Delegate Mark Cole

Delegate Mark Cole and Governor Bob McDonnell

It is my honor to represent the citizens of the 88th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. The House of Delegates is one half of the Virginia General Assembly, the other half being the Virginia Senate. The General Assembly convenes annually in January for about two months to consider legislation and the state budget. I welcome your input on any issues that may come before the General Assembly. I also encourage you to contact me should you have questions or difficulties in dealing with state agencies. I look forward to hearing from you!

ELECTION INFORMATION
Election Day is fast approaching and I wanted to bring you up to date regarding important information and deadlines for the November 6, 2012 elections. The polls will be open on Election Day from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. If you cannot make it to the polls on Election Day you should apply for an Absentee Ballot or plan to cast an Absentee Ballot in person before Election Day. Here are some important deadlines for this election:

Last Day to Register to Vote - October 15, 2012
Deadline to Request an Absentee Ballot by mail - October 30, 2012 by 5 p.m.
Last Day for In-Person Absentee Voting - November 3, 2012 by 5 p.m.
Election Day - November 6, 2012, polls open 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM

All ballots MUST be received by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day (when the polls close). You can find additional voter information at the State Board of Elections web page: http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/Index.html or you may contact your local Voter Registrar Office at:

Spotsylvania County
Email: voter@spotsylvania.va.us
Phone: (540) 507-7380

Stafford County
Email: REGISTRAR@CO.STAFFORD.VA.US
Phone: (540) 658-4000

Fauquier County
Email: alex.ables@fauquiercounty.gov
Phone: (540) 422-8290

Fredericksburg
Email: jpitchford@fredericksburgva.gov
Phone: (540) 372-1030

VOTER ID NOW REQUIRED
By now, many of you have heard about recent changes to Virginia’s voter identification laws which require all voters to provide an acceptable form of identification (ID) at the polls. Voters arriving without ID will be required to vote a provisional ballot and will have until noon on the Friday after the election to deliver a copy of identification to their locality's electoral board in order for their provisional ballot to be counted.

Your Voter Registration Card or Driver’s License are acceptable forms of ID. If you do not have your Voter Registration Card or Driver’s License, the State Board of Elections has a listing what ID’s are acceptable:

List of Acceptable Voter ID

CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE
This election may be the most critical of my lifetime. Our country is mired in the worst economy since the Great Depression, unemployment remains high, and our national debt is exploding. We simply MUST change course in Washington!

Here are the candidates I am supporting and a link to their web pages if you would like more information. I believe these candidates will support policies to get our economy growing and reduce the national budget deficits.

Mitt Romney for President / Paul Ryan for Vice President

George Allen for Senate

Rob Wittman for Congress (1st District)

Eric Cantor for Congress (7th District)

Robert Hurt for Congress (5th District)

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
In addition to the Presidential and Congressional elections, there will be two amendments to the Virginia Constitution on the ballot. Both are good amendments and I recommend voting YES on both of them.

The first amendment on the ballot is the Eminent Domain or Property Rights amendment. If approved, it puts additional restrictions in the state Constitution on the government’s ability to take your property. It would ban the government from being able to take private property and turn it over to another private individual or company. It has the effect of reversing a recent US Supreme Court ruling which opened the use of eminent domain to almost any purpose that might increase tax collections. This is a needed amendment and I would encourage you to vote YES on it.

The second amendment on the ballot deals with the when the General Assembly can hold the Reconvened (or Veto) Session. It simply allows the General Assembly to move the date of the Veto Session if it conflicts with a religious holiday. Every few years, the Veto Session falls on Passover, and this amendment would allow the General Assembly to move the date. This is also a needed amendment and I would encourage you to vote YES on it.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I look forward to seeing you on Election Day!

NEW STATE LAWS
Many new laws are taking effect in Virginia as a result of this year’s Virginia General Assembly Session. An overview of many of the new laws is available at the following web page:

Summary of New Laws for 2012

Additionally, the new state budget takes effect. Adoption of the budget was delayed due to a political standoff in the State Senate. The new budget prioritizes spending on the core functions of government like transportation, dramatically reduces the unfunded liabilities in the Virginia Retirement System, invests in new economic development initiatives, restores funding to K-12 education, and provides new money for higher education to help reduce tuition increases.

