FamilyFoundationBlog.com

Thursday afternoon in the Senate Courts of Justice Civil Sub-committee, a bill to allow people to receive just compensation when their property is taken by the government in eminent domain cases will be heard. The bill, HB 652, is supported by a broad coalition including The Family Foundation, the Farm Bureau, Tertium Quids (see comment here) and the National Federation of Independent Businesses.  The bill passed the House of Delegates 98-1, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything to the Senate.

The patron of the bill is House Democrat Leader Ward Armstrong (D-10, Martinsville) and is co-patroned by several Republicans.  It faces the forces of big government — VDOT and local governments who use our tax money to hire lobbyists to work against our interests — who forced the bill while in the House from the Courts of Justice Committee to the Appropriations Committee with a tactic designed to kill it. There is no doubt they will pull out all the stops in the Senate as well.

But we can beat them in the Senate, too: In the House Appropriations Transportation Sub-committee, Delegate Bob Tata (R-85, Virginia Beach), a senior member of the committee, said he HB 652 came to his attention after he received more e-mail on it than any other bill this session. It shows that actively engaged citizens truly have power!

The bill simply allows property owners to present evidence to juries that they deserve just compensation for land not taken in eminent domain cases, but rendered useless because of the taking of adjacent land.  Right now, people are compensated only for the land taken, not additional land that the taking has rendered unusable. The bill is a complement to the landmark 2007 eminent domain reform law that limits government abuse of people’s property rights.

This is a very fair, very needed and very just bill for families who own homes, small businesses and farms.  If government really needs your land, they should buy only what they need and not try to get more of it on the cheap. This bill costs government nothing — it only provides for a fair hearing as to what property owners are entitled to. Government agencies will retain their right to make their case as well. It’s about fairness! As Delegate Armstrong has said, ‘The worst thing the government can do is take your life; the second worst thing it can do is take your property.”

If you who think the 2007 law solved all eminent domain problems, a case in Roanoke from two years ago is still in the news (see From On High), where the Burkholder family is losing its small business to the city who wants its land, even though it has no plans for it! So, click here to contact members of the Senate Courts of Justice Civil Sub-committee and ask them to vote for HB 652 in sub-committee this Thursday afternoon.

Monday afternoon was an interesting day on the floor of the House of Delegates. It involved some tactical maneuvering as members debated Delegate Robert Brink’s (D-48, Arlington) Planned Parenthood license plate bill (HB 1108). It’s a bill that would create a specialty license plate that reads “Trust Women, Respect Choice.” For each plate sold, the Virginia League of Planned Parenthood would receive $15 of the $25 plate fee.

But something happened on the way to the bank — or, rather, the abortion center. Delegate Todd Gilbert (R-15, Woodstock) offered a floor amendment to change the specialty plate’s recipient from Planned Parenthood to the Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund. The amendment passed by a healthy margin (56-39) over the objections of Delegate Brink and other pro-abortion lawmakers — and much to their chagrin. Then the bill passed, as amended, 77-22. Let’s just call it “Brink’s holdup.”

The Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund was created in 2007 to “support women and families who are facing unplanned pregnancy” and is managed by the Virginia Board of Health. A brainchild of Senator Phil Puckett (D-38, Tazewell) and Delegate Ward Armstrong (D-10, Martinsville), the overarching goals of the fund are to provide funding for ultrasound machines, parenting programs, domestic violence/sexual assault education, vocational/academic support, and free home visits by nurses. Sounds worthy. After all, Planned Parenthood is for “choice,” right? But Planned Parenthood considers the amendment a devastating blow.

Delegate Brink told the House that Delegate Gilbert’s amendment was unfriendly in nature and urged its defeat. Delegate David Englin (D-45, Alexandria) argued that the change of the fund was unconstitutional, saying that it specifically targeted Planned Parenthood, a misreading of court precedent. Court rulings have said if one viewpoint is allowed on a license plate another viewpoint must also be allowed, but it does not address the funding aspects of the license plates.

