General Assembly, observations from the hall

by Missy Schmidt, Communication Manager, Hampton Roads Partnership

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce met for its annual “Chamber Day” at the Capitol in Richmond on January 27th, an event designed to promote grassroots involvement with the business of the legislature especially in matters that affect commerce and economic prosperity. Professional lobbyists aren’t the only ones who can have a voice with the General Assembly (GA) in Richmond thanks to the World Wide Web and great online resources like the Commonwealth-provided http://leg1.state.va.us and the privately funded RichmondSunlight.com. And, groups like the Virginia Chamber help facilitate face-to-face engagement.

George Washington statue, 1788, in the Capitol Rotunda – Richmond, Virginia

I had the pleasure of joining the Hampton Roads Chamber’s LEAD Hampton Roads (LHR) group on their trek to Richmond for the day, the largest of the state’s regional contingents. High speed rail (HSR) and getting Hampton Roads on “The Main Line” was the message for day from members of LHR’s Class of 2010. They lobbied passionately in the halls of the GA to press home the significance of rail to Hampton Roads.

Before LHR hit the halls, Chambers from around the Commonwealth met to hear remarks from the Virginia Chamber’s President Hugh Keough, House Speaker William Howell and our top elected state officials:

Lt. Governor (LG) Bill Bolling explained that with his new position he also serves as the “Chief Jobs Creation Officer.” While there is no separate agency, Bolling has been tasked by Gov. McDonnell with improving the Commonwealth’s economic conditions, overseeing overall economic development programs and progress, insuring emphasis is focused and redundancy is eliminated and assuring Virginia has the tools in place to tell and sell the Virginia story.

LG Bolling said, “We’ve missed opportunities…. New business hasn’t been a priority for state government for some time, and that’s the most important issue facing Virginia today.” With the McDonnell/Bolling Jobs and Opportunities Agenda released the day before, Bolling added, “A rising tide does indeed lift all ships….and we have to spend money to make money.”

“Virginia could be to the East Coast what Louisiana is to the Gulf Coast” in terms of energy resources, said Bolling. Government doesn’t create jobs but can provide an environment that is friendly to job creation according to the LG.

During Q&A that followed, Bolling stated that Virginia needed to get away from a “one-size-fits-all public education model” and to reprioritize and reinvest to promote Virginia students’ attendance in Virginia’s higher education institutions. The LG left us with this: let’s meet this time next year and talk about successes instead of challenges.

Attorney General (AG) Ken Cuccinelli joined us next, assuring the Chambers present that he was not following the “activist” model of some state’s office of the AG, instead focusing on enforcement of the law in a fair and balance way. One area of concentration for the AG is the restructuring of consumer protections, especially as to streamlining processes, reducing duplicated efforts and addressing truly meaningful cases with more attention.

Cuccinelli finished by telling us of his goal to “reassert the sovereignty of Virginia.”

Governor Bob McDonnell, who won the Governor’s mansion with a jobs-creation platform, began his comments with “job creation is not a partisan issue; you either have them or you don’t.” Virginia is uniquely qualified to attract investment the tourism, film and biotech industries. “Pennsylvania is way ahead of us in promoting Gettysburg; we have civil war battlefields and need to promote them,” according to McDonnell. “And it’s unacceptable to have films about Virginia filmed elsewhere.”

The Governor also wants to make Virginia the “Energy Capital of the East Coast” adding that we’re already leaders in coal and nuclear and have huge potential for wind, solar, gas and oil business. Establishing Virginia as a “Green Jobs Zone” to incentivize companies to create quality green jobs is a top priority.

It’s also important to have education and transportation systems in place to support job growth, but “there’s a limit to what we can do well at one time,” said the Governor. The crowd supplied a big round of applause when McDonnell said he would stand with Virginia’s citizens to preserve our right-to-work status and promote free enterprise, “the way government ought to work.”

After lunch, Ira Agricola, Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs for the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce (HRCC), shared some of his work with the group. In Richmond, Agricola represents the primary strategies of not only the HRCC but the Virginia Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg Chambers as well. He recommended the Chamber’s voterVOICE, software that helps the Chamber implement a smart, proactive approach to grassroots lobbying and political advocacy.

Agricola also reinforced the HSR connection to Hampton Roads as “tangible and doable,” although we’re competing with many other regions of the country for very limited federal passenger rail funds. “Hampton Roads could connect to the main line of the nation’s high speed rail infrastructure for just a little more than the cost of one new interchange on I-64,” said Agricola.

The LEAD Hampton Roads class went to Richmond on this annual Chamber Day with an agenda, a purpose and a model of specific talking points. They learned about the difference between bills and resolutions, how a bill moves through the law-making process and how, at least during this year’s lean “Great Recession” budget period, any bills with Fiscal Impact Statements attached will be tabled.

They met with personally with Senator Yvonne Miller (5th District) and Delegate John Cosgrove (78th), who is also the Chair of the Hampton Roads Caucus, as well as a staffer with the office of Delegate Sal Iaquinto (84th).

And, I learned that with LHR’s growing alumni base, they have another goal in mind: to turn LHR into a political lobbying group to make real impact on public policy. Based on the enthusiasm and professionalism displayed in the halls of historic Virginia law-making today, I’d have to share two of my favorite Thomas Jefferson quotes:

“Every generation needs a new revolution.”

“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive.”