We passed several laws to protect the integrity of elections by requiring ID in order to vote, purging voter rolls of ineligible voters, and providing guidance on the handling of provisional ballots. All legislation dealing with voting are currently being reviewed by the US Justice Department to make sure that they do not violate voting rights.

HEALTHCARE RULING
You probably heard that the US Supreme Court upheld most of President Obama’s Healthcare Reform legislation as being Constitutional by a close 5 to 4 vote, with Chief Justice Roberts breaking rank with the conservatives on the court and voting with the liberal justices to uphold the law. I was very disappointed by the ruling and believe it is one more case of the court extending the authority of government in ways that were never intended by the Founders.

Justice Roberts had to perform mental gymnastics in order to uphold the law, claiming that the individual mandate was not really a mandate requiring individuals to purchase a product they may not want or need, but was actually a tax. While the law does include numerous new taxes and fees, the individual mandate does compel citizens to purchase insurance and should have been struck down. The Court’s actions on this case fundamentally change the relationship between the federal government and the people.

This ruling will hurt our feeble economic recovery. The places a huge cost burden on businesses, especially smaller businesses, which will kill jobs and increase unemployment. I have seen estimates that the law will increase labor costs by at least $ 2 per hour, which is significant, especially for businesses that a struggling to compete against low cost foreign labor.

The law will significantly increase the national debt at a time when we can least afford it. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the law will cost $ 1.7 TRILLION over 10 years. One thing we can count on with regards to Congressional cost estimates is that they will always be low. History tells us that the actual costs will be two or three times what is estimated. The Federal government is already $ 16 Trillion in debt and going deeper into debt every day. We need to reduce the budget deficit not add to it with new programs.

The law also requires states to expand their Medicaid programs, increasing costs significantly at the state level. One positive feature of the ruling was that the Court said the Federal government could not withhold funding to punish states that refuse to comply with the law. I will be pushing for Virginia to opt out of the program, because complying with the law would bankrupt Virginia.

Of course, even if we opt out at the state level, that just means that the Federal government will step in and enforce the healthcare program themselves from Washington. The real solution to this issue will come in the November elections. We need to elect representatives that will repeal this law.

COLE RECOGNIZED BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Delegate Mark Cole was given the Champion of Free Enterprise Award by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce for his strong support of free enterprise and business. “We need to create a business friendly environment in Virginia in order to spur job creation and increase employment opportunities,” said Delegate Cole.

AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION RECOGNIZES DELEGATE COLE
Prior to this year’s General Assembly session, the American Conservative Union (ACU) recognized Delegate Mark Cole by giving him their “Defender of Liberty Award.” The ACU was founded in 1964 and is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative organization. The award recognizes legislators who support constitutionally limited government, individual liberty, free markets, a strong national defense and traditional values.

REGULAR SESSION WRAPS UP
-- 20 Bills and 3 Resolutions Patroned by Cole Pass –
-- Senate Democrats Refuse to Agree to a Budget –

Richmond, VA – The General Assembly session ended on schedule Saturday night. During the 60 day session, the General Assembly dealt with more than 2800 bills and resolutions. A final state budget has yet to be adopted as Senate Democrats have taken the budget hostage in a dispute over committee assignments; because of this the General Assembly immediately called itself into special session to continue work on passage of a final budget. “I am extremely disappointed that the Senate Democrats would hold the budget hostage for partisan political reasons,” said Delegate Mark Cole (R-88th District). “They are behaving like their counterparts in Washington by refusing to pass a budget. The longer they delay the more difficult it will be localities and schools to plan their budgets for next year, and transportation projects may have to be postponed.”

Twenty bills and three resolutions patroned by Delegate Mark Cole have passed the General Assembly and been sent to Governor McDonnell for his review. Additionally, as Chairman of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, Cole guided the committee as it considered 115 bills and resolutions including reviewing the Governor’s appointments to various boards and commissions.

