A positive and bipartisan Governor Bob McDonnell, who mentioned working together and bipartisanship no less than a dozen times, addressed a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly this evening, laying out specific proposals for increasing jobs and opportunity, improving education, encouraging energy investment and balancing the budget – and laid down the gauntlet by saying he would veto any budget that has a tax increase.
Here are some of McDonnell’s proposals:
Invest in job creation:
* Increase the amount of money to a “Commonwealth Economic Development Fund”. The fund’s name changes from Governor’s Opportunity fund by a bill introduced by Minority Leader Ward Armstrong; McDonnell wants to double the amount of that fund by 2011.
* Incentivize rural economic development
* Increase biotech funding – and include a science and technology tax exemption
* Bring the eligibility for the $1000 per job tax exemption for creating jobs down to 50 in urban and 25 in rural areas
* Make it easier to open and operate a small business, such as:
– Allowing business who are creating more business to operate under their current license
– To license new businesses in 48 hours or less
– To enhance business one stop (a web initiative)
– and, to waive licensing fees for veterans starting a business
* Increase advertising for tourism, with the knowledge that the state gets a $5 return from every $1 spent. (He mentioned specifically where I am from – Michigan – and it made me laugh because a lot of Michiganders aren’t just coming to visit – they’re moving here. There are four Michigan families on my small culdesac of about 12 houses)
* Prepare for the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation (from 2011-2013) and increase funding to the Virginia Tourism Cooperation by $3.6 million per year
* Increase film production funding by $2 million this year
* Increase funding by $1.3 million to the spaceport – a proposal by former Gov. Kaine that he would like to keep.
* Increase funding to the Virginia wine promotion fund
Energy – make Virginia the capital of the east coast (one minute applause line)
– McDonnell wants Virginia to be the first state to sell leasing rights in 2011
– McDonnell said that the state that is first to begin leasing will “reap an economic bonanza”
– He also reiterated that he wants 20% of any revenues and royalties from Offshore energy to be invested in renewable energy products and 80% to transportation
– promote coal and natural gas in SW VA
– incentivize Nuclear power (mentioned the Ariva and UVA partnership)
– Make the commonwealth a green jobs zone (income tax credit of $500 per position created)
Regarding tax policy, McDonnell said that the Virginia economy will not be turned around by taxing Virginians more. “If you pass a bill that raises taxes, I will veto it,” he said. (Thus the gauntlet was thrown/or the mace, if you prefer)
Because that is the case, McDonnell will have to find an additional $2 billion is spending cuts.
McDonnell mentioned eliminating, consolidating, or privatizing agencies that “do not serve a core function of government”, such as ABC stores.
He also recalled that since 1991, state spending has more than tripled.
“Make government more limited and effective, efficient and affordable,” he said.
Regarding education, McDonnell said that good schools and good choices need to be available for every child in the state. Specifically, he said:
– No child should attend a school that’s not accredited
– no child should be limited by location
– when a child graduates from high school they should be career or college ready
– 65% of all dollars spent by government on education must go to instruction in the classroom – right now it’s 61%. He’d like to see an increase in the state avg by 1% per year.
– Create more Charter schools – a policy that is shared with President Obama. Currently there are 4600 charter schools nationally, but only 3 in VA. There is currently $4.35 B in president’s fund for “race to the top” and Virginia has applied for $350 million, but only if our charter school laws are changed will we receive the funding.
– He’d like to create 100,000 college degrees in the next 15 years at state and community colleges.
With respect to transportation, McDonnell also called on opening the rest areas within 87 days, raising the speed limit on highways in more rural areas to 70 mph, and conducting a performance audit of VDOT.
On public safety, McDonnell continued his calls to protect victims of domestic crime, continue the fight against gang violence, and provide real opportunity for prisoners to turn their lives around and rejoin society through faith based and other effective re-entry programs.
Following Gov. McDonnell’s speech, Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw and Senator Mamie Locke provided the Democratic response.
The Democrats said that nothing had been done regarding transportation and that it was “crippling” regions such as Hampton Roads. They also threatened that if taxes are not raised, we risk losing 23,000 jobs in public education. They claim the targeted spending cuts made in the Kaine budget are sufficient.
“We will not balance the budget on the backs of school children,” Locke said in a wonderful moment of hyperbole (as no such cuts are being proposed).
The Kaine budget also contains cuts to public safety, which McDonnell disagrees with. The Democrats mentioned that the cuts to public safety was also unacceptable.
Also following the speech, Speaker of the House of Delegates Bill Howell elaborated on the challenges and tonight’s speech:
“A shared commitment to job creation, economic prosperity and fiscal restraint by government will remain our key focus as this session now begins in earnest [and] we do what needs to be done to bring state spending in line with limited taxpayer revenues.
“We have our work cut out for us to be sure, but I believe Governor McDonnell tonight helped get us off to a good start and on the right foot.”
