Virginia Senate Republican Caucus

Born in Stuart, Virginia, October 15, 1964; educated at Central Virginia Community College and Lynchburg College; Vice President of Marketing and Sales & Board Member, Delta Star, Inc.; Member of Lynchburg City Council 1988-91. Member of House of Delegates: 1991-96. Member of Senate: 1996-.

Contact Information:

Mailing:
P.O. Box 480
Forest, VA 24551

Phone: (434) 385-1065
Fax: (434) 522-2452

Email:
snewman@senatornewman.com

Website:

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Today Virginia State Senator Steve Newman introduced a Senate Resolution asking the United States Department of Justice to deny the original transfer request by the Commonwealth of Virginia to send Jens Soering to his native country Germany. 

He has asked Senate members to give him unanimous consent to introduce the resolution, which the Senate granted. The language of the resolution opposes the decision by the Kaine Administration to release Jens Soering in to German custody and asks that Soering remain in the custody of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The entire draft of the resolution is attached. 

Senator Newman has also sent a letter to United States Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to deny the original transfer request and further state his support for the recent appeal by the Commonwealth that the application for Jens Soering be denied. 

In his letter to the U.S. Attorney General on Wednesday, January 27, 2010, Senator Newman stated: "The possibility of transferring Mr. Soering, who is currently serving a life sentence, to Germany where he is likely to receive parole in as little as two years is of serious concern to me and my constituents. It has opened up past wounds for those who lived through this tragedy, including the Haysom and Benedict families. 

What makes this turn of events even more troublesome is the fact that the administration did not consult with those involved in the original case, including the investigators or the victims' family before making the decision. Only after the decision had been made was the family informed. 

Mr. Louis P. Benedict, brother of Nancy Haysom, has said that he is "surprised, dumbfounded, and completely taken aback" to learn of Governor Kaine's decision. 

Jens Soering was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder in 1990, for the killing of Derek and Nancy Haysom in 1985. For these crimes he received two life sentences from the Bedford County Circuit Court. 

On January 15,2010, it was announced that former Governor Kaine sent a letter to United States Attorney General Eric Holder agreeing to the transfer of Jens Soering to a German prison. 

At the request of the Haysom and Benedict families and his local constituents, Senator Newman has asked the Virginia Attorney General and Governor Robert F. McDonnell to request that the application made by Governor Timothy M. Kaine be rescinded.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Area Legislators Focusing on Jobs – Staunton News Leader – Despite the need to cut billions from the state's budget, local legislators and Gov. Bob McDonnell say they are committed to investing funds to spur job creation.

• Senator Robert Hurt
  • Job Creation – Augusta Free Press – The first full week of the 2010 General Assembly here in Richmond has now concluded. The week began with the Gov. McDonnell’s first State of the Commonwealth address and the ended with committees getting fully underway in reviewing and taking action on individual legislation. In addition, because of the recent special elections of two new senators, Senate committee assignments were completed. My committee assignments have not changed, and I will continue to serve on the Courts of Justice committee, the General Laws committee, and the Rehabilitation and Social Services committees.
  • Governor Bob McDonnell unveils jobs & opportunities agenda – The Mind of Mike Blog – This is going to be a tough first year for Bob McDonnell. The budget is a complete disaster. Many hard decisions will have to be made, but it's good that jobs and economic development will be the first priority.  It is also good to see that greater emphasis will be placed on Southside Virginia economic development. Great comments by Danny Marshall and Robert Hurt starting at (18:55).

• Senator Steve Newman
  • Closing a Deadly Loophole – OneNewsNow.com – Virginia lawmakers are working on proposals to close a loophole in current law that purportedly let a mother get away with killing her newborn child.

• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Voter ID bill (Obenshain) voted down by state Senate Democrats – SWAC Girl Blog – A simple Voter Identification Bill (SB 134) proposed by Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) was voted down in committee by the Democrats.
  • Proposal would privatize state liquor stores – RichmondBizSense.com – It could be last call for Virginia’s state-owned liquor stores if a bill proposed by Sen. Mark Obenshain passes.
  • New VA Gov eyes retail spirits privatization, as NC tackles ABC problems – tradenewsonline.com – New Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is backing a proposal by state Senator Mark Obenshain that would curtail the state’s retail monopoly on spirits. Under Obenshain’s plan, Virginia would auction off licenses to sell spirits to grocery stores and other independent retailers and limit the role of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) department to regulation and enforcement of the beverage alcohol trade.

• Senator Fred Quayle
  • OLF Bill Tabled – Norfolk Virginian-Pilot – Legislation that would require the Navy to get General Assembly approval before it acquires property for a outlying landing field was grounded Tuesday by the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee.

• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Power Measure Dies in Committee – Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star – A Senate committee has killed Sen. Richard Stuart's bill to limit the profits power companies can make on energy conservation measures.
  • Sen. Stuart Stands Up for American Patriots – Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star – Sen. Stuart stands up for American patriots.  Hurrah for state Sen. Richard Stuart ["Bill may help flag fliers," Jan. 15].  (LTE)

• Senator William Wampler
  • Wampler, Kilgore Hold Telephone Town Hall – Bristol Herald Courier – Jobs, electric rates and a $4.5 million state budget shortfall were among the issues addressed in a telephone town hall meeting held by two Southwest Virginia legislators Tuesday.
  • BVU Bills Before General Assembly – Bristol Herald Courier – Virtually identical bills designed to establish a Bristol Virginia Utilities authority are moving through the General Assembly, as a lawsuit seeks to invalidate the plan.
  • McDonnell Plans to Shift Cash to Jobs Incentives – Washington Times – Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has written some of the job-creation plans he unveiled in a speech a week ago into legislation that a Republican, a Democrat and an independent will sponsor.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senators Steve Martin, Fred Quayle, and Jill Vogel
  • GOP Senators Target Health Care – pharmcistselink.com - State Senate Republicans fired their first shot against a federal health care overhaul Monday, getting a key committee's support for legislation declaring that Virginia residents cannot be forced to buy health insurance.

• Senator Harry Blevins
  • Seat Belt Bills Passed by Senate – The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot - The passionate advocacy of Chesapeake Republican Sen. Harry Blevins helped propel out of the Senate on Wednesday his bill to make non-use of seat belts a primary offense.

• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • CCCA’s future uncertain – Staunton News Leader - It's déjà vu for the scores of employees, patients and mental health advocates waiting to learn the fate of the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents.

• Senator Robert Hurt
  • NAACP head to meet with officials on inmate transfer issue – Danville Register Bee - The head of the Pittsylvania County branch of the NAACP will meet with officials from the Virginia Department of Corrections in Chatham next week to discuss the transfer of 1,000 prisoners from Pennsylvania to Green Rock Correctional Center outside Chatham.

• Senator Steve Newman
  • Newman Takes New Step to Block Soering Transfer – The Lynchburg News & Advance ­- Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, is asking the General Assembly to pass a resolution opposing the transfer of convicted murderer Jens Soering to a prison in his native Germany.
  • Committees Certify Bedford Judge – The Lynchburg News & Advance - After some consultation with Del. Lacey Putney and Sen. Steve Newman, two General Assembly committees certified Louis Harrison on Wednesday to be judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Bedford.
  • Panel Hears Testimony on Speed Limit Bill – The Roanoke Times - One small piece of Gov. Bob McDonnell's legislative program is advancing through the General Assembly -- one that will appeal to motorists in a hurry.

• Senator Tommy Norment
  • VA Senate passes bill strengthening seat-belt law – Washington Post “Get There” Blog - The Virginia Senate has passed a bill to allow police to pull over and ticket drivers for not wearing a seat belt.

• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Senate Committee Vote Kills Obenshain’s Voter ID Bill – whsv.com - On Wednesday, Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) questioned the partisan effort of the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections to act to ensure the continued integrity of the electoral process in Virginia.

• Senator Fred Quayle
  • Virginia may not want OLF, either – This Old State Blog - It's beginning to look as though legislators in the Commonwealth of Virginia may also take action to oppose the Navy's plans to put a practice jet landing field (the much-maligned Outlying Landing Field that many North Carolinians fought so hard in recent years) in the tidewater area of Virginia.
  • Va. Senate backs tougher seat belt law – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Senators also passed a key piece of legislation that could offer an alternative to localities desperate to raise additional revenues amid reduced funding from the state budget.

• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Sheriffs: Restore Cuts in Budget – The Free Lance-Star - Fewer sheriff's deputies in jails and courts, slower emergency response times, elimination of school drug programs, and limited response to traffic accidents could all be a reality under state budget cuts to law enforcement, sheriffs and police chiefs said yesterday.

• Senator Frank Wagner
  • Va. officials upset by report that feds will delay sale of offshore oil leases – The Virginian-Pilot - Some Virginia politicians reacted with dismay Wednesday to reports that the federal Department of the Interior plans to delay drilling off the commonwealth’s coastline for at least a year.

• Senator William Wampler
  • APCo Hit on Rates – Martinsville Bulletin - Some state legislators told the president of Appalachian Power Co. on Wednesday that if the company doesn’t voluntarily reduce the economic hardships caused by its rate increases, “we have no choice but to act,” according to Del. Ward Armstrong, the House minority leader.
  • Delegate Joe Johnson Says BVU Legislation “On Track” – Bristol Herald Courier - Legislation to create an independent Bristol Virginia Utilities authority is “on track” in the General Assembly, Delegate Joe Johnson said Wednesday.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. 

• Multiple Members
  • Students go on the “Road to Richmond” – William & Mary News - The day began in the cold, wee hours of a January morning outside the Sadler Center.
  • Chamber of Commerce members support business-friendly proposals – WHSV-TV – The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce made its presence known in Richmond Wednesday at the annual Virginia Chamber of Commerce “Chamber Day at the Capitol.”
  • Education secretary discusses charter schools, pre-k – Virginian-Pilot & Ledger-Star – Virginia's new secretary of education, Gerard Robinson, fielded questions from lawmakers Wednesday on pre-kindergarten programs, charter schools, and lengthening the school year, among other topics.
  • Lawmakers look to keep APCo rates in check – Lynchburg News & Advance - State lawmakers are looking into ways to keep Appalachian Power Co. rates in check.
  • Senate clears way for easier absentee voting – WY Daily – It would be easier to vote absentee in Virginia under a bill approved by the Senate.
• Sen. Harry Blevins
  • Seatbelt bill “clicks” with Senate – Gainesville Times – The Senate has passed a bill making failure to wear a seat belt a primary offense in Virginia.
• Sen. Emmett Hanger
  • Senate tax bill targets short-term rentals – Harrisonburg Daily News Record – A bill designed to allow counties to levy a transient occupancy tax on single-family homeowners who rent their homes or rooms for short periods of time passed the Senate on Thursday. Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, introduced the bill, which now goes to the House of Delegates.
• Sen. Robert Hurt
  • Hurt co-sponsors legislation to prevent U.S. government from interfering in state issues – Franklin News-Post - State Sen. Robert Hurt has co-sponsored two bills in the General Assembly that incorporate Tenth Amendment issues and are supported by Tea Party activists in Virginia.
  • Senator Robert Hurt’s weekly update – Martinsville Chronicle - The first full week of the 2010 General Assembly here in Richmond has now concluded.  The week began with the Governor McDonnell’s first State of the Commonwealth address and the ended with committees getting fully underway in reviewing and taking action on individual legislation.  In addition, because of the recent special elections of two new senators, Senate committee assignments were completed. 
• Sen. Ryan McDougle
  • Buckle up for new zero tolerance, zero discretion – Newport News Daily Press – Barry Fletcher had just purchased a '93 Chevy van and was on his way to get it inspected when he hit a routine traffic stop in Saluda in Middlesex County, just up the road from the courthouse.
• Sen. Steve Newman
  • Newman’s speed limit bill again ok’d by committee – Lynchburg News & Advance - Even a second trip through a Senate committee wasn’t enough to slow down a 70 mph speed-limit bill sponsored by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg.
  • Measure would oppose Soering transfer to Germany – Roanoke Times – The Virginia Senate could soon join Gov. Bob McDonnell in formally opposing the transfer of convicted double-murderer Jens Soering to a prison in his native Germany.
• Sen. Tommy Norment
  • Students try luck at lobbying – The Flat Hat – While most of the campus slumbered early Tuesday morning, a group of College of William and Mary students braved the cold and headed to Richmond to lobby Virginian politicians.
• Sen. Mark Obenshain
  • VA Conservative Caucus details agenda – Richmond Times-Dispatch – They call themselves the Virginia Conservative Caucus -- they're essentially Republicans in Republican clothing.
  • Conservative Caucus announces 2010 agenda – Rockbridge Weekly & Alleghany Journal – The Virginia Conservative Caucus, a group comprised of conservative legislators from the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, held a press conference this afternoon to announce their legislative agenda for the 2010 General Assembly session.  The Conservative Caucus, co-chaired by Delegate Ben Cline and Senator Mark Obenshain, approved an agenda Tuesday morning that outlines their position on priority legislation introduced this session.
  • Faith and Freedom: “In God We Trust” License Plates – Family Foundation Blog – Last year, pro-life Virginians won a tremendous victory when the General Assembly passed legislation creating “Choose Life” license plates. This year, there is opportunity to create  an “In God We Trust” license plate.
  • Budget rhetoric intensifies – Norfolk Virginian-Pilot – On the subject of Virginia's recession-racked budget, any bipartisan pretense has officially vanished.  Sen. Edward Houck, D-Spotsylvania, was the latest legislator to jump into the fray Thursday with a blistering speech on the Senate floor targeting Gov. Bob McDonnell's approach to reducing state spending.
• Sen. Fred Quayle
  • Hampton Roads lawmakers oppose tolls on 2 bridge-tunnels – Norfolk Virginian-Pilot – Most Hampton Roads lawmakers didn't take too kindly to the proposal from a Northern Virginia colleague to put tolls on two Hampton Roads bridge-tunnels.
  • Richmond’s detour over health care – Norfolk Virginian-Pilot - Congress is clearly capable of mucking up efforts to reform the country's health care system without assistance from state legislators in Virginia.
  • Put all options on the menu – Roanoke Times – Under a bill that passed the Virginia Senate this week, counties would be permitted to levy a meals tax in an amount local leaders think appropriate.
• Sen. Frank Ruff
  • Farmers ask legislators to support property rights, oppose estate tax – Mechanicsville Local – More than 100 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation leaders asked their representatives to oppose reinstating Virginia’s estate tax, to oppose any legislation that would limit property rights and to support animal care that is science-based and allows production agriculture to remain in business.
• Sen. Ralph Smith
  • Smith calls for 72-hour budget review – Bearing Drift Blog – State Senator Ralph Smith (R-Botetourt) has introduced legislation (SB5) that would require the budget to be posted online for 72 hours before a vote could be taken.
• Sen. Jill Vogel
  • Republicans defend health care freedom bill – NBC 29 News - The state Senate could vote as early as Friday to make federally-mandated health insurance illegal. 
  • Bills on guns, seat belts, schools – Norfolk Virginian-Pilot – A bill that would allow school divisions to start classes before the Labor Day holiday squeaked through a Senate committee Thursday on an 8-7 vote.
  • The Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing . . . – Loudoun Times-Mirror – OK, let’s get a couple of things straight about Frank Wolf. The GOP Congressman from the 10th Congressional District is a veritable legend. In a time where politics is viewed as a fulcrum for inaction and sclerosis - Wolf delivers, and does so with magnanimity, dignity and respect. Perhaps, the best Virginia Congressman in our lifetime.
• Sen. John Watkins
  • Report: Big job growth needed to reverse recession – Norfolk Virginian-Pilot – Virginia must add nearly 12,800 jobs per month for the next two years to return to pre-recession employment levels, a Richmond think tank projected in a report released Thursday.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. 