Several of Chairman Cole’s bills addressed issues regarding elections and voting. The one which received the most publicity was House Bill (HB) 9 which requires that a voter show identification prior to voting. HB 63 clarifies how provisional ballots should be handled in order to ensure a fair and accurate count. Several other bills (HB 623, HB 38, HB 37, HB 57, HB 58, and HB 60) make changes to increase efficiencies for the State Board of Elections and local registrars. HB 1133 and HB 1151 clarify who may circulate petitions and define the district boundaries for petitions for statewide and congressional candidates. “I think we made a lot of improvements to the electoral process this year that will enhance the integrity of our elections,” Cole said.

HB 490 was legislation requested by the Governor and makes changes to several boards and commissions to improve efficiency and save money. HB 35 reduces the period of limitation for the collection of state taxes from 10 years to 7 in order to be consistent with Federal IRS tax policy. HB 385 corrects an oversight in the code that prohibited Industrial Development Authorities from refinancing debt of educational organizations; they could back the original financing, but were prohibited from refinancing. This will allow IDA’s and colleges to save money by taking advantage of lower interest rates. HB 141 protects some personal information included in correspondence to local elected officials from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

HB 384 adds the National Guard to those eligible for Veterans’ hiring preference for state government. “Considering how often National Guard units have been called to active duty and deployed to combat zones in recent years, I think it is appropriate that they receive the same advantages as other Veterans,” Cole stated.

HB 22 deals with local ‘gun buyback’ programs. It requires that the locality adopt an ordinance prior to conducting the buyback to ensure it is done in an orderly and safe fashion, and also requires that the locality offer any guns purchased by the program for sale of licensed firearms dealers in order to recoup the costs of the program.

Delegate Cole sponsored legislation (HB 10) to reduce the negative impact of the local BPOL (Business, Professional, and Occupational Licenses) tax. The BPOL tax is a gross receipts tax on business that is probably one of the most unfair taxes imposed in the Commonwealth. Since it is a tax on gross receipts and not on income or profits, businesses that are just getting by or even losing money still have to pay the tax – which can force them out of business. While the legislation passed the House, the Senate decided to continue to study the issue for another year.

Additionally Delegate Cole co-patroned important legislation that passed including: House Joint Resolution (HJ) 3 to amend Virginia’s Constitution to strengthen private property rights; HJ 49 which is the Governor's executive reorganization plan to streamline portions of state government; and HB 1295 which reduces mandates on local government.

He also co-patroned Governor McDonnell’s transportation initiative HB 1248. The legislation originally included provisions to shift more money from the General Fund to transportation, however the Senate removed this from the bill. Now the legislation makes some needed reforms but contains little funding. “I am disappointed the Senate would not go along with the Governor’s proposal for addition funding,” Cole added.

The General Assembly also passed significant reforms of the Virginia Retirement System (VRS). Senate Bill (SB) 498 and HB 1130 change to the current defined benefit retirement plan to a hybrid defined benefit / defined contribution plan for new employees starting in 2014. SB 497 requires local government employees to begin contributing to their retirement plan, just has state employees were required to do two years ago. “We had to take action to keep VRS solvent for the long term; to make sure it will be there for our state and local employees as has been promised.” Said Delegate Cole, “I am hopeful that the steps we took this year will do just that.”

CROSSOVER
We have passed the halfway point of the 2012 General Assembly Session, which is known as Crossover, and the House has completed action on all House bills and begun to take action on the 405 bills that passed the Senate. The Senate has begun to take action on the 603 bills that passed the House.

MY LEGISLATION
I have had several bills pass the House and will now be considered by the Senate. I wanted to highlight just a few.

House Bill (HB) 10 deals with the local BPOL (Business, Professional, and Occupational Licenses) tax. The BPOL tax is a gross receipts tax on business that is probably one of the most unfair taxes imposed in the Commonwealth. Since it is a tax on gross receipts and not on income or profits, businesses that are just getting by or even losing money still have to pay the tax – which can force them out of business. It is a job killing tax. Last year I had legislation passed to give local governments the option of imposing the tax on business income instead of gross receipts to make the tax a little fairer. HB 10 would freeze the gross receipts tax and require that any localities that impose the tax in the future may only do so on business income instead of gross receipts. It is the first step in phasing out the gross receipts tax.

HB 35 reduces the period of limitation for the collection of state taxes from 10 years to 7 in order to be consistent with Federal IRS tax policy.

