Governor Bob McDonnell's Legislative and Budget Amendments Receive Broad Support in Reconvened Session

Press Release

Governor Bob McDonnell's legislative and budget amendments received broad support during the reconvened session of the 2011 General Assembly session. The Republican-majority House of Delegates and Democratic-majority State Senate approved 90 percent of the governor's amendments to previously passed legislation (96% in the House and 90% in the Senate), and 76 percent of his amendments to the state budget. Most notably, the General Assembly backed the governor's amendments on such measures as higher-education reform and transportation, as well as funding to expand job creating programs in tourism and film, preserve Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, promote virtual schools, and provide new support for Eastern Virginia Medical School. The General Assembly also backed the governor on his effort to give the Commonwealth a long sought-after seat on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to help improve safety and accountability in the Metro system.

The General Assembly also upheld three of the governor's four vetoes of legislation, including his vetoes of an unfunded mandate on local school districts to provide 150 minutes of physical education instruction per week and several new burdensome environmental mandates and fines on agriculture and business. The governor's longstanding commitment to law enforcement was advanced through the Assembly's unanimous support of his initiatives to increase funding for local sheriff's offices and state troopers, in order to put more officers on the street.

Speaking about the General Assembly's actions, the governor remarked, "The 2011 session of the Virginia General Assembly will be remembered for the passage of breakthrough legislation on our top priorities of higher education, transportation, job creation and government reform. Working across party lines, we have created a framework to put $4 billion into transportation over the next 3 years. That is the most new funding for roads, rail and other infrastructure in Virginia in a generation, and we are doing it without raising taxes. We also were successful in enacting legislation that will make it easier for Virginia students to attend Virginia colleges, and move us closer to our goal of awarding 100,000 more degrees over the next 15 years, especially in math and science disciplines, making Virginia one of the most well-educated states in the nation. Together with our major new incentives to encourage private-sector businesses to move to Virginia and to expand existing businesses, along with our ongoing work to make state government smaller and more efficient, we are putting in place the policies that will lead to continued private-sector job creation and a real economic recovery. In Richmond, we demonstrated yet again how leaders from different parties can step across the aisle to provide positive solutions to the challenges our citizens face. A total of 92 percent of our legislative agenda passed the General Assembly. With a Republican House and a Democratic Senate, those results are only possible through bipartisan cooperation. I thank the members of both bodies for their ongoing work with us to make it easier for the private sector to create the good jobs Virginians need, and put in place the fiscal and business environment essential to future economic growth."

He continued, "We put forth 134 legislative amendments for consideration in the reconvened session, as well as 86 specific amendments to the budget bill. I am very pleased that the legislature approved 90 percent of our amendments to legislation, and 76 percent of our amendments to the budget. Three out of four vetoes were upheld. I thank the members of the General Assembly for backing our effort to give the Commonwealth a much-needed and long overdue seat on the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority Board. This move gives Virginia equal standing with Maryland and the District of Columbia, and will help ensure a stronger and better managed Metro system. Further, the members of both houses approved some of my measures to improve the Virginia Retirement System. While these were important, but small, first steps, I am disappointed with the legislatures refusal this year to substantively address the 17.6 billion unfunded liability in the state employee pension system. We cannot keep delaying the structural reforms and decisive actions needed to address this problem. I remain committed to working with the General Assembly over the course of this year to seek additional reforms that will help ensure the long-term fiscal integrity of the system."

McDonnell concluded, "I also appreciate the members joining with us to support my veto of legislation to force an unfunded mandate onto local school districts with new physical education requirements. I am disappointed that our proposed veto of an increase in the medical malpractice cap was overridden. Increasing the medical malpractice cap without enacting other reforms in the medical malpractice litigation system at the same time will not bring down healthcare costs. We should be working to make healthcare more affordable for our citizens, and legislation that increases health care costs at a time when federal legislation is putting expensive mandates on the States should not be approved. I thank the House of Delegates for its support of our proposal to eliminate state funding for public broadcasting over the next two years. Unfortunately the Senate did not follow their lead on the need to cut government spending and set priorities. We will continue to work to find ways to make government more efficient and productive, and less costly, and I trust the General Assembly will support these efforts. Funding television and radio broadcasts in a competitive free market is not a core function of government."

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