Welcome to my online constituent office. We hope you will find this website to be a useful one-stop portal for any needs you might have from the Virginia state government. We have included information to help you better understand how our government works.
You can also keep up with the policy-making process in the General Assembly during the weeks that I am working in Richmond by reading my blogs and Twitter updates.
As your State Delegate, I’m here to serve you so please contact me with any questions or services you need. I am particularly interested in hearing about ways to make our laws work better for all of us so please do not hesitate to send me policy ideas that I may be able to propose in Richmond. I am honored to represent you and I look forward to meeting you in person.
Thank you,
- DelegateKeam: Presented another Richmond report to civic group: Sully District Council. 35th Dist has only 1 precinct in Sully - called Vale - out of 18.
- DelegateKeam: Witnessing the investiture of new Fairfax Couny Circuit Court Judge Brett Kassabian whom we voted in this session. Congrats, Your Honor!
- DelegateKeam: At NoVA Asian American community town hall hosted by Virginia Asian American Advisory Board. I served on this Governor's board in 2001-09.
- DelegateKeam: Attending "Unlock Gridlock" forum in Tysons hosted by www.TeleworkVA.org and www.TeleworkExchange.com to find solutions for NoVA traffic.
- DelegateKeam: Providing another Richmond report to constituents; this time Providence District Council in Dunn Loring. Most active civic leaders I know.
Posts Tagged ‘Gov. McDonnell’
Delegate Keam quoted in Fairfax Times re Budget
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=2045
Virginia ends the budget year with $400M surplus
Legislators approve about $82 million in bonuses for state employees
Virginia ended the budget year with about $400 million more than expected, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) announced last week, reflecting the first overall revenue growth in the state since 2007.
Most of the surplus funding, which came from state agency cutbacks and higher-than-expected sales tax revenues, is spoken for, said McDonnell, who urged legislators to “not get too excited.” The state collected $228 million more in revenue than budgeted and spent $175 million less than expected, McDonnell said.
After replenishing reserves and fulfilling other approved spending, state leaders have about $71 million to spend. Any spending decisions not already included in the fiscal 2011 budget will not be made until the next General Assembly session in January.
State employees will all receive a bonus equivalent to 3 percent of their salaries on Dec. 1, costing the state about $82 million. Legislators approved the bonuses, a McDonnell initiative, contingent on surplus dollars being available.
“Our employees knew there would be a financial reward for saving taxpayer dollars and returning unspent balances to the general fund,” McDonnell said last week. “This notion of gain sharing or economic rewards for getting results is a concept widely used in the private sector, and long overdue in practice and implementation within state government operations.”
Vienna Del. Mark Keam (D-Dist. 35), a member of the House of Delegates Finance Committee, said the “surplus” is more of an accounting mechanism, not extra funding to replenish state programs that were cut earlier this year.
“It’s positive news in that we are not in a deficit … but I don’t want anybody to think that it is all sunshine and good news,” Keam said. “That money is already allocated to various obligations we already have.”
School divisions have received a bit of extra cash because of increased sales tax collections — about $19 million was distributed statewide. Other designated portions of sales taxes include $37.5 million for local governments and $28 million for the state’s transportation trust fund.
McDonnell must decide by Nov. 1 whether the discretionary $71 million should be retained in state agencies or if it should be reallocated. He will make his budget recommendations in December.
Keam said he would like to see some of that money go to restore Medicaid cuts and fund additional Medicaid-supported services for people with disabilities.
Delegate Keam quoted in Vienna Connection re ABC sales
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=343216&paper=82&cat=104
Fears, Hopes for Private Liquor Sales
Governor wants to raise transportation cash by selling off state liquor business.
By Julia O’Donoghue
Friday, July 30, 2010
Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) hopes to sell off Virginia’s state-run liquor business to generate as much as $500 million for transportation projects.
The Governor has assembled a government reform committee to investigate the issue.
The committee, which has been holding public meetings around the commonwealth this month, is expected to vote on a privatization proposal produced by McDonnell’s staff in late August.
Then, McDonnell wants to call the Virginia General Assembly back to Richmond for a special session this fall to consider privatizing liquor sales.
Several legislators said the issue of selling off the commonwealth’s liquor business is more complex than it may first appear. Two other governors, Doug Wilder and Mark Warner, also looked at privatizing liquor sales but ultimately did not pursue the issue.
McDonnell has to not only demonstrate that Virginia would receive a large lump sum of money up front but that the new private system would also produce as much annual revenue for the government as the current state-run network. Last year, the Virginia general fund received $230 million from liquor sales.