Delegate Gilbert responded by saying that the Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund was a better fit for the language of the plate (”Trust Women, Respect Choice”). Citing Planned Parenthood’s opposition to pro-woman legislation, including informed consent requirements that do exactly that — trust women — the stated that plate funds, if directed to Planned Parenthood, would not go to an organization in conformity with the plate’s message. Tuesday, when the vote on final passage was up, Delegate Brink made a long pronouncement on the floor that sounded as if he would conclude by asking for the bill to be struck. Instead, he urged its passage, as unfavorable as he was to the amendment, in hopes he can get a better deal in the Senate. So, as it turns out, it really is all about the money for this money making machine.

Ironically, in its initial passage, the Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund was backed by both Planned Parenthood and The Family Foundation due to the Fund’s focus on striving to assist pregnant women. So, the moral of this story is, if you’re Planned Parenthood, and you want specialty license plate funding, come clean with your message. Because trusting women is the last thing you really mean.

The American Legislative Exchange Council is an organization of state legislators that  promotes conservative and free market legislation throughout the 50 state legislatures. Its immediate past national chairman is Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Bill Howell (R-28, Fredericksbug). Its Virginia Chairmen are Delegate Chris Jones (R-76, Suffolk) and Senator Steve Martin (R-11, Chesterfield).

As a driving force for free market solutions to remedy health care, it provides model legislation to its state legislator membership, research and other tools, and tracks the progress of bills across the country. This year, health care freedom is one of ALEC’s  priorities as 30-plus states have introduced such legislation. It’s had a busy time in Virginia this session of the General Assembly as five bills protecting the health care freedom of Virginians have advanced rapidly through Mr. Jefferson’s capitol and Virginia races to become the first state to stand up to the federal government’s over reach into the health care decisions of individuals.

Recently, Christie Herrera, director of ALEC’s health and human services task force, spoke with World Net Daily Radio about the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act, as the national media continues to pay attention to Virginia’s lead as the first state to define the limits of the federal government’s powers.

To hear the seven minute interview, click here.

We just received an e-mail from Planned Parenthood. It’s oh, so heartwarming (not!) to see the abortion industry celebrate the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, as millions of people in Washington, D.C., today, and elsewhere, mourn the deplorable decision.

This is how they celebrate: They send an e-mail alert that lies about the content of HB 393, a bill passed on a bipartisan 16-6 vote yesterday in the House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee. It would add three simple, common sense provisions to unregulated abortion centers. The bill, patroned by Delegate Matt Lohr (R-26, Harrisonburg) goes to the House floor for an up or down vote Monday (contact your delegate).

Just as during their committee testimony yesterday, the e-mail is full of lies about the bill. It’s a standard liberal tactic: The truth is whatever you say it is, no matter if what you say is no where to be found in the bill. For example, PP makes claims about “the architectural, procedural, staffing and equipment requirements of ambulatory surgery centers” which are not in the bill.

The bill mandates three simple things: licensure, an annual inspection and keeping defibrillators on premises. (There are three defibrillators in the General Assembly Building!) Nothing about building codes or staffing. In fact, in 2008, when this same bill came before the Senate Education and Health Committee, and Delegate Lohr offered the committee a substitute in full view of the committee room that specifically limited the bill to those three elements, the PP lobbyist read from her script, not deviating one second, using rote talking points about a bill 10 years old. It was the same yesterday in committee.  

So, thank you PP, for putting lies ahead of women’s safety. Below is the e-mail (apparently sent to non-Virginians as well) in which PP tells its followers how and what to say to lawmakers, word for word.

Dear xxxxx,

Today marks the 37th anniversary of Roe V. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. Since this time, there have been numerous attempts to chip away at Roe on the local, state, and federal levels. One of the biggest threats to Roe today is decreased access to providers of first trimester abortions. In fact, 87% of counties in the United States do not have abortion providers.