• Multiple
  • State senate defies health care reform – Roanoke Times - The Virginia Senate took a stand against a key provision of a proposed federal health care overhaul Monday, passing legislation declaring that state residents cannot be forced to buy health insurance.
  • News in Brief: February 2 – The Flat Hat – The Virginia General Assembly is considering a bill that would privatize the state’s government-owned liquor stores.
  • How the historic Senate vote on health care freedom happened – Family Foundation Blog - It’s not hyberbole to say this afternoon’s Senate vote was historic. The legislation it passed in three identically worded bills – SB 283, SB 311 and SB 417 – guarantees Virginians the right to freely choose their health care options irregardless of federal government mandates. It also asserts a notion long ignored but firmly ingrained in the U.S. Constitution. It also shows, from a political perspective, that there are Democrats who understand the small government movement isn’t limited to “swastika-wearing” thugs as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would have us believe.
  • Democrat-controlled VA Senate approves measure opposing federal health care reform mandate – AP - Five Democrats broke with their party Monday to endorse measures that would ban government health care mandates like the one being debated in Congress.
  • Five Democrats help pass proposals to outlaw mandated health insurance – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Breaking with their party and president, five Democrats yesterday helped push through the state Senate a Republican measure allowing Virginians to just say no to compulsory health insurance.
  • Five Democrats join Republicans in voting against mandated health insurance purchases – Washington Post Blog – The debate on the Senate floor today over three measures that would each prohibit requiring Virginians to purchase health-care insurance was vigorous. In the end, five Democrats joined 18 Republicans in supporting the measure.
• Sen. Jeff McWaters
  • Bills would let military members in uniform use HOV lanes – Norfolk Virginian-Pilot - Two local lawmakers are working to give military personnel unrestricted access to high-occupancy-vehicle lanes in Hampton Roads.
• Sen. Steve Newman
  • 70 mph speed limit bill gets early OKs – Norfolk Virginian-Pilot - Lead-foot drivers can start flexing their muscles. A proposal endorsed by Gov. Bob McDonnell to raise the speed limit on Virginia interstate highways to 70 mph won preliminary approval Monday in the House and Senate.
  • Infant homicide bill OK’d with changes – Danville Register & Bee - A bill that would allow infant deaths similar to one in Campbell County to be prosecuted as homicides emerged from its second round in a Senate subcommittee Monday.
• Sen. Tommy Norment
  • Bills on starting the school year earlier dealt blow – Richmond Times-Dispatch – For another year, it looks like high school students might punch a clock instead of boarding a school bus before Labor Day.
• Sen. Mark Obenshain
  • ABC Stores to Vanish? – Richmond.com - One of the issues Gov. Bob McDonnell used to woo November’s voters was the privatization of liquor sales in Virginia. A bill that would accomplish that very feat, Senate Bill 443, was offered on Jan. 13, 2010. On Jan. 22 it passed, 15-0, in the Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee and was referred to the Finance Committee.
  • Ag changes eyed – Harrisonburg Daily News Record - Two Rockingham County legislators are pushing to make Virginia's agriculture department only responsible for farm issues, directing the other needs of consumers to the attorney general. Del. Matt Lohr, R-Broadway, and Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, say their effort not only will simplify state government, but will put the commonwealth in line with most other states.
• Sen. Fred Quayle
  • Conservative resistance to health reform infects state legislatures simultaneously – The Examiner - Conservative Republicans across the nation moved Monday to pass legislation which guarantees citizen's health insurance premiums will continue to skyrocket. In a coordinated move, designed to delay and defeat any federal action, Conservative state legislators in thirty states introduced bills which would exempt their constituents from any future federal mandate requiring all persons buy health insurance.
  • Bill would assist landing-field fight – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Lawmakers are considering legislation that could give residents of southeast Virginia a significant boost in their fight against the proposed construction of a Navy outlying landing field.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. 

• Senators Mark Obenshain and Ralph Smith
  • Family Foundation, GOP lawmakers cry foul over abortion bill – HamptonRoads.com - Legislation that would make it a criminal offense to force an individual to have an abortion sparked a rules fight in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee Wednesday. An interpretation of Senate procedures on which committees have dominion over abortion-related measures was at the center of a dispute over the bill being carried by Sen. Ralph Smith, R-Roanoke.
• Senator Harry Blevins
  • Will the House Finally OK a Seat-Belt Bill? – The News & Advance - In an impassioned plea before the Senate Transportation Committee recently, state Sen. Harry Blevins, R-Chesapeake, said he has attended too many funerals, visited too many hospital rooms and comforted too many grieving parents of young men and women killed because they weren’t wearing seat belts.  
• Senator Robert Hurt
  • McDonnell reopens 19 rest stops – Star-Tribune - When you gotta go, you gotta go. And now, thanks to Gov. Robert McDonnell's decision last week to reopen 19 interstate highway rest stops, Virginia's travelers won't have to hold it. 
• Senator Ryan McDougle
  • Legislative Update II 2/03/10 – Virginia Bicycling Federation - Those that are interested, and have bookmarked the Legislature’s website http://leg1.state.va.us or the Richmond Sunlight website www.richmondsunlight.com should check out SB103, which is carried by Sen. Ryan McDougle, and is calling for some dramatic and sweeping changes to the State’s Transportation Dept
• Senator Steve Newman
  • Go Bob, Go – LifeofMatthew.com - Governor Bob McDonnell’s proposal to raise the speed limit in Virginia passed the House of Delegates and the State Senate Tuesday. What else is there to say but, Go Bob, Go! 
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Death penalty expansion passes House – NVDaily.com - As it has for the past three years, the House of Delegates has approved a bill sponsored by Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Woodstock, that would expand the application of the death penalty. On Wednesday, the House voted 74-24 for the bill that would close the so-called "triggerman" loophole, according to a news release from Gilbert. 
• Senator Ralph Smith
  • Senator Smith Introduces Budget Reform – The Roanoke Star-Sentinel - The General Assembly passed Virginia’s last two year budget just 34 minutes after it was distributed to legislators. Senator Ralph K. Smith (R-Botetourt) has announced that he is introducing legislation that would require the budget be posted online for 72 hours before a vote could be taken. 
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Senate panel unanimously passes bill on flying flag – Fredericksburg.com - With no opposition, a Virginia Senate committee yesterday approved Sen. Richard Stuart's bill to allow homeowners to fly the U.S. flag. The bill was prompted by a case in Henrico County last year, in which a homeowners association barred a 90-year-old Medal of Honor recipient from flying the flag on an upright flagpole in his yard.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.   

