Legislative Update for February 8, 2011 Meeting

Virginia Legislation

HB 1721

Bob Marshall's bill to keep land use planning at the local level, and make now state mandated “Urban Development Areas” optional rather than mandatory (pushing back again Agenda 21), was reported out of the House Counties, Cities and Towns Committee by only one vote.

YEAS--Marshall, R.G., Oder, Marshall, D.W., Iaquinto, Crockett-Stark, Poindexter, Merricks, Knight, Morefield, Stolle, LeMunyon, Wilt--12.
NAYS--Ingram, Edmunds, Spruill, Ware, O., Pollard, McQuinn, Howell, A.T., Surovell, Kory, Torian--10.
ABSTENTIONS--0.
NOT VOTING--0.

There is a scheduled House vote today (Feb. 8) on this bill, but as of this update, no further information has been available.


HB 1421 - Immigration Law Enforcement

Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment (15-Y 6-N)

YEAS--Albo, Kilgore, Athey, Janis, Bell, Robert B., Cline, Iaquinto, Gilbert, Peace, Miller, J.H., Loupassi, Villanueva, Habeeb, Johnson, Barlow--15.
NAYS--Armstrong, Watts, Toscano, Herring, McClellan, Hope--6.
ABSTENTIONS--0.
NOT VOTING--Cleaveland--1.


HB 1727 - Virginia Fair Employment Act

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (16-Y 4-N)

YEAS--Albo, Kilgore, Athey, Janis, Bell, Robert B., Cline, Iaquinto, Gilbert, Peace, Miller, J.H., Loupassi, Villanueva, Habeeb, Johnson, Armstrong, Barlow--16.
NAYS--Watts, Herring, McClellan, Hope--4.
ABSTENTIONS--0.
NOT VOTING--Cleaveland, Toscano--2.


HB 1775 - School Transparency

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (16-Y 4-N)

YEAS--Albo, Kilgore, Athey, Janis, Bell, Robert B., Cline, Iaquinto, Gilbert, Peace, Miller, J.H., Loupassi, Villanueva, Habeeb, Johnson, Barlow, Watts--16.
NAYS--Armstrong, Herring, McClellan, Hope--4.
ABSTENTIONS--0.
NOT VOTING--Cleaveland, Toscano--2


HB 1397 - End Mandatory Federal “Green” Home Inspections

Delegate Bob Marshall:

"HB 1397 passed the House of Delegates thanks to your help! This bill sets up another challenge to the federal government’s overreach which could require inspections by the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct mandatory “green” energy audits and mandatory remodeling before selling your home. It is now in the Senate Agriculture Committee."

HJ 496 - End the Practice of Adding Taxes & Fees and Removing Tax Deductions in Budget

Delegate Bob Marshall:

I pre-filed this Constitutional Amendment on July 19, 2010 to end the practice of hiding fees and taxes in the budget. I spoke all around Virginia and my son designed a four-page glossy brochure to educate citizens. We printed, mailed and distributed nearly 10,000 brochures about the need for this Constitutional Amendment. Despite the tradition that when two virtually identical bills are introduced, the lower number bill passes, my bill was instead incorporated into Delegate Janis’ Bill, HJ 615 which was filed one day before session started. My bill was before the subcommittee the first week of session, but was passed over until Del. Janis was able to have his measure before the subcommittee.

While this was an abuse of process (Delegate Janis is the Subcommittee Chair) imitation is a form of flattery. I thank you all for helping move the substance of my bill forward, even if the bill number does not bear by name, as it will promote the common good for Virginia.

Gun Bills discussed by VCDL:

Senator Reynold's pneumatic gun bill, SB 757, passed the Senate and heads to the House, where it starts working its way through the committee structure all over again.

The following anti-gun bills were KILLED, er, actually, CRUSHED, tonight in the House Militia, Police and Public Safety subcommittee #1:

HB 1699 - Delegate McClellan's "gun show loophole" bill died by a vote of 4 to 1 (Delegate Keam voted for the bill).

