This week we made it to crossover in the General Assembly, the deadline for consideration of legislation that started in the House.  All bills passed in either Chamber will now be considered by the other Chamber.  I am pleased to report that seven of my bills have passed the House of Delegates and are now before the Senate.

At the start of session I told you that I would support policies to reform K-12 education, make government work more efficiently, make higher education more affordable and accessible, and oppose new taxes on Virginia families and support healthcare initiatives that would be in best interest to all Virginians but particularly to those in need.  Throughout session, I have heard from many of you that those are your priorities as well.

We have made difficult choices over the last year in the House of Delegates to address the budget shortfall. The governor proposed in his budget more than $10 million in new fees on Virginia families and $42 million in new government debt.

The House took a different approach, paying for building projects with existing revenues and eliminating $10.2 million in fees. We put $99.5 million in Virginia’s rainy day fund to guard against future tax increases.  We included a 1.5% pay raise for teachers, an overall increase of $60 million for K-12 education and we targeted more money to classrooms and making college more affordable and accessible, where it can make the most difference for Virginia families. We also deposited an additional $40 million into the teacher retirement fund.  Also included is a 1.5% across-the-board raise for state police and a 2% pay raise for state-supported local employees and state employees.

The governor wanted to expand Medicaid and tried to bypass the General Assembly in creating his own new health care entitlement program. The House budget rejects Governor McAuliffe’s attempt to expand Medicaid under Obamacare.  Instead, the House budget includes $124.5 million in funding to provide targeted health care safety net services to the neediest Virginians. We are providing services to 29,000 seriously mentally ill, doubled the operational funding of our free clinics and build on past investments in community behavioral health services and increase funding for children’s psychiatry and crisis services. Included is $2 million for cancer research at VCU & UVA.

Several House and Senate bills dealing with veterans and their needs have passed the House and Senate.  Additionally, the House budget has included monies for administrative positions to veteran’s service representatives, implementing a career development plan for all staff to open 2 new benefit offices, authorizing continued delivery of critical core behavioral health, rehabilitative, and supportive services for veterans and an additional funding increase for construction of Hamptons Roads and Northern Virginia veterans care center.

Also included is $20 million in funding for the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, but less than the $28 million the Governor requested and $1 million for the “See Virginia” tourism advertising initiative, which is a partnership with broadcasters that leverages $3 for every $1 invested.

Also, over the last couple of years trust in lawmakers has eroded. That trust must be earned and not expected. That is why I have supported additional reforms in the House this year to Virginia’s ethics laws that create a $100 gift cap. Also included in the ethics package would prohibit the Governor from accepting campaign contributions from companies knowingly seeking grants from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund.

Again, don’t hesitate to contact me with any concerns that you may have.  You can either call my office in Richmond while session is in progress at 804-698-1054, e-mail me at delborrock@house.virginia.gov or visit my webpage at http://bobbyorrock.net.

Delegate Bobby Orrock