Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Proposal would allow localities to impose a 1 percent income tax without voter approval.
Arlington County is keeping its eye on a bill that would allow certain localities — mostly in Northern Virginia — to impose a local income tax to fund transportation without voter approval. "We're aware of it," Arlington County Board Chairman Walter Tejada said. "We find it a very interesting concept. You never know how volatile it will get in the General Assembly." The state Senate passed SB 1313 earlier this month and it was placed on the House calendar this week. Under the proposed legislation, certain local governments would be allowed to establish an income tax of up to 1 percent without approval from voters — and for an indefinite period of time. The bill would affect the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William, …
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Several Northern Virginia districts would become more competitive for Republicans under plan, decried by opponents as unconstitutional.
A Republican-led effort to redraw Virginia's state Senate districts would essentially dilute the voting power of Arlington in the General Assembly and turn a number of Democratic-controlled areas in Northern Virginia into future political battlegrounds. The surprise move late Monday took advantage of the absence of 79-year-old Harry Marsh, a Democratic state senator and civil rights leader who was attending the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. With Marsh absent, the redrawn map passed the Senate 20-19 on a party-line vote. Democrats and progressive organizations have already decried the rushed legislation as unconstitutional. Virginia redraws its legislative boundaries every 10 years and that must win Justice Department …
Monday, January 7, 2013
County's legislative delegation heads to Richmond as 'underdogs' in Virginia General Assembly.
Virginia lawmakers who represent Arlington in Richmond have another tough year ahead of them. The county's seven-member legislative delegation — Sens. Janet Howell, Barbara Favola and Adam Ebbin, plus Dels. Bob Brink, Patrick Hope, Alfonso Lopez and freshman Rob Krupicka, all Democrats — spent three hours Friday night listening to a long list of concerns and requests from individuals and organizations. Overwhelmingly, people asked legislators to bolster funding for social safety net programs, particularly in the realms of mental health, substance abuse, developmental disabilities and brain injuries. They asked, too, that the delegation work to expand Medicaid and implement the Affordable Care Act in Virginia, including establishing an …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The Virginia General Assembly convenes next week.
Arlington County's seven-member legislative delegation will hear public comments Friday evening ahead of the new General Assembly session, which starts next week. The delegation — state Sens. Adam Ebbin, Barbara Favola and Janet Howell, plus state Dels. Patrick Hope, Bob Brink, Alfonso Lopez and freshman Rob Krupicka — is composed entirely of Democrats. The annual legislative hearing begins at 6 p.m. Friday in the Arlington County Board Room, which is on the third floor of the county administration building at 2100 Clarendon Blvd. Individuals may speak for up to three minutes. Anyone who wishes to speak may register beginning at 5:30 p.m. outside of the board room. Last month, the Arlington County Board finalized its list of legislative …
38.89058
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2100 Clarendon Blvd, Arlington, VA
Arlington County administration building
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Monday, March 26, 2012
Howell: Negotiators improve funding for rail to Dulles, education, but there is still work to do.
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Monday, March 26, 2012
Sometimes persistence pays off! The budgets proposed by the House and Senate Republicans were unfair to my constituents and region, so I voted against them. Those initial budgets did not include funding for Phase 2 of Rail to Dulles, shortchanged Northern Virginia schools, and cut funding for programs that assist low income working families with childcare and eldercare. After we Senate Democrats voted against both the House and Senate versions, the General Assembly left Richmond without a budget. However, as one of a handful of budget negotiators, I never really "left." Instead, we seven Senate budget negotiators met for several days to see if we could improve on the previous version of the Senate budget. Fortunately, Sen. Walter …
Monday, March 5, 2012
Tell us: Were riot police, SWAT teams necessary for safety around Richmond or was it an overreaction?
At Monday's Virginia Senate session, Sens. Janet Howell (D-32nd) and Chap Petersen (D-34th) denounced the use of riot police, SWAT teams carrying automatic weapons, police dogs and helicopters in response to what they called peaceful protests in Capitol Square. Protest groups have gathered several times at the square this session in the wake of legislation aimed at limiting abortion rights. On Saturday, 31 protesters were arrested — mostly for trespassing or unlawful assembly — on the state capitol steps following a women's rights rally. Prior to some of the arrests, protesters were monitored by a fully armored police SWAT team carrying automatic weapons, riot police, and police dogs, the senators said. "They were chanting, 'Tell me what …
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Legislation mandates that women seeking abortion must have procedure. Meanwhile, see Sen. Janet Howell's (D-Reston) impassioned speech about gender equity.
The Republican-led Virginia Senate passed a bill Wednesday by a vote of 21-18 that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion. The Senate, which for years had killed similar measures, voted largely along party lines. The House of Delegates, also heavily Republican, has passed the bill in previous sessions and is expected to do so again. Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has said he would sign the measure. To read more details and analysis on the decision, read this story from The Washington Post. Senate Democrats said this is another measure aimed at chipping away at a woman's right to choose in Virginia. Sen. Janet Howell (D-Reston) earlier this week attached an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and…
Monday, January 30, 2012
To protest sonogram mandate, state senator adds amendment that requires men to have additional tests for ED exam.
To protest a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell (D-Reston) on Monday attached an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication. "We need some gender equity here," she told HuffPost. "The Virginia senate is about to pass a bill that will require a woman to have totally unnecessary medical procedure at their cost and inconvenience. If we're going to do that to women, why not do that to men?" The Senate will formally vote on the mandatory ultrasound bill on Tuesday. The Republican-controlled senate rejected the amendment Monday by a vote of 21 to 19, but passed …
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Second in a series on campaign spending in November 2011 races affecting McLean
McLean is divided into two Virginia Senate districts and both races this past November cost more than $1 million each. The 31st District race between Democrat Barbara Favola and Republican Caren Merrick and the 32nd District race pitting incumbent Democrat Janet Howell against Republican challenger Patrick Forest were among about 15 Senate races that broke the $1 million mark, according to the nonpartisan and nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. The all-out partisan war between state Republicans and Democrats for control of the Senate drove up the cost of the races, VPAP said. There were 10 million-dollar Senate races in 2007, the last time all 40 seats were on the ballot, VPAP reported. The election resulted in an evenly split …
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Theme of local control runs through legislative agenda.
Forcing online travel companies to pay all state and local taxes and fighting a proposed state constitutional amendment to broaden eminent domain laws are among the top items on Arlington County’s legislative agenda. The county’s seven-member legislative delegation received the agenda Tuesday morning with varying degrees of optimism. Some were flatly pessimistic given their duty of dealing with an estimated $1 billion-or-so budget shortfall and further cuts to state agencies. The 20-20 state Senate power split that resulted from this year’s elections is also a consideration. The parity gives Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling the tiebreaking vote, and Democrats already are preparing to go to court over the extent of Bolling’s power – …
Jason Spencer
12:01 pm on Monday, March 26, 2012
Thanks for the update, senator. What concessions did Senate Democrats have to make in order to win these changes to the proposed budget? Also, in the spirit of transparency, will audio, video or at least a transcript of the several days' worth of negotiations that led to this point be made available to the public? (If that info is already available, please advise!) more ›