HB 2343 - Delegate Morrissey's bill to criminalize the consumption of an alcoholic beverage in a restaurant by someone who is openly carrying a handgun died **unanimously.** A Richmond police officer in UNIFORM came to speak for all the gun control bills, including this one. That was awfully rich from someone who is allowed by the law to carry a concealed handgun and drink. What a hypocrite.

HB 2524 - Delegate Carr's bill to ban the sale, barter or transfer of magazines that hold 20 or more rounds died **unanimously.**

And Some Bad News

HB 1732 - Delegate Carrico's full recognition of out-of-state permits was withdrawn without comment

HB 2069 - Delegate Athey's Constitutional Carry bill (no CHP required) was withdrawn. Athey stated that he had drawn up the bill himself and didn't use Legislative Services. The bill is fatally flawed, he said, and could not be fixed unless it is reintroduced with a different description and all the technical mistakes fixed. That, he vowed to do next year.

Feb. 3 Update from the Tuesday Morning Coalition Group:

1) Eminent Domain Constitutional Amendment:
HJ 647 Constitutional amendment; taking or damaging of private property for public use (first reference).
Robert B. Bell all patrons

Status:
01/12/11 House: Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
01/13/11 House: Assigned P & E sub: #1 Constitutional
01/17/11 House: Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (3-Y 2-N)
01/28/11 House: Passed by for the day in Privileges and Elections by voice vote

On late Thursday evening of last week, HJ 693 patroned by Del. Johnny Joannou contained the language to which we had agreed for reforming the eminent domain law of Virginia by constitutional amendment. By Friday morning the language had changed, substantially. No longer would property owners receive just compensation for their losses, as business losses would no longer be a compensable damage.

After this language was struck from the resolution, the remaining language was made identical to a resolution put forth by Del. Rob Bell, HJ 647, and the decision was made that the new resolution would go forward with Del. Bell as the patron. Last Friday (1/28), the resolution was not brought up for a vote, but was carried over until this Friday (2/4).

The excuse given by legislators for not wanting to provide compensation for business loses to property owners who are having their land taken by eminent domain, is that this would cost too much. They acknowledge that there are real costs that must be borne by one of the parties. However, instead of society bearing these costs because it is benefitting from the taking of the property, the government wants this cost to be absorbed by the property owner who is already having to relinquish his property due to no fault of his own.

If society is not willing to provide just, and full, compensation for the taking of private property, then we must ask ourselves if there was a real justification for taking the property in the first place.

Please call the people on the committee below and tell them you want the language that was deleted from Del. Joannou’s resolution to be put in Del. Bell’s resolution before it is voted on this Friday.

In the final analysis this is another example of the state government putting its interests ahead of the interests of the people, or the state government putting the welfare of special interest condemners ahead of the people.

This November all 140 members of the General Assembly are up for reelection.
John Taylor

House Privileges and Elections Committee Members:
Del. Mark Cole (R) (804) 698-1088 DelMCole@house.virginia.gov (chairman)
Del. Lacey Putney (I) (804) 698-1019 DelLPutney@house.virginia.gov
Del. Riley Ingram (R) (804) 698-1062 DelRIngram@house.virginia.gov
Del. Chris Jones (R) (804) 698-1076 DelCJones@house.virginia.gov
Del. David Albo (R) (804) 698-1042 DelDAlbo@house.virginia.gov
Del. John Cosgrove (R) (804) 698-1078 DelJCosgrove@house.virginia.gov
Del. John O'Bannon (R) (804) 698-1073 DelJOBannon@house.virginia.gov
Del. Robert Bell (R) (804) 698-1058 DelRBell@house.virginia.gov
Del. Jackson Miller (R) (804) 698-1050 DelJMiller@house.virginia.gov
Del. Steven Landes (R) (804) 698-1025 DelSLandes@house.virginia.gov
Del. Bill Janis (R) (804) 698-1056 DelBJanis@house.virginia.gov
Del. Timothy Hugo (R) (804) 698-1040 DelTHugo@house.virginia.gov
Del. Todd Gilbert (R) (804) 698-1015 DelTGilbert@house.virginia.gov
Del. John Cox (R) (804) 698-1055 DelJCox@house.virginia.gov
Del. Clarence Phillips (D) (804) 698-1002 DelBPhillips@house.virginia.gov
Del. James Scott (D) (804) 698-1053 DelJScott@house.virginia.gov
Del. Kenneth Alexander (D) (804) 698-1089 DelKAlexander@house.virginia.gov
Del. Johnny Joannou (D) (804) 698-1079 (no email)
Del. Mark Sickles (D) (804) 698-1043 DelMSickles@house.virginia.gov
Del. Algie Howell (D) (804) 698-1090 DelAHowell@house.virginia.gov
Del. Rosalyn Dance (D) (804) 698-1063 DelRDance@house.virginia.gov
Del. Lionel Spruill (D) DelLSpruill@house.virginia.gov