Ironically, members of the Virginia House of Delegates will be voting on HB 393, Targeted Regulations for Abortion Providers, on Monday, January 25. This bill is a thinly disguised attempt to impose burdensome and unnecessary regulations on abortion providers so that the provision of services would become prohibitively expensive and thus out of reach for many women in Virginia. 

Please contact your legislator and ask him or her to OPPOSE HB 393.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):

Your Delegate (if you live in Virginia)

Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Please OPPOSE HB 393, Targeted Regulations for Abortion Providers

Dear [decision maker],

I am writing to ask that you OPPOSE HB 393, Targeted Regulations for Abortion Providers. This legislation has little to do with patient safety and is instead intended to decrease access to safe abortion services in Virginia. Abortion care is already provided safely in accordance with state and federal regulatory agencies. Furthermore, the architectural, procedural, staffing and equipment requirements of ambulatory surgery centers are unrelated to the safety of first trimester abortion procedures provided in medical offices.

Compliance with these unnecessary requirements would make abortion services prohibitively expensive to provide and thus unavailable for many women in Virginia.

Please protect women’s access to reproductive health care and OPPOSE HB 393.

Annotations & Elucidations 

The Earthquake Edition

That wasn’t a landslide last night, it was a full blown eruption. Unimaginable margins for the top three elected officials in Virginia and a massive pickup in the House of Delegates, shooting the GOP number there from 55 to at least 60, is no mere landslide. It’s The World Turned Upside Down. Only four years ago, Bob McDonnell eked out the closest election in Virginia history, by 300-plus votes. Now, he’s a national figure.

In a similar way, Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli won re-election to the Senate by 92 votes in 2007. He’s always been the number one target for Democrats, liberal victimization and special rights groups, and left-wing special interests. They didn’t get him when they had the chance. Now, they must be horrified. 

It’s all election coverage and postmortems today, including a late breaking update from Lynchburg where Delegate Shannon Valentine finally conceded to Delegate-elect Scott Garrett, despite his margin of victory being within her right to call for a recount.

Our own Victoria Cobb is quoted in the Washington Post on how Governor-elect McDonnell will govern. That’s at the top. We bookend the News Stand with another social issues story: Maine, of all states, protects traditional marriage. It truly was an earth shattering night.  

News:

*Now, the hard part: Continuing to straddle the center and the right (Washington Post)

McDonnell beats Deeds, wins governor’s race; now it gets harder (The Daily Press)

McDonnell leads GOP sweep of statewide races (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

GOP reclaims Virginia (Washington Post)

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling wins second term (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Bolling defeats Wagner, holds on to No. 2 post (Washington Post)

Cuccinelli elected attorney general (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Cuccinelli’s sound win rounds out GOP sweep (Washington Post)

Republicans retaining control of House of Delegates (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Republicans boost dominance among Va. Delegates (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot)

UPDATED: Valentine Concedes: Barrett wins in 23rd District (Lynchburg News & Advance)

Liberty delivers votes by the busload (Lynchburg News & Advance)

Republicans keep 17th House of Delegates district on Election Day (Roanoke Times)

Newcomer Robin Abbott beats veteran incumbent Phil Hamilton (The Daily Press)

Sen. Ken Stolle to become Va. Beach’s next sheriff (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot)

Exit Poll: Virginia Voters Older, Energized (FoxNews.com)

Governor’s agenda flagging, but not ratings (Washington Post)

Analysis:

Analysis: GOP sweep shows policies, not parties, are paramount in Va. Politics (Jeff Schapiro/Richmond Times-Dispatch)

National:

Gay marriage vote fails in Maine (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Today, pro-family Virginians are celebrating yesterday’s election of candidates whom we believe hold to, and will govern by, values you and I share. After months of working hard either for candidates or organizations like The Family Foundation to educate voters, seeing the fruit of that labor is sweet indeed.

Exit polling found that evangelicals made up more than one-third of voters yesterday and 83 percent of those voted for the pro-life, pro-family candidates. Those numbers surpass the high water mark of pro-family involvement in any Virginia election to date!

