FamilyFoundationBlog.com

Virginia won’t truly prosper until it reforms public education. To do that, massive reforms must be made. We must have education freedom and choice. I like to tell people the analogy economist Walter E. Williams: Suppose your local government drew an arbitrary line around your home and said you can only shop at this one grocery store. How good do you think this store’s meats, fish and vegetables would be? What about its service? It’s prices? Even the quantity of its stock? With a government contrived monopoly, the answer to all of those questions is, not very. 

With that in mind, here’s a rundown on education reform legislation we are tracking:

» Delegate Jimmie Massie’s (R-72, Henrico) HB 599 would provide better education opportunities for many Virginia students through scholarships created by funds donated by businesses and individuals which would receive a tax credit for such donations. Despite fierce opposition from the Virginia School Board Association and the Virginia Education Association, the bill passed the House of Delegates 55-44. It now goes to the Senate Finance Committee. The bill was crafted in such a ingenious way as to ensure that there will be no negative fiscal impact to the state — something valuable in today’s economy and something that not many tax credits can boast. In fact, the bill will increase per pupil spending in school districts that lose students to private schools because they will have the same share of federal and local funds to educate less students.

This is a high priority Family Foundation bill and we are working to get a fair hearing in the Senate Finance committee. Unfortunately, this committee has been very hostile to any legislation that provides education freedom to families. Already this session, it voted 9-6 to defeat similar legislation (SB 133) introduced by Senator Mark Obenshain (R-26, Harrisonburg).

Believe it or not, however, this was progress. Last year, no one on the committee made a motion on Senator Obenshain’s bill. This year, they at least had the courage to go on record!

» A bill patroned by Delegate Bob Marshall (R-13, Manassas), HB 331, already passed the House by a vote of 95-4. This charter school bill would provide transparency to the charter school application process, requiring local school boards to provide reasons for rejecting charter school applications. Currently, school boards can reject applications without any notice and without providing reasons. The bill now is in the Senate Education and Health Public Education Sub-committee.

» One of Governor Bob McDonnell’s highest priorities is the expansion of Virginia’s charter schools. Public charter schools were designed nearly two decades ago to empower teachers, parents and communities to come together and create a new form of public school that was free from restrictive regulations and systems. The Family Foundation has made the advancement of charter schools a high priority, as we support any option that will increase parental choice in determining the best educational environment for their child. Unfortunately, Virginia’s charter school law is one of the most restrictive in the nation.

Last week, Governor McDonnell held a news conference announcing legislation concerning charter schools. Senator Stephen Newman (R- 23, Forest) is the patron of SB 737 and Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-30, Woodbridge), along with a bi-partisan array of co-patrons, has introduced its House counterpart, HB 1390. These bills seek to make the charter school application process more transparent and requires that the procedures are in place for receiving, reviewing and ruling upon applications for charter schools.

Most significantly, it establishes an appeal process to the state if the local school district rejects the application — which happens with disturbing frequency in Virginia, thus the paucity of charter schools here (three, with a fourth to come, in more than 10 years). Governor McDonnell believes passing this bill would prove Virginia is committed to supporting charter schools and improves its chances for receiving $350 million in federal funding from a multi-billion dollar program President Obama has proposed for charter schools.

» A second McDonnell bill that Senator Newman is shepherding in the Senate and Delegate Richard P. “Dickie” Bell (R-20, Staunton) is patroning in the House, involves virtual schools, which allow public-school classroom programs to be taught in a student’s home via Internet. It meets the same requirements for the student’s attendance, testing and Standards of Learning curriculum that the public school must meet.

» The third bill Senator Newman is carrying would establish “laboratory schools,” in which universities set up schools with specialized programs. Delegate Chris Peace (R-97, Mechanicsville) has the House version.

We will work for these reforms and urge you to contact your delegates and senators to do the same. If you don’t know your lawmakers, click here to find them. To guarantee to stay on top of these critical issues, which assuredly will shape the Commonwealth’s future, click here sign up for our e-mail alerts and forward this link to like-minded friends.

Tuesday marked the mid-point of the 2010 General Assembly session. “Crossover” is the day that each chamber must complete work on its own bills. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, each chamber dealt with hundreds of bills during long, exhausting sessions.

Members introduced more than 2,600 bills this year, which is less than usual. Observers say there are two reasons for this: The large number of freshman in the House (20) — freshman rarely introduce a lot of bills as they are getting their feet wet, and much of what they do patron isn’t overly ambitious; and the budget. Everyone knows new spending is off the docket with the deficit. Even tax reduction bills are rare this year — lawmakers are just as wary about decreasing what they have to spend as they are about spending it. There may not be any new taxes, but forget about the current, regressive ones disappearing. Many bills are duplicates that get “rolled into” each other. Add the ubiquitous commending resolutions for local sports teams or military, fire and police heroes, and the number of policy bills is much smaller than 2,600. But still no less work.