• Senators Tommy Norment, Jr., Mark Obenshain, and Ralph Smith
  • UPDATE:  The Sordid Tale of SB504, Courts of Justice, Ed And Health And Re-Referal – The Family Foundation Blog - Clerical error or not, Senate pro-abortion advocates had their way with SB 504, Senator Ralph Smith’s (R-22, Roanoke) coerced abortion bill in the full Senate Courts of Justice Committee committee this afternoon. Despite a valiant effort by committee member Senator Mark Obenshain (R-26, Harrisonburg) to hear the bill in the full Senate Courts committee, the ultimate result was a 9-6 vote to re-refer SB504 to Senate Education and Health and essentially assure its demise. Also noteworthy, were Senators Tommy Norment (R-3, Williamsburg) and Roscoe Reynolds (D-20, Martinsville) for their vocal support of SB 504.
• Senator Harry Blevins
  • Law Would Mandate Seat Belts – EmporiaNews.com - Failing to wear a seat belt would be a primary offense in Virginia under a bill being sponsored by Delegate William K. Barlow, D-Smithfield.
• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Land of Opportunity? – The Daily News Record - A bill by Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, to make it easier to establish farm-related tourist businesses on farmland is expected to gain final Senate approval today. The amended bill would establish a task force to develop recommendations by Nov. 1 on the best way to allow these businesses to operate on property zoned for agricultural use.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Newman: Using generic drugs under Medicaid could save Va. $20 million – The News and Advance - One of the less obvious practices many state legislators employ in most years is the budget amendment, which is Virginia’s equivalent of earmarking government funds for special projects such as local museums and the like.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Obenshain Road Funding Bill Dies – wsvaonline.com - Not much has happened in the General Assembly in the past couple days, but Harrisonburg Senator Mark Obenshain is lamenting the death of one of his bills.
• Senator Frederick Quayle
  • Funding sought to fight online sexual predators – Gainesville Times - In 2002, 13-year-old Alicia Kozakiewicz was kidnapped by a man she met online. He locked her in a cage in his Virginia townhouse, raped and tortured her, and even webcast images of his captive before police rescued her.
• Senator Frank Ruff, Jr.
  • Virginia Farm Bureau leaders take ag story to legislators – Southeast Farm Press - More than 100 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation leaders asked their representatives to oppose reinstating Virginia’s estate tax, to oppose any legislation that would limit property rights and to support animal care that is science-based and allows production agriculture to remain in business.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • No Health Coverage For Autism In Virginia – Cleveland Health Insurance - Health insurance companies in Virginia are not required by law to cover medical care for children with autism. Virginia families have fought hard for a state bill which would require the children to be covered, but recently the bill was killed in the state Senate.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Committee backs bill that would require Internet retailers to collect Va. sales tax – Richmond Times Dispatch - Legislation forcing Internet retailers — including such giants as Amazon—to collect Virginia sales taxes is headed to the state Senate.
  • Va. panel OKs bill to collect tax for online sales – Associated Press - A bill that would force online retailers to pay the same Virginia sales taxes as traditional stores advanced Wednesday from a Senate committee.
• Senator Steve Martin
  • Proposal for bipartisan redistricting panel advances – The Virginian Pilot - Bills that would establish a bipartisan commission to draw boundaries during next year's redistricting and relax the rules for military members voting by absentee ballot advanced out of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee Tuesday.
• Senator Steve Newman
  • Bill would keep a physician on duty at CVTC – The News & Advance - A bill that would require a physician to be on duty at all times at Central Virginia Training Center won approval in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.  Sponsored by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, the bill meets a concern expressed by parents of residents at the training center, along with some staff members, who were worried that state spending cuts could eliminate a full-time doctor.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • Look Ma, no hands – The Publishers Notebook Blog - …on the cell phone anyway, if the Virginia Senate gets its way.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Plans to sell state liquor stores pulled – Virginia Business - A bill to privatize ABC stores was dropped Tuesday by its sponor, Sen. Mark Obenshain of Harrisonburg.
  • Bill to sell ABC stores is withdrawn – fredericksburg.com - One of Gov. Bob McDonnell's signature campaign promises, the privatization of the state-owned liquor stores, appears dead for this session.  Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, was carrying a bill to privatize the ABC stores, but told the Senate Finance committee yesterday that he didn't expect them to pass it.
  • General Assembly notebook: Privatized liquor? Not this time – The Roanoke Times - Legislation that would privatize Virginia's state-run liquor stores won't pass during this General Assembly session, but the bill's sponsor and Gov. Bob McDonnell remain committed to a concept that is critical to the new governor's transportation funding strategy.
• Senator Frederick Quayle
  • Quayle champions children’s safety – Suffolk News-Herald - With summer rapidly approaching, it comes to mind that many children once again will be spending those long, hot days with their families out on the Nansemond or the James rivers, or on any one of Suffolk’s treasured lakes.
• Senator John Watkins
  • Va. Senate favors accepting stimulus jobless funds – Richmond Times Dispatch - Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates will have a second chance to grab the $125 million in federal stimulus funds for unemployment insurance they left on the table last year.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Multiple
  • Democrats in Va. Senate vote down two budget-related bills backed by governor – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Senate Democrats are directly challenging Gov. Bob McDonnell over the budget, denying him a bigger say in spending and rejecting as "fantasy" the prospect of reaping cash for roads from offshore drilling.
  • Va. Senate committee approves concealed-guns legislation – The Richmond Times-Dispatch - Virginia's drinking establishments soon may be open for business to a new clientele -- people carrying concealed guns.
  • Lawmakers Green Light Gun Law Bills – NBC29.com - State lawmakers have given the green light for several controversial firearm measures. They are measures that were vetoed in years past. But with a new governor, there is a good chance they will become law.
  • Key Senate committee passes bills to allow concealed guns in Va. Bars – Canadian Business - Gun owners could take concealed guns into more places, including bars, and renew their permits by mail under bills that passed a key Senate committee on Wednesday.
  • State Senate defeats bills on offshore drilling, changing budget timeline – Richmond Times-Dispatch - There were two major setbacks today in the Virginia Senate for Gov. Bob McDonnell, with the Democratic majority defeating legislation endorsing offshore drilling for oil and gas and changing the budget timetable to give McDonnell a freer hand in spending.
• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • State senate passes bill that would require online retailers to charge 5 percent sales tax – wtkr.com - Some Virginia lawmakers want you to pay taxes when you buy online.  They say they want to level the playing field for businesses in Virginia.  With a vote of 14 to 1 the State Senate Finance Committee passed a bill that would require certain online retailers to collect the sales tax on purchases made in the commonwealth.
  • Va. Senate panel OKs move to tax online shopping – The Virginian-Pilot - A Virginia Senate panel clicked "send" on legislation that would require Internet retailers to collect sales tax on in-state transactions by affiliated online merchants.
• Senator Robert Hurt
  • Hurt Sponsors Jobs Bills – ResistNet.com - Vowing to work with Gov. Bob McDonnell and state legislators to promote economic development in Southside Virginia and across the state, State Sen. Robert Hurt has sponsored a major business facility job tax credit bill that is part of McDonnell's legislative package.
• Senator Jeff McWaters
  • Milestone for McWaters – PilotOnline.com - Freshman Sen. Jeff McWaters, R-Virginia Beach, got a small thrill and a round of applause Wednesday when he watched fellow senators pass his first bill out of the chamber.
• Senator Steve Newman
  • Newman sponsors McDonnell education bills – News & Advance - Gov. Bob McDonnell announced legislation Wednesday that would create charter schools and two other new ways to educate children, with Sen. Steve Newman sponsoring them in the Senate.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • Bill banning cell phones while driving goes to Virginia House – 7Bends - Every day, you look around and see people driving vehicles while on their cell phones, not paying attention. It’s not just a few drivers here or there, but the rule rather than the exception.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Virginia looking at Obenshain’s proposal to privatize liquor stores – 7Bends - Last year, Virginia celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of its state-run liquor stores, called “ABC stores.”  This week, a bill (SB 443) introduced by Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) designed to privatize Virginia’s ABC stores was passed by indefinitely by the Senate Finance Committee to provide more time to work with the Governor to refine the proposal.
  • The slow slog toward school choice – Tertium Quids - Gov. McDonnell and a host of notables gathered yesterday to introduce his package of education reforms. They center on making it somewhat easier to create charter schools in the commonwealth, a remedy for the current, counter-productive, charter law.
  • Bill to Give Voter Rolls to Comm. of Revenue Advances – wsvaonline - A bill introduced by Harrisonburg Senator Mark Obenshain that gives commissioners of the revenue access to voter rolls for determining residency for personal property tax purposes has passed the Senate and will move on to the House of Delegates.
• Senator Frank Ruff, Jr.
  • From the Desk of state Sen. Frank Ruff – The News & Record - As the 2009 session began the news media reported that Chesterfield County Schools would have to layoff about 500 employees if the state didn't give them more money.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Bill to raise fees for suits advances – The Free Lance-Star - The Senate Finance Committee has approved Sen. Richard Stuart's bill to increase court fees to raise revenue for sheriff's departments and commonwealth's attorneys.
  • Wood waste bill dies in Senate – Biofuelswatch.com - On a vote of ten to four, the Agriculture, Conservation & Natural Resources committee of the Senate has declined the bill which was suggested for putting a cap on the total number of wood chips & similar lumber waste which power companies were allowed to burn as fuel and add towards their renewable portfolio standard.
• Senator Frank Wagner
  • Virginia Senate kills bill on offshore-drilling profits – The Virginian-Pilot - The Democratic majority in Virginia's Senate killed for the year legislation from Virginia Beach Republican Sen. Frank Wagner that would dedicate future offshore drilling royalties to the state general fund, a coastal energy research consortium and to localities for transportation fixes.
  • Senate Dems kill Va. gov's proposal to divert offshore drilling royalties to state services – The Washington Examiner - The Virginia Senate on Wednesday killed Gov. Bob McDonnell's proposal to allocate royalties from possible offshore oil and gas drilling to pay for Virginia's government services, calling it a "fantasy."
  • Va. Senate Kills “Royalties for Roads” Legislation – Bearing Drift - Yesterday, there was a heated debate in the Virginia State Senate about legislation that would decide how the Commonwealth would spend the royalties from drilling offshore for oil. SB 601, patroned by Sen. Frank Wagner (R-Virginia Beach), was killed by the Senate in a party line vote and was referred back to committee until next year.
• Senator William Wampler, Jr.
  • Bills would ban discounts on noncovered dental work – The Virginian-Pilot - If you're at the dentist and your insurance won't cover a procedure, you might not get a discount, either.
  • Creative Budgeteer Boosts Va Spaceflight – Spaceports blog - Virginia State Senator William C. Wampler, Jr. (R-Bristol) has offered a state budget amendment to dedicate prospective sales and or corporate income tax revenues that may result from the sale of human spaceflights or commercial spaceflight training in the state to the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA) for operations and educational space flight simulation activities.
  • Bill advances to curb forced dental discounts – The Roanoke Times - Legislation prohibiting dental insurance companies from demanding discounts for procedures not covered by a patient's policy passed in the General Assembly on Wednesday with broad support.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senators Emmett Hanger, Jr., and Stephen Martin
  • Virginia Greenlights Tax Credits For Environmental Jobs – ipolitics.com - The Virginia Senate just passed Senate Bill 623, providing a $500 tax credit to businesses that create green jobs. Businesses will be eligible to claim the credit for the next 5 years for up to 350 new green jobs.
  • Virginia Senate OKs tax credit to create green jobs – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Virginia senators unanimously approved a bill yesterday that would provide a tax credit to businesses that create green jobs.
• Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr.
  • Online sales in Virginia could face sales tax – Daily Press - The state Senate Finance Committee agreed that the state should get a piece of the online shopping pie.
  • Concealed Weapons Bill Jumps Major Hurdle – WTVR.com - Gun rights advocates have long fought for the right to carry concealed weapons into bars and restaurants. Governor Kaine single-handedly stuffed the measure in the past, rejecting the bill twice.
• Senator Jeffrey McWaters
  • The states go marching in – Pesky Emotional Republican - While health reform switches to the slow track in Washington, states are moving full-steam ahead on the issue, with more than half of them seeking to pre-empt any proposed federal health reform mandates, such as requiring residents to purchase health insurance.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Legislation seeks to help students succeed – Gainesville Times - Gov. Bob McDonnell says charter schools, online educational programs and college partnerships can boost the performance of Virginia’s public school students – especially those at risk or in underperforming districts.
  • Measure opposing Soering transfer moves ahead – GoDanRiver.com - A resolution urging the federal government to leave convicted murderer Jens Soering in a Virginia prison instead of transferring him to Germany was approved by a Senate committee Friday, but only after two new items of information were disclosed.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • O! Say Can You See? – The General Assembly Grapevine - “The most transparent administration in our nation’s history” says it is about to engage in “unprecedented” televised negotiations over health care reform.  Remember how candidate Obama promised C-SPAN would be there for it all? Well, how brightly is the sun shining in Richmond on state government these days?
  • Gloucester '40' stood up for citizen's rights, honored as Daily Press Citizens of the Year – Daily Press - A constitutional right is the muscle of democracy — stronger, healthier for being exercised.
  • OUR VIEW: Cell phone ban: Now hear this – SWVAToday.com - Talk is cheap and possibly dangerous – at least so say some Virginia senators who passed a bill on Monday that would keep motorists from using their cell phones unless they had a “hands-free” device.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Senate panel defeats death penalty expansion – The Richmond Times-Dispatch - The Senate Courts of Justice Committee this morning voted down a bill that sought to expand eligibility for the death penalty.
  • Privatization in VA: Not as easy as ABC – The Business Art - As I wrote back in November at the Objective Standard’s blog (my colleague Ivan Osorio also wrote about the topic here), Virginia’s new governor Bob McDonnell showed a very promising inclination toward free markets and privatization, though his rhetoric on the subject may have left something to be desired. Specifically, he floated the idea of privatizing the 300+ state-run liquor stores in order to pay for his transportation plan.
• Senator Frederick Quayle
  • Legislators, advocates rally for child safety online –The Commonwealth Times - Legislators and child safety advocates rallied at the Capitol Wednesday seeking funding for programs that protect children from online predators.
• Senator Frank Ruff, Jr.
  • Senate committee OKs recognition of tribes – fredericksburg.com - A Senate committee yesterday passed three resolutions granting state recognition to Indian tribes, despite protests from members of the Virginia Council on Indians, which said the state was undermining the very process for which it established the council.
• Senator Ralph Smith
  • Bill to help Roanoke Co. Police with Regional Jail killed in State Senate – WSLS - A State Senate committee killed a bill sponsored by Roanoke County State Senator Ralph Smith (R-22nd) on Friday, that would have allowed jail officers with the same training as sheriff deputies to perform some of the same legal functions.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • OBAMACARE NULLIFICATION: VIRGINIA HEALTHCARE FREEDOM ACT – The PPJ Gazette - The Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act Wins in Both Houses. Twenty-four hundred citizen grassroots activists made their voices heard at the state capitol bell tower on January 18th and the Virginia legislature listened.
• Senator William Wampler, Jr.
  • Deficit-driven budget battle continues in Richmond – Times News - Legislation that would adversely impact the coal surface mining industry will likely get stripped of any traction in the Virginia General Assembly, utilities may soon have to pay consumers back all of their interim rate increases, and the deficit-driven budget battle continues in Richmond, state Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, reported on Friday.
• Senator John Watkins
  • Bills would shift fee collection to retailers – The Free Lance-Star - If you use prepaid cell phones, you may soon see a change in the fee charged for E-911 services.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senators Emmett Hanger, Jr. and Steve Martin
  • Va. Senate OKs sales tax bill for online retailers – Associated Press - A bill that would require global online shopping giants such as Amazon to start collecting and paying Virginia sales taxes won easy Senate passage Tuesday.
• Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr.
  • Senate OKs 'Amazon' Sales Tax Bill – The Associated Press - Virginia's Senate has approved a bill that would require global online shopping giants such as Amazon to start collecting state sales taxes.
  •  ‘Amazon’ sales tax collection bill clears Senate – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Legislation requiring online retailers to collect Virginia's 4.5 percent sales tax -- the so-called "Amazon Bill" -- easily cleared the Virginia Senate this morning and is headed to the House of Delegates, where opponents hope it falls prey to that chamber's hostility to taxes.
  • Virginia lawmakers aim to loosen firearm restrictions – The Washington Post - A little more than a year ago, Virginia gun owners joined millions of Americans who began stockpiling weapons for fear that Barack Obama would win the White House and push for new gun controls.
  • Save the CCCA - for the kids – Augusta Free Press - God forbid, next winter I slip on the ice, bang my head, and sustain major injury. Our rescue squad right away gets me to Stonewall Jackson Hospital which provides immediate initial care. But the damage is too great for SJH to handle.
• Senator Jeffrey McWaters
  • Bills would move military on HOV lanes – WVEC.com - State lawmakers are considering a bill to let active duty military use the HOV lanes to and from the bases, no matter how many people are in their vehicles.
• Senator Steve Newman
  • Bill to prosecute mothers in infant deaths advances – The Lynchburg News & Advance - The House of Delegates gave second-reading approval Monday to a bill, sponsored by Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell County, that would allow prosecution if someone kills an infant while its umbilical cord and placenta are still attached to the mother.
  • Talk of Charter Schools Raises Questions, Criticism – ABC 13 - Governor Bob McDonnell's proposal to bring more charter schools to Virginia is drawing criticism from area educators.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • VIRGINIA SENATE CONSIDERS “HISTORICAL RACING” BILL – Virginia Thoroughbred Blog - The Virginia Senate will consider a bill to allow historical racing, or Instant Racing as it is known at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.
  • Death penalty expansion had momentum but now lost in limbo... – The Shad Plank - For years Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was the only one standing between the General Assembly and a broader death penalty for Virginia criminals.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Senate panel votes against repealing ‘triggerman rule’ – Richmond Times-Dispatch - The Senate Courts of Justice Committee yesterday defeated a bill it had approved in previous years that would expand eligibility for the death penalty.
• Senator Ralph Smith
  • Watered-down ethics bill heads to Va. House – The Washington Examiner - A significantly watered-down bill to prevent companies from filling campaign coffers while seeking major state contracts passed unanimously in Virginia's Senate on Monday.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Court fee bill to help funding for sheriffs – fredericksburg.com - The Senate yesterday passed a bill that significantly raises civil court filing fees, an effort to mitigate the effect of state budget cuts on sheriff's departments.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • Editorial: Time for Civil Redistricting – McLean Connection - The U.S. Census is underway, an every-10-year process that attempts to count every single person in the United States at their home address. From the results of the count come a nearly infinite number of critical decisions.
• Senator William Wampler, Jr. 
  • VA Lawmakers and Residents Speak Out Against Anti-Coal Legislation – Federation for American Coal Energy and Security - Virginia lawmakers and residents vocally opposed the so-called Stream Saver Bill (Virginia SB564) at a committee hearing in Richmond.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senators Emmett Hanger, Jr. and Jill Vogel
  • Bills Pass to Ease Restrictions on Concealed Weapons – The Pocomoke Public Eye - Two bills that would allow handgun owners to lock weapons in their cars and permit those with concealed carry permits to bring firearms into restaurants were approved in Virginia's Senate on Tuesday.
• Senators Ryan McDougle and Walter Stosch
  • IT authority for governor approved – The Richmond Times-Dispatch - The state Senate is falling in line behind a measure giving the governor a direct say in the state's computer bureaucracy and its stormy relationship with contractor Northrop Grumman.
• Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr.
  • State legislation changes houses – fredericksburg.com - The legislative session marked its halfway point yesterday, with legislators holding floor sessions for hours to handle hundreds of bills before a midnight "crossover" deadline by which each house was to finish its own bills.
  • Virginia Senate approves collecting taxes on online sales – The Virginian-Pilot - A bill that would require global online shopping giants such as Amazon to start collecting and paying Virginia sales taxes won easy Senate passage Tuesday.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Legislation seeks to help students succeed – The Daily Times - Gov. Bob McDonnell says charter schools, online educational programs and college partnerships can boost the performance of Virginia's public school students -- especially those at risk or in underperforming districts.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Valley Legislators Applaud Rest Area's Re-Opening – WHSV.com - Dels. Matt Lohr (R-Broadway), Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah), Steve Landes (R-Weyers Cave), Dickie Bell (R-Staunton), Ben Cline (R-Rockbridge) and Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) all joined in commending Gov. Bob McDonnell for keeping his promise to re-open rest areas throughout the Commonwealth.
  • High Stakes For Higher Ed – Daily News-Record - As a tuition-paying parent of a James Madison University student, state Sen. Mark Obenshain said he's worried that money raised through student fees could soon be deposited into the state's general fund.
  • Planned Parenthood license plates bill clears Va. Senate – The Washington Post - The Virginia Senate, controlled by Democrats, has passed a measure that would create a specialty state license plate with the message "Trust Women/Respect Choice."
  • Most Virginia death penalty expansion bills rejected – The Virginian-Pilot - With a governor supportive of expanding capital punishment finally in office, this was going to be the year a perennial effort to repeal the state’s so-called  triggerman  law finally found success.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • Autism Bill Passes Senate – Leesburg Today - News some Loudoun families have been waiting for came today. A bill that would mandate insurance coverage for autism spectrum disorder passed the Senate by a 27-13 vote. Both of Loudoun's representatives, Sen. Mark Herring (D-33) and Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-27), voted in favor of the bill.
• Senator Frank Wagner
  • Governors to come together over wind energy – The Virginian-Pilot - Gov. Bob McDonnell and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar don't have much in common when it comes to offshore drilling, but wind energy may be another story.
• Senator William Wampler, Jr.
  • In private, Virginia governor pushes deep budget cuts – The Washington Post - Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) has privately recommended cutting $730 million from K-12 education and $300 million from health programs, as well as changing the state retirement system and requiring 10 days of furloughs for state employees, all to help offset a $2.2 billion budget shortfall over two years, according to sources familiar with the plan.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Multiple Senators
  • Senate votes for speed limit, handgun bills – The Virginian-Pilot - Bills that would boost speed limits on some Virginia highways, allow handgun owners to lock weapons in their cars and permit those with concealed carry permits to bring firearms into restaurants each gained approval in Virginia's Senate on Tuesday.
• Senators Ryan McDougle and Senator Stephen Martin
  • Panel delays anti-gang bill – Star-Tribune - of a bill to increase the penalty for the use of e-mail, text messages or other electronic transmissions by criminal street gangs.
• Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr.
  • More school cuts loom – NewsVirginian.com - Area schools superintendents were digesting news Wednesday of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s proposed $731 million in additional cuts to K-12 education for the next two years, but said the news from McDonnell can’t be positive.
  • ‘Amazon’ bill headed to the House – Richmond BizSense - Amazon has a history of avoiding state sales taxes, and Virginia’s online
    sales tax bill is something they’ve seen before.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Senate OK’s bill against infanticide – Gainesville Times - In December, a Campbell County woman ended the life of her newborn baby by suffocation. Because the baby’s umbilical cord had not yet been cut or the placenta detached, the woman has not faced any criminal charges or other legal consequences.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Dealing with Guns and Drugs – Richmond.com - This year’s General Assembly session, convened on Jan. 13, is a budget year session. Meaning that, according to schedule, it will run two months. A total of 2,640 bills have been presented for consideration this year.
• Senator Walter Stosch
  • Lawmakers divided on furlough proposal for state workers – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Lawmakers are divided over Gov. Bob McDonnell's proposal to save state jobs by forcing those who have them to take 10 days of unpaid vacation over the next two years.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Multiple Senators
  • Road money eyed in bill – fredericksburg.com - Faced with dwindling money for transportation, state senators again are trying a plan to boost revenues by applying an indexing formula to the per-gallon gas tax.
• Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr.
  • Senate backs bill to index Va. gas tax – Richmond Times-Dispatch - The Virginia Senate this morning approved a bill that would index the state's per-gallon tax on gasoline with federal fuel efficiency standards. Senators voted 31-9 for Senate Bill 343. It now heads to the House of Delegates.
  • Virginia Senate weighs indexing gas tax to fuel efficiency – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Gov. Bob McDonnell may oppose any tax increase to balance Virginia's struggling two-year budget, but the idea of implementing an adjusted increase in the gas tax to keep from losing existing transportation revenue is gaining bipartisan traction in the Virginia Senate.
• Senator Robert Hurt
  • Jobs bill approved by Senate – The Franklin News Post - State Sen. Robert Hurt's major business tax credit jobs bill has been incorporated into another bill and passed by the Virginia Senate by a 40-0 vote.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • 70 mph speed limit still on fast track – News & Advance - The 70 mph speed limit for selected highways cruised through another legislative committee Thursday.
  • Letters shed light on opposition to Soering transfer – News & Advance - Richard Haysom said this of the brutal 1985 slayings of his parents, Nancy and Derek Haysom: “That ignominious day was for our family, our ‘Sept. 11’ — it never goes away.”
  • Virtual School Programs get Governor’s Approval – Appomattox News - Governor Bob McDonnell met with students of the Virginia Virtual Academy Thursday afternoon at the Executive Mansion.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • Va Senate OKs betting on old horse races – The Associated Press - The Senate has again passed a measure to allow pari-mutuel style betting on past horse races with some of the proceeds dedicated to transportation.
• Senator Frederick Quayle
  • Virginia seafood processors face $600 fee for annual license – The Daily Press - Attention seafood processors: If you want to stay in business, grab your checkbook.
• Senator John Watkins
  • 2 tobacco giants in Va. clash over excise tax – Richmond Times-Dispatch - It's one of the most old-fashioned taxes of all, but the question of what you measure to levy it is emerging as the latest skirmish in the never-ending battle for space on stores' tobacco shelves.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr.
  • Virginia Weighs Indexing Gas Tax To Fuel Efficiency – Downstream Today - Gov. Bob McDonnell may oppose any tax increase to balance Virginia's struggling two-year budget, but the idea of implementing an adjusted increase in the gas tax to keep from losing existing transportation revenue is gaining bipartisan traction in the Virginia Senate.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Virginia on Speed – NBC Washington - A measure to raise speed limits is gaining momentum
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • Legislators applaud the Gloucester 40 – The Daily Press - contingent of Gloucester citizens who were among 40 people who filed petitions seeking the removal from office of four county supervisors received standing ovations Monday from the General Assembly for fighting for their First Amendment rights to petition government for a redress of grievances.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Is Va. at risk of phony jurors? Lawmaker says yes – The Virginian-Pilot - Jury tampering made for a John Grisham page-turner and a Hollywood thriller, but could it happen in real life?
• Senator Frank Ruff
  • Legislators target K-12 schools in budget cuts – Collegiate Times - Virginia’s proposed budget has met resistance from supporters of K-12 education and health care as state legislators have laid out competing plans that would slash funding.
• Senator Walter Stosch
  • What’s the Big Deal About Tax Conformity? – CPA Café - Virginia has employed retroactive fixed date tax conformity for many years now. While not the ideal model due to a part-time legislature that meets from January to March, it has worked out okay for the past few years at least with conformity legislation being among the first few bills to be passed and signed into law.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Budget dance begins – Apria Healthcare - The Virginia House of Delegates and Senate money committees yesterday unveiled competing budget proposals that both restore $950 million in annual car-tax payments to localities and cut Medicaid funding but differ on how much to trim from K-12 education.
• Senator Frank Wagner
  • Va. Senate OKs bill on using offshore-drilling cash for roads – Richmond Times-Dispatch - A proposal to pay for roads with cash from offshore drilling is headed to Gov. Bob McDonnell, though it may prove a financial dry hole.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr.
  • Retailers want sales tax collected on Internet – The Richmond Times-Dispatch - Bricks-and-mortar retailers are stepping up their push for legislation that would force their Internet competitors to collect Virginia’s 5 percent sales tax.
  • Retailers support sales tax bill – Tidewater News - When Robert Mackan took his office supply business from Main Street to the Information Superhighway, he didn’t imagine many roadblocks.
  • Honoring The 29^th – DNRonline.com - Much as on D-Day itself, when comrades and friends during the greatest invasion known to man looked after each other on Normandy’s beaches, a resolution in the General Assembly honoring their deeds was a team effort, involving public servants up and down the Shenadoah Valley.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Compromise reached on charter schools – The Times Dispatch - The McDonnell administration and state education groups have fashioned a compromise on charter school legislation that would leave final approval with local school boards and give one of the governor’s marquee initiatives a better shot at passage.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Bill to give schools more course control advances – The Virginian-Pilot - With expected budget cuts, a bill that would delay some accreditation standards, but not graduation, is heading for approval.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. 