Many people, particularly county and city officials, also have concerns about the placement of the liquor stores. They want local government to be able to control where the liquor stores go so that certain neighborhoods aren’t “overrun.”
Some people are also concerned about an increase in liquor consumption and access to alcohol in general.
Previous proposals to privatize state liquor sales would make as many as 800 to 1,000 licenses for selling spirits available in Virginia. Currently, there are fewer than 350 liquor stores across the commonwealth.
Here is what your local elected officials had to say about private liquor sales coming to Virginia:
Del. Mark Keam (D-35)
The freshman delegate said he is open to the idea of private liquor sales, though he would want to see details about the implementation process. Keam also said many questions must be answered. For example, could the new liquor stores sell cigarettes and lottery tickets?
“I am still open to the idea but it is a complex issue. It is not as simple as McDonnell is making it sound,” said Keam.
Gov. McDonnell Signs Keam-Poindexter Green Jobs Bill into Law
Today, Governor McDonnell signed into law House Bill 803, which provides tax credits for Virginia employers who create and retain new jobs that promote renewable and alternative energy. This “Green Jobs” bill is a bipartisan effort of Delegate Mark Keam (D-Fairfax), Delegate Charles Poindexter (R-Franklin), Senator Emmett Hanger (R-24), and many other legislators.
In January, Delegate Keam joined Gov. McDonnell at a press conference in Richmond to announce the inclusion of HB 803 as part of the Governor’s Jobs Agenda. Today, Delegate Keam joined Gov. McDonnell once again, at the bill signing ceremony on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, where he spoke about the need for everyone to work together to make Virginia the Energy Capitol of the nation.
The Governor’s press release is copied below, and is found online at: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=105
——————————————————————————–
For Immediate Release: April 02, 2010
Contact: Stacey Johnson, Press Secretary, (804) 786-2211
Governor McDonnell Signs Green Energy Legislation at Old Dominion University
– Another Step towards Making Virginia “The Energy Capital of the East Coast” –
–Legislation Includes Creation of $500 Green Jobs Tax Credit–
NORFOLK- Governor Bob McDonnell visited the campus of Old Dominion University today to sign into law a number of green energy bills passed by the General Assembly this session. Among the measures receiving the Governor’s signature was his legislation to provide a $500 tax credit for each green job created in the Commonwealth; a measure establishing the Universities Clean Energy Development and Economic Stimulus Foundation; the creation of the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority; and legislation rewarding investor-owned electric utilities for using wind energy. The Governor also signed legislation to authorize investor-owned natural gas utilities to petition the State Corporation Commission to implement a separate rider that will allow for recovery of certain costs associated with eligible infrastructure replacement projects; to add improvement of infrastructure such as refueling stations to the Alternative Fuels Revolving Fund; and to give localities the authority to, in order to secure loans for the initial acquisition and installation of clean energy improvements, place liens equal in value to the loan against any property where such clean energy systems are being installed.
Gov. McDonnell Signs Keam Adoption Bill into Law
As the regular General Assembly session wrapped up for the year, Governor McDonnell convened a special meeting of first-year legislators where he signed into law numerous bills that were carried by the freshmen.
One of Delegate Keam’s bills, was signed at this special ceremony. House Bill 1133 would clarify the term, “counsel,” as it is currently used in the process of placing a child for adoption. Practitioners of family law in Fairfax County asked Delegate Keam to draft this bill to provide better guidance to courts and lawyers who have found that this word could be interpreted very broadly or narrowly.
The bill went through various subcommittee and committee reviews in both the House and Senate, and both Chambers adopted the measure which sent the bill to the Governor for his signature. This was the first legislation that Delegate Keam successfully navigated through the General Assembly on his own in his first year.
With all the freshmen class members gathering with the Governor, it was a nice bipartisan photo opportunity!
Keam-Poindexter Green Jobs bill heads to Governor McDonnell
House Bill 803, as amended by the House-Senate conference committee, now heads to Governor McDonnell’s desk for his signature after the House voted unanimously to adopt the conference report.
As described in previous entries, this is the Green Jobs bill that Delegates Keam and Poindexter worked on all session long. This is also the first bill where Delegate Keam was appointed as a conferee to negotiate the final conference report. He was proud to put his signature on the report that was presented to the House for its approval today.
To follow the long procedural history of this bill (affectionately known in legislative process as the “art of sausage-making”), click here: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+sum+HB803
Once Governor McDonnell signs this into law (which he is anxious to do since this bill is part of his Jobs Agenda), we can finally turn the entire Commonwealth into a Green Jobs Zone!