2) Intrastate Commerce:
HB1438 Goods produced or manufactured within State; not subject to federal law, federal regulation, etc.Mark L. Cole all patrons


Status: 01/27/11 Senate: Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor. HB1438 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor. It is not expected to be taken up by the committee until after Crossover (2/9).

3) Budget Transparency:
SB 867 Budget bill; Conference Committee Report shall not be considered until on website for 72 hours.
Ralph K. Smith all patrons

Status: 01/26/11 Senate: Assigned Rules sub: #1.

SB867 passed the Senate Rules Sub-Committee #1 by a vote of 2-1 (Quayle and Puckett voted yea, Edwards voted nay). It will now be heard in the full Senate Rules Committee. This committee meets at the call of the Chairman which could be as early as tomorrow afternoon or Friday morning. Please call the members of this committee TODAY to let them know we’re watching this bill, and ask them to vote YES on SB867.

HB 1440 Prolife Bill

Would

• Express the consensus of the General Assembly that life begins at conception and that unborn children are endowed with fundamental rights.
• Allow a parent to assert a civil cause of action for the wrongful death of a pre-born child. This was the effect of the equivalent Missouri law. While most states already recognize this cause of action, Virginia does not.
• Create a foundation upon which future abortion regulations or prohibitions might be based. With this in place, the General Assembly might choose to enact future regulations that go beyond those currently allowed under Supreme Court precedent. This is because the law would recognize a separate source of fundamental rights for pre-born children to be affirmed and recognized as valid under the Virginia and the U.S. Constitution.

Bill Commentary the Roanoke Tea Party:

SJ 27 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT; TAKING OF PRIVATE PROPERTY FOR PUBLIC USE (FIRST REFERENCE).
Based on the sad history of eminent domain in Roanoke, not voting for this is unconscionable.

HJ 558 U.S. CONSTITUTION AND BILL OF RIGHTS; SUBCOMMITTEE TO STUDY COMPLIANCE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, ETC.
We strongly contend that nullification is the right and proper path for the Commonwealth to take to combat Federal overreach. We are confident this committee will show that.

HJ 557 ALTERNATIVE CURRENCY; SUBCOMMITTEE TO STUDY WHETHER SHOULD ADOPT IF BREAKDOWN OF FEDERAL RESERVE.
Preparing for the inevitable collapse of the Federal Reserve System is prudent. We welcome this study, as it will cast light on the disaster that is our Federal Reserve System.

Federal Legislation

H.R. 67 - Renewal of expiring provisions the Patriot Act

Congress is expected to vote on today (Feb. 8) on this bill, but as of the time of this update the vote has not yet occurred.

Feb. 9 Update: The renewal bill is H.R. 514. The bill failed a Feb. 8 House vote. See this article for more info.

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) up for re-authorization

VAWA was authored by Joe Biden. It costs $1 billion per year, and violates the 14th Amendment Equal Protection clause, providing domestic-violence protections and benefits exclusively to women, and effective made men guilty until proven innocent concerning domestic disputes.


ObamaCare 1099 Reporting Requirements

Good news on the IRS 1099 form reporting requirements for commercial transactions of $600 or more (which, among many types of transactions, would have affected transactions for precious metals). Those requirements are expected to be repealed in this Congressional session. Harry Reid, of all people, has been on the record advocating the repeal of the 1099 provisions.