• Multiple Senators
  • Va. Senate panel rejects two-tier veterans memorial – The Virginian-Pilot - In a late turn of events Wednesday, a Senate committee balked at a plan to create a two-tier system for honoring Virginia's war dead.
• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Concealed Carrying and Drinking- Who Will Enforce New Law? – wtvr.com - A new bill allowing concealed permit holders to carry in bars and restaurants has one big stipulation- no drinking.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • McDonnell’s reforms advance to Senate – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Lots of education-related news coming out of the state Capitol today. 
  • Va. Senate panel approves charter, lab, virtual school bills – The Virginian-Pilot - A Senate education committee gave Gov. Bob McDonnell's education reform package a major victory this morning.
  • Erik Estrada urges lawmakers to fund Internet crimes force – Lynchburg News & Advance - Erik Estrada, who used to play a cop on TV, had a Capitol press corps silent and sober Wednesday as he talked about tracking down Internet child-porn dealers with the Bedford County sheriff’s department.
  • Senate committee approves education bills – Lynchburg News & Advance - A charter-schools bill and two other education measures proposed by Gov. Bob McDonnell and sponsored by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, were approved today in the Senate Education and Health Committee.
  • Judgeships aren’t funded in House budget – Lynchburg News & Advance - Vacant judgeships, including one on Lynchburg’s Circuit Court bench, could remain vacant under the budget proposed by the House of Delegates for the next two years.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. 

