Solid Mix From the 26th, Newsletter Update

Virginia Values Veterans Program
With many of our service members returning home from active duty and seeking employment in the private sector, we have an obligation to make sure that employers are made aware of this great resource from which to hire. With 73 percent of 18 year olds not meeting the minimum requirements for military service, businesses that hire a veteran are hiring from the top 30 percent of our youth. They are team players with leadership skills and a solid sense of responsibility – a great asset for business.

The Virginia Values Veterans program, which recently celebrated a successful inaugural year, is an initiative designed to energize Virginia’s economy by teaching Virginia’s employers how to re-capitalize their workforce by recruiting, hiring, training, and retaining Veterans. It involves an interagency team, and uses a public-private partnership with General Funds and the Veterans Services Foundation. The recently passed budget includes $450,000 for this worth-while program. If you are an employer with an interest in learning more about this program, I would encourage you to contact the Virginia Department of Veterans Services or visit www.virginiavaluesvets.com

New Laws
On July 1 most of the actions passed during the 2013 General Assembly Session officially became law and went into effect. Of the 2,575 bills and resolutions introduced during the 2013 Session, roughly 31 percent were signed into law.

The Division of Legislative Services publishes a document which highlights some of the new laws that will have a direct impact on the daily lives of Virginia citizens. You can view the publication by clicking here. It’s important to note that the publication is by no means comprehensive and only contains a small portion of the measures passed. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office. We will do our best to address your concerns.

Legislative Branch Savings
The Speaker of the House of Delegates recently announced over $1.8 million in legislative branch savings from this past budget cycle that have been returned to the general fund. This is the result of reduced or unused expenses that had been previously budgeted for the 11 various agencies within the legislative branch. Over $200,000 of this was derived from unused House of Delegates salaries and expenses.

Since 2003, the House of Delegates has sent over $5 million back to the general fund. This is the result of efforts to operate the House efficiently and effectively, just as citizens should expect it to.

Contact Us
As previously mentioned, please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions about new laws that went into effect on Monday. As always, feel free to contact us if you are having a problem related to state government or any other issue that you would like to bring to my attention.

You can visit my downtown Harrisonburg office, located at 2 South Main Street. You can also call (540) 437-1450 or email [email protected].

-Tony