Chris Collins: General Assembly update

Dear Friends,

The 2017 General Assembly session has officially begun! This year will be a short session (46 days) as our primary responsibility is to make adjustments to our biennial budget. However, we are still putting forth legislation aimed at creating jobs, improving healthcare costs, and creating more educational opportunities. There is a lot before us this year, but we will be focused on doing the work of the people and completing the Session on time!

The House was officially gaveled into session on Wednesday, January 11th at 12 noon.  A new transparency measure was announced on the first day: the video archiving of each day’s session.  The new archive, available from the Virginia General Assembly website, will allow the public to view the floor proceedings of the House during the 2017 session on demand. The House also has created a search feature that will allow viewers to search by bill or by member.

The House is committed to building on our previous advances in improved transparency (i.e 2 day waiting period before voting on budget and prohibiting committee meetings held at member desks on the chamber floor). We take public access to the legislative proceedings seriously and these new services provide access to important information anytime day or night.

Later week, Governor McAuliffe delivered the annual State of the Commonwealth Address. During his speech, the Governor highlighted Navy Federal Credit Union’s recent investment of over $100m in Frederick County to expand their operations center.  The expansion will create over 1,400 new, high paying jobs.

In August of last year, Governor McAuliffe announced over a $1 billion shortfall. The shortfall is a result of a lagging economy that generated less tax revenue than expected. Unfortunately, the “New Virginia” economy Governor McAuliffe is always championing has been steadily replacing high paying full time jobs with lower paying part time jobs. Virginia’s economy has lost more than 4,000 jobs, weekly wages are down, and part-time employees are up by more than 20,000 since 2015.

Unlike Washington, Virginia’s constitution requires a balanced budget. Last month Governor McAuliffe unveiled his proposed budget to the General Assembly.  The Governor’s budget proposal is just the first step in a long process.  It is now time for the House to develop our budget.  Our goal is to craft a responsible, conservative budget that strategically invests in the core functions of government while protecting precious taxpayer resources. We will invest in key priorities, but we must do so in a fiscally prudent manner.

As we start the General Assembly, I encourage you to fill out my on-line session survey.   Please share the survey with your friends and neighbors in the 29th District and encourage them to fill it out as well.  Your thoughts on important issues drive my work in Richmond. Please make sure you complete it by January 25, 2017.

On Saturday, February 4, 2017, I will be holding a town hall meeting at the Middletown, VA Town Hall from 9:30 am-10:30 am.  Town halls are a great way for me to directly communicate with constituents in my district and discuss the important issues for this year’s session.  Middletown Town Hall is located at 7875 Church Street, Middletown, VA 22645.

I encourage you to keep in touch with me and my office over the coming months.  I value the feedback you provide on a continual basis as it helps me do a better job of representing you.  You can email me or call me at (804) 698-1029.  You can also join the conversation on my Facebook,  Twitter and Instagram pages.

I will be providing you with weekly updates during the 2017 General Assembly Session and will schedule meeting with constituent groups after Session to report on the Session and take questions.

Thank you for the opportunity to represent Virginia’s 29th District.

Sincerely,

Christopher E. Collins, Member
29th District