We are tracking more than 100 bills that can either positively or negatively affect Virginia’s families. Many are priorities and our legislative team meets with legislators daily on these important issues. It is impossible to blog about everything we come across, but The Family Foundation e-mail alert system is one of the best in the state — if not the best. Sign up here to stay up to date on the most important issues of the session.

One thing is sure, though: Dozens of members of the General Assembly know exactly where we stand on every one of these 100-plus bills. Each week, we distributes a “bill profile” to select members of each chamber. The profile lists the bills, their status, and our position on them. In addition, we distribute one-page “talking points” on many bills so legislators have the key information on why the legislation is good or bad.

To this point, several positive, pro-family bills have passed through either the House or Senate. In addition, we have successfully killed Planned Parenthood and NARAL’s highest priority bill — one that would have unfairly regulated pregnancy resource centers. Unfortunately, there are a few measures that we still need to defeat. Beginning today with education reform, and over the next few days, we will update you on the status of legislation that we are following.

Below is the first part of a two part interview with nationally known political scientist Dr. Bob Holsworth, a regular commentator on Virginia and national politics. His articles and commentary can be read in publications and on the Internet, and heard on television and radio. He is a frequent speaker to numerous organizations, heads a consultancy, and is the editor of the widely read blog, Virginia Tomorrow. Today, we talk about the current session of the General Assembly and touch on national politics.

FamilyFoundationBlog.com: Dr. Holsworth, it’s a great honor to have you answer some questions on our blog about the General Assembly and Virginia politics in general. So, thank you very much for participating in this interview. We greatly appreciate your valuable time and look forward to your insights and are big fans of your blog, Virginia Tomorrow. Are you ready for some questions?

Dr. Bob Holsworth: Thanks very much for the opportunity to be on your site.

FamilyFoundationBlog: Has anything surprised you about this session of the General Assembly? Has the Republican sweep and increased House of Delegates majority created a visible difference or is it too early to tell (i.e., waiting for the budget)?

Dr. Holsworth: Certainly, the Republican sweep in the House has made it even easier for the GOP to control the legislative outcomes in that chamber. But the Democratic control of the Senate can still pose substantial hurdles for the Governor and the House GOP. I was surprised that five Democrats in the Senate supported the Health Care Freedom legislation, symbolically repudiating former Governor Kaine and President Obama. All of these Democrats are in districts where the GOP could field competitive challengers and this tells you just how concerned Democrats have become about the impact of the national mood here in Virginia. At the same time, Senate Dems have summarily dismissed part of the McDonnell agenda such as dedicating royalties for off-shore drilling to transportation and changing the budget cycle. What will happen with the overall budget is still up in the air as Senate Dems actually disagree if they should present a budget that includes some of the tax increases in (former) Governor Kaine’s recommended document or acknowledge the political reality that there will be no major tax increases and present a budget accordingly, even if it inconsistent with what they would really want to propose.

FamilyFoundationBlog: Governor Bob McDonnell ran on a jobs-creation platform and de-emphasized social issues. But social issues do play a role in the budget. Do you think he will go so far as to de-fund Planned Parenthood?

Dr. Holsworth: I think that you have phrased the question well. Some folks have said that McDonnell ran as a “moderate.” My sense is that he ran as an economic conservative and gave less priority in the campaign to his social conservatism. I fully expect that McDonnell will sign almost all bills with a “social conservative” orientation that emerge from the legislative process. What’s not entirely clear is how far his own proposals will move in this direction. He obviously made a symbolic change when he removed sexual orientation from the non-discrimination executive order with respect to state government workers. The question of whether he’ll propose a budget amendment to de-fund panned parenthood will be seen by many of his supporters as a test of whether he will implement the values of social conservatism in the budget. If he does, there will be a substantial fight in the Senate and the media will surely portray it as a switch from the “moderation” of the campaign. If he doesn’t, he’ll disappoint a segment of his core supporters.

FamilyFoundationBlog: If Governor McDonnell proposes a host of “fees” instead of taxes to close the budget gap, how will that affect his support on the right? creation

Dr. Holsworth: If McDonnell is perceived as simply playing semantics with taxes, it will harm him not only with the right, but with many independents as well. He was very clear during the election about his belief that revenue increases should primarily come from economic growth and I would be very surprised if he has a post-election conversion to a different point of view, especially in this political environment.

FamilyFoundationBlog: Governor McDonnell is getting a lot of positive attention right now — giving the GOP response to the State of the Union, doing several national interviews, even one for Newt Gingrich’s newsletter. Does he runs the risk of raising his own expectations?