• Multiple Senators
  • A chili night – HamptonRoads.com - We told you last week about former Sen. Ken Stolle’s chili cookoff/lobbying opportunity for law-enforcement officials.
  • Va. House, Senate start quest to agree on budgets – News Feed Researcher - The House also lowers for local governing boards the amount of required local retirement spending. Employee Retirement: Former Gov. Kaine's introduced budget mandated that all current state employees would pay 1% of their salary in FY 2011 and 2% in FY 2012 toward their retirement. The Senate budget retained this requirement.
• Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr.
  • Bay states poised to take lead in bioenergy field – Chesapeake Bay Journal - The Chesapeake Bay region could lead the nation in developing a biofuels industry that will help wean Americans from dependence on foreign oil and keep farmers in business while also improving water quality.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Senate panel backs McDonnell on charter schools – GoDanRiver.com - A Senate committee this morning advanced all three of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s education-reform initiatives on charter schools, virtual schools and college partnership lab schools.
  • Committee backs resolution to block Soering transfer to Germany – Lynchburg News & Advance - A General Assembly resolution that supports Gov. Bob McDonnell’s request that convicted murderer Jens Soering be kept in a Virginia prison was approved in a House of Delegates committee Thursday.
  • Newman-backed education bills approved in committee – Lynchburg News & Advance - Gov. Bob McDonnell’s education-reform legislation for charter schools and two other initiatives won a Senate committee’s approval Thursday after going through an extensive makeover.
• Senator Frederick Quayle
  • Senate subcommittee votes down handgun bill – The Roanoke Times - A hastily formed Senate subcommittee voted Thursday to defeat legislation that would repeal Virginia's one-handgun-per-month law, likely killing the proposal for the year.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • Redistricting reform dies a familiar death – The Virginian-Pilot - Anne Sterling of the League of Women Voters gave her usual shout-out to democracy Tuesday morning as she pleaded with state delegates to support modest reforms to the process for drawing legislative districts.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. 

• Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr. 
  • A meritorious gas tax index to pay for roads – The News & Advance - At least one member of the General Assembly agrees that the state needs to increase its gasoline tax to keep the highway trust fund from going broke.
  • PERSPECTIVE: Restorative justice fell through the cracks – Culpeper Star-Exponent - Amid anguish over education, taxes, guns and other high-profile issues in Richmond, one topic failed to get the attention it deserved.
  • Reform option goes unnoticed – The Daily Progress - Amid anguish over education, taxes, guns and other high-profile issues in Richmond, one topic failed to get the attention it deserved.
• Senator Robert Hurt
  • Senate budget concerns Hurt – The Franklin News-Post - The future economic stability of the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) could be jeopardized by the Senate budget proposal to take $500 million from the VRS to fund ongoing state programs for the next two years, State Sen. Robert Hurt said.
  • Local legislators uneasy about Tobacco funds – Danville News - The House of Delegates’ version of the state budget proposed using more than $100 million from the Tobacco Commission to fund road projects and higher education centers Southside — a line item that’s leaving local legislators uneasy.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Charter school bill advances in House – The Associated Press - The House of Delegates has approved legislation that would expand the state's role in the charter-school approval process, a measure backed by Gov. Bob McDonnell.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Effort To Revive Va Gun Bills Fails – The Associated Press - Republicans have lost an attempt to revive pro-gun bills that failed last week in a special subcommittee set up to shoot down the proposals.
  • Republicans fail to revive pro-gun bills in Virginia committee – The Virginian-Pilot - It now seems apparent that state law will change to allow concealed handguns to be carried in bars and stored in lockboxes inside cars.
• Senator Fred Quayle
  • Va. health bill could foil Obama proposal – The Boston Globe - Here in the former capital of the Old Confederacy, where resistance to the supremacy of federal law has a long and tortuous history, a new battle is being waged over a question that could undercut a key part of President Obama’s health care proposal: whether Washington can require that most Americans have health insurance.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Salvage yards getting scrutiny – The Free Lance-Star - Over the past year, Stafford County sheriff's deputies have found 10 stolen cars at a salvage yard in the county.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • Vogel’s ‘high marks’ – The Winchester Star - In assessing Gov. McDonnell’s first two months in office, a common lament has been that the state’s new Republican chief executive has not exercised visible leadership, that he has not stepped, chest out, to the front of the parade and strutted his stuff.
  • Virginia first state to challenge federal health insurance mandate – The Washington Examiner - Congress hasn’t even passed Obamacare yet, but if and when it does, Virginia’s General Assembly has already fired the first round in what could be a major legal showdown with Washington over the limits of federal power.
• Senator William Wampler, Jr.
  • Gov. McDonnell expected to sign bill allowing creation of BVU authority – Bristol Herald - To the delight of supporters and dismay of opponents, Gov. Bob McDonnell is today expected to sign legislation allowing the creation of a Bristol Virginia Utilities authority.
  • IT'S HORSE-TRADING TIME – The FreeLance-Star - As the General Assembly session winds down into its last week, the dozen lawmakers charged with negotiating a budget compromise are getting to work.
  • State lawmakers approve insurance mandate for telemedicine – FierceHealthIT - The Virginia State Legislature last week unanimously approved legislation that would make the state the 12th in the nation to mandate insurance coverage for telemedicine services.
• Senator John Watkins
  • Bill takes aim at cigarette smugglers – Star-Tribune - A new law targeting cigarette smugglers has cleared both houses of the General Assembly and now goes to the governor for his signature.
  • Unemployment extension bill axed in subcommittee – The Hampton Roads Business Journal - Virginia's business lobby has prevailed again.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. 

• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Politician pushes online retailers to collect taxes – The Rockbridge Report - Many people don’t want to see a tax increase, especially these days. Most Republicans in Virginia understand that, and are promising not to raise taxes.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Va. House OKs resolution opposing Soering – The Roanoke Times - The House of Delegates on Tuesday passed a resolution supporting Gov. Bob McDonnell's efforts to block the transfer of convicted double-murderer Jens Soering to a prison in his native Germany.
  • Putney speaks up as House OKs Soering resolution – The Associated Press - Del. Lacey Putney delivered a floor speech Tuesday urging the House of Delegates to adopt a resolution opposing the transfer of convicted murderer Jens Soering to his native Germany.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • Va. Senator seeks revival of job protection for gays – The Virginian-Pilot – State Sen. Tommy Norment breathed new life today into the debate over protecting gay and lesbian workers from employment discrimination in Virginia.
• Senator Frederick Quayle
  • “Chips"™ Star Helps Fight Child Pornography – The Gainesville Times - Actor Erik Estrada visited Capital Square last week to voice his support for Virginia’s fight against child pornography.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Jett urging House to back police funds – The Free Lance-Star - Stafford County Sheriff Charles Jett yesterday led sheriffs from around the state in lobbying House members to accept increased funding for sheriffs contained in the Senate's version of the budget.  

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Multiple Senators 
  • Va. Senate OKs ethics overhaul; McDonnell to sign – The Virginian-Pilot - The state Senate approved a comprehensive overhaul of the General Assembly's ethics rules Wednesday.
  • Virginia Stands Up for the Constitution, Media Cries Racism – Tenth Amendment Center - As of yesterday, four separate bills rejecting proposed federal health insurance individual mandates have passed both houses of Virginia’s legislature.
• Senator Jeffrey McWaters
  • So far, Virginia lawmakers' pay immune from budget cuts – The Virginian-Pilot - The governor and his senior staff took a pay cut. State employees are facing layoffs and furloughs.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • General Assembly notebook: House joins effort to block Soering's transfer to Germany – The Roanoke Times - The House of Delegates passed a resolution Tuesday supporting efforts to block the transfer of convicted double-murderer Jens Soering to a prison in his native Germany.
  • Bill seeks to reduce Amherst school board salaries after error – The News & Advance - A bill that is pending in the General Assembly seeks to fix “an honest mistake” that led to Amherst County School Board members being paid more than state law allows, said Brian Ratliff, schools superintendent.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • McDonnell edict: Don't discriminate against gay workers – The Virginian-Pilot - Gov. Bob McDonnell has forcefully ordered state agencies not to discriminate against gay and lesbian workers during the hiring process or in the workplace, but he opted not to push legislation that would produce a similar effect.
  • Governor issues directive against discrimination – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who says there’s nothing in Virginia law to protect gay state workers from discrimination, is welcoming Gov. Bob McDonnell’s decree against bias on the basis of sexual orientation.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • No time to pass the bottle – Stateline.org - While running for governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell promised he would raise money by handing over the state-run liquor stores to private interests. Once elected, the pledge made its way into his state of the state address.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Legal fees measure hits stumbling block – The Free Lance-Star - A bill from Sen. Richard Stuart has run into conflict in the last days of the legislative session.

RICHMOND, VA, March 13, 2010 – On the last day of the regular session of the 2010 General Assembly, the legislation to protect new born children passed both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates unanimously.  Senator Stephen Newman (R-Lynchburg) and Delegate Kathy Byron (R-Campbell) introduced Senate Bill 602 and House Bill 1033 to allow the Commonwealth to prosecute a mother who would take the life of a newly born child after birth.  The bills passed after extensive debate in the House and Senate.  Each house passed their own versions of the bill and a last minute Conference Committee reached an agreement on the final legislation.

            Senator Newman said, “It was very difficult for Virginians to believe that our state would allow an individual to kill a new born child under any circumstance.  While this is a very complicated section of the Code of Virginia and took a great deal of work to get the bill passed, I am pleased that we have reached this compromise.  We should never send a message that our Commonwealth will tolerate the taking of a human life; with today’s vote we take a step in that direction.  I am grateful for the assistance of many in Legislative Services, Delegate Byron and Senator Hurt for the many hours spent on this measure.”

            Delegate Kathy Byron stated, “It is beyond my comprehension that any mother would take the life of their newborn child.  An infant deserves the same protection of life that is given in the courts to every other Virginian.  Clearly the citizens of Central Virginia were horrified to hear that this could happen in our Commonwealth.  The legislature has an obligation to protect those who cannot protect themselves and that is what these bills were intended to do.”    

            The majority of the Senate conferees wanted a narrower bill to address the problem of getting a prosecution when the umbilical cord is still in place.  The House along with Senators Newman and Hurt wanted to address the larger issues presented in Lane vs. Commonwealth.  The compromise bills stated:

18.2-32.3   For the purposes of this article, the fact that the umbilical cord has not been cut and that the placenta remains attached shall not be considered in determining whether a human infant has achieved an independent and separate existence.

Byron and Newman were pleased with the results of the legislation but indicated that a comprehensive bill to update this section should be considered by a future legislature.

