With the General Assembly Session so near, we thought we would let you know what issues Senator Barker is working on this year.

Transportation has been a main area of focus since Senator Barker was elected.  Major transportation initiatives have passed the Senate but have been killed in the House of Delegates.  Last year, Sen. Barker’s bill requiring that roads are to be maintained to the same standard throughout Virginia passed the Senate.  A 2009 study found more than 40 percent of road in Northern Virginia not meeting state standards while only about 20 percent of roads elsewhere in Virginia below standards.  The House of Delegates killed that bill, but Sen. Barker worked with the Commonwealth Transportation Board to adopt that as State policy.  It is his hope that you will see steady improvement in the quality of your roads over the next few years.

Sen. Barker has also been addressing safety issues.  In 2009, there were 750 traffic fatalities.  Those included 70 pedestrians, almost 10 percent of the total, many in Northern Virginia.  Sen. Barker is introducing a bill that will improve pedestrian safety by requiring vehicles to stop for pedestrians in marked crosswalks where the speed limit is less than 35 MPH.

Teen distracted driving has been another concern.  Studies have shown that young drivers have quadruple the fatalities as older drivers and that persons on cell phones have quadruple the fatalities as other drivers.  Combining the two, young drivers using cell phones are 16 times as likely to be involved in a fatality as older drivers not on the phone.

Sen. Barker is sponsoring legislation to allow police to stop and ticket teens with provisional licenses on cell phones.  Although now illegal, they can wave at the police while on their phones, knowing the police cannot stop this deadly practice unless they commit another illegal act since it is currently a secondary offense.

Another safety issue Sen. Barker will be addressing is seat belts.  Buckling up saves over 15,000 lives annually. Currently, Virginia law requires only front seat passengers to buckle up.  Local high school students provided studies documenting that back seat passengers are 60 to 70 percent more likely to be killed if not using seat belts.  Sen. Barker’s bill will require back seat belt use.

Sen. Barker has submitted these bills again even though all three lifesaving bills passed the Senate last year but were killed in a subcommittee in the House of Delegates.  One after two other House committees were ready to pass the bill.  Your safety is too important for Sen. Barker to give up.

Please contact our office at senatorbarker@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.  Also, everyone is invited to come to Richmond to stop in by.  Please drive safely on your way down!

Please join Senator Barker, along with other members of the Prince William County Delegation, in January for two Town Hall meetings.  Citizens are encouraged to make their views known and to ask questions of their representatives about the General Assembly, the state budget, legislation or issues affecting their neighborhood.

Below are the following dates of the Town Hall Meetings:

January 4th at the Prince William Board of Supervisors Chambers.  7pm-9pm.

January 23rd at Lake Ridge Middle School.  10am-12pm.

Sen. Barker is looking forward to seeing you there!

As the year comes to a close many people start to think about the Holidays.  And while those that serve in the General Assembly are certainly getting ready to spend times with their families over the Holiday break, they’re also thinking about upcoming legislation and the Virginia State Budget. 

The Session will start on January 13, 2009 and will run for sixty days, as it is an even year.  The Session runs for 45 days in odd years.  This year, Senator Barker is looking for Virginia to extend its polling hours in cases of emergency, make safety belt use a requirement for all passengers in a car and make driving while texting a primary offense among other bills. 

Please stay tuned as we’ll be discussing what legisation Sen. Barker will be carrying as well as what is going on in Richmond during Session.

George on the doors

October has arrived and many of you may have noticed that our medians have become full to overflowing with signs and you may come to expect a visitor at your door talking to you about a candidate running for office.

While Sen. Barker doesn’t have to run for office this year as State Senators run every four years, it hasn’t stopped him for knocking on doors for Delegates Nichols and Marsden and candidate Greg Werkheiser.

If you live in one of  those districts, don’t be surprised to find George at your door introducing himself and telling you about Del. Paul Nichols, Del. Dave Marsden or Greg Werkheiser and why you should be voting for them come November 3rd!

Virginia’s back-to-school sales tax holiday begins Friday, Aug. 7 and runs through Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009. During this three-day period, many school supplies costing $20 or less and clothing items and footwear costing $100 or less will be exempt from Virginia’s 5 percent sales tax.  Also, this holiday is not just for those heading back to school.  Retailer shop’s doors are open for anyone wanting to restock their office supplies or buy a few articles of clothing for themselves.  A list of tax free items can be found at www.tax.virginia.gov.