Some provisions of my HB 23 to increase the amount of the current sales tax dedicated to the transportation were included as part of the Governor’s transportation proposal, HB 1248, which I am also a chief co-sponsor. The Governor’s proposal is broad transportation plan that not only increases funds available for transportation, but also charges the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) with greater responsibilities involving integration of land use and transportation planning, provides for use of "revenue-sharing" funds for secondary highway system projects carried out by local governments, provides special allocations for bridge reconstruction, high priority highway projects, and reconstruction of highways.

HB 141 would protect some personal information included in correspondence to local elected officials from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Currently, local elected officials are required to keep emails and letters on file for 3 years and those documents are subject to public disclosure via FOIA. Frequently elected officials will be contacted for assistance regarding issues of a personal matter, such as child support, divorce, or a child’s problems at school. Those emails or letters are considered public documents and are subject to public disclosure. HB 141 seeks to provide some protection of private information included in the correspondence.

HB 384 adds the National Guard to those eligible for Veterans’ hiring preference for state and local government. Considering how often National Guard units have been called to active duty and deployed to combat zones in recent years, I think it is appropriate that they receive this preference.

A few of my bills received a lot of publicity and opposition this year. One dealing with taxpayer funding of abortion, HB 62, and two dealing with voting procedures HB 9 and HB 63. I had expected opposition, but the opposition’s rhetoric to these bills has been over the top.

HB 62 simply conforms Virginia code to Federal law and the laws of 36 other states by adopting the “Hyde Amendment” to state Medicaid law, which limits taxpayer funded abortions to cases of rape, incest, or to protect the mother’s life.

HB 9 would require a voter without ID to cast a provisional ballot. Casting a provisional ballot would allow the electoral board to review the ballot before it is added to the vote total. It would NOT deny anyone their right to vote; it just helps to ensure the integrity of an election.

HB 63 clarifies how provisional ballots should be handled. Currently some localities are reviewing provisional ballots in an open, public meeting. Not only is this not in accordance with Federal law, but it can lead to circumstances where crowds try to intimidate the Electoral Board into counting or not counting certain ballots. Federal law states that provisional ballots should be kept private, people have a right to cast a secret ballot so that they can vote their conscience without fear of reprisals. It is impossible to keep your ballot secret if it is examined and counted at a public meeting. The bill places limits on who may attend the meeting to those who may witness the counting of votes on Election Night; that includes candidates who are on the ballot or their representatives, and representatives of political parties with candidates on the ballot, plus the person who cast a provisional ballot or their representative. I think it strikes the right balance between ensuring an accurate and fair count, and protecting the voters’ privacy.

I have had several other bills pass the House, if you have questions about them please feel free to contact me.

HOUSE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
While the media likes to focus on hot-button issues, the focus of our efforts this session has been on improving opportunities for businesses to create jobs, expanding educational opportunities, protecting our families, and reforming government.

To help businesses create new jobs and opportunities, we advanced HB 33 which protects non-unionized labor. This action will have a positive impact on job growth, save taxpayer funds, and keep Virginia among the best states to do business.

To expand educational opportunities, we passed HB 1173 which increases flexibility for charter schools and HB 321 to encourage private investment in education.

In the area of government reform I am working hard to ensure current and future public employees have a reliable retirement system. Knowing changes must be made I supported HB 1130 which will allow existing or new government employees the option of choosing a defined contribution plan, similar to the 401(k) plans used throughout the private sector.

To reduce government we are advancing HB 1291 and HB 1295 both eliminates a number of boards and commissions and reduce mandates on local government.

Last, but certainly not least, we are committed to ensuring the safety of the citizens of the Commonwealth. A number of public safety measures have passed the House that will increase penalties for drunk drivers, pedophiles, and rapists. As well as two bills that will codify the castle doctrine to allow for homeowners to defend themselves from an intruder without fear of civil or criminal prosecution.

WHAT DID NOT PASS
Sometimes what is defeated is just as important as what passes. This year the House defeated more than $ 2.2 Billion in job-killing tax increases, as well as efforts to reinstate parole and to sell marijuana in ABC stores.

Please keep in mind all that has been accomplished in the House now must also be approved in the Senate so please be sure to contact your State Senator and voice your opinion.