# # #

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Multiple Senators
  • Lt. Gov. Bolling: Anti-gun bill panel creation broke Senate rules – The Washington Post - Yes, Democratic leaders in Virginia's Senate broke the rules when they killed a bunch of gun rights bills in a specially formed subcommittee. And, no, there's not a thing anybody can do about it.
  • Lawmakers reach agreement on infant-life bill – Lynchburg News & Advance - A mother who kills her newborn baby while it is still attached to her by the umbilical cord can be charged with murder under legislation the General Assembly approved Saturday after much thought.
  • Schools, health care, public safety lose millions in Va. Budget – The Washington Post - The Virginia General Assembly adjourned its annual legislative session Sunday evening after adopting a two-year, $82 billion budget that cuts millions from education, health care and public safety -- curtailing state spending more aggressively than any in generations while fulfilling the new Republican governor's promise not to raise taxes.
  • State will dip into pension fund, repay with 7.5% interest – Lynchburg News & Advance - Virginia is taking away more than $620 million that would have been paid toward state employee and teacher pensions, but the state is leaving an IOU.
  • Virginia Stands Up for the Constitution, Media Cries Racism – Tertium Quids - In the 2010 session, four separate bills rejecting proposed federal health insurance individual mandates passed both houses of Virginia’s legislature.
  • Lawmakers approve two-year, $70 billion budget – The Richmond Times-Dispatch - The 2010 General Assembly adjourned yesterday, one day later than scheduled, after speedy approval by weary lawmakers of a $70 billion-plus budget-balancing plan.
• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Officials leery of hopeful state budget projections – NewsVirginian.com - Area legislators say the state budget for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 agreed on Sunday offers less pain for public education and public safety than earlier anticipated, but still worries the lawmakers because of the revenue forecast.
• Senator Jeff McWaters
  • Lawmakers unlikely to write pay cut into state budget – The Roanoke Times - The governor and his senior staff took a pay cut. State employees are facing layoffs and furloughs. But there's one group of people in Richmond whose salaries don't appear to be in danger: state legislators.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Lawmakers Fight to Close the Umbilical Cord Loophole – WSET.com - A bill has made its way to Governor Bob McDonnell's desk for signature that would make it a punishable offense to take the life of a newborn baby if the baby is still attached to the mother by an umbilical cord.
  • Lawmakers close loophole to protect newborn children – WDBJ7.com - Lawmakers Saturday approved legislation they say will close a loophole in state law and protect newborn children in Virginia.
  • Assembly OKs tweak to Amherst County School Board salaries – Lynchburg News & Advance - Amherst County’s school board salaries were officially lowered to $2,200 per year by the General Assembly on Saturday.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • State budget talks hit snag; final vote today in doubt – The Associated Press - Despite substantial agreement on major issues, legislative negotiations toward a new bare-bones state budget hit a snag late Saturday over a variety of lesser issues.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • ABC stores hard sell for McDonnell – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Nine days off-message is enough to drive a governor to drink.
• Senator Walter Stosch
  • Governor McDonnell Signs Bill Restructuring and Increasing Accountability at VITA – Governor McDonnell Press Release - Governor Bob McDonnell has signed legislation into law that restructures the agency's organization and creates a direct reporting structure between the Chief Information Officer (CIO) / Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) and the Secretary of Technology, Jim Duffey. 
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • BUDGET DEAL REACHED – The Free Lance-Star - State lawmakers passed a two-year, $70 billion budget yesterday that mitigates cuts to education and law enforcement, making up a $4 billion revenue shortfall by raising fees but without general tax increases.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • McDonnell shows some successes in first legislative sessions – The Washington Post - Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell finished his first legislative session with modest victories in economic development and education -- limited goals set as the state continues to face a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall.
• Senator William Wampler, Jr.
  • Lawmakers likely heading for overtime – Culpeper Star-Exponent- The General Assembly appears headed for overtime tomorrow because of the inability of the House of Delegates and Senate to agree on a budget.
  • General Assembly update: Gov. McDonnell meets with budget negotiators – The Roanoke Times - Gov. Bob McDonnell met privately with General Assembly budget negotiators this morning in an effort to push lawmakers toward an agreement in time for Saturday’s scheduled adjournment of the legislative session.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Localities dodge worst of budget cuts – The News Leader - Although the final state budget figures impacting localities are not as bad as many feared, area officials say it is not the silver bullet that will solve their problems.
• Senator Ryan McDougle
  • Sparring continues over Va. air quality control bills – The Virginian-Pilot - Environmentalists have described it as "the Virginia dirty air bill" - a measure that would limit the authority of the State Air Pollution Board and could increase smog problems in Hampton Roads, Richmond and other regions.
  • McDonnell signs emergency legislation overhauling VITA – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Gov. Bob McDonnell now is directly responsible for fixing a problem he inherited: Virginia's troubled information-technology bureaucracy and its fractious dealings with contractor Northrop Grumman.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • McDonnell to Sign Legislation at UVa – Newsplex.com - Gov. Bob McDonnell will sign two bills into law at the University of Virginia on Wednesday that establish college partnership laboratory schools.
• Senator Frank Ruff, Jr.
  • $82 billion state budget passes – South Hill Enterprise - After much deliberation, the General Assembly has passed a two-year $82 billion budget that cuts spending on education, health care and public safety to bridge a $4 billion shortfall.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Area legislators had ups, downs – The Free Lance-Star - The just-ended 2010 legislative session saw lawmakers deal with nearly 3,000 bills and resolutions, of which about 1,600 passed and more than 1,000 failed.
• Senator John Watkins
  • Va. expands booze business in budget­­ – The Washington Examiner - Virginia is slated to open 20 new state-run liquor stores and mark up spirit prices by 2 percent under the state's new budget, signaling lawmakers' increased reliance on alcohol revenues and a potentially deeper resistance to Gov. Bob McDonnell's privatization plan.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr.
  • Revenue projections worry lawmakers – The News Leader - Area legislators say the state could be forced to make additional cuts if it does not meet what they call "optimistic" revenue forecasts.
  • Cleaning up Bay, farms is good biz – Waynesboro News Virginian - A new economic study says farm conservation practices used to clean up Virginia rivers and help restore the Chesapeake Bay generate more economic activity than public cost and offer jobs that last up to a year.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Baby death loophole legislation on governor’s desk – WSLS.com - In 107 days, Virginia law will no longer allow a mother to get away with murdering her newborn baby.
• Senator Fred Quayle
  • Senator: Lawmakers do ‘pretty decent job’ on budget – Tidewater News - After much deliberation, the General Assembly over the weekend passed a two-year $82 billion budget that cuts spending on education, health care and public safety to bridge a $4 billion shortfall.
• Senator Frank Ruff
  • STATE BUDGET: Schools Wait For Numbers  -- The Gazette-Virginian - School officials are eagerly awaiting the final figures on state funding for the Halifax County School System, according to Bill Covington, Halifax County Public Schools chief financial officer.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• ·         Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Study: Farm Clean Water Practices Create Jobs, Boost Economy – Chesapeake Bay Foundation - A new economic study of the farm conservation practices considered critical for cleaning up Virginia rivers and restoring the Chesapeake Bay found that every public dollar spent on implementing the practices will produce $1.56 in new economic activity.
  • VA Senate passes bill to loosen gun laws – Critograph - The Virginia Senate recently approved a bill allowing patrons to carry concealed weapons in bars and restaurants as long as they do not consume any alcohol.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • General Assembly passes law protecting newborns – Altavista Journal - New legislation passed by the General Assembly will make it possible for the state to prosecute a mother who takes the life of her newborn child, according to a March 13 news release from Del. Kathy Byron.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Regional Jail Funding Falls Short In Final Hours Of General Assembly – Page News & Courier - Although a budget amendment pushed through the Senate by Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-26th District) would have guaranteed 50 percent funding from the state for a regional jail for Warren, Shenandoah and Rappahannock counties, the amendment was taken out in the waning minutes of the 2010 General Assembly session late Friday night.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • Local Legislators Reflect on General Assembly – TV3Winchester.com - It proved to be another tough session for legislators in Richmond who had to make unprecedented cuts to state services and programs. On Sunday the regular session adjourned.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Byron/Newman legislation to protect newborn's life passes General Assembly – The Union Star - On the last day of the regular session of the 2010 General Assembly, the legislation to protect new born children passed both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates unanimously.
  • Justice Dept. in talks with Soering attorneys, German government over transfer – The News & Advance - The U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed that it is talking with attorneys for convicted murderer Jens Soering and the nation of Germany, says Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Mercury Paper Moving U.S. Headquarters to Shenandoah County, Creating Jobs – WHSV.com - Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Thursday Mercury Paper, Inc. will invest $21.2 million to expand its current facility in Shenandoah County and relocate its North American headquarters to the site.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Robert Hurt
  • Ground broken on county ag complex – Danville News - The first step toward construction of what officials say will be a marketplace for Pittsylvania County and regional agriculture took place Thursday.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • US, Germany discuss fate of prisoner – Associated Press - The U.S. Justice Department is now involved in the tug-of-war over a German diplomat's son imprisoned in Virginia for a double murder.
  • Department of Justice Responds to Soering Transfer Request – WSET.com - The Department of Justice has officially responded to Senator Steve Newman about the Jens Soering case.
  • German officials petition DOJ to transfer Soering – The Roanoke Times - The German Embassy is petitioning the U.S. Department of Justice to transfer convicted killer Jens Soering from a Virginia prison to Germany, despite Gov. Bob McDonnell’s revocation of permission to let him return to his native country, according to excerpts of a justice department letter released Friday.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • We Do Have A Budget – DNRonline.com - A day late and, in our view, some $620 million short. But Virginia, facing a $4.2 billion shortfall, managed to close the budgetary gap. And the General Assembly achieved said balance without having to raise taxes statewide — something for which all residents should be happy during this time of economic uncertainty and, for many, woe.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Multiple Senators
  • Gov. Bob McDonnell signs Virginia Health Care Freedom Act – WSLS.com - Governor Bob McDonnell (R) signed Virginia’s opposition to the Democratically led federal health care reform bill Wednesday afternoon.
  • Governor McDonnell Signs Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act Legislation – Twin County News - McDonnell: "There are fiscally responsible ways by which we can reform healthcare and expand quality coverage that do not involve the forcing of unfunded and unprecedented mandates onto individuals and states, and the unsustainable growing of our national debt."
  • McDonnell signs Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act – Bearing Drift - Gov. Bob McDonnell reminded everyone today who enacts law in the Commonwealth of Virginia when he ceremonially signed Virginia’s Health Care Freedom Act, setting up a challenge between the commonwealth and the Federal government.
  • McDonnell Signs Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act Legislation – Appomattox News - Governor Bob McDonnell signed the Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act in a mid-afternoon ceremony today in Richmond.
  • Gov. signs law blocking health bill – WAVY.com - Calling the national healthcare bill a historic, unfunded mandate that could add $1 billion to Virginia's budget by 2022, Governor Bob McDonnell signed the Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act Wednesday, a measure to block the national bill.
  • Va. Democrats demand info on health care challenge – The Virginian-Pilot - Virginia Democrats want to know how much time, money and other resources Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is spending on a lawsuit that seeks to block implementation of a federal health care reform law.
• Senator Frank Ruff and Senator Steve Newman
  • Lawmakers brief Chamber members on year to date – The News & Advance - Businessmen and women applauded just one part of Lynchburg-area legislators’ report Wednesday on this year’s General Assembly session.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Funding for SRI to Be Delayed – WHSV.com - SRI International is expected to be a major driver of economic development in the Valley, but the non-profit research firm's development could be slowed due to Virginia's budget woes.
  • Comer Selected To Lead Page GOP – Page News and Courier - Inside the Circuit Courtroom at the Page County Courthouse, members of the Page County Republican Party gathered last week to select its new leadership.
• Senator Ralph Smith
  • Metro columnist Dan Casey: Repair efforts 'starting to roll' at historic tollgate – The Roanoke Times - Will the damaged historic tollgate along the "old road" up Mill Mountain be repaired in time for the Blue Ridge Marathon?

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Steve Newman
  • Ken Cuccinelli says Virginia won’t release Jens Soering without court order – Lynchburg News & Advance - Virginia won’t release convicted murderer Jens Soering to federal custody for any reason short of a court order, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said Monday.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Noose brings felony charge in the city – The Free Lance-Star - A local man was charged with a felony after he menacingly displayed a noose to a teenager in Fredericksburg, police said.
• Senator John Watkins
  • VEA opposes requiring local employees to begin paying share of pension costs – Richmond Times Dispatch - Virginia is proposing to give local governments an option that many teachers don't want them to have -- requiring local employees to begin paying a share of their annual pension costs.

Article Content

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.  

• Senator Steve Newman
  • Governor signs online learning bill at Brookville – Lynchburg News & Advance - Gov. Bob McDonnell visited Brookville High School on Wednesday to sign legislation that makes online learning at home easier for students who don’t attend schools.
  • Cuccinelli Keeps Promise to Challenge “Overreaching” Government – The Roanoke Star-Sentinel - Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli preferred to sit rather then stand at an 8 a.m. coffee with members of the Roanoke Chamber of Commerce this past Tuesday.
• Senator Frank Ruff
  • Tobacco cash eyed for uranium study – The News & Record - Kilgore asks Tobacco Commission to fund study on socio-economic impact of Coles Hill mine

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Museum Displays Frontier Spirit Despite Cuts – WHSV.com - They have had their budget slashed like many other museums, but Executive Director of the Frontier Culture Museum John Avoli is handling the budget cuts with the same frontier spirit his museum represents.
• Senator Steve Newman
  • Lynchburg lawmakers post strong showing in Assembly – The News & Advance - If getting bills passed is a reasonable way to measure a legislator's success, the five delegates and one senator who represent the Lynchburg region in the General Assembly had a good year in Richmond.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • How long will York's Circuit Court seat go unfilled? – The Daily Press - A key York County and Poquoson judgeship that has gone unfilled since the sudden death of a sitting judge in 2008 could stay vacant a lot longer.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. 

• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Local Legislators Talk State Budget Cuts – WHSV.com - State budget cuts may mean harsh consequences for valley businesses.  Local legislators gathered in Harrisonburg to explain exactly how these cuts could affect the community. Specifically, they say it's simply a trickle down effect for business owners.
  • Funding situation focus of meeting – Waynesboro News - Augusta County Supervisor Nancy Sorrells thinks of new road projects differently than most people and that makes VDOT’s shrinking revenue stream for new roads a problem.
  • Governor Bob McDonnell Signs VA Restaurant Carry into Law! – National Rifle Association - Governor Bob McDonnell has signed into law a NRA-backed measure allowing right-to-carry permit holders to carry a concealed firearm for self-defense in restaurants, providing they do not consume alcohol.  State Senator Emmett Hanger (R-24) and Delegate Todd Gilbert (R-15) were the principal sponsors of Senate Bill 334/House Bill 505.
• Senator Ryan McDougle
  • Session’s impact on businesses addressed – The Mechanicsville Local - Hanover County’s legislative delegation told members of the business community how recent legislation could affect their operations in the county.
• Senator Steve Newman
  • State to end free online tax-filing service – GoDanRiver.com - For the past 10 years, Virginia has offered an online service that allows nearly every taxpayer in the commonwealth to file their state income-tax return for free.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • Governor’s office on brewery case – The Virginia Gazette - A representative of Gov. Bob McDonnell said Tuesday that his office is well aware of the importance of the Anheuser-Busch InBev brewery locally and statewide.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Ryan McDougle
  • Va. lawmakers say EPA’s runoff rules use inaccurate data – Charlottesville Daily Progress - A federal agency has cited inaccurate statistics in building a case for tougher stormwater regulations, two Virginia lawmakers said Tuesday.
  • Veteran state legislators cite faulty EPA stormwater claims – The Mechanicsville Local - Two veteran members of the Virginia General Assembly, Del. Tim Hugo of Clifton and Sena. Ryan McDougle of Mechanicsville, announced the release of a letter Wednesday to Gov. Bob McDonnell, which noted that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Chesapeake Bay Program has been using faulty data in their efforts to encourage the six Bay states and the District of Columbia to strengthen their stormwater management regulations.
• Senator Steve Newman
  • Measure allows murder charge in infant death cases – Lynchburg News Advance - Legislation will take effect immediately that allows authorities to charge a woman with murder if she kills her newly born infant while the umbilical cord is still attached.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Virginia legislature restricts abortion funding – The Washington Post - The Virginia General Assembly on Wednesday accepted proposals from Gov. Robert F. McDonnell to restrict state funding for abortions, expand spending on economic development and raise fines for speeders, but lawmakers resisted some cuts he had sought for social services.
• Senator Ralph Smith
  • Republicans Hold Mass Meeting and Women’s Convention – Roanoke Star-Sentinel - On Thursday evening, the Roanoke County Administration Building was packed to capacity for the Roanoke County Republican Mass Meeting. 
  • Bills sink and swim   – OldDominionWatchdog.org - Gov. Bob McDonnell had already signed nearly 800 bills into law when he brought more than one hundred amendments to bills for legislators to approve or reject on Wednesday.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Efforts Fail to Change Virginia’s Worker Compensation Death Presumption Law – Richmond Personal Injury Lawyers - Virginia has a rather peculiar workers compensation law. If the worker is found dead at the scene of his/her accident, the worker's accident is "presumed" to have arisen out of his work.
• Senator William Wampler
  • House preserves funding for public radio, child services – Richmond Times Dispatch - The House of Delegates today rejected Gov. Bob McDonnell’s amendments to reduce funding for public radio and television and for the Comprehensive Services Act, which provides services for needy children.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Robert Hurt
  • Kent: Governor won't lose focus on rural Virginia – Altavista Journal - Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is focused on this part of the state, his top aide told local government leaders last week.
• Senator Steve Newman
  • Umbilical Cord Loophole Closed Immediately – WSET - Not only did local lawmakers help pass legislation that will protect newborn babies, the bill is already law.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell Limits Funding of Abortions – The State Column - Virginia is joining other states in a push to limit and restrict state funding for abortions.
  • Governor to sign ethics bill, minus his 2 changes – The Virginian-Pilot - Legislation that will redefine how investigations of wrongdoing by Virginia lawmakers are conducted has survived the General Assembly obstacle course and will make it past Gov. Bob McDonnell's veto pen, too.
• Senator Fred Quayle
  • Governor Marks 40th Anniversary of Virginia’s Scenic River Program – Appomattox News - At a press event on the banks of the James River today, Governor Bob McDonnell celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the Virginia Scenic River Program.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Virginia Infanticide Amendment Becomes Law – Associated Content - An amendment that was created to correct a troubling loophole in Virginia state law that did not criminalize mothers who killed their newborn babies, has been passed by both houses of legislature and deemed immediately effective.
• Senator Frank Ruff
  • Groups To Honor Beloved Forester Alex Williamson – The Gazette-Virginian - Halifax County Supervisors along with members of the Halifax and South Boston Town Councils are expected to approve and present a resolution tonight honoring well-known forester William Alexander “Alex” Williamson of Alton.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. 

• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Lynchburg leaders ask for state help to break U.S. 29 bypass impasse – Lynchburg News & Advance - The Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and state Sen. Steve Newman are asking the governor and attorney general to help break “a 20-year impasse on the proposed Charlottesville bypass of U.S. 29.”
• Senator Frank Ruff
  • First, prove mining can be safe – The Virginian-Pilot - If there are 119 million pounds of uranium beneath Pittsylvania County, and the state legislature lifts the current mining moratorium, lots of people are going to get jobs.
• Senator William Wampler
  • Alpha Natural Resources holds groundbreaking for new headquarters – TriCities.com - From drawing board to Tuesday’s groundbreaking, Alpha Natural Resources’ new $21 million corporate headquarters already has grown by more than 20 percent.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. 

• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Celebrating Virginians’ Sacrifices – The Richmond Times-Dispatch - Virginia's General Assembly has earned the gratitude of all citizens for acting in its most recent session to preserve the vanishing memories of a unique and glorious piece of the state's history.
  • Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind Breaks Ground on New Facility – WHSV.com - The Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind cut the ribbon on a newly renovated building and broke ground on another facility Wednesday.
  • Progress marked for VSDB-Staunton – Waynesboro News Virginian - For years, the Staunton community feared the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind would be consolidated elsewhere in the state, ending a tradition of service that started in the 1830s and includes a period when the Staunton campus housed wounded Civil War soldiers.
  • Landes: Health reform has many hidden costs – Charlottesville Daily Progress - Federal health care could cost Virginia $1.5 billion over the next year or so, a local delegate said Wednesday.
  • Legislators review GA session, upcoming challenges – The News Leader - Two months after signing off on a state budget that resulted in cutting $4 billion for the biennium, area legislators offered mixed outlooks on the financial future for Virginia.
  • Legislators Speak to Community Members About 2010 General Assembly – WHSV.com - Sen. Emmett Hanger and several other local legislators were in Augusta County Wednesday to talk to community members about the impact of this year's General Assembly.
  • Local Legislators Appointed to Commission for Wilson's Centennial – WHSV.com - Dels. Richard P. “Dickie” Bell (R-Staunton) and R. Steven Landes (R-Weyers Cave) and Sen. Emmett Hanger, Jr. (R- Augusta County) announced Tuesday they have been appointed to the Virginia Commission on the Centennial of the Woodrow Wilson Presidency.
• Senator Ryan McDougle
  • Governor signs McDougle’s public safety legislation – The Mechanicsville Local - Sen. Ryan T. McDougle, R-Hanover, joined Gov. McDonnell and members of the law enforcement community for the unveiling of the Governor’s Executive Order No. 11 highlighting his prisoner re-entry initiative and for the bill signing of the senator’s Senate Bill 670 from this year’s General Assembly session.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Rep. Bob Goodlatte questions Attorney General on Soering transfer – Lynchburg News & Advance - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder cast some doubt Thursday on the possibility that convicted murderer Jens Soering might be transferred to a prison in his native Germany, where he could be paroled in two years.
  • Mr. Holder’s Inexplicable Behavior – Lynchburg News & Advance - No doubt, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is a smart man: a former federal judge, U.S. attorney, Columbia University graduate, the first black American to serve as attorney general.
  • Virginia Passes Higher Speed Limit Despite Safety Risk – 24-7pressrelease.com - In February, the Virginia General Assembly voted to increase the speed limit on some of the state's rural highways from 65 to 70 miles per hour. The measure was proposed by Republican Gov. Bill McDonnell and sponsored by two Republican state representatives, Del. Bill Carrico (R-Galax) and Sen. Steve Newman (R-Lynchburg).
  • The U.S. 29 Speedbump That Is Charlottesville – The News & Advance - For more than two decades, Charlottesville and Albemarle County have been a thorn in the side of communities up and down the U.S. 29 corridor.
  • McDonnell reinforces state’s stance on Soering transfer – The News & Advance - Gov. Bob McDonnell reminded the U.S. attorney general Monday that Virginia opposes a proposed transfer of convicted Bedford County murderer Jens Soering to a prison in his native Germany.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • Four targets of Gloucester supervisors' subpoenas fight back – The Daily Press - Four members of the "Gloucester 40" who were targets of subpoenas by three county supervisors and an ex-supervisors have hired Sen. Tommy Norment to quash them.
  • Shipyard exec gives tips to TNCC graduates – The Daily Press - Thomasina Wright once sat in the seats at her own graduation from Thomas Nelson Community College, so she explained that she had a unique perspective on giving a commencement address for the college.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • BOYD: Set Virginia booze free – The Washington Times - Being honored as the country's No. 1 business state should make all Virginians proud. To continue in that role, however, Virginia must set a national example, applying innovative, pro-business policies that, in return, generate revenues to the Commonwealth.
•  Senator Frank Ruff
  • Rural leaders meet to map out future regional policies – The News & Record - Confronted by continuing economic challenges exasperated by the current economy and continuing changing industrial and agriculture markets, rural leaders from the Southern United States came together to plan for the regions future.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • LifeCare unveils ‘awareness’ ambulance – Stafford County Sun - LifeCare Medical Transports unveiled a unique, new ambulance at a breast-cancer awareness event held May 12 at its Fredericksburg building.
• Senator Frank Wagner
  • On second thought ... Poll shows support for oil drilling way down – Inside Business - PUBLIC SUPPORT for offshore drilling in Virginia has dropped significantly in the wake of the Gulf Coast oil spill disaster, an Inside Business poll has found
  • Uranium Mining Subcommittee to meet in Chatham June 22 – Star-Tribune - The Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy's Uranium Mining Subcommittee will meet in Chatham Tuesday, June 22.
  • Oil off our coast not money in the bank – istockanalyst - While planning his run for governor, Bob McDonnell faced a conundrum: Virginians want better roads, but they don't want to pay for them.
• Senator William Wampler
  • Long-distance health care now covered by insurance – Virginia Lawyers Weekly - Legislation to mandate insurance coverage for telemedicine services in Virginia won unanimous approval in the 2010 General Assembly.
  • Alpha Natural Resources breaks ground on new headquarters in Bristol – Blue Ridge Business Journal - Alpha Natural Resources broke ground last week on a new headquarters in Bristol. The company will seek LEED certification on the building.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Steve Newman
  • Yet More Good News on the Rails – The News & Advance - The new Amtrak train that runs from Lynchburg to Washington, D.C., has been operating only for eight months, so it’s still a bit early to declare it an unqualified success, but ...
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Not your average Walk in the Park – Northern Virginia Daily - Between the llamas and the screech owl, people of all ages had something to see Saturday at the Shenandoah River State Park.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • Vogel Says Oil Spill Setback for Offshore Drilling – TV3Winchester.com - Local law makers say Virginians will have to rethink their approach to offshore drilling in light of the recent tragedy in the gulf. State Senator Jill Vogel, R 27th District, says the gulf oil spill is an enormous set back for offshore drilling in the commonwealth.
  • Vogel Reviews Legislative Session – TV3Winchester.com - State senator Jill Vogel has her priorities set for the next legislative session. Vogel spoke at a Rotary Club luncheon in Winchester this afternoon.
• Senator Frank Wagner
  • Big risk, big boon: Offshore drilling could create 15,000 jobs – The Virginian Pilot - Drilling for oil and natural gas off the Virginia coast has been touted as a potential economic boon for the state and Hampton Roads that would create thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars in investment in the region.
• Senator John Watkins
  • Proposed police gun range in Powhatan meets opposition – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Powhatan County residents and officials weren’t the only ones surprised recently by plans for a proposed state law-enforcement training facility and gun range off Old River Trail.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senators Stephen Newman, Walter Stosch and William Wampler
  • Dominion chief heads McDonnell's higher-ed panel – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Dominion Resources President Thomas Farrell, a former rector of the University of Virginia, will lead Gov. Bob McDonnell's commission tasked with keeping college tuition costs down and boosting the number of students attending college and attaining degrees.
• Senator Robert Hurt
  • Post 52 will hold ceremony honoring veterans on Saturday – WPVCA.com - The American Legion Post 52 of Brookneal will hold its 5th Annual Memorial Day Ceremony on Saturday, May 29, 11 a.m., at Brookneal Community Building, Main Street, Brookneal. This year's guest speaker will be State Senator Robert Hurt.
• Senator Stephen Newman
  • Falwell named to higher-education reform commission – Lynchburg News & Advance - Gov. Bob McDonnell has appointed Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. to serve on his Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment, according to an announcement made Friday.
  • Oil Spill Fears Here at Home – WSET.com - President Obama spoke out Thursday about just how dire the situation in the Gulf of Mexico is.
• Senator Frank Ruff
  • The Complex is open – VaNcNews.com - Five years ago a group of forward thinking Clarksville residents dared to dream of the future.
• Senator William Wampler
  • City leaders approve loan for school office building – Bristol Herald Courier - City leaders Tuesday unanimously agreed to seek a $3 million interest-free loan to pay for a school administration building.
• Senator John Watkins
  • Law To Require Localities To Pay For Buried Transmission Lines – Leesburg Today - Starting July 1, residents and local governments will find it more difficult to lobby the State Corporation Commission to force power companies to place new transmission lines underground.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • 81: Wait and see – August Free Press - You might remember all the hubbub over what they were planning to do with Interstate 81.
• Senator Robert Hurt
  • Dozens speak out on uranium mining – Danville News - The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission’s Uranium Mining Subcommittee met at Chatham High School on Tuesday night, where residents filled the auditorium, and about 70 people spoke out on the scope of a proposed study to examine the socioeconomic impacts of uranium mining and milling.
• Senator Steve Newman
  • Governor signs Newman’s charter school bill – Lynchburg News Advance - Gov. Bob McDonnell signed legislation Tuesday intended to increase the number of charter schools in Virginia.
  • Ceremonial Signing of Bill to Facilitate Expansion of Charter School – Synavista News - Nine days before Virginia’s new laws take effect, Governor Bob McDonnell today ceremonially signed legislation that will facilitate the expansion of high-quality charter schools in the Commonwealth.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • ESSAY: Beware a hotel bailout – The Virginia Gazette - During this age of corporate welfare and federal bailouts, it is refreshing when businesses engage in self-help.
• Senator Fred Quayle
  • Rescue child life preserver law – HamptonRoads.com Blog - I AM THE riverkeeper for the Blackwater Nottoway Riverkeeper Program in Virginia. This past year, I tried to get a child PFD (personal flotation device, or life preserver) law passed for Virginia's inland waters with the help of Sen. Fred Quayle.
• Senator Walter Stosch
  • State Employees Could Receive “Bonus” – Virginia Statehouse News - Virginia state employees are inching closer to getting a one-time bonus check before the end of the year.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • BOS, state lawmakers tackle transportation – The Journal - The Westmoreland Supervisors met last week with Virginia Senator Richard Stuart and Delegate Albert Pollard for the purpose of soliciting creation of a revenue stream dedicated to road im-provement needs.
• Senator John Watkins
  • Corrections to explore uses for Powhatan-Goochland land, facilities – GoDanRiver.com - The Virginia Department of Corrections is exploring major changes for the 4,051 pastoral acres it owns on both sides of the James River in Goochland and Powhatan counties and the facilities it operates there.