Delegate Keam quoted in Richmond Times Dispatch
Another major publication today quoted Delegate Keam on Gov. McDonnell’s decision to unfreeze the LCI:
Change in formula may mean less money for area schools
OLYMPIA MEOLA AND HOLLY PRESTIDGE TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS
Published: February 9, 2010
Richmond-area school systems are facing millions of dollars less in state education funding, after Gov. Bob McDonnell said yesterday that he will support updating the index that determines how much state money each school system receives.
It’s a departure from the introduced budget left by outgoing Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who proposed freezing the local composite index and putting off the readjustment for a year.
That proposal rattled some Northern Virginia localities that would have lost about $128.3 million in state funding, according to McDonnell’s office.
But Northern Virginia’s gain is the Richmond area’s loss.
Delegate Keam quoted in Washington Post
Northern Virginia leaders cheer McDonnell’s school funding decision
McDonnell announced yesterday that he opposes a freeze in the adjustment to the school funding formula proposed by his predecessor — former Democratic governor Gov. Tim Kaine — that would have cost cash-strapped schools in Northern Virginia nearly $140 million. Read today’s story here.
“Last year, candidate McDonnell campaigned as ‘Fairfax’s Own,’ ” Del. Mark L. Keam (D-Fairfax) said. “I’m very glad to see that Governor McDonnell is living up to this campaign promise.”
Northern Virginia legislators, local officials, business leaders — even of the opposing party –are rejoicing.
Gov. McDonnell does the right thing on LCI
Today, Gov. McDonnell announced that he is “unfreezing” the LCI formula:
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=38
Delegate Keam has been fighting for this result from his first day in Richmond. In response to the announcement, Delegate issued this press release:
PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, February 8, 2010 For Immediate Release
Contact: Rob Abbot, (703) 380-8883
Delegate Mark Keam Praises Gov. Bob McDonnell for Protecting Fairfax County’s School Funding Formula
RICHMOND – Delegate Mark Keam today praised Governor Bob McDonnell for his decision to use an updated Local Composite Index (LCI) formula, which determines the share of state versus local funding responsibilities for public education in the state’s budget. The current budget proposal before the General Assembly which the outgoing Governor submitted in December would have “frozen” the LCI formula at its outdated level, which would have resulted in Fairfax County losing over $61 million in state aid in the coming year.
“I applaud Gov. McDonnell for his decision to ‘unfreeze’ the Local Composite Index in the budget,” said Keam. “This is an important step forward for Fairfax County students, parents, teachers, and taxpayers.”
Delegate Keam’s article in Fairfax County Times
This article, authored by Delegate Keam, was published in the February 2 edition of Fairfax County Times:
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=1000
Tuesday February 2, 2010
Mark L. Keam: Bipartisan effort to create new green jobs for Northern Virginia
On Jan. 26, I joined Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) at the State Capitol to announce a “Jobs and Opportunity Agenda,” a legislative package designed to spur job creation, promote economic development and create more opportunities for Virginians.
McDonnell agreed to include one of my legislative priorities in this General Assembly session as part of his economic agenda. My bill, HB 1132, as incorporated into the larger plan, would provide an income tax credit of $500 for each renewable energy job that an employer creates in Virginia. It would allow businesses to create up to 350 new “green” jobs that could qualify for this financial incentive.
With continuing budget shortfalls in our state and local governments and an uncertain economic outlook, I believe it is critical for our leaders in both the private and public sectors to focus on growing the economy and creating new jobs as the way to turn Virginia’s economy around.
I also believe we should use this recession as an opportunity to launch new green energy enterprises by designing policies that foster innovation, research, manufacturing and sales of services and products that develop alternative and renewable energy sources while also protecting the environment and promoting energy conservation. Clearly, Northern Virginia is an ideal location for attracting these exciting jobs of the future. We have world-class human capital, research and development facilities, transportation infrastructure, educational and governmental institutions, and a robust business base that is no stranger to innovation and cutting-edge technology.
Northern Virginia can and should be the green jobs capital of the nation.
As I stood next to the governor at the press conference on Jan. 26, I realized that although he and I had both been in our new jobs for less than two weeks, we had already begun to develop a close working relationship — across party lines — in an earnest effort to meet the needs of Virginians.
That is why, when McDonnell introduced me to speak, I said that job creation should not be a partisan issue. I joked, “There shouldn’t be red jobs and there shouldn’t be blue jobs, but we should have green jobs!” I hope that the rest of the General Assembly agrees.
Delegate Mark L. Keam represents the 35th District in the Virginia House of Delegates, which includes the Town of Vienna and portions of Tysons, Dunn Loring, Oakton and Fairfax.
