Virginia House of Delegates Republican Caucus
Archive for March, 2010
House GOP Efforts on Offshore Oil & Gas Pay Off
Mar 31st
The Federal Government removed another barrier to development of Virginia's offshore energy resources today, vindicating efforts led by the House Republican Caucus to enhance Virginia law on exploration and development and to dedicate revenue realized from future development to transportation.
See Speaker Howell's .
Nixon to lead VITA as Commonwealth’s new Chief Information Officer
Mar 24th
named (R-Chesterfield) to be the Commonwealth's new Chief Information Officer, leading the , effective April 5.
In making the appointment, McDonnell said, "Sam and I served together for twelve years in the House of Delegates. During that time I came to greatly admire and respect Sam's intellect, character and understanding of the important issues facing the Commonwealth. Sam is a thought leader on information technology issues, both as a legislator and as a Senior Consultant at Richmond–based IT consulting firm CapTech Ventures. Sam's experience in this fast–changing industry will be of tremendous benefit at VITA. I know he will do a great job for the citizens of Virginia." ()
shared the Governor's enthusiasm. “Sam Nixon is the ideal public servant – a recognized and respected leader with vision and integrity, a consensus builder with an uncanny ability to bring people together and harness their many talents, and a problem solver who’s proven time and again that he can fashion practical solutions that deliver real results on technology issues, business concerns and so many other pressing issues that people really care about,” said Speaker Howell. “These attributes make his selection as the Commonwealth’s next Chief Information Officer at the Virginia Information Technology Agency such wonderful and welcome news for all Virginians.” ()
Nixon takes over VITA as implementation of important reform legislation that passed during the 2010 Session of the General Assembly takes effect. (R-Campbell) carried , which enhanced accountability by making the CIO accountable to the Governor, through the Secretary of Technology, and making other important improvements in the Commonwealth's IT Governance. Byron chairs the Science and Technology Committee.
Speaker, O’Bannon, Janis Release New Film at War Memorial
Mar 22nd
Today at the , (R-Stafford) joined caucus members (R-Henrico), chairman of the War Memorial's board of trustees, and (R-Henrico) at a new conference releasing volume II of Virginians at War, a DVD, produced by the War Memorial. (Check out the )
Virginians at War advances the War Memorial's mission of preserving the memory of Virginia’s fallen heroes and honoring their sacrifice, as well as teaching history and instilling patriotism in Virginia's children. Each volume in the series presents a number of 15-20 minute programs narrated by Virginia veterans interwoven with archival film and photographs, animated maps, graphics and music, presenting an insider's view of important historical events.
Dem Leader Armstrong Schooled in Parliamentary Procedure
Mar 19th
Welcome to a new feature on the House Republican Caucus Blog—the Puckish Parliamentarian, which will bring you entertaining notes from the House floor.
It seems appropriate to release this installment for the Democratic Party of Virginia's Jefferson-Jackson Weekend, which, according to the , includes an address by (D-Henry), but "no A-list speaker." With Armstrong getting dissed by the Post, we thought we ought to feature him here.
In the first installment of the Puckish Parliamentarian, Armstrong, the House Minority Leader, returns to his favorite grandstanding topic for the 2010 Session—electricity rates.
Seeking one more chance to talk about a bill Armstrong himself admits won't actually solve a problem, he offered a motion to discharge a committee, a rarely-used motion, which (I-Bedford), currently in his 49th year in the House, never recalls being agreed to.
House Majority Leader (R-Salem) handles opposition to the motion for the Majority. The real fun starts when (D-Abingdon), the Puck in this installment of the Puckish Parliamentarian, engages Armstrong in a series of questions.
Del. Armstrong's motion failed, 26-69. The Democratic Caucus has 39 members, only 2 out of 3 supported their leader.
Gov. McDonnell had already signed , a bill by (R-Grayson), that actually provided immediate relief on electric bills.