The Virginia House of Delegates and Senate are in full swing, reviewing nearly 2000 pieces of legislation. Over the next two weeks, legislators will not only be researching, caucusing, revising these bills and attending committee meetings -- they will also be visited by those lobbying for or against certain bills. Once in committee, many bills will die without a vote.
The next significant date is known as "cross over" when surviving House Bills (HB) go to the Senate, and surviving Senate Bills (SB) go to the House. This date is February 17, 2010. All legislation should have a cost/benefit analysis and funding mechanism, yet generally does not and so associated costs often get pushed on to counties, cities and towns which have limited taxation authority (ie, generally fees and real or personal property).
Meanwhile there is a lot of lobbying going on, whether it comes in the form of heavy-hitting industry groups or local elected officials and special interest nonprofit organizations (AARP, LWV, Legal Aid and Justice Center as examples) lining up for five to ten minutes of face time with their Senators and Delegates.
So how can regular citizens track all this activity? Here's some pointers put together by the Virginia Organizing Project (shared by Megan Rhyne of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government):
Want to contact your state Delegate or Senator?
The Virginia General Assembly web site provides contact information for legislators; access to bills, resolutions; membership on committees; committee schedules and more. You can find your own legislators by clicking on "Who's My Legislator" on the top right side of the page.
Want to find out what legislation is being proposed and what actions have taken place on a specific bill?The
Legislative Information System (LIS) provides almost any information needed, including text and status of bills and resolutions, detailed information on each Delegate and Senator, budget bills, daily floor calendars, subject index of bills, as well as the Code of Virginia and the Virginia Administrative Code. Information is also available for past legislative sessions.
How can I contact my state legislators?Call the
Constituent Viewpoint Opinion Line at 1-800-889-0229 between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm each day during the General Assembly session to register opinions on any of these issues and have those opinions communicated to one's own legislators.
Snail mail Addresses for Legislators: - House of Delegates, P.O. Box 406, Richmond, Virginia 23218
- Senate of Virginia, P.O. Box 396, Richmond, Virginia 23218
Legislative Information:
- 804-698-1470 (General Assembly Information)
- 804-698-1500 (House of Delegates)
- 804-698-7410 (Senate)
Legislators' Phone Numbers:
- The phone numbers for legislators' offices at the General Assembly Building can be obtained from legislative information and the web sites above.
Clerks' Offices:
- 804-698-1619 (House of Delegates)
- 804-698-7400 (Senate)
FAX Numbers:
- 804-698-1800 (House of Delegates)
- 804-698-7651 (Senate)
E-mail Addresses for Legislators*:
- House of Delegates: del(first initial)(last name)@house.state.va.us
- Senate of Virginia: district(__)@sov.state.va.us
*Parentheses ( ) indicate information that varies for each legislator (e.g., after "district" insert the two digit number of the Senator's district, such as 01. Do not include the parentheses in the e-mail address). Some legislators may prefer to use personal e-mail addresses rather than their legislative e-mail addresses, so it is best to check with your representative office to be sure.
Now, regular citizens -- and our elected representatives from Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and the county Board of Supervisors -- can learn, comment and track activities in the Virginia General Assembly whether they trek to Richmond in person or not.