THE 2012 SESSION CONVENES
The General Assembly convened for the 2012 session on last week. This year’s session is scheduled to last 60 days. I will be in Richmond each day for the duration of session. Our office is in room 808 of the General Assembly Building at the corner of Broad and 9th Streets. The phone number in Richmond is (804) 698-1088. If you would like to come down to visit the State Capitol during session, please let us know. We would be happy to set-up tours.

GOVERNOR’S STATE OF THE COMMONWEALTH ADDRESS
Last Wednesday night Governor McDonnell set out his agenda in the State of the Commonwealth address. Governor McDonnell challenged Republicans and Democrats in both chambers to work together for the benefit of all Virginians. A number of the proposals he laid out in his speech will likely receive bipartisan support, such as initiatives to continue to help businesses create new jobs and opportunities, a $200 million investment in our colleges and universities to expand enrollment at an affordable cost, and a record $2.2 billion investment in the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) for our teachers and state employees.

Of course, not all of the Governor’s proposals will enjoy bipartisan support, such as the Governor’s proposal to reform VRS, and there will be spirited debate about those proposals; however, I believe those disagreements will not lead to the partisan gridlock we see in Washington.

LEGISLATION
While budget issues will receive most of the attention in news pages during this session, we’re considering a lot of other legislation as well. Among the hundreds of bills that will be considered by the General Assembly are several that I am submitting. Here is an overview of some of the legislation I am sponsoring:

House Joint Resolution (HJ) 52 establishes a joint subcommittee to study reforming Virginia's tax structure, including the feasibility of adopting a flat tax or a fair tax. Virginia’s tax code is almost as complex as the Federal tax code. It has numerous deductions, credits, and loopholes for certain businesses and special interest groups, while excluding others from this preferential treatment. I think we need to take a comprehensive look at Virginia’s tax code to see if it can be simplified and made fairer. This has been tried in the past without much success due to the overwhelming influence of special interest groups that do not want to lose their preferential treatment in the tax code. In fact, Governor McDonnell chaired a study commission about 10 years ago when he was in the House of Delegates without much success; so I don’t know if I will be successful this time around or not, but I wanted to at least give it a shot.

House Bills (HB) 10 and 24 make changes to the Business, professional, and occupational license (BPOL) tax designed to lessen its potential negative impact on businesses.

HB 35 reduces the period of limitation for the collection of state taxes from 10 years to seven years in order to be consistent with Federal IRS tax policy.

I have a couple of bills dealing with transportation. HB 11 seeks to use some of the previously authorized bond funds to make improvements to I95’s regular travel lanes (this would be in addition to the Governor’s HOV/HOT lanes proposal). HB 23 would increase the amount of the current sales tax dedicated to the Transportation Trust Fund. Currently one half of a percent of the current sales tax is dedicated to transportation. My legislation would gradually increase that to a full percent (note: it does not raise the sales tax, it simply increases the amount of the current sales tax dedicated to transportation). It contains a provision that would delay the increase if doing so would result in a reduction of revenue to the General Fund, thereby protecting programs that receive funds from the General Fund from potential cuts.

HB 138 is getting some publicity. It would require local schools to determine if a student is legally present in the US when they register for school. This information would then be collected by the state, which would determine the costs associated with providing an education for those students who are not in the US legally, and submit a bill for those cost to the US government. It would not deny an education to anybody; it just attempts to get the Federal government to pay the costs of educating illegal aliens. The Federal government REQUIRES states and localities to provide a taxpayer funded education for illegal aliens. If Washington is going to mandate it, then Washington should pay for it. Maybe if they had to pay the costs for all illegal aliens in the country, they might take enforcement of immigration laws and border security more seriously.

I am sponsoring some legislation dealing with Concealed Carry Gun permits. HB 25 would protect the privacy of permit holders. HB 139 would allow those who are already allowed to carry a gun openly, to carry concealed without a permit. It does not expand who may carry a gun, it just allows anyone who can carry openly to carry concealed without a permit. Having more restrictions on concealed carry than on open carry has never made sense to me. Carrying openly is more likely to cause a disturbance or make someone a target than carrying concealed.