See

• http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Baucus-Reid-Pledge-Repeal-1099-Requirements-57029-1.html
• http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/03/2629519/health-laws-bookkeeping-provision.html

Legislative Update for January 11, 2011 Meeting

Congressional Lame Duck Session: The attricious Food Safety Bill, (formerly known as S510). Details here.

Virginia Legislative Session
(Commencing Jan. 12)

HB 1515 - Allows police to use red light activation terminals as a basis for detaining or arresting drivers who run read lights. Red light activation terminals allow police to remotely check whether a light is red, so that they do not have to follow red light offenders through an intersection to catch up with them.

HB 1357 Virginia's Atmospheric Sovereignty Act, introduced by Adam Light, who describes it thusly:

"HB-1357 in essence nullifies any federal law or regulation that attempts to limit the amount of CO2 that is emitted into the atmosphere. It is my contention that the effects of CO2 on Earth’s overall climate is greatly overstated by some in the scientific and political communities; it is also my contention that even if anthropogenic global warming could be proven, It is far more effective to allow each community and state decide how to best deal with it considering the varying social and economic situations of each, as opposed to a blanket of one size fits all regulation. Given that regardless of what any individual state, or even the United States does, the rest of the world will decide for itself; I think this to be the proper course. "

HB 1521 - Allows corporatization of water authorities, sewer authorities, sewage disposal authorities, stormwater control authorities, and refuse collection and disposal authorities.

HB 1522 - Grants eminent domain powers (confiscation of private property powers) to the entities corporatized by HB 1521. Also, in Prince William County, allows for occupation and excavation of lands adjoining confiscated land.

HB 1510 - Sponsored by Delegate Jim Scott. This bill is very similar to another bill, HB 1528, that was registered, but later recanted, by Delegate "Dickie" Bell, after public uproar. Both bills required pawnbrokers and precious metals dealers to report daily to police on the details of transactions involving precious metals and gems as well as physical description of the transactors with said businesses.

Commentary from The Conservative Virginian:

But, as Paul Harvey used to say, "Now for the rest of the story." The existing code Dickie's withdrawn bill intended to amend is 54.1-1401. It originated from HB 1133 [Delegate Ralph L. Axselle (1974-1990), D, District 72], 1981 Virginia General Assembly Session. It has been amended at least twice since, once in 2001 (HB 1591) [Delegate Vincent F. Callahan, R, District 34] and 2007 (SB 654) [Senator Kenneth W. Stolle, R, District 8]. I think there was a third time, but I have not yet found that one. But the problem is the language of the existing code. Amongst the insidious requirements for a dealer in precious metals and gems at the time someone sells to the dealer is to record "the full name, residence address, work place, home and work telephone numbers, date of birth, sex, race, height, weight, hair and eye colors, and other identifying marks of the seller". TALK ABOUT INVASION OF PRIVACY! This sounds like a totalitarian government. The nature of this is something we associate with Nazi Germany.

And here is the final ugly aspect. If you think what Dickie had submitted was bad then consider what Delegate Jim Scott has filed, HB 1510. His bill would require the dealer to take a picture of the seller, along with a picture of the object being sold. Jim Scott is a Democrat from the 53rd District (Part of the County of Fairfax and the City of Falls Church). His phone number in Richmond is (804) 698-1053. His District Office phone number is 703-560-8338. His email is DelJScott@house.virginia.gov. So make a choice People - either sit on your thumbs or start dialing this joker, and call your Delegate to say NO. Then
we need to get to the business of replacing code 54.1-1401. I have offered Delegate Bell the following loose language as an alternative approach to meeting the police request for tracking potential sales of material from thefts.

Instead of requiring licensed dealers in precious metals, pawn shops, etc. to automatically report transactions lets reverse the direction:

It is the responsibility of the victim of the theft to report the theft to the police. The police are then responsible to send out a bulletin of the theft to every precious metal and pawn shop dealer - state-wide. (These dealers would be on an alert network, email or what, when licensed. The police's would alert deals by way of that network.) The dealer would then report any transaction that would seem to be related to theft. The recording of the individual (name, address, and phone) by way of acceptable ID coming into the dealer's business would be at the discretion of the dealer and not at the command of Government.