Dr. Holsworth: I think of the smartest moves the new Governor made was to cancel his national interviews the day after his SOTU response. Virginians have made it clear that his first priority as Governor should be the Commonwealth and, in the long run, McDonnell’s national stature will be most enhanced by having a strong approval rating in-state.

FamilyFoundationBlog: What chances do you give of real reforms this or next year in areas of budgeting and in recalculating SOQ spending?

Dr. Holsworth: The Senate has already rejected a key McDonnell proposal on changing the two year budget cycle. Recalculating SOQ spending has been an issue that many House Republicans have pointed to over the last few years as a reform necessary to rein in future budget increases. We’ve seen some willingness from both parties to look at items such as staffing ratios regarding non-instructional personnel. If there ever would be a time where the entire SOQ calculation would be readjusted, it would be in the kind of fiscal environment we have now. But polls show that schools remain extremely high on the public’s priority list. In aggregate, school groups (teachers, superintendents, school boards, and principals) are extraordinarily well organized and very politically effective. Moreover, Virginia schools overall seem to perform extremely well — just this week, we ranked third in the nation in AP testing. I believe that the effort for major permanent structural changes in school funding will have substantial hurdles to overcome.

FamilyFoundationBlog: What are your thoughts on former Governor Doug Wilder calling for Tim Kaine’s removal as Democrat National Committee chairman?

Dr. Holsworth: Former Governor Wilder noted that he had supported Tim Kaine for Vice-President, but did not feel that the DNC Chair was the best fit for his talents and skills. My guess is that there are a number of Democratic activists who are more comfortable with the sharp edges of a Howard Dean than the more cerebral approach to the position of Tim Kaine. The proof, of course, will be in the November pudding. Kaine will succeed if Democrats do far better than expected. But if November is a Democratic debacle, Kaine will be fingered for part of the blame.

Be sure to check back with us tomorrow afternoon for part two of our interview with Dr. Bob Holsworth as we look at next year’s Congressional elections in Virginia, Senator Jim Webb’s prospects in 2012, and the Tea Party movement.

As part of our Virtual Lobby Day, we want to bring you as much flavor of the General Assembly as we can to those who can’t make it to Richmond as often as they’d like. In fact, we continue to post videos of committee hearings on bills we support on our YouTube Channel as well as here, making this blog perhaps the best place for information about what your state government is doing. Tomorrow, and throughout session, we’ll have more about what we’re doing through the Internet and how you can help influence lawmakers.

On January 18, Delegate Kathy Byron (R-22, Lynchburg), a former Family Foundation Legislator of the Year, spoke to pro-family activists at our Family Foundation Day at the Capitol. She focused on two pro-life bills she is carrying this session: HB 1033 (defining a baby as separate from the mother’s body) and HB 1042 (requiring an ultrasound before an abortion). Both bills are still alive. Click on them to get more information and learn where you need to direct your e-mails.

Delegate Kathy Byron speaks on behalf of the unborn — and the born in patroning the “baby bill” this session.

Lt. Governor Bolling, welcome to The Family Foundation’s Virtual Lobby Day and thank you for keynoting it with this live blog interview. I should say, “Welcome back,” as you’ve been a great friend to the Family Foundation and our blog, participating in interviews in the past. We hope all is well with you and your family. I hope you are ready for some questions — we’ve got a bunch of them.

I’ll start us off: What is going to be the biggest single policy initiative for you and Governor Bob McDonnell in your first year?

We’ve staged a coup. Unfortunately, to the liberal collective’s the sigh of relief, we didn’t stack the Supreme Court with Matt and Victoria Cobb.

However, the four top ranking members of Virginia government, conservatives all — certainly to the chagrin of the liberal collective — Governor Bob McDonnell, Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and House Speaker Bill Howell, all will speak at this year’s Family Foundation Advisory Council Legislative Briefing on Wednesday, February 17.

This is an exclusive annual event for our Advisory Council members. However, it shows how important Virginia’s top officials view The Family Foundation and its most generous donors (click here for the complete benefits of Advisory Council membership).

Our Advisory Council is more than just perks; its instrumental partnership significantly funds the work of the organization during the General Assembly session and year round: The legislative call to action and subsequent victories, The Truth Project training, Pastors For Family Values, local grassroots networks, your voice in the mainstream media, and much more.

For more information about The Family Foundation Advisory Council, The Advisory Council Legislative Briefing, or any of our development activities, contact Dan Thompson at 804-343-0010 or at dan@familyfoundation.org. To donate to The Family Foundation at any level, you may click here.

