One Reason Why Democrats Care About The Environment

Virginia’s Energy Sales Tax Holiday Starts Today

Note: The following comes from the Office of the Governor, Tim Kaine,  via an emailed press release …

GOVERNOR KAINE ENCOURAGES VIRGINIANS TO USE ENERGY SALES TAX HOLIDAY STARTING TODAY

~ Consumers can purchase energy-efficient products tax free October 9-12; claim state rebates and federal credits on qualifying products

RICHMOND – Governor Timothy M. Kaine today encouraged Virginians to take advantage of the state’s third annual sales tax holiday on ENERGY STAR and WaterSense-qualified products. During this annual holiday, which will take place October 9-12, consumers can save money by buying certain qualified products tax-exempt, which will also deliver savings for years to come through lower home utility bills. As with last year’s holiday, high-efficiency products with ENERGY STAR or WaterSense certification will be exempt from sales tax.

“I want to again encourage Virginians to take advantage of our annual sales tax holiday on energy efficient products and the new Energy Efficiency Rebate program this weekend,” said Governor Kaine. “These programs are a great way for citizens of the Commonwealth to save money, conserve resources and boost businesses in this tough economy.”

During the annual sales tax holiday, Virginians will be exempt from paying sales tax on ENERGY STAR and WaterSense qualified products that cost $2,500 or less. Even products purchased online during the holiday will be exempt from sales tax if the seller has the items in-stock for immediate shipment. Only purchases made for personal, non-commercial will qualify for the tax exemption.

In addition to the sales tax holiday, Governor Kaine also encouraged Virginians to participate in the Virginia Energy Efficiency Rebate program and the Renewable Energy Rebate Program program.

Progressive States Network Provides Analysis of Virginia’s Legislative Session

Virginia Roundup

Virginia made steady gains in the environment and clean energy, acted to further clean up payday lending practices, and used federal stimulus funds to ward off deeper cuts to vital programs like health care, education and public safety.  However, the conservative-dominated House blocked a measure to expand the state’s unemployment benefits – which are among the most meager in the country – and cost the state an additional $125 million in federal stimulus funds to the state.  The Governor vetoed expansions of the death penalty and bills allowing licensees to carry concealed weapons in bars, although the legislature overrode one of the vetoes that would have prevented retired law enforcement officials from being able to carry a concealed weapon in eateries.

Unemployment Benefits and the Federal Stimulus:  Even though the legislature rejected Gov. Kaine’s proposal to increase unemployment benefits with the help of $125 million in federal stimulus, the Governor is considering a special session for the legislature to reconsider the proposal, given rising unemployment rates and the fact that Virginia’s jobless benefits are among the most limited in the country.  In a disheartening and callous move, one conservative lawmaker who owns a shipbuilding company and recently laid off 45 workers, voted against the expanded benefits.  

Budget and Stimulus:  Virginia passes its biennial budget in even-numbered years, but continued declines in tax revenue forced the legislature to consider cuts to health care, public safety and education programs. Softening the blow, the federal stimulus package helped to prevent an additional $800 million of spending reductions to key areas like Medicaid, education, and the state workforce.  

Health Care and Public Health:  The legislature passed and the Governor endorsed a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants with exceptions for establishments with separate ventilated rooms, patios and private clubs.  According to the Washington Post, the number of tobacco-related deaths each year in Virginia exceeds 9,000 and the total annual cost associated with treating the ill effects of smoking is $2.08 billion. Medicaid alone spends $401 million each year on health care costs related to smoking.   Unfortunately, legislators defeated the Governor’s proposal to increase the cigarette tax to 60 cents per pack, keeping it at one of the lowest levels in the country.  Also, lawmakers passed a bill allowing insurance companies to offer health plans exempt of state coverage mandates to small groups who have not offered coverage to employees in the past six months.  This measure, while potentially enabling insurers to offer cheaper plans, will mean those plans do not provide adequate coverage for health care needs – resulting in “health insurance” in name only.  

