Senate Kills Howell's Asbestos Bill

Once again, thank you Democratic-controlled State Senate!

A Virginia Senate committee on Monday killed a proposal championed by House Speaker William J. Howell that would have helped protect a Fortune 500 company from asbestos lawsuits.

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted down the measure 13 to 2 with just one Republican and one Democrat siding with Howell, who had quietly maneuvered behind the scenes for much of the legislative session to garner support for the bill, HB 629. The House of Delegates narrowly passed the bill last month.

And once again, shame on the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, which passed Bill Howell's asbestos protection act 49-48 on February 9. Yet another example of why we need Democrats in charge in Richmond.

Tweet of the Day: Jeff Frederick

Gotta love this one from the former director of the RPV. Ha.

Ward Armstrong to Bill Howell: Don't "cloak this incident in secrecy"

The following is a Statement by House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong on the Phil Hamilton investigation (bolding added by me for emphasis):

This afternoon, House Speaker Bill Howell announced that he has requested the House Ethics Advisory Panel conduct an investigation into the actions of Delegate Phil Hamilton, with the "unanimous concurrence of the other members of the House leadership."

I believe the Speaker misspoke, as I was not included in this discussion. If I had been, I would have expressed my concern that the Speaker is relegating this probe to a panel where proceedings have historically been kept secret.

As the Virginian-Pilot reported this weekend, roughly 10 such investigations have been conducted by the Ethics Advisory Panel in the last 20 years, and all have taken place behind closed doors.

Unfortunately, a lack of transparency is what led to this situation in the first place. Delegate Hamilton is a public official, and any investigation into his actions should be conducted in full view of the citizens of Virginia.

The Rules of the House of Delegates state that the House Privileges and Elections Committee has the power to 'receive and investigate any charges or complaints brought against any member of the House of Delegates in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibilities and recommend to the House such action as it may deem appropriate to establish and enforce standards of conduct for members.'

I call on Speaker Howell and Committee Chairman Cole to convene the committee as quickly as possible and deal with this inquiry in a fair, thorough, and - most importantly - open manner. Rather than face an investigation that may never see the light of day, Delegate Hamilton should come before a bipartisan, fully public panel of his peers.

We cannot risk losing the public's trust in our institution by continuing to cloak this incident in secrecy.

I couldn't agree more. Thank you Ward Armstrong!

UPDATE 7:30 pm: Bob McDonnell calls on Phil Hamilton to resign. Smart move by McDonnell.

Elected officials must keep the highest ethical standards in order to maintain the public trust. From what I have seen of published news accounts containing emails and admissions, it appears that Delegate Hamilton has violated the public trust. Based on this public information it would be in the best interests of his constituents for him to step down, but if he believes that the due process of a full inquiry by the House Ethics Advisory Panel will clear his name, he should have a full opportunity to present his case. Any such inquiry should be commenced immediately and conducted expeditiously.

Kaine and Howell Tell Walmart: Find Another Site

Well, it took almost four years, but we finally have one case of a House of Delegates Republican cooperating with Governor Kaine on something!

In a bipartisan letter to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) and House of Delegates Speaker William Howell (R) jointly urged the county to reconsider plans to locate a Walmart supercenter on the Wilderness Battlefield.

The letter, addressed to Orange County Board Chairman Lee Frame and dated July 13, 2009, emphasizes the Commonwealth’s commitment to historic preservation and the need to bring all interests together to resolve the controversy.

Is it ironic that it took the Civil War to bring Bill Howell and Tim Kaine together on something?

Speaker Howell: Toll Roads Across the Commonwealth

This morning's Washington "Moonie" Times reports that House Speaker William J. "Bill" Howell wants Virginia to "construct a sweeping network of highway and road tolls that could be leased to private companies."

"I love the concept of tolls," Mr. Howell, a Stafford Republican, said. "I think we're going to have to see more tolls in Virginia."

[...]

Virginia currently has several toll systems set up, including the 14-mile Dulles Toll Road in Fairfax County, but Mr. Howell said more expansive efforts could lead to more state revenue and provide a potential replacement for the gas tax, which he referred to as a "dinosaur" funding source.

"We're talking about leasing the concession to collect the tolls on those roads," Mr. Howell said. "It can be a tough political argument to make, but it's an argument worth making because it's a sound political concept.

"It's like the lottery," he said. "If you win the lottery, would you take $20,000 a year for the rest of your life or would you take an upfront payment? This is just getting a present value for a future income stream. It makes a lot of sense."

Of course, this is the same Bill Howell who pushed "abusive driver fees" and who denounced rail to Dulles as an "incredible waste of money." More substantively, do we really want a network of toll roads across Virginia, or do we want to focus on smart growth solutions, mass transit, high-speed rail, and other 21st century solutions to our economic, energy and environmental challenges? Something tells me we won't be getting that from Bill Howell or the House Republican "flat earth" Caucus.

Speaker Howell Has an Opponent

This is excellent news, as House of Delegates Speaker Bill Howell definitely needs to go.

During yesterday's Stafford Democratic Committee meeting, Board of Supervisors Chairman George Schwartz announced that he will run for the Virginia House of Delegates.

Schwartz plans to run for the 28th District seat--currently occupied by Speaker of the House Bill Howell, who was first elected in 1987. The 28th District includes eastern Stafford County and the city of Fredericksburg.

As Chris Guy at Fred2Blue points out, "Barack Obama captured 50.2% of the vote in the 28th last November," although Schwartz "hasn’t been elected county-wide." Still, it's great to see a prominent Democrat stepping up to take on Bill Howell, who gets the following interest group ratings, according to Project Vote Smart:

*ZERO from NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia
*100% from the ultra-conservative Family Foundation of Virginia
*ZERO from the Virginia National Organization for Women
*ZERO (in 2008) from the Virginia Education Association

In other words, unless you're not a Pat Robertson Republican, it's definitely time for a change in the 28th House of Delegates district.