No one can question that our Winning Matters campaign had an incredible effect on voter turnout. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the campaign by donating financially, distributing Voter Guides, Report Cards, holding voter registration drives, and a multitude of other activities. Your efforts made a huge impact yesterday.

But now, the work begins.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m as thrilled as you that Virginians sent a clear message to President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (not to mention Mark Warner, Jim Webb and the like) that we reject the debt riddled policies they are pushing. I’m excited that we have a Governor-elect, Lt. Governor-elect and Attorney General-elect who share our values. But I also know that we’ve been here before, in the days after elections, thinking that the work was done only to learn that it was far from over. We need to hold all of our newly elected officials to their promises.

Even with a larger conservative majority in the Virginia House of Delegates, the obstacle that our pro-family, pro-life agenda has faced for several years – the Virginia Senate – stands between us and our goals. While we hope members of that chamber also get the message of last night’s election results, they have two years before they face the voters. If history is any indication, they are hoping that you will have forgotten by then.

The first opportunities to affect the Senate will come with two special elections in the next few weeks. With Ken Cuccinelli’s victory last night, there will be an election to replace him in his Fairfax Senate seat. In addition, Senator Ken Stolle won election to sheriff of Virginia Beach, meaning that there will be an election for that seat as well.

Here is the commitment I’m asking you to make today: we will not stop, we will not rest, until the Senate of Virginia reflects our values! We will not stop working until that chamber joins the rest of our leaders in supporting common sense pro-life and pro-family proposals.

We have the opportunity in the upcoming session to give all 40 members of the Senate the chance to vote on legislation that reflects our values – and if they reject those values again, we have to make them pay the price at the ballot box in 2011.

I also encourage you to pray for all the newly elected candidates. In particular, over the next few months Governor-elect McDonnell will select key advisers, cabinet members and a multitude of officials on boards and commissions. Please pray that he appoints qualified, principled conservatives to those positions, the impact of which will go on well after he leaves office. It is often said that “personnel is policy,” so selecting those he will take counsel from in the years ahead is crucial for the new governor.

But today, celebrate. Enjoy a hard fought victory. Then get ready to join The Family Foundation as we look only to the future.

In an unusual move, Delegate Chris Saxman (R-20, Staunton) today announced he would not seek re-election this November, despite being in the middle of a campaign as the GOP nominee (see Harrisonburg Daily News-Record). The fact that Saxman, 43, first elected in 2001, is considered a rising figure in Virginia GOP circles (he flirted with running for the U.S. Senate in 2006) added to the surprise. He wrote, this, in part, to his constituents today:

The responsibility of representing you requires, and you deserve, a full-time commitment. As I have recently felt pulled to pursue new opportunities to serve my community and our Commonwealth, I believe the time has come for me to step away from my current elected position. As such, I have decided that I will not seek re-election this November to the Virginia House of Delegates.

I’ve always believed in a part-time legislature and that our Founding Fathers thought it a good idea to leave the State Capitol for a while and recharge. I have had a view of state government from the inside for eight years as an elected representative, and I now have a better understanding of how our government can be improved. However, if you are only looking out, as I have been, you can’t always see clearly what needs to be done on the inside.

I continue to have a strong commitment to public service, and I plan to remain active working to advance commonsense conservative solutions and work on issues about which I am passionate. There are many ways to serve, and I am blessed that several new opportunities to continue this service have presented themselves. I know that now is the time to pursue those projects fully, and I look forward to sharing more details about each of these projects in the near future.

For the past eight years, I have been working diligently on issues that I know will help our families, our Commonwealth and our nation. One of these projects is school choice and ensuring that every child has access to the educational options that will give them the best opportunity for success. It is an issue I have fought for in the legislature, and as many of you know, a year ago I launched School Choice Virginia to further our efforts in this arena. I now look forward to taking a more active role in promoting this issue, which I believe I can better do outside of the confines of the legislature.

