RICHMOND — As Virginia lawmakers scrambled to pass more than 200 bills before the Feb. 14 crossover deadline, some protesting workers said elected officials are not doing enough to help the state’s economy.
“Someone should track how many bills are going through that really affect our economy,” said Richmond architect Lawrence Williams, 50, who founded Lawrence Ellis Williams Consulting LLC, a construction firm.
But a review of legislation targeted by the state’s business leaders shows that the General Assembly has cleared the way for a slew of economy-focused bills.
The state House and Senate must have passed their respective bills by Feb. 14 at midnight. After the deadline, they can only work on bills that have passed in the other chamber of the Legislature, known as the crossover deadline.
The Virginia Chamber of Commerce, which represents business interests statewide, this session targeted 31 bills they think would help bolster the state’s economy.
The proposals target issues from energy and education to health care and taxes. All but two were passed by their respective houses by Feb. 13.
But to protesting workers on the sidewalk outside the lawmakers’ offices, the view looks different.
Williams said he is worried about the wide range of social policy issues when people need jobs. Lawmakers seem to be “doing things to make headlines,” he said, such as taking hard-line stances on issues such as gun control and abortion.
House Minority Leader David Toscano, (D-Charlottesville), estimated delegates voted on 10 bills relating to tax credits for businesses — comprising about 5 percent of the day’s agenda.
“That’s just the nature of Virginia politics, I think,” he said.
Williams, who is black, stood with fellow minority business owners in urging delegates to pass Senate Bill 651, which would award more state contracts to businesses owned by minorities and women.
He joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other protesters Feb. 13 in support of the bill.
The proposal, sponsored by Senate Democratic Caucus chairman Don McEachin, (D-Henrico), passed the state Senate in early February. The measure would force the governor to take action if a statistical analysis of state contracts shows that women- and minority-owned businesses are facing discrimination.
Williams and other business owners want Gov. Bob McDonnell to provide more state contract jobs to companies owned by racial minorities and women.
“It’s a 50-50 issue — minorities and women pay 50 percent of taxes, so they should get 50 percent of the contracts,” Williams said.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the state’s population is 64.8 percent white, non-Hispanic. About half of Virginia’s population is female.
The protesters said they fear McEachin’s bill will become buried in a House committee and overshadowed by abortion and gun-rights issues.
Great Christianyou are so funny. You talk about reading the Bible and you tell people to go to hell. Wow, I guess that is what happens when you combine reading the Bible with a thrid grade education. Thank goodness more educated people are continuing to move into this Country so that we can push these local inbreds further into Virginia and West Virginia. i get ired of making all this money and paying all these taxes to carry these clowns
I’m already sick of the GOP-led goofballs using our state government to force their personal agenda on us. Leaving aside the misguided invasion of privacy and individual freedom that their “personhood” bills entail. We know they like to push hot-buttons to keep the locals from appreciating the way they’re selling them out on other interests. One of my favorites:
HB1246: Submitted by Del. David Ramadan (R-87). This bill by illegal sign king David Ramadan authorizes billboards on the Greenway…saying the revenue will be used to reduce tolls. What utter nonsense. Is Delegate Dave going to start doing the books for the toll road so we can clearly see how this visual pollution will reduce outrageous tolls? Why not work on getting tolls lower instead of simply insuring that this captive audience will now be sold to advertisers on top of everything else!
ENOUGH!
Letters and petitions are on their way to Gov. McDonnell as we speak. If he’s smart (?) enough to get on the ticket as VP, he’d do well to amend the abhorrent legislative decisions regarding women’s right to contraception and right to be consulted on invasive penetration. Otherwise, he’ll pay for it at the voting booth. No thanks for sending us to the “SANiTORiUM.”
Luke 6:37 and Romans 2:1-3
Come down from the self-described and self-justified pedestal!
Religious liberty is for all, so is freedom from others’ so-called religious authority.
The “loons” referenced below are at least principled. To me loons = the 2008 voters who packed our schools and haven’t been seen or heard from since.
You flaming liberals are ALL GOING TO HELL! The righteous are ruling as they should since you heathens cannot tell right from wrong. Read your Bible if you have one, all of your answers and directions are there. I Pray that you will see the light, and stop killing the unborn.
Real “Conservatives” would be focusing on taxes, spending, and Dulles Rail. You know, issues related to the economy and the future prosperity of the Commonwealth and its residents.
Instead these guys are trying to codify their radical interpretation of the Bible, creating an intrusive, oppressive government reminiscent of Soviet Russia or Islamic theocracies. “Big Brother” and “Big Government” courtesy of the GOP.
Welcome to the Commonwealth of Teabagistan.
Politicians pay LIP SERVICE to businesses, particular small business. What good is a tax credit when we don’t make enough profit in this economy to pay a lot of taxes??? We also discovered a great Department of business assistance with a lot of good programs but very few direct loans. Why not put more funding and grants there if you really care about us struggling business owners?
Bills about women’s health to be signed by the Guv give new meaning to “Rape-All-You-Can.” Saw this coming. . .