Environment and Energy: Governor Kaine won approval of several environment, transportation and energy-related measures that are part of his Renew Virginia initiative.  These include:  

• SB 1248 provides cost recovery for investments in energy efficiency made by electric utilities.  This helps to correct existing finance rules which make it more profitable to construct new plants instead of investing in energy efficiency.
• SB 1339 sets the goal of raising the state’s renewable energy portfolio to 15% by 2025.  The bill also allows utilities to set “dynamic electric rates” which encourage consumers to reduce electricity use during peak hours.  The bill will also increase reimbursement rates for private renewable energy systems that send surplus renewable energy back into the electric grid.
• SB 1186 reforms the Virginia Biofuels Production Incentive Grant Program to incentivize the creation of non-food-based biofuels.
• $20 million was set aside to continue efforts to combat pollution caused by agricultural runoff.
• And, lawmakers passed HB 2019 and SB 1398 to link transportation development and land use planning across the state.  Specifically, the state will establish standards for coordinating transportation investments and land use planning, and consider alternative transportation systems as the state modernizes its transportation infrastructure.

Public Safety:  Lawmakers agreed on a ban on texting while driving, although a driver can only be charged if pulled over for a different reason. Beyond that, the session overwhelmingly involved the Governor vetoing bad criminal justice and public safety bills:

• While many states are restricting or eliminating the death penalty, the Virginia legislature voted to expand the types of convictions eligible for capital punishment to include accomplices to murder and people convicted of killing fire marshals and auxiliary police personnel.  Fortunately, Gov. Kainevetoed the bills and the legislature did not override his action.  
• The Governor also vetoed a bill that would have allowed people with licenses to carry a concealed handgun into a bar.  The veto was sustained.  
• Also sustained were vetoes of a bill that would have exempted active duty military personnel or members of the Virginia National Guard from the state’s “one-gun-a-month” law on purchases of handguns and a bill that would have regulated and potentially limited localities from commending gun buyback programs. 
• Conversely, legislators overrode the Governor’s vetoes of a bill that would allow retired law enforcement officials to carry a concealed weapons into a bar and a bill allowing on-line completion of the concealed weapons safety test.

Unfortunately, the legislature failed to pass legislation closing the gun show loophole, meaning anybody can buy a gun at a gun show from an unlicensed dealer without first undergoing a background check.

Elections:  The state did make some minor adjustments to election law:

• After years of voters complaining about being turned away at the polls for wearing a campaign t-shirt under an overly strict interpretation of the state’s electioneering statute, a provision was passed that will allow voters to wear clothing that endorses a specific candidate in polling places.  
• HB 1881 was enacted to allow military and overseas voters receive their absentee ballot by email. The completed ballot must be returned by mail.
• SB 993 and HB 1712 will conform Virginia’s absentee ballots with federal requirements and allow ballots to be returned until polls are closed.

Unfortunately, legislators defeated the governor’s priority election reform legislation, early voting, at the beginning of the session.  Gov. Kaine tried again with a less expansive bill that passed the Senate at the end of the session but died in the House.  

Immigration:  Notably, the number of anti-immigrant bills in Virginia decreased from 110 introduced last session to 6.

• Of these, only two passed: HB 2580 allows local law enforcement to arrest and detain immigrants with prior arrest convictions who are waiting to be transferred into federal custody, and HB 2473 classifies libraries as places where loitering is not permitted, impacting day laborers who may gather near public libraries in search of work.
• In terms of positive legislation, HB 2016 relates to human trafficking and expands abduction to include abduction with the intent to subject the person to forced labor or services.  Intimidation is redefined to include withholding a person’s passport or like documents.  The bill also adds four new RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) crimes.

Local leaders believe that Gov. Timothy Kaine has been a leader in convincing the state that prominent anti-immigrant legislation poses a risk to Virginia’s image as business friendly.  Advocates still worry however that once federal immigration reform is reintroduced, the issue will reignite at the statehouse.

Broadband:  To build the state’s broadband infrastructure, lawmakers passed HB 2665 to create the Broadband Infrastructure Loan Fund.  The legislation aims to support broadband projects undertaken by local governments.  The program will prioritize projects where private industry will operate and maintain the broadband systems, projects where private involvement results in cost savings, and projects that serve two or more local governments and underserved areas. While passage of the bill indicates Virginia’s recognition of the economic and social benefits of broadband deployment, many details need to be sorted out in the implementation of the bill before advocates can judge the true implications of the initiative.