The last line rings of soon-t0-be-ex-Governor Sarah Palin. But we do look forward to seeing what endeavors Delegate Saxman will embark upon as he tries to advance school choice, something with which we also fully support. In fact, we partner with him in his School Choice Virginia organization. 

Of course, as it is Virginia, and campaigning is perennial, questions quickly popped about who would take his place on the ballot. The Daily News-Record reports it will be 13-year Staunton City Councilman Richard Bell.

Today’s QOD has to come from Delegate Kenneth Melvin (D-80, Portsmouth). During the House’s organizational floor debate, he objected to the House limit on introducing bills — 15 per delegate during this short session, and referring to Delegate Kirk Cox (R-66, Colonial Heights), said.

“I remember last year when the delegate from Colonial Heights said, ‘No one here has 15 good ideas.’ And I agree. But . . . . ”

As one might expect, the state budget dominates state news today and will, most likely, from now and throughout the General Assembly’s short session, which commences January 14. We have it covered below, with a few political articles of interest thrown in, as well as an eye-popping commentary by Brian Kirwin from Bearing Drift. And, could there be an upset in the special election for Brian Moran’s recently resigned House seat in heavily liberal Alexandria? A Washington Post reporter says it’s possible.

News:

Kaine would double cigarette tax (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Kaine expected to push for hike in cigarette tax (The Daily Press)

Kaine proposes cuts, cigarette tax increase (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

Gov. Kaine to propose big cuts, doubling of cigarette tax (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot)

Kaine’s budget plan is divulged (Roanoke Times)

Md., Va. Eye Even Deeper Cutbacks (Washington Post)

Richmonder eyes lieutenant governor race (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Lawmakers, Business Leaders Sound Alarm (Harrisonburg Daily News-Record)

Legislators foresee tough fiscal future (Winchester Star)

Norfolk delegate to lead caucus (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Opinion/Analysis:

Bearing Drift on Patrick Muldoon’s LG campaign (Bearing Drift)

Tim Craig Sees Potential Upset In 46th Dist. Race (Virginia Virtucon)

The communications department had a “business trip” today in the northern reaches of the commonwealth — there are conservatives up there? — so we don’t have much of a News Stand today. However, what I have found is good. So, herewith, with some comments by me, is today’s News Stand:

News:

Group seeks more recorded votes (This is very interesting to note. Conservatives are split on the issue of recorded House of Delegates sub-committee votes. Some like the idea of killing of bills quickly and quietly, while others preach the good government/open, transparent government reform mantra. It cuts both ways: Neither side likes to go on the record when they can help it.) (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Election 2009: Governor’s Race Is Wide Open In Virginia (Polling from Rasmussen shows it tight from the get-go. Also, interesting numbers on various issues, including that Virginians are not dying for a tax increase for transportation.) (Rasmussenreports.com)

Opinion:

The Democratic Culture Of Corruption (From Michelle Malkin. I’ve been waiting for someone to write about this, and I still may. By the way, she left off her list Eliot Spitzer — prostitution; Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad — Countrywide loan scandal; Representative Robert Wexler, who had no home in the Florida district he represents until recently; and Representative Tim Mahoney — who tried to use government money to keep his mistress quiet; among others.) (GOPUSA.com)

The Friday Line: Ten Republicans To Watch (From Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post blog The Fix. He notes 10 Republican rising stars who may make it big nationally. Two are Virginians, House Republican Whip-Elect Eric Cantor, from the 7th Congressional District, and Attorney General Bob McDonnell, seeking the governor’s mansion. Additional interesting picks are two governors Virginia conservatives like very much: South Carolina’s Mark Sanford and Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal. Those not on the list include Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.) (The Fix/WashingtonPost.com)

Editorial Comics:

“Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s Bar Codes” (Steve Breen, Townhall.com)  

“Obama Prepares To Part The Red Sea” (Chuck Asay, Townhall.com)  

“Having Solved The Affordable Housing Problem Congress . . . “ (Chuck Asay, Townhall.com)