Hey, “News”, SB3 would have given megamillions more to the money pit known as the metro rail project to Dulles. A totally mismanaged project soaking up billions in taxpayer $$ that most virginians don’t even want. The democrats did us all a favor by voting that one down. The only people it would have benefited are the mega corps running the show. No thanks, Republicans - get back to real issues and stop giving your friends all our money and get out of our uteruses!
One more thing, the Democrats call Republicans “teabaggers”, which means that the Democrats are the ones getting “teabagged”. You might want to rethink the metaphor. Not very pleasant, is it when you think of it in those terms.
In politics, it’s just like being married… the Republicans are the men of politics. It’s always their fault. Dear Democrats and Republicans, grow up. It’s the partisan politics that keep us in this funk. I issue this call to arms. In November, vote each and every incumbent out of office. Every one of them must go. I call for a hard reset and we start to elect people who will represent us.
Democrats just voted down SB3, which is the biggest jobs bill introduced this session. SB3 would have required MWAA to consider non-union workers since 96% of Virginia’s construction workers are non-union. This project will be paid for by Virginians, built in Virginia, but since Democrats killed the bill the vast majority of the jobs will go to out of state workers. So much for caring about the economy.
What did people expect when you elected these fools. Republicans can’t help themselves. They believe election victories are sent from their God and is a sign for them to do what they do. They don’t give a crap about the economy, traffic, taxes or whatever. They onlly care about their big contributors. But you can only blame the people who did not get off their butts and vote. By the time we get this miscreants out of office, damage will be done. In the mean time stop whining and get off your duffs and vote.
Anyone voting for the “party” first of all should not be able to vote second they shou;ld not be allowed to reproduce. I do not care if you are pink if you come in with the best price quote then you get the job. There is no reason a company owned by a miniority should be awarded a contract over the best price. Don’t be so hard on Minchew he wants to keep his Post Office open that runs at a loss because he had a p.o. box there for 18 years.
On a national and state level, the GOP has managed to hijack the agenda to focus on their radical religious issues, rather than the economy, jobs, trade, budgets and taxes. It is a ploy to fool their base into continuing to vote GOP. “We aren’t acting like fiscal conservatives, so we’ll just put our nose in the bedroom and doctor’s office!” Small government is a lie from these folks.
Unfortunately for the sane people in this area, who are we going to write to in order to voice your disapproval? Dick Black? Ha. The party lap dog Minchew?
I guess Virginia wants to establish a black market of educated, professional women who will have to find underground methods to get basic birth control. Why would any women or homosexual ever vote GOP in today’s climate? The party of Goldwater and Buckley is dead. Now they all act like they are working under the authority of divine right and forget not all Americans are lunatic Christians. Sane, modern women only have themselves to blame though. Get out and vote! Dick Black won thanks to less than 40% of voters bothering to show up. The loons always show up.
http://www.lifeissues.org/abortifacients/index.html
Very informative about myths and contraceptives. Since the word hormonal appears in most descriptions, many will be illegal in VA.
Business has taken the proverbial back seat in our state and at the national level, no kidding. Money - you can’t take it with you. Just think how many people and how much debt could have been taken care of by the monies spent on ads, hidden by superPacs.
As far as respect: hormonal birth control and potential bans notably for women only, seem to suggest “compulsory” motherhood, taking us back(wards) to not being considered full citizens in the USA. New misinformation is that contraceptives are only for “mindless” sex - “day in and day out” rather than medical needs. So family planning, loving relationships, careers, and higher education are not respected reasons for use of legal and not-costly contraception by 98% of the population, accepted until now?
While government and religious institutions are dominated by men, I have to think that conservative women are possibly as guilty for pushing politicians to these issues. Two of them in VA sponsored the intrusive trans-vaginal ultrasound probe legislation after all.
Where are the jobs in all of this disrespectful legislation?
They need to dump all the sickening bills against women and education, and concentrate on what we elected them to do - fix the economy and bring jobs to this state! Sheesh, we elected a bunch of friggin’ religious morons that want to go back to the Inquisition Days.
Actually, it is worse than that. Its all about businesses (big ones, not the mom/pop stores) giving campaign contributions to the pols, so that the pols will give them tax breaks left and right. It is all about money. Period.
No surprise here…..run on the promise to do more about the economy and instead focus on the religious right’s demand to control women while letting men run rampant (re: no restrictions on prescribing Viagra and such, but by all means restrict a woman’s free will (God given, by the way)). Talk about an ADD group of people….Pay Attention to the Economy PLEASE!!
Wow, GOP led government not doing anything they actually ran on, the economy, and instead focusing on other issues that are not at all on which they ran, trans-vaginal scans and stripping the little of which public teachers actually have.
Our elected officials need to stop worrying about a woman’s uterus and how many babies she should be pumping out with no birth control, and focus on getting JOBS to this state! Until the GOP halts its hatred towards women, this Republican woman will be voting Dem!
Updated: Thirteen-year-old pedestrian hit crossing Route 7 near Dulles Town Center
UPDATE: Missing Leesburg man drowns in drainage pond
Leesburg high schools switch things around
Loudoun inmate dies after suffering massive stroke in prison
Two Loudoun County residents involved in $1.5 million mortgage scheme