The legislature also passed HB 2423 creating the Broadband Advisory Council to advise the Governor on policy and funding priorities to expedite deployment and reduce the cost of broadband access in the Commonwealth.  

Payday Lending:  Attempting to close a loophole on new payday lending regulations that became effective on January 1st, lawmakers passed a bill requiring payday lenders to choose between offering payday loans or open-ended loans, but not both.  Open-ended loans are less regulated than payday loans and more likely to leave consumers with unlimited fees.

Civil Rights:  Lawmakers failed again to pass legislation outlawing workplace discrimination by state and local governments based on sexual orientation.  While both Gov. Kaine and former Gov. Warner have authored executive orders establishing this protection for state workers, the law would prevent those policies from being overturned by a subsequent governor. 

Virginia A Model Of Transparency for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

GOVERNOR KAINE KICKS OFF NEXT PHASE OF STIMULUS.VIRGINIA.GOV

~ Revamped model site to provide ongoing information on recovery plan allocations and projects ~

RICHMOND —Governor Timothy M. Kaine today launched an overhauled Stimulus.Virginia.Gov, transforming the state’s original, pioneering website into Virginia’s comprehensive online portal for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). With the conclusion of the project solicitation phase of the Commonwealth’s program to implement the recovery plan, the website is transitioning to present a wide range of information related to the ARRA—including maps, graphs, charts, and downloadable tables that allow citizens to see where proposals have originated, where money is flowing, and what specific projects and geographies are benefiting from recovery plan funding.

“In Virginia —just as in other states across the country—we’ve made transparency and accountability a core part of our program to implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” Governor Kaine said. “As we work to build a stronger economic future for Virginia ,  the redesigned Stimulus.Virginia.Gov will be a central tool to ensure Virginians can see where funds are being used and how the recovery plan is working in our state.”

Virginia will receive approximately $4.8 billion in direct appropriations from the ARRA—not including tax cuts, which will aid Virginia citizens directly. In addition, a large amount of additional funds will be in the form of competitive grants that have yet to be awarded. These grants may be awarded to a wide range of groups, including state agencies and institutions of higher education, local governments, quasi-governmental organizations, non-profit organizations, and private companies. White House economists estimate the recovery plan will create or save 93,000 jobs in Virginia over the next two years.

Given the ARRA’s unprecedented requirements on disclosure and reporting the use of funding, State Comptroller David Von Moll will be working to ensure Virginia state agencies and institutions of higher education meet all reporting requirements to the federal government, including:

· How funds are being used;

· Descriptions and status reports on stimulus-related projects;

· Estimates of jobs saved or created by federal stimulus activities; and

· Estimates of tax increases averted because of federal stimulus funds.

The revamped Stimulus.Virginia.Gov website mirrors the principles of Recovery.gov by posting this disclosure information as it becomes available. This additional reporting allows Virginians to monitor how the recovery plan is working throughout the state and ensure tax dollars are being spent productively and responsibly. The site will show all available ARRA funds by Cabinet Secretariat, and map expenditures by locality and will be updated on a continual basis.

Virginia was among the first states in the nation to launch a website dedicated to offering citizens, community groups, and localities a voice in the recovery plan process. Between February 10 and March 6, Stimulus.Virginia.Gov received more than 9,000 project ideas, totaling $450 billion, including:

–  Transportation – more than $180 billion of projects submitted.

–  Education –     $14.4 billion of K-12 schools projects

$7.9 billion of K-12 construction projects

$1.6 billion of Higher Education projects

$654 million of High Education infrastructure projects

$2.5 billion of Higher Education construction projects

–  Health Information Technology – 178 projects submitted, $1 billion. Following a Health IT town hall hosted by Secretary of Health and Human Resources Marilyn Tavenner and Secretary of Technology Aneesh Chopra, project proposals related to technology increased by nearly ten-fold.

–  Broadband infrastructure – 324 projects submitted, $8.8 billion. Submissions are expected to be useful to service providers who can now see what communities are organizing to attract broadband service.

–  Water Projects/Environmental Infrastructure – $28.6 billion of projects submitted.

Over the next few weeks, the Governor’s working group on stimulus funds will continue routing these projects to the appropriate Cabinet Secretariat for review and evaluation. Ultimately, recommendations around potential projects will be presented to Governor Kaine, who is expected to make final decisions on recovery plan allocations in early April.

