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January 2, 2008 Commentary |
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I will be making my way to Richmond next week for the opening of the General Assembly annual session on January 9. I will be living in a hotel room there for the 60-day session scheduled to adjourn on March 8, but I will be home most weekends. The days will be long and intense as the 100 members of the House of Delegates and the 40 members of the State Senate slog through more than 3,000 bills and resolutions and pass a biennial budget of about $78 billion. While there will be many issues of statewide significance, no concerns are more important than those of my constituents. That is why I forward my legislative office phone, 703.758.9733, to my Richmond office in order for you to contact me without paying a long distance charge. My regular legislative office number in Richmond, 804.698.1036, is available to constituents as well. Likewise, messages coming to me at my regular e-mail address, kenplum@aol.com, are checked many times during the day. If you have issues you would like me to know about, please plan to attend my public hearing with Senator Janet Howell on Thursday, January 3, 2008, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods. I will be having a public hearing with Senator Mark Herring on Monday, January 7, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. at Fox Mill Elementary School, 2601 Viking Drive, Herndon. No pre-registration is required for these hearings. Printed testimony is not required but is appreciated. You can present testimony on issues of concern to you before the entire FairfaxCounty delegation to the General Assembly on Saturday, January 5, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. Pre-registration is available by calling 703.324.3151, TTY 711, by noon on Friday, January 4. Speakers may also sign up at the hearing. Members of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees will hold a public hearing on the Governor's proposed budget on Thursday, January 3, 12:00 noon at the Johnson Center at George Mason University. If you have not done so already, please respond to my Constituent Survey for 2008 on my website, www.kenplum.com. Passing the budget bill will not be an easy task as the slowdown in the economy has reduced state tax revenue. At the same time, public school costs have gone up with increased enrollments and inflation pressures. The need for increased expenditures in mental health services cannot be ignored after the Virginia Tech tragedy. The need for increased child care subsidies is well documented as is the Governor's interest in expanding pre-K educational programs to more children. There will be a strong push to severely modify or repeal the abusive driver fees reducing an already minimal transportation funding program. The perennial bills to take on the federal issue of immigration will be introduced as will numerous bills to limit access to abortion. Events throughout the state this year related to animal welfare will produce many bills. Regulated industries that have not been able to get their way with state agencies will be coming to the legislature for relief. I will be discussing these and other issues in future columns as they are dealt with in Richmond. A full agenda for the legislature for sure. Follow the action at http://legis.state.va.us, and let me hear from you with your views. |
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Constituent Survey – 2008 General Assembly Session |
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Please take a moment to complete my annual Constituent Survey. Your responses to questions about current issues will help me as I prepare for the 2008 General Assembly Session. Take the survey by clicking on the following link. Thank you in advance for sharing your views. |
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Delegate Ken Plum's Weekly "Virginia Report" |
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View Delegate Plum’s Virginia Report online at http://www.rctv28.com/videosVR.htm. Tonight – Wednesday, January 2 at 10:30 p.m. – Ray LaMura, Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association – "What's New with Cable" Tuesday, January 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, January 9 at 10:30 p.m. – Susan Colwell, MyGreenCottage – "Environmental Living for the 21st Century" |
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Work is about to begin in preparation for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project! Utility relocations starting with Washington Gas along Route 7 will begin this month. For information on the utility construction, call the 24-hour hotline at 877.585.6789. For general Dulles Corridor Metrorail information visit www.dullesmetro.com. Fairfax and Arlington Counties were recognized by the National Association of Counties and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for their leading efforts in promoting energy efficiency among residents. Fairfax and Arlington Counties were the winners in the large and medium population categories, respectively, in the national campaign to encourage residents to pledge to replace one or more incandescent bulbs in their homes with compact fluorescent light bulbs that have earned the government's ENERGY STAR label. Fairfax and Arlington Counties were among the nation's first jurisdictions to join the Cool Counties initiative, under which counties commit to achieving an 80 percent reduction in global warming emissions by 2050. For more information about the Cool Counties initiative visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/living/environment/coolcounties. |
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The House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees of the Virginia General Assembly will hold regional public hearings on the Governor's proposed 2008-2010 biennial state budget on Thursday, January 3 at 12:00 noon at the Johnson Center at George Mason University. The Committees will also hold a hearing on Monday, January 14, 1:00 p.m., in the General Assembly Building, House Room D, in Richmond. Speakers will be taken in the order of registration. Delegate Ken Plum and Senator Janet Howell will host an annual Public Meeting prior to the upcoming General Assembly session on Thursday, January 3, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods. Please attend and let your elected officials hear from you about issues affecting the community and the region. The Virginia General Assembly's Fairfax County Delegation will hold a public hearing on Saturday, January 5, 2008, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. The public is invited to attend and comment. People wanting to sign up to speak at the hearing should contact the Fairfax County Office of the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors at 703.324.3151, TTY 711, by noon on Friday, January 4. Speakers also may sign up at the hearing. Celebrate Reston Used Book Shop's 30th Anniversary at an Open House on Sunday, January 6, noon to 4:00 p.m. Attend a Public Meeting with Delegate Ken Plum and Senator Mark Herring on Monday, January 7, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. at Fox Mill Elementary School, 2601 Viking Drive, Herndon. Delegate Plum and Senator Herring look forward to seeing you and having your views prior to the General Assembly session. The first day of the upcoming General Assembly session in Richmond is Wednesday, January 9, 2008. My Reston office phone, 703.758.9733, will be forwarded to my Richmond office for your convenience. Contact me by phone or send me an email at kenplum@aol.com with questions about pending legislation of interest to you. Send me a fax at 804.698.6736. The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority will hold a public hearing on its six-year transportation plan on January 10, 6:00 p.m. at George Mason High School Auditorium, 7124 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church. More information can be found at www.thenovaauthority.org. The National Council for Science and the Environment will sponsor the 8th National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment, Climate Change Science and Solutions, to develop comprehensive strategies for protecting people and the planet against rapid climate change. The conference will be held January 16-18, 2008, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. Visit www.NCSEonline.org/2008conference to register and view the conference agenda. Attend the 25th Anniversary Performance of the Capitol Steps to benefit Reston Interfaith on January 27, 2008, 7:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Reston. To make a reservation, visit the following link to Reston Interfaith's website: Share your thoughts at a panel discussion hosted by the Reston Association, "Making Meaningful Connections: How local Organizations Can Reach Out to a Diverse Community" on Wednesday, January 30, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at RA's main conference room at 1930 Isaac Newton Square. A light dinner will be provided, and translation services and child care will be provided. To register, call Karen Monaghan at 703.435.6514. The annual Polar Plunge at Lake Anne will be held on Saturday, February 9, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Take a full winter dip, a "Chicken Dip," or sponsor a brave plunger. Registered participants will plunge into Lake Anne to raise funds for Camp Sunshine. Registration forms and pledge sheets are at www.freezinforareason.com. Spectators are welcome. Bid on treasures from the past at Reston Museum's "Attic Auction" on Thursday, February 12, 5:30 p.m. Live bidding begins at 6:30 p.m. Visit www.restonmuseum.org for more information about the Museum. |
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Authorized and Paid for by Kenneth R. Plum
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Delegate Kenneth R. Plum | 2073 Cobblestone Lane | Reston | VA | 20191 |