In this manner a responsible dealer would be helping police - a good thing. But the inroad of the Government to corrupt or stretch the responsibility, or use it for an unintended or over-reaching manner in the future, by way of a regulation requiring carte blanche reporting of customer activity would be avoided.

HB 1574

"Mandatory self-identification. Provides that any person, when he is lawfully detained by a law-enforcement officer under circumstances that reasonably indicate that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime, and is requested by the officer to identify himself, shall do so. Any such person who refuses to identify himself is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."

Note the verbiage: "reasonably indicate that the person ... is about to commit a crime". This starts down a very dangerous slippery slope. This bill now opens the door the police behave like Gestapo and require anyone to "show their papers" based solely upon suspicion, or a fabrication of suspicion. Anyone charged with not showing identification is put in the position of having to prove he was not intending to do any thing illegal, which is often impossible to do, and which amounts sanction presumption of guilt without proof of said guilt.


SJ 300 - Introduced by Stephen H. Martin. ('J' stands for Joint as in a joint House/Senate bill)

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); electoral boards and general registrars. Permits the General Assembly to provide by law that two or more counties and cities may share one electoral board and general registrar if a majority of the voters in each participating county and city so approve and the localities already share clerks of court. This proposed amendment is patterned after the provision in the present Constitution for the sharing of constitutional officers by consenting localities.

Commentary from Dave Mason, of The Constitution Party of Augusta County:

"Thank you Danny Goad [of the 2nd Tuesday Constitution Group] for this one. SJ 600 is the hard core porn of Agenda 21 (A-21) and somebody must stick a wooden stake in it. This is further Regional Government, the favorite modus operandi of the A-21 forces of tyranny and it further dilutes and disenfranchises We the People."

The following bills and commentary are excerpted from email notices also sent out by Dave Mason:

SJ 300 Constitutional amendment; two or more counties and cities may share one electoral board, etc.
Introduced by: Stephen H. Martin | all patrons ... notes | add to my profiles
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=111&typ=bil&val=SJ300&Submit2=G
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?111+ful+SJ300


Summary as Introduced:

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); electoral boards and general registrars. Permits the General Assembly to provide by law that two or more counties and cities may share one electoral board and general registrar if a majority of the voters in each participating county and city so approve and the localities already share clerks of court. This proposed amendment is patterned after the provision in the present Constitution for the sharing of constitutional officers by consenting localities.


Thank you Danny Goad for this one. SJ 600 is the hard core porn of Agenda 21 (A-21) and somebody must stick a wooden stake in it. This is further Regional Government, the favorite modus operandi of the A-21 forces of tyranny and it further dilutes and disenfranchises We the People.

SJ 300 and the 'J' stands for Joint as in a joint House/Senate bill.
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HB 1420 Immigration laws; State Police to enter into agreement with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement.
Introduced by: David B. Albo | all patrons ... notes | add to my profiles
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=111&typ=bil&val=HB1420&Submit2=Go

Summary as Introduced:

Enforcement of immigration laws; agreement with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Provides that the Superintendent of State Police shall seek to enter into a memorandum of agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would allow the State Police to perform certain federal immigration law-enforcement functions in the Commonwealth. Such an agreement is often referred to as an agreement under the federal 287(g) program.
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Immigration Bills:


HB 1430 Arresting officer to ascertain citizenship of arrestee; supplements existing law.
Introduced by: David B. Albo | all patrons ... notes | add to my profiles
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=111&typ=bil&val=HB1430&Submit2=Go

Summary as Introduced:

Arresting officer to ascertain citizenship of arrestee. Supplements the existing law that requires sheriffs to make a query into legal presence when a person is "taken into custody" at a jail. This bill expands such inquiries by requiring inquiries of everyone arrested, independent of whether they were taken into custody at a jail and requires that an arresting officer inquire of every arrestee whether he (i) was born in a country other than the United States and (ii) is a citizen of a country other than the United States and that, if the person responds he was born in another country and is not a citizen of the United States, the officer shall make an immigration alien query to the Law Enforcement Support Center of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and shall communicate the results of any immigration alien query to the Central Criminal Records Exchange of the Department of State Police in a format approved by the Exchange.
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HB 1421 Immigration laws, federal; enforcement by State, political subdivisions, or localities.
Introduced by: David B. Albo | all patrons ... notes | add to my profiles
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=111&typ=bil&val=hb1421&Submit2=Go

Summary as Introduced:

Enforcement of federal immigration law by the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions. Provides that no agency of the Commonwealth, political subdivision of the Commonwealth or locality, or an employee of any of them acting in his official capacity, may limit or restrict the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law. The bill also provides, in a second enactment, that the Governor may withhold the appropriation of state funds under his control to any agency, political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or locality in violation of this act, or to any agency, political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or locality whose employee is in violation of this act, in an amount deemed sufficient to ensure compliance, and shall release the funds to the entity when compliance is achieved.
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HB 1465 Higher educational institutions; admission of illegal aliens.
Introduced by: Christopher K. Peace | all patrons ... notes | add to my profiles
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=111&typ=bil&val=hb1465&Submit2=Go

Summary as Introduced:

Admission of illegal aliens at institutions of higher education.

(below code insertion highlighted)

http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?111+ful+HB1465 (Change in Sec. 23-9.2:3 - highlighted below)


(ii) an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible for admission to any public institution of higher education in Virginia; (ii) (iii)the accreditation status of a Virginia public high school shall not be considered in making admissions determinations for students who have earned a diploma pursuant to the requirements established by the Board of Education; and (iii) (iv) the governing boards of the four-year institutions shall establish policies providing for the admission of certain graduates of Virginia community colleges as set forth in § 23-9.2:3.02.
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HB 1468 Citizenship or legal presence required for public assistance; verification required.
Introduced by: David B. Albo | all patrons ... notes | add to my profiles

Summary as Introduced:

Legal presence required for public assistance; verification required. Provides that local departments of social services shall verify or cause to be verified information regarding the citizenship or legal presence of an applicant for public assistance prior to initiating provision of benefits, and that the Governor may withhold the appropriation of state funds under his control to any agency, political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or locality in violation of this act.


These then are some of the immigration problem bills. In general, we support them


Also--if you have your eyes on anything special--good or bad, pass it along and we will assist making sure that all groups (Tea Parties, Constitution Parties and other Constitution/Liberty friendly groups) see your offering(s).


Thanks much!
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IV. Amendments and VA Fair Employment Act:


Folks,


The below is in from the person you tipped us off to HB 1528...and with that, the wheels were set into motion We owe a debt of deep gratitude here. Add some thunderous applause too!


This person would like some feedback on the below.


Dave
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From an email questioner:


I know you are all busy but if you have a chance I have questions about legislation we are supposed to support. Number 1 I think is critical because the Tea Party is sponsoring it.

1. The Repeal Amendment. (Tea Party)
It sounded like a great idea until I read Del. Bob Marshall's thoughts. As he points out this could undo good laws as well as bad laws like Obamacare. This has the potential to destroy our whole Constitution. I personally can't support this but does the TEA party really want to support this?


(Dave comment: It's been time since we looked at this...but we tend to agree with Bob Marshal. We think that this approach is not well thought out as to consequences. The states already have the power to reject unconstitutional laws, executive orders, regulations and other edicts. Google and see the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. They are the best writing on this matter. http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/oct/17/ed-marshall17-ar-566354/)

2. Virginia Fair Employment Act (American Council for immigration reform)
This requires E-verify. A voluntary system involving Homeland Security and Social Security. It does not provide immigration status. So again this seems like more snooping on legal citizens - more tracking.

3. Constitutional Amendment to Eliminate State Income Taxes.
I'm all for doing away with income tax but I'm not big on Constitutional Amendments. The amendment requires phasing our corporate and income tax in 4 years. Is this plausible and worth pursuing?