Here’s part two of Lt. Governor Bill Bolling’s speech January 18 to the hundreds of grassroots activists who attended our annual Family Foundation Day At The Capitol or, in General Assembly parlance, “lobby day.” In part two, you will hear him address education reform, economic development and even Virginia’s plans to become the energy capital of the East Coast, with responsible off-shore drilling for oil and natural gas. You can see part one here.

Remember, Lt. Governor Bolling also will do a live blog interview here for an hour starting at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, February 11, as part of our annual Virtual Lobby Day. To leave a question for him, post it on this thread or click and post it here. We’ll have more information about our activities and ways in which you can participate in the next day or so.

Lt. Governor Bill Bolling speaks to hundreds of values voters about the value of The Family Foundation as well as policy goals of the new administration in Richmond.

We are very pleased to announce that Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, the Commonwealth’s Chief Jobs Creation Officer, will be our special guest for our annual Virtual Lobby Day on Thursday, February 11. Lt. Governor Bolling will answer questions posted by you and our thousands of blog readers live for one hour (exact time to be determined).

Simply post a question on this thread, or at this one, and he will answer as many as time permits. From his past blog interviews with us, we know the Lt. Governor likes to give detailed answers, so expect a great read. When we finalize the time, we will let you know and you can follow along, live, as he posts his answers in real time. Of course, the interview will be archived at the conclusion of the interview for you to read and comment on at your convenience. In addition, we have several other major plans for our virtual lobby day. So expect more exciting announcements here and in future e-mail alerts (sign up for our alerts here).

Lt. Governor Bill Bolling at our in-person lobby day, Family Foundation Day at the Capitol, January 18. He’ll also take questions from you on our Virtual Lobby Day February 11.

One of our intrepid lobbyists was in the General Assembly Building the other day, minding her own business, waiting for a certain bill to come up in the very laborious House Courts of Justice Committee. These committee meetings can be very hard to sit through — lots of legal minutia to deal with. So, many people mingle in the lobby and peek in from time to time to see where there bill is on the docket, often to find that the bill on the docket an hour ago is still getting the treatment.

That was the case with my colleague, who decided to take a seat in the lobby next to three oblivious pro-abortion activists who were in the midst of a major gripe session. The cause of their angst? It seems, our very own, Family Foundation President Victoria Cobb — and her husband, Matt. As my colleague tells it:

Three women, who by their conversation were clearly pro-abortion, were making plans for their upcoming lobby day. They praised the recent NARAL report that fabricated allegations against pregnancy resource centers, saying they had read it cover to cover and felt it was very well done. They spoke about remembering when NARAL recruited volunteers as undercover “investigators” and wished they had been available to volunteer. They talked about the PRC bills killed the previous night — within an hour of each other — in both a House and a very liberal Senate sub-committee, and lamented their defeat.

Then I heard Victoria’s name from Woman Number 1 and something about how she just couldn’t stand Victoria and her “anti-choice ways.” She said something to the effect of, “ There are some crazy people out there who think that way, but she’s just deplorable.” Then, it went like this:

Woman Number 2: Oh, but have you heard about her husband?

Woman Number 1 and Woman 3 shook their heads no.

Woman Number 2: He’s been appointed Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources by McDonnell (see Norfolk Virginian-Pilot).”

Woman Number 1 and Woman Number 3: No!

Woman Number 3: They’re taking over the world! Do they have any children?

Woman Number 1 and Woman 2 shrugged, shook their heads in disgust, and continued on with their gripe, no doubt wondering what good a working for a lefty Senate is when they can’t even get their priority bill out of a Senate sub-committee.

This morning the House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee passed by a bipartisan vote of 16-6, a Family Foundation priority bill, HB 393, patroned by Delegate Matt Lohr (R-26, Harrisonburg). The bill would require abortion centers to be licensed, pass an annual inspection and have life-saving equipment, such as defibrillators, on site.

Despite an attempt by Delegate David Englin (D-45, Alexandria) to water down the bill with a substitute that would’ve needlessly regulated already regulated medical specialties; and a battery of questions from some of the General Assembly’s most liberal members, such as Delegates Englin, Adam Ebbin (D-49, Arlington), freshman Patrick Hope (D-47, Arlington) and Lionell Spruill (D-77, Chesapeake); and testimony from Planned Parenthood and NARAL lobbyists, Delegate Lohr and committee allies such as freshman Delegate Scott Garrett (R-23, Lynchburg), a doctor, refuted each and every one of their misleading assertions.

Joining all 14 committee Republicans in voting for the bill were two Democrats: Delegates Algie Howell (D-90, Norfolk) and Joe Morrissey (D-74, Henrico). Unfortunately, however, Delegate Mamye BaCote (D-95, Newport News), who voted for the bill the last time it was introduced in 2008, flipped her vote to no. The bill now goes to the House floor Monday, January 25.