McDonnell signs caboose budget
Gov. Bob McDonnell today signed, without any vetoes, the final caboose budget for FY 2012. He received both the FY 2012 caboose budget and the final biennial budget for FY 2013-2014 as passed by the General Assembly on Wednesday.
In keeping with his intention to quickly finalize the budget, the governor plans to act on the FY 2013-2014 biennial budget in the days ahead. Read more
ACLU: Voter ID bill a ‘bad bill’
The ACLU of Virginia expressed dismay at Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signing of a new law requiring Virginia voters to produce proof of identification at the polls or cast a provisional ballot.
McDonnell had attempted to amend the bill after it passed the House and Senate by allowing registrars to use a signature match in lieu of identification to determine the legitimacy of ballots. But legislators rejected the governor’s amendment, leaving him with a choice of signing a bill he did not support or vetoing it.
Instead, the governor signed the bill and issued an executive order requiring new registration cards for all voters prior to the November elections and the collection of statistics to determine the impact of the bill on voters. Read more
McDonnell signs voter-ID legislation
Gov. Bob McDonnell signed today legislation that the General Assembly sent him that will expand the forms of acceptable identification for voting, and change the procedure when someone votes without presenting identification, requiring them to vote provisionally and later present an approved ID to their local registrar through email, fax, mail, or hand delivery.
McDonnell also issued an executive order today directing the State Board of Elections to take a number of steps to implement this legislation. Among other things, the executive order directs the State Board of Elections to send every Virginia voter a voter card, a valid form of ID under state law, before Election Day, so that every registered Virginia voter has a valid ID to present at the polls. Read more
VDOT surpasses on-time, on-budget goals
Gov. Bob McDonnell announced today that for the second consecutive quarter, the Virginia Department of Transportation surpassed its targets for completing all construction and maintenance projects both on time and on budget during the third quarter of the 2012 fiscal year – January through March 2012.
“VDOT is proving once again that it continues to closely watch how the agency uses taxpayers’ money as it brings in more major projects on time and within budget – for example, opening the new London Bridge ramps on Interstate 264 in Virginia Beach eight months ahead of schedule and below budget,” McDonnell said. “This latest report also notes that such projects are making significant contributions over time to the state’s economy with significant job expansion, especially for major construction projects.” Read more
State revenues up in April
State-government revenues rose 10.6 percent in April over the same month a year ago. On a year-to-date basis, total revenue collections have risen 5.9 percent, ahead of the revised annual forecast of 4.6 percent growth. Adjusted for the accelerated sales tax program, state revenues have grown 5.6 percent, ahead of the economic base forecast of 4.7 percent growth. Read more
McDonnell puts good spin on budget-amendment massacre
The Virginia General Assembly on Monday rejected 26 budget amendments made by Gov. Bob McDonnell, whose office tried to put a good spin on the development.
“While we were successful in seeing 72 percent of our amendments passed today, it is unfortunate that the General Assembly also rejected several important amendments that would have helped with our ongoing effort to control state spending and make state government more efficient and effective. We will continue to look for new ways to reform state government and make it work better for our citizens,” the governor was quoted in a statement in a press release from his office late Monday. Read more
McDonnell asks for budget amendment affecting senior funding to be pulled
Gov. Bob McDonnell has officially asked for a budget amendment to be withdrawn that would have aligned state funding for Area Agencies for the Aging with recent census numbers.
Instead, funding for the agencies will continue to be allocated in the same manner as prior years, according to a press release from the governor’s office on Monday. Read more