From Delegate Bob Marshall:

Please help me pass the following bills which have a direct or indirect effect on jobs and family welfare. I have introduced or will introduce these measures in the 2011 General Assembly session which begins January 12:

No Hidden Taxes/Fees HJRes 496, a constitutional amendment, seeks to promote accountability and transparency by ending the practice of hiding fee and tax increases and removals of tax deductions in the Budget bill.
Home Ownership & Title Protection HB 1506 seeks to protect home ownership and maintain the integrity of real property tiles by requiring proper recording in the Courthouse as investment banks buy and sell bundles of mortgages for investment securities and record transfers through a private entity, MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration System) to avoid (evade?) recordation fees and taxes. In some cases numerous banks had claimed title to the same property. This affects foreclosures and passing property on to heirs.

Block Obama Cap & Trade HB 1397 and HB 1398 will challenge the federal government’s “Cap & Trade” mandates regarding Kyoto-like CO2 emissions and proposed federal “green” home energy audit inspections before you can sell your home.

Freedom of Information HB 1457 and a companion bill require that if a FOI officer purposely withholds documents available under Freedom of Information, that employee is fired. It also mandates documents be classified as they are created, as either subject to or not subject to FOI to prevent huge “research” fees for FOI documents.

Life Insurance Benefits HB 1458 requires that if the family of a deceased beneficiary does not take an immediate payout from a life insurance policy, the assets of the insurance fund must be secured so that the family of the deceased does not lose money.

Financial Stability Study HJRes 557 studies the feasibility of a possible alternative currency in the event of a breakdown of the Federal Reserve leading to excessive inflation. Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a Congressional Committee recently that: "the federal government is on an unsustainable fiscal path."

Federal Abuses of Bill of Rights HJRes 558 studies and documents the compliance or non-compliance of the federal government with regard to the Constitution and our Bill of Rights.

Legal Person Status for Preborn Children HB 1440 will begin restoring the first civil right in our Declaration of Independence, life, to preborn children in certain areas by enacting “The Missouri language,” which was already upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and cannot be challenged. This will allow wrongful death tort suits for the death of a child before birth.

Keep Land Use Planning Local My bill will amend current law which now requires localities to designate and rezone urban high growth areas. Localities will be permitted to examine, but will not be required to rezone these areas. This bill addresses concerns over “Agenda 21,” the United Nation’s international land use planning initiatives.

Mint Bullion Coins for Investors I will introduce a bill to authorize Virginia to mint gold and silver bullion coins to raise revenue for Virginia. The U.S. Mint brought in $2.855 Billion in sales of American Eagle Silver, Gold or Buffalo Gold bullion coins. The Commonwealth could authorize bullion coins to be minted which could create jobs in the areas of manufacturing and sales while allowing Virginians a chance to hedge against the devaluation of the dollar.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell & VA National Guard I will introduce a bill to continue the DADT policy in Virginia’s National Guard. The Lame Duck Congress with 13% approval rating recently ended 232 years of military policy and 6000 years of moral teaching, on a Saturday in late December by repealing DADT. See my Op Eds in the Washington Times by clicking here,the Daily Press here and the Fox News interview by clicking here.

Lyme Disease Rejects the very narrow CDC definition of Lyme Disease and requires that any Virginia physician who treats suspected or confirmed Lyme Disease shall report the number of persons so treated to the Commonwealth.
The bills I introduce this session can be found and tracked here: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?111+mbr+H57C
Please ask your own state delegate and state senator to support my bills and please ask your family and friends around the state to do the same. You can find out who represents you here: http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform.
Also ask the Governor to support my bills by contacting him here: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm.

Federal Legislation

RED ALERT:

In the aftermath of the recent mass shooting in Tucson, AZ, whereby a federal judge, John McCarthy, and a 9 year old girl were among the victim dead, and whereby Representative Gabriell Giffords was critically wounded, Representative Carolyn McCarthy is preparing to introduce a gun control bill that is expected to outlaw high capacity ammunition magazines. Senator Frank Lautenberg intends to introduce similar legislation in the Senate.

Further Details: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47338.html#continue


H.R. 2 - Repeal of ObamaCare

Introduced by Rep. Eric Cantor. Details here.