Richmond – Delegate David Englin (D-45) announced today that the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has reversed its prohibition on hotel manager’s receptions that include complimentary wine and beer for guests and their visitors. This is the result of Englin’s efforts with the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce on behalf of Alexandria hotels that have been at a competitive disadvantage with hotels in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, where such receptions are permitted.
“We are very pleased to have worked with Delegate Englin to effect positive change not only for Alexandria hotels but for all ABC licensed hotels in Virginia,” said Tina Leone, president and chief executive officer of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. “With this revision, Alexandria will be more competitive in attracting additional business and leisure travelers. This change is a real victory for the hotel and tourism industry in Virginia.”
Thursday was ALS Awareness Day at the General Assembly, and David met with constituents working to raise awareness of what is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
“The moving personal stories of these advocates help all of us better understand the challenges these families face as they try to be voices for their loved ones who can’t speak for themselves,” said David.
ALS attacks and kills the nerve cells which control muscle movement, causing people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease to lose the ability to move, to speak, to swallow and finally to breathe. While there is no known cause or cure, as many as 30,000 Americans have Lou Gehrig’s Disease at any given time, and recent studies have shown that military veterans are more likely to develop Lou Gehrig’s Disease, although the reasons for this are not yet known. For more information, visit www.ALSinfo.org.
Richmond Report: Health, emergency planning, green jobs bills move forward, but painful budget looms
With the General Assembly session in full swing, committees are negotiating and debating scores of bills each day. Many elements of my own legislative agenda are moving forward nicely, and I continue standing up for the interests of our community in a very tough environment.
On a near unanimous vote, the House of Delegates last week passed my House Bill 267, which puts us on the home stretch toward launching the Advanced Health Care Directives Registry. A top priority for groups working to advance equal rights for all Virginians, this service will ensure that health care providers and emergency responders know exactly what your wishes are and who may make medical decisions for you. This is the culmination of a two-year effort that began with my 2008 bill to establish the registry, and it demonstrates that, through creative partnerships with the private sector, we can deliver progress eve during thee tough budget times.
During the recent H1N1 vaccination emergency, some children attending private schools and children who are home schooled complained of difficulty accessing the vaccine compared to their public school peers. Therefore, the Health Subcommittee this week approved my House Bill 270 to ensure that all children are accounted for equally in Virginia’s emergency vaccination planning.
Teachers from Alexandria and Arlington met with David today to discuss the state budget and legislation affecting public schools throughout Virginia.
“In this immensely difficult budget year, I’m committed to doing absolutely everything possible to protecting funding for public education and to ensure than any cuts we must endure are only temporary,” said David. “Public education is the foundation of our society, and giving our teachers and schools the resources to serve our children well must remain a top priority.”
Last week, Governor Bob McDonnell addressed a joint session of the General Assembly and laid out his policy agenda for 2010. While there were a few strong points of disagreement, for the most part, he laid out a series of reasonable ideas to spur economic development and job growth in Virginia. For example, he noted the potential for a five-to-one return on investment if we increase state spending to attract the movie industry to Virginia. This was a good idea in 2008 when then-Delegate Brian Moran advocated it — and House Republicans mocked it — and it’s a good idea today. An even better idea would be to expand early childhood education, which has a return on investment of at least seven-to-one (and many times higher than that, according to some research) but has little political support among Republicans in Richmond.
Governor McDonnell also proposed a $500 per job tax credit for companies that create renewable energy jobs, which is nearly identical to the Renewable Energy Job Creation Tax Credit legislation that I developed and have proposed the past two years. Unfortunately, for all of the millions of dollars of new spending Governor McDonnell proposed, he also stated outright that he would veto any tax increases, and he has not yet identified what more he would cut from a budget that already guts core state services. As a newly appointed member of the House Finance Committee, I will be working not only to ensure efficient, effective use of our existing resources, but also to address the revenue side of the balance sheet, as sounds fiscal management demands. We cannot balance the budget merely by cutting, especially if those cuts threaten education and infrastructure, which are the keys to our future growth.