On Wednesday, June 17th, Senator Barker chaired the year’s first meeting of the Joint Subcommittee on the Feasibility of Creating a Regional Rapid Transportation Network. The meeting was held at 10am at the Prince William County Development Services Building. Last year Senator Barker patroned legislation to study options for developing an enhanced regional rapid transit network in Northern Virginia. The legislation was successful, and legislators began looking at mass transit options that could be implemented such as Bus Rapid Transit and extensions of Metrorail. Due to Senator Barker’s efforts, the study continues this year. Speakers at Wednesday’s meeting included Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer, who presented information regarding what federal stimulus funding is available for transit projects in Virginia.

The Small Buisiness Commission held its first meeting on May 22nd. Small businesses represent approximately 98 percent of all existing business establishments in Virginia. Recognizing the important role these businesses play in our economy, the Virginia Small Business Commission is tasked with considering proposals that will affect small business.  Many bills introduced in the 2009 session will affect small business, including legislation dealing with health insurance policies, unemployment compensation and taxation issues. This year Senator Barker and the Commission will be examining how Virginia can streamline its small business programs. Senator Barker wants to ensure that government is properly positioned to support business formation and growth.

During the April 8th Veto Session, Senator Barker supported Governor Kaine’s amendments to expand Virginia’s unemployment benefits so that Virginia could take advantage of additional funds available through the federal government’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  “The economic downturn has affected many Virginians,” said Senator Barker, “It is important in times like these for government to provide a safety net for hardworking citizens who are struggling to make it. An important facet of this safety net is unemployment insurance.” Unfortunately, despite the tremendous need for these expanded benefits, the House of Delegates voted in April to turn down these funds, which will now be given to other states unless the decision is reversed.

Currently, Virginia qualifies for only one third, or $62.8 million, of the federal dollars available to us for unemployment insurance. There are four options Virginia could pursue to expand its coverage; Virginia would have to do at least two of the four to come into compliance and qualify for the remaining $125.5 million in federal funds. Governor Kaine’s amendments would have expanded unemployment compensation to laid-off part time workers and provided extended benefits for at least 26 weeks to unemployed workers who are enrolled and making satisfactory progress in state approved training programs. Businesses already pay unemployment for part-time workers. These amendments passed in the Senate.

The expansions would have cost Virginia about $18 million per year. The money Virginia could have received from the federal government would have covered these additional expenses for nearly seven years. At any time after the first two years if it was felt the program was no longer needed, or was too costly, the General Assembly could have made the decision to eliminate the expansions.  Virginia would have received more funds than the expansions would have cost the state.

On February 9th, Senate Bill 1501 passed the Senate with a vote of 27-Y to 12-N. Senator Barker introduced this bill on behalf of some of Virginia’s most vulnerable citizens. Senate Bill 1501 will eliminate the waiting list for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities over the next 10 years. Currently, many of these individuals must wait for years in order to receive the services they require. Senator Barker has been actively working with the Arc of Northern Virginia on advocacy for this legislation. This organization is a renowned leader in providing advocacy and service for children, adults, and families with disabilities.

Over 4,500 people with intellectual disabilities are on the MR Waiver wait list at the moment; of those, half are in the urgent need category. This list has been growing rapidly the past three years. Currently, there is no plan in place to eliminate this waiting list.  Senator Barker’s proposed bill will deliver some relief to those with disabilities by reducing the time they will have to wait for services.

The House’s committee of Health and Human Resources is now reviewing Senate Bill 1501.

Five students testified at a Senate Transportation Subcommittee meeting last Thursday, January 29, in support of Sen. Barker’s proposed legislation, S.B. 1502. The bill, developed by students, Bree Dumas and Michael Hyon, calls for a change to the existing secondary seat belt law. The proposed legislation will require passengers to wear seat belts regardless of age and seat position in a motor vehicle.

The students from Centreville High School in Clifton, Va. support strengthening the existing law that requires only passengers in the front seat to wear a seatbelt. The student’s articulate and well thought out testimony was instrumental in the success of this bill.

The students informed committee members that other states have updated their laws to require seat belt use of all passengers in vehicles. Utah and Rhode Island, for example, which have recently implemented more stringent seatbelt laws, have seen a noticeable decline in their vehicle fatalities since these laws passed.

S.B. 1502 passed the Transportation Subcommittee with a vote of 8-Y, 4-N, and 2-A. It went on to pass the first reading of the Senate with a unanimous vote of 39-Y.