Dear Friends:

The 2010 session of the Virginia General Assembly has ended and I want to share with you our results and my accomplishments. Although budget dominated this session, I was successful with a number of legislative initiatives.

We closed a $4.2 billion budget shortfall without raising taxes or reducing car tax relief. Education was at the center of the budget negotiations. The House proposed cutting K-12 funding an additional $685 million more than Governor Kaine recommended. The Senate reduction was $143 million. The final budget contained a $253 million reduction, much less than the House originally proposed.

The Peninsula stood to lose $12.4 million due to a change in the funding formula for the Local Composite Index (LCI). In light of all of the cuts to education, I did not feel it was fair to impose another drastic reduction. I worked with members of the Senate Finance Committee to restore LCI funding. In addition, we postponed the implementation of any new standards of accreditation. At my insistence, the General Assembly agreed not to delay the graduation requirements. Graduation is the goal of education and we should begin those requirements now.

Not only did the Senate protect education, we stood firm to protect public safety and safety net programs as much as possible. In these difficult times, we included more than $43 million in the budget for economic development and job creation programs. We provided additional funding to free clinics and community health centers, drug courts and to low income families for children’s health insurance. We restored nearly $300 million for our sheriffs and police. We also restored funding to home and community based waiver slots and restored 250 Intellectual Disability (ID) waiver slots.

During my campaign I called for a study of 3rd grade reading test scores, which are the greatest indicator of a student’s success in school. If a child passes the 3rd grade reading test, there is a 95% change he/she will be successful in school. However, if they fail, there is a 50% chance they will fail the 5th grade test and will often become discipline problems. We must ensure every child’s success, and we can, by having every child read at the 3rd grade level by the 3rd grade. My legislation initiates a two year study to determine what our most successful localities are doing to prepare their students to pass this test. The study will also examine strategies used around the country and will be the first step in ensuring every child in Virginia reaches their full potential through reading success.

The General Assembly approved two of my education initiatives by placing the Virginia Index of Performance (VIP) program and the P-16 Council in the Code of Virginia. The VIP program recognizes and rewards schools and school divisions that make significant progress toward academic excellence. The P-16 council recommends policies that enhance a seamless transition as a student moves from elementary to middle to high school and then to college or career. One of the council’s main goals is to improve college and workforce readiness.

Two of my bills supporting the military passed the General Assembly. The first bill enables the Veterans Service Foundation to continue supporting veterans and their families. The second bill streamlines the operations of the Virginia Defense Force, which is the Commonwealth’s military reserve.

The following bills all passed the Senate by wide bi-partisan margins, but were defeated in committees in the House of Delegates. I will continue to fight for these common sense solutions.

• Prohibiting the sale of the ports and limiting any lease agreement to 20 years.
• Providing a grant to businesses that create high paying green jobs.
• Banning the sale of Chinese dry wall in Virginia.
• Prohibiting insurance companies from dropping, failing to renew or increasing rates of policy holders solely because they have Chinese dry wall in their homes.
• Allowing senior citizens to vote absentee without having to provide an excuse.
• Allowing the State Board of Elections to accept absentee ballot applications by e-mail.

I continue to build a strong record of accomplishment in the General Assembly and help to affect change in a number of important policy areas. I will continue my efforts to work across the aisle to find common sense solutions to Virginia’s most pressing issues. I greatly appreciate your confidence and support and I look forward to continuing to work with you. Please keep in touch and share your ideas and concerns.

Sincerely,

Senator John Miller