General Assembly Roundup: Chap Petersen

RICHMOND — Legislators can finally get some rest now that the 2011 General Assembly session is done. Still, they can’t get too comfortable because the redistricting and vetoing sessions take place in April.

Let's take a look back at the wins and losses of Vienna's state senator.

Sen. Chap Petersen (D) has represented the 34th Senate district for three years now. Although he’s fairly new to the General Assembly, he is already used to having his bills killed. This year, 27 percent of his bills passed both houses.

He chooses to focus on what did work.

“I had six bills pass both bodies and head to the Governor's desk for signature,” Petersen said. “My most important bills promote tougher environmental standards, open government and customer-friendly local services.

“As for my legislation, my biggest successes were Senate Bill 843, which expanded environmental protections for above-ground oil tanks, and SB 1226, which requires localities to use the ‘one-stop’ system for licensing businesses and registering them for sales tax filings.”

He even stays positive about what did not work.

“There's never a failure when you're pursuing a noble objective,” Petersen said. “I was disappointed that not a single one of the foreclosure reform bills (SB 836, 837 and 838) passed; that's a system in major need of reform.”

His other successes included:

• Homestead and other exemptions: adds one family firearm, not to exceed $3,000 in value, to the list of items that every householder shall be entitled to hold exempt from creditor process.
• Immunity of officers: allows immunity from civil liability the directors and other officers of tax exempt organizations enjoy for acts taken in their official capacities shall survive the termination, cancellation or other discontinuance of the organization.
• Warrants: authorizes local governments to publish aggregated information relating to warrants paid by the locality.
• Charter: amends the charter for the City of Fairfax by changing the date of the first meeting of the newly elected City Council members.
• Civics education: clarifies the Commission on Civics Education will continue until July 1, 2012.

Petersen sponsored almost 30 bills. These are some that did not make it through both houses:

• Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act: says the Attorney General can’t issue civil investigative demands to Virginia public higher education institutions when the claim relates to academic inquiry or research.
• Green Public Buildings Act: adds definitions and building standards to the Green Public Buildings Act.
• Fuels taxes: annually increasing or decreasing the rates of Virginia’s fuels taxes using a fuel efficiency index.
• VDOT: dealing with highway maintenance contracts and the Virginia Department of Transportation.
• Disabled parking: requires permanent windshield placards for disabled parking somehow indicate the disabled person’s sex.
• Judicial review: grants parents, custodians, and legal guardians of school-age children attending a school directly affected by school board actions to be aggrieved by the actions, for the purpose of judicial review
• Human investigators: allows the appointment of new humane investigators.
• Local officials: relieves local officials from being questioned on legislative speech, etc., without leave of court.
• Water and sewer: expands the authority localities have to impose liens against real estate served by the locality's waterline or sewer for unpaid taxes and charges.
• Illegal gambling: deems poker games as games of skill, not illegal gambling.
• Hunting: allows people hunt any wild bird or animal on Sundays.
• Temporary injunctions: making considerations in awarding temporary injunctions.
• Lobbyists: makes $10,000 the highest civil penalty against lobbyists who don’t file an annual statement of expenditures.
• Vital records: requires the State Registrar to make a system for secure posting and retrieval of online records.