Madison GOP Women visit Richmond

Greetings from Richmond, where the 2012 General Assembly session is under way. The 2012 General Assembly started off on an upbeat note Jan. 11, when all 100 members of the House of Delegates took the oath of office. It truly was a privilege to take the oath, and I am honored to be your voice for the 30^th District in the House of Delegates for the 2012 and 2013 General Assembly Sessions.

Also on Jan. 11, committee assignments were announced. I am pleased to continue serving on the Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee where I am vice chairman, as well as the Science and Technology and Transportation committees. I am also grateful to have been appointed to the House Appropriations Committee, which reviews and revises the governor’s budget. On the Appropriations Committee, I will serve on the Economic Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Transportation, K-12 Education and General Government subcommittees.

On the evening of Jan. 11, Gov. Bob McDonnell delivered his annual State of the Commonwealth address in the House Chamber. It was a thoughtful speech that challenged Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate to work together for the benefit of all Virginians. Gov. McDonnell also laid out a number of proposals that will likely receive bipartisan support, including additional investments in job creation and economic development, increased funding for our colleges and universities aimed at expanding enrollment at an affordable cost and a record investment into the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) for teachers and state employees. Of course, not all of the governor’s proposals will enjoy bipartisan support, such as some proposed budget cuts, and there will be spirited debate about some proposals.

Jan. 12 brought bankers from Stellar One and Wells Fargo to our office, as well as students from Germanna Community College. Members of the Virginia Federation of Republican Women were also in town, and it was good to see members of the Madison County Republican Women as well as the Susan Allen Republican Women from Orange County. The evening’s Virginia Agribusiness Banquet is always a session highlight and brought a number of people from the 30^th District to Richmond for a celebration of the bounty of Virginia agriculture.

On Jan. 13, Gov. McDonnell announced that he is sending down a number of executive budget amendments. The bulk of the amendments are directed at increasing state funding to kindergarten through 12^th grade education. Combined with the governor's $438 million increase in state funding for public education in his introduced budget, the amendments bring additional state funding for Virginia's public schools to $497.2 million, or nearly half a billion dollars.

I will report more on the budget in future Madison County Eagle columns, but the governor’s increased funding for public education is significant and worth highlighting.

Visits, letters, phone calls and e-mails on these and other topics are welcome as our work moves forward.

(Guest columnist Ed Scott represents Madison County in the Virginia House of Delegates. Scott, a Republican, also lives in Madison County. E-mail him at DelEscott@house.virginia.gov.)