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Focus Group Results Have President Obama’s Speech Approval Crossing Party Lines

Tonight after President Obama addressed a Joint Session of Congress  I took part in a conference call  with the folks from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and Democracy Corps … they held a dial testing focus group and gauged reactions of voters – about half of whom voted for Barack Obama and half of whom voted for John McCain in November  … from state of Nevada  … for a large part of the speech pollster Stan Greenberg found that Republicans were viewing what President Obama had to say favorably in most areas … the exception was in the area of health care … the notion of responsibility and “the day of reckoning has come” really resonated … other areas that hit home was  … veterans, troops and pay raises …  banks and financial crisis “helping people not helping banks” … and energy independence and acting on it … in the end the approval rating hit 76% … well done Mr. President!

President-elect Barack Obama Weekly Video Addresses Our Economic Crisis

President-elect Obama’s Weekly Transition Video Update

This video address from President-elect Barack Obama talks again of his commitment to science and introduces the major members of his administration who he has chosen to lead our nation’s major scientific projects and provide him with advice on issues and policies.

Repower, Refuel, Rebuild America

The Bush Recession has already cost 1 million jobs. We urgently need to get our economy moving by building a clean energy future. Please join me in asking President-elect Obama to Repower, Refuel, and Rebuild America. Bob Fertik Dear Friend,         Repower, Refuel, Rebuild President-elect Obama must take the lead with a bold clean energy agenda Urge Obama to make clean energy a priority in his first 100 days. After eight years of energy policy written by Big Oil, we finally have the opportunity to make a clean break—and shift to a new, sustainable energy economy. President-elect Obama has no time to waste. He must take the lead with a bold clean energy agenda in his first 100 days. Urge President-elect Obama to commit to Repower, Refuel, and Rebuild America. The League of Conservation Voters is partnering with nearly a dozen environmental groups to send a strong message to the President-elect that now is the time to grow our economy and build a sustainable energy future. We are calling on President-elect Obama to support four goals the moment he steps foot in the Oval Office: Moving America to 100% clean electricity; Cutting our dependence on oil in half; Creating 5 million new clean energy jobs; and Cutting global warming pollution by at least 80%. America has a fresh start. This is our chance to turn things around. We can’t wait any longer to solve our energy crisis, so add your voice today. Click here to sign the petition to Repower, Refuel, and Rebuild America. Sincerely,   Gene Karpinski  President, League of Conservation Voters

Obama Transition Update: Energy & Environment Policy Team

Virginia Disability Community Encouraged To Vote For Obama

Dear Friends in the Virginia Disability Community:

As parents of children with disabilities and self-advocates, we are writing to encourage you to consider the presidential candidates’ records and positions on disability issues before you cast your vote   on November 4th. 

After researching their positions, we have come to the opinion that Senator Barack Obama has been, and will continue to be, a true champion for individuals with disabilities. 

Paul K. Longmore, Professor of history and Director of the Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University, has written a well researched comparison of the candidates’ positions, supported with footnotes to legitimate sources.  Professor Longmore , as a man with a disability, seems to have sincere motivations.  His analysis can be found at this link:

http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/09/15/paul-longmore-open-lette/#more-3205

Additionally, we encourage you to review the candidates’ positions directly.  Senator Obama’s website includes his nine-page plan to empower people with disabilities, including full funding for education for children with disabilities and support for legislation such as the Community Choice Act, which would help people with disabilities live independently. See http://www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/.  There is also a comparison between the two candidates at:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/dahome 

(click on the link under Resources for the Factual Obama McCain Comparison….).   

   Senator McCain’s website barely mentions disability issues. See http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/.   He has opposed the Community Choice Act and has repeatedly voted against funding for special education.

     Whether or not you are directly affected by a disability, supporting people with disabilities can help them become working, contributing  members of our economy and society.  We would appreciate you giving Barack Obama your vote and support.

    Please also forward this on to other persons with disabilities and their friends, family members, and advocates.  Virginia is a crucial swing state in this election, and the disabilities community here could be key!

Sincerely,                                          

Mac McArthur-Fox                         Todd Stone 

Geraldine Storey                             Martha Toomey

Ed Turner   Senator and Mrs. Edd Houck