Williamsburg@: Delegate Mike Watson Newsletter

Dear friends,

Thank you for your support through the past several months.

I am pleased to provide you news from my Richmond office this week in our first ever constituent newsletter.

The 2012 General Assembly session is just beginning and I look forward to representing the constituents of the 93rd House District.

I received committee assignments this week being appointed by the speaker to the Science and Technology Committee and the General Laws Committee.

I am really excited about these assignments and feel that through these assignments, I can help the 93rd district and the Commonwealth on a broad range of issues.

Please feel free, if you have any issue regarding a state matter, to contact me or my staff for help.

Thank you so much and have a great weekend.

Take care,

Delegate Watson

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Constituent Survey

This Constituent Survey is one way to be sure your voice is heard, as many of the questions are subjects that may be addressed in this session. I hope that you will take a moment to complete the survey.

Click Here for the Survey

Watson Receives Committee Assignments

Delegate Mike Watson (R-93) yesterday received committee assignments for his first term, which include seats on the General Laws and Science and Technology committees.

“I am excited about my committee assignments and believe that my professional experience will lend well to the issue that we'll address in them. Many of the issues brought before these committees will directly affect our region,” said Watson.

The General Laws committee is headed by Delegate Chris Jones (R-76) who represents the cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk. This committee deals with issues largely regarding housing, ABC, gaming, occupations and administration.

Within this committee, Delegate Watson will serve on the Housing, ABC and Gaming subcommittees.

The Science and Technology committee is chaired by Delegate Kathy Byron (R-22) who represents Bedford, Campbell and Frank County and part of the city of Lynchburg. This committee will work with a wide range of technology subjects include renewable energy, communications, Information Technology and other high tech and scientific fields.

The House of Delegates is divided into 14 standing committees having a proportional rate for the number of Democrat and Republican house members. Speaker William Howell (R-28) has jurisdiction as to who sits on which committees and who chairs each committee.

Watson Working to Change Language in HB 316

Delegate Watson (R-93rd) has been working closely with Delegate Ingram’s (R-62) office after Wednesday’s Virginian Gazette featured an article that has sparked outrage over the issue regarding the St. Bede mausoleum.

“I’ve been working closely with Delegate Ingram’s office to change the language of the bill. While I have not taken a stance on the St. Bede's issue itself, I did not want a state bill to inadvertently force an outcome that I believe should be local” said Watson.

Watson met with Ingram who agreed to modify the bill’s language to more specifically address its pure intent.

Ingram said, “The intent of this bill was in no way associated with the mausoleum issue in James City. My staff and I are working with Delegate Watson to amend the bill’s current language accordingly.”

“I appreciate the public input and am glad that I was able to address this concern before the bill was introduced. I hope that the citizens of the 93rd district will continue to reach out to my office whenever such a concern arises" said Watson.

Governor McDonnell Gives Commonwealth Address

Governor Bob McDonnell gave his annual State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday evening highlighting items in his 2 year budget and key policy issues to focus on this session.

"Over these past two years, we have shown that while we hail from diverse regions, align with different political parties and subscribe to competing philosophies, we can still come together to make progress on the issues important to our eight million people," McDonnell said.

McDonnell highlighted several key factors he wants to focus on ranging from spurring private sector growth, reforming the state's pension system, making K-12 education more accountable and innovative, investing in higher education, improving transportation maintenance, and passing a "responsible, structurally balanced" budget on time.

The governor also is proposing to provide in-state tuition for members of the Virginia National Guard and adding an additional $2.2 billion to the state’s retirement system.

McDonnell also said Wednesday night that he wants to see repeat drug dealers locked up longer and make it easier for new charter schools to be approved. Ensuring Virginia stays a top state for business the governor spoke about the international trade progress in China and India.

The governor’s budget is for a two year period and is a cost of $85 billion.

To read the full article Click Here

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Republicans Take Control of Senate

The Virginia Senate organized on Wednesday with the new Republican majority. The 20 - 20 split was resolved using Lieuta Governor Bill Bollings tie breaking vote.

This is the first time in 11 years the executive and legislative branches of government have been controlled by Republicans.

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LPGA Returns to Kingsmill in 2012

After a brief absence LPGA golf is returning to the Kingsmill River Course Thursday, Sept. 6 and concludes on championship Sunday, Sept. 9.

The event will bring the world’s best back to Williamsburg for what many considered their favorite LPGA tour stop and was widely regarded as the unofficial “5th” major of the tour.

"Kingsmill, historically, has been one of the best and most popular venues in LPGA history. How could we not be excited about returning to a place where we've been so well-received,” Jon Podany, the LPGA's chief marketing officer said.

To read the full article Click Here