Issue Position: Good Government

Issue Position

For the 2013 session, I introduced several bills related to improving the operation of government generally that are advancing in the General Assembly. They are:

HB 1890, which would improve the disclosure of government financial transactions on the Internet to create more transparency and accountability in spending your tax dollars. This bill passed the House and the Senate and was signed into law by Governor McDonnell.

HB 1892, which corrects a provision in law pertaining to how the statute of limitations applies to certain sexual abuse crimes. The bill passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor McDonnell.

HB 2019 would require greater clarity in the disclosure of local school board regulations on the Internet. The bill passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor McDonnell.

HB 2020 would prevent tolls collected on toll roads in Virginia from being used for purposes other than to construct or maintain the road. This bill was referred to the Transportation Committee, but no action was taken.

As in prior years, I voted for a balanced state budget in 2012.

In keeping with a campaign promise, I introduced legislation in 2010 and 2011 requiring the House of Delegates to electronically publish the voting records of every Member of the Virginia House on the Virginia General Assembly website. The 2011 legislation was approved, and it is now possible to easily look up by Member name how a particular Member voted on bills and resolutions. Adding a feature to search by a Delegate's name is fundamental to creating more openness and transparency of Virginia's government. I was the first Member of the House or Senate to publish my entire floor voting record online. My voting record is available at www.LeMunyon.com.

In addition to keeping the state budget balanced, the General Assembly took a number of steps that I supported to improve the operation of Virginia's government, including:

Consolidating and eliminating seven agencies and 25 boards and commissions that outlived their usefulness;
Reforming the state pension system for local government employees, including teachers, to ensure the long-term solvency of the Virginia Retirement System;
Approving a proposed state constitutional amendment to strengthen property rights related to the taking of private property for public use. This will be on the November 2012 ballot for voter approval;
Requiring local school divisions to determine and report how much of our tax dollars are spent on classroom learning rather than on overhead or other expenses;
Keeping state agencies from competing with private companies, which was the subject of an amendment I authored to the Governor's government reform legislation;
Allowing local governments to stop unlicensed home contractors from doing business in Virginia, which was a bill that I authored (H.B. 1277);
Strengthening criminal laws pertaining to sex offenders, crimes against children, drug traffickers, and drunk drivers.

The House, but not the Senate, passed legislation with my support to facilitate greater information sharing between the Virginia State Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when a person who has committed a felony is also found to be in the U.S. illegally. I expect this issue will be considered again in 2013.

In 2011, I introduced H.B. 2003 which required the Department of General Services to perform an inventory of all state owned land and buildings and update the list annually. This is the first audit of real estate owned by the Commonwealth in over 15 years, with the goal being to identify surplus property that can be sold to the benefit of the state budget. This bill passed and become law in 2011, and the inventory is ongoing.

Source