As chairman of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, I am sponsoring several bills dealing with elections including HB 36 which would require political parties to pay the costs of primary elections, HB 1132 would allow political parties to determine if they want to allow write-in votes in a primary, HB 1133 allows political parties to set their own requirements for candidates to get on the primary ballot, and HB 1151 which clarifies the statewide petition process during years when redistricting has taken place.

HB 9 would require anyone who shows up at the polls on Election Day without ID to cast a provisional ballot. Currently, if someone comes to vote without ID, they have to sign a sworn statement identifying themselves and then can vote. This could lead to someone coming to a poll early casting a vote in someone else’s name; then when the actual voter shows up later to vote they are denied the right to vote because they are shown to have already voted. Casting a provisional ballot would allow the electoral board to retrieve the illegal ballot while allowing the real person to vote. It would NOT deny anyone from being able to cast a vote; it simply helps to ensure the integrity of an election.

TRANSPORTATION
Transportation continues to be a high priority, especially for our area. Prior to the economic recession, the General Assembly, spearheaded by the House of Delegates, had significantly increased transportation funding; yet it seemed the more we spent, the further behind we fell. We were getting little bang for the taxpayers’ bucks. This spurred the House to push for additional scrutiny of VDOT’s use of funds including an audit; which was one of the first things that the McDonnell administration did.

The performance audit revealed $1.4 billion in previously authorized funds that were not being spent on needed highway maintenance and new construction. Many of these dollars are being redirect to long overdue transportation projects. Another positive development came when Governor McDonnell announced $1.1 billion in construction and maintenance projects for the first six months of Fiscal Year 2011.

More recently, the Governor unveiled an ambitious $4 billion transportation initiative as part of his budget and legislative package. With interest rates and construction costs at record lows, many believe now may be the best opportunity to get roads built in modern Virginia history. The challenge here will be balancing the need for additional roads financed by bonds, with the Commonwealth’s debt burden.

In order to preserve our AAA bond rating, Virginia has maintained a relatively low limit for debt payments. The temptation is strong for politicians to run up debt when times are hard. Doing so would be penny wise but pound foolish if it were to hurt our bond rating.

VDOT AUDIT
One of the first things Governor McDonnell did after taking office was to initiate an independent audit of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The audit found $ 1.45 Billion in unspent funds! I am not surprised that unspent funds were found; I am surprised that the amount is so large (it is roughly equivalent to about one third of VDOT’s annual budget). The McDonnell administration is currently re-programming the money to spend it on urgently needed transportation projects.

In recent years we had significantly increased funding for transportation, but we saw little results from those increases. We pushed for an independent audit of VDOT for years. Unfortunately Governor Kaine did not support an independent audit and legislation requiring an audit would pass the House, but die in the Senate. In my opinion the reason for this was primarily political. Governor Kaine and his allies in the Senate were demanding tax increases for transportation and assumed that traffic gridlock would help their cause. This is why I believe the Kaine administration dragged their feet when it came to spending transportation funds authorized by the General Assembly.

My hat is off to Governor McDonnell for moving forward with the audit so quickly. Just goes to show you what can be done when you have a Governor who is more concerned about getting things done, instead of just reaching deeper into our pockets!

RECENT ACTIONS TO ADDRESS TRANSPORTATION
While we are on the subject of transportation, I wanted to make you aware of steps the General Assembly have taken in recent years to try to address this problem that are rarely reported in the mainstream media:

- 2005, we increased transportation funding by more than $ 1.4 Billion, the largest increase in nearly 20 years, including $ 850 million in funding to reduce congestion on major thoroughfares like I-95. The House of Delegates had proposed $ 1.2 Billion for congestion relief, but the state Senate and then Governor Mark Warner wanted significantly less, so we had to compromise on $ 850 million.

- 2006, we directed an additional $ 568 million to transportation.

- 2007, the General Assembly financed largest transportation investment in two decades by providing nearly $ 500 million in ongoing, new transportation funding and authorizing $ 3 Billion in transportation bonds.

- 2008 we restored $180 million in transportation funding that former Governor Kaine had diverted to other programs.

As stated above, we authorized additional transportation bonding authority in 2007; however, Governor Kaine had declined to issue any of these bonds. This year Governor McDonnell announced that he would begin issuing these bonds in order to take advantage of record low interest rates and jump-start needed transportation projects.