanoke County's $30+ million, 76, 000 sq. ft. Green Ridge Recreation Center has far outpaced  expectations. According to The Roanoke Times, the Center has around  6,300 members and average daily attendance approaches 1,000. Because of this initial success, the County's director of parks, recreation, and tourism, Pete Haislip, estimates that there will be enough revenue to cover next year's operating expenses.  For more information, click here. BTW, the outdoor leisure pool, Splash Valley, is slated to open May 31st. 

Date to Keep an Eye On - June 13th

As the days get longer, a key deadline on the future of Explore Park looms on the horizon. The Virginia Recreation Facilities Authority (VRFA) must decide by June 13th whether to extend, alter, or terminate a lease held by a Florida developer Larry Vander Maten who developed plans to build a large-scale resort project on the 1,100 acre property. However, because of the tight credit market, Vander Maten has not been able to secure financing to make his vision a reality. Over the last several months, a local consortium has been winnowing down a list of potential recreational, cultural, and educational opportunities for consideration by the VRFA.

Position: The Chamber supports development of the Explore Park site to enhance the region's growing reputation as a destination for outdoor amenities.  

A comprehensive list of these projects can be found on the Chamber's website.  

Do you have ideas on projects you'd like for us to follow? Send us an e-mail or write a comment on the Chamber's blog on local and state public policy issues. RSS feeds are available for both the quality of life projects page and the legislative blog. 

If you have questions about any of the blog features on the Chamber's Web site, please contact Tori Williams at twilliams@roanokechamber.org

Upcoming Events

Breakfast with Congressman Bob Goodlatte, Tuesday, May 11th, 2010, 7:30 to 8:00AM, Holiday Inn Tanglewood. For more information, click here.

Internship Workshop for Employers, May 25th, 8:30 to 11:30AM, Roanoke College. For more information, click here. 

Save-the-Date: Economic Summit VII, June 8, 2010, 8:00 AM - Noon, The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. 

For a list of more Chamber events, click here and to access the Chamber's Community Calendar, click here.

If you have problems reading this newsletter, you will find a copy on  our website: www.roanokechamber.org

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