                On July 1, 2010, nearly 900 new laws passed during this year’s General Assembly session will take effect.  Among that legislation are dozens of bills sponsored by members of the Senate Republican Caucus.

                 “While the focus of this year’s session was rightfully on the budget, the General Assembly managed to pass many positive bills focused on an array of policy areas,” commented Senate Republican Leader Thomas K. Norment, Jr. (James City).  “Members of the Senate Republican Caucus carried bills this session focused on job creation, economic development, education, transportation, public safety, and many other policy areas.  In fact, the legislation that is the basis for Virginia’s lawsuit against the federal healthcare bill was first passed as a policy proposed by Senate Republicans.”

                 Below are some highlights of key bills patroned by each member of the Senate Republican Caucus that will take effect on Thursday.

• Senator Harry Blevins (Chesapeake)
  • SB 8 – Sets up certification program for pyrotechnicians and firework operators and requires a certified person be present when fireworks displays are conducted.
  • SB 201 – Requires the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission (JLARC) to conduct an operational and performance audit of Virginia’s transportation programs.
• Senator Emmett Hanger (Augusta)
  • SB 334 – Allows persons with concealed handgun permits to carry concealed weapons into restaurants or bars so long as they do not consume alcohol.
  • SB 623 – Allows tax credits for the creation of “green” jobs.
• Senator Robert Hurt (Pittsylvania)
  • SB 455 – Exempts veterans from the handling fee charged by the Department of Business Assistance when establishing a small business through the one-stop small business permitting program. 
  • SB 486 – Requires the Department of Juvenile Justice to provide information to law-enforcement relating to involvement in or investigations of criminal street gangs. 
• Senator Steve Martin (Chesterfield)
  • SB 55 – Allows voters entitled to vote absentee due to active duty military service, service in the merchant marines, or temporary residence outside of the United States and the dependents of such voters to use the federal write-in absentee ballot to voce in state and local elections, as well as federal elections.
  • SB 311 – Provides that no resident of the Commonwealth shall be required to maintain an insurance policy.
• Senator Ryan McDougle (Hanover)
  • SB 128 – Allows for trading of NOx and SO2 credits and prohibits the Air Pollution Control Board from preventing businesses in certain regions of the state from purchasing such credits from other facilities.
  • SB 670 – Requires prisoners who owe fines, court costs, and other penalties to contribute part of their pay from work programs to relieving this obligation.
• Senator Jeff McWaters (Virginia Beach)
  • SB 696 – Allows active-duty military personnel in uniform to use HOV lanes in Hampton Roads regardless of the number of passengers.
• Senator Steve Newman (Lynchburg)
  • SB 537 – Allows for increases in the speed limit to 70 mph on highways that currently have 65 mph speed limits. 
  • SB 602 – The fact that an umbilical cord has not been cut or that the placenta remains attached should not be considered when determining if an infant has achieved an independent and separate existence
  • SB 736 – Allows for the establishment of college partnership laboratory schools by any public college that operates a teacher education program.  Schools will be public schools established by contract between the college’s board and the Board of Education.  Teachers shall be employees of the college and licensed by the Board of Education. 
  • SB 737 – Requires charter school applicant to submit charter application to state Board of Education for review based on Board’s criteria before being submitted to local school board.  If application is denied, the applicant may seek technical assistance from the Superintendent of Public Instruction and petition for reconsideration of the decision. 
  • SB  738 – Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop and the Board of Education to approve criteria for approving multi-division providers of online courses and virtual school programs.  Allows local school boards to enter into contracts with approved private or non-profit organizations to provide such courses and programs. 
• Senator Tommy Norment (James City)
  • SB 512 – Requires legislators to disclose on their Statement of Economic Interest any salary they or members of their immediate families earn from state or local governments or advisory agencies.
  • SB 520 – Adds murder of auxiliary police officers or auxiliary deputy sheriffs to the capital murder statute
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • SB 352 – Allows for delayed implementation of statutes and regulations for school accreditation that were not already in effect as of June 30, 2008.
• Senator Fred Quayle
  • SB 283 – Provides that no resident of the Commonwealth shall be required to maintain an insurance policy.
• Senator Frank Ruff
  • SB 656 – Adds personal property and real property improvements used primarily to manufacture a product from renewable energy as a separate classification of property for local property tax purposes.
• Senator Ralph Smith (Botetourt)
  • SB 506 – Prohibits the Governor, his PAC, or any pertinent Secretaries from knowingly soliciting or accepting contributions, gifts, or other items worth more than $50 from any bidders or offerors, their controlling persons, or persons acting on their behalf, who have submitted bids or proposals for public contracts worth $5 million.
• Senator Walter Stosch (Henrico)
  • SB 739 – Expands the use of grants from the Governor’s Development Opportunity Fund to allow such grants to be used for the construction or build-out of privately owned buildings to allow Virginia to more aggressively pursue companies looking to construct headquarters and operations centers in Virginia.  
• Senator Richard Stuart (Westmoreland)
  • SB 151 – Prevents home owners’ associations from prohibiting the display of American flags on private property.
• Senator Jill Vogel (Fauquier)
  • SB 408 – Allows persons who may lawfully own a firearm to carry a handgun in a private motor vehicle if it is locked in a container or compartment.
  • SB 417 – Provides that no resident of the Commonwealth shall be required to maintain an insurance policy.
• Senator Frank Wagner (Virginia Beach)
  • SB 394 – Sets the Commonwealth’s policy to support exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas resources 50 miles or more off Virginia’s coast.
• Senator William Wampler (Bristol)  
  • SB 613 – Allows members of the Virginia National Guard called to state active duty by the Governor to continue their health care coverage, at the member’s expense.
  • SB 622 – Prohibits dental insurance plans from establishing a rate that a dentist or oral surgeon is required to accept for services unless the services are covered under the dental plan.
• Senator John Watkins (Powhatan)
  • SB 243 – Exempts active duty military personnel who are residents and on leave from having to obtain a basic fishing license.
  • SB 472 – Reduces the number of full-time jobs needed to qualify for the Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit from 100 to 50, or from 50 to 25 in enterprise zones. 
  • SB 475 – Provides that grants and loans from the Governor’s Development Opportunity Fund be awarded based on job creation, private capital investment, and additional tax revenue expected to accrue to the state or localities. 

To learn about more of the laws taking effect on July 1, you may read the Session Highlights publication prepared by the Division of Legislative Services or visit the Legislative Information System website.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Steven Newman
  • Double-murderer Soering to stay in Virginia – Richmond Times-Dispatch - The U.S. Justice Department is leaving double-murderer Jens Soering in a Virginia prison to serve out his punishment.
  • Update: Jens Soering to Stay in Virginia – WSET.com - The Department of Justice has decided prisoner Jens Soering will not be leaving Virginia.
  • Convicted murderer Soering to remain in Virginia prisons – Lynchburg News & Advance - Heavy opposition from Virginia officials, including Gov. Bob McDonnell, legislators and law enforcement, persuaded the U.S. Department of Justice to leave convicted murderer Jens Soering in a state prison.
• Senator Mark Obenshain
  • Governor Announces Funding Plans for Rest Areas – WHSV.com - Barricades no longer block the entrances to some of the Valley's rest areas, but there's still a lot of attention being paid to the issue of funding them.
  • Catholic involvement ‘critical’ in Virginia abortion funding victory, advocate says – Catholic News Agency - “Countless hours” of behind-the-scenes advocacy helped add significant restrictions on abortion funding to the Virginia budget, the director of the Virginia Catholic Conference (VCC) has explained.
• Senator Frank Ruff
  • Ground broken for regional jail – VaNcNews.com - The weather was lovely on Thursday, July 1, for the ground breaking ceremony for the Meherrin River Regional Jail located at the intersection of Boydton Plank Road and Liberty Road.
• Senator Richard Stuart
  • Menhaden working group misled – Northumberland Echo - It will be interesting to see who shows up at State Sen. Ralph Northern's menhaden management working group meetings when they start later this month.
  • New laws take effect across Commonwealth – Northern Neck News - A number of new Virginia laws went into effect July 1, some of which have much bearing locally, according to state lawmakers.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Emmett Hanger
  • Stones' 'Sweet Virginia' would be a sweet state song – Roanoke Times - It's time to put an end to one of this commonwealth's glaring lapses, one that has existed for more than a decade, and one that's been debated back and forth without effective resolution.
• Senator Ryan McDougle
  • Hanover County Commonwealth’s Attorney Summarizes New Laws – Hanover County News Flash - Most likely, due to budget constraints, the General Assembly passed limited legislation affecting criminal law or criminal procedure in the Commonwealth. 
• Senator Steven Newman
  • McDonnell administration to convene meeting to break U.S. 29 impasse – Charlottesville Tomorrow - Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton has directed Lynchburg and Charlottesville officials to meet in early August to hammer out disagreements over the future of U.S. 29 through Albemarle County.
  • Lead investigator reacts to Jens Soering decision – WDBJ7.com - We're hearing reaction to the U.S. Attorney General's decision to keep a convicted murderer in Virginia.
  • Haysom relatives on Soering decision: 'It's about time' – The Lynchburg News & Advance - The U.S. Department of Justice decision this week, after six months of thinking it over, to leave convicted murderer Jens Soering in a Virginia prison came as a relief to the family of his victims.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • Competition, recession have hurt Va. horse-racing industry – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Virginia's legacy of horse racing is in jeopardy.
• Senator Frank Wagner
  • Is the stimulus stimulating things in Hampton Roads? – The Virginian-Pilot - The antiquated repair shop where mechanics once worked on Norfolk's street cars is gone.

The following are articles from newspapers, blogs, and other news sources throughout the Commonwealth and the country featuring members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

• Senator Steve Newman
  • Senator Newman Considers Plan For Private Liquor Sales – WSET.com - Governor McDonnell continues to push for a plan to privatize liquor sales in the commonwealth. It could generate up to half-a-billion dollars a year, which the governor's office says would be used to improve transportation.
• Senator Tommy Norment
  • Pay-for-judge requirement for disputed divorces – Daily Press - Looking to divorce in York County or Poquoson? If contested, it's going to cost $250 an hour just for the judge.
  • York Notebook: Deputy prosecutor in mix for judge's seat – WTVR.com - A new name — and potential impasse breaker — has emerged in the ongoing stalemate between two state lawmakers regarding an appointment to fill the York-Poquoson Circuit Court judge's seat vacant since N. Prentis Smiley died in late 2008.
• Senator Frank Ruff
  • McDonnell to return from overseas trip tomorrow – Richmond Times-Dispatch - Gov. Bob McDonnell hopes to return from his first foreign trade mission with jobs for central Virginia.
• Senator Walter Stosch
  • Virginia Tax: Income tax burden shifts to higher-income Virginians – Taxrates.cc - While high-income Virginians are paying proportionally more income tax than a decade ago, analysts warn income tax alone gives an incomplete picture of how the state's tax burden is spread out.
• Senator Jill Vogel
  • Winchester looks to "go green" – TV3Winchester.com - When you think about "going green", it may be hard to imagine what we could do to have an impact, but Thursday leaders took the first step to move our community in that direction.
• Senator Frank Wagner
  • Going Solar in Virginia Isn't All That Easy – SolarTown - Thanks to severe home improvement regulations from homeowners associations (HOAs), as well as lack of state-funded incentives, residents and business owners in Virginia are waging an uphill battle to go solar.
• Senator John Watkins
  • Many support high-speed rail plan, but some worry about overpasses – The Progress-Index - The comments rolled in as folks shared their concerns and hopes for proposed high speed rail service connecting Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, N.C., through the Tri-Cities.