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July 2007
Edition
Brought
to you by the Regent Republicans
www.regentrepublicans.com
President:
Stephen Raper
Vice-President: Matt Clark
Treasurer: Paul Boller
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Table of Contents:
1. Delegate
Welch needs Volunteers in Virginia Beach
2. Congresswoman Drake needs Volunteers in Virginia Beach
3. Leadership Institute offers Grassroots Training in Norfolk
4. Newt Gingrich in Hampton Roads on July 11th
5. Regent Alumni Bob McDonnell wins online Poll
6. Bloggers Conference on July 13th and 14th
in Newport News
7. New Virginia laws go into effect on July 1st
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1. Delegate Welch needs
Volunteers in Virginia Beach
Delegate John Welch
(21st House District)
is working on a 4th of July Flag project. It would be
wonderful if you could help him out on this.
Delegate Welch's
office will be open Sunday from 11 AM to 4 PM and all next
week from 10 AM to 4 PM. Delegate Welch will also be signing people up
to help distribute the flags on the 3rd of July, and will give out
bundles of 100 to volunteers with a map of a few streets they can walk
down and "plant" flags. If you and your fellow Republican could donate
an hour or two next week helping assemble the flags and an hour on the
3rd to distribute the flags, this project will be a huge success!!
For more information, please contact TJ
Maloney, Re-elect John Welch at 540.327.4757-cell, 757.340.2800-office
or 326 Lynn Shores Drive, Virginia Beach VA 23452
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2. Congresswoman Drake needs
Volunteers
The Office of Congresswoman Drake is in
need of volunteers. If you would be willing to donate some of your time
to help a great Republican leader, please contact Dawn Best at
dawn@thelmadrakeforcongress.com or at 757-497-2222. Dawn is the
Campaign Field Director for Congresswoman Drake, and Alumni of Regent
University. So this is a great opportunity to network!
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3. The Leadership Institute
is offering a FREE Grassroots Activist School in Norfolk on July 7th.
What:
Grassroots Activist School
When:
July 7th at 10:00 AM
Where: Horace C. Downing Branch Library
555 E.
Liberty Street
Norfolk, VA 23523
Why: Grassroots activism is essential for any
organization’s effectiveness in the political world. It is the winning
art of taking the issues and campaigns back to the individuals, helping
them to realize the power they can possess in public policy.
Cost: It’s FREE!
Register at :
http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/Training/?PageID=School&SchoolID=11654
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4. Newt Gingrich in Hampton
Roads on July 11th
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich,
will be in Hampton Roads on July 11th. Mr. Gingrich will be
at the Hilton Norfolk Airport located at 1500 North Military Highway in
Norfolk. For those who are interested in attending, follow this link to
the invitation in pdf form:
http://rpv.org/PDF/062107_Gingrich.pdf
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5. Regent Alumni Bob
McDonnell wins online Poll
Regent Alumni Bob McDonnell, who is
currently the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has won
an online poll for the 2009 Governor’s race. The non-scientific poll
was conducted by the blog notlarrysabato.
Poll
Results:
Bob McDonnell 39%
Brian Moran 30%
Creigh Deeds 23%
Bill Bolling 9%
Republican Poll Results:
Bob McDonnell 82%
Bill Bolling 18%
Democratic Poll Results:
Brian Moran 57%
Creigh Deeds 43%
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6. Bloggers Conference on
July 13th and 14th
The Blogger United Conference will be held
at Christopher Newport University in Newport News on July 13th
and 14th. Registration cost is now at $50. Among the
speakers and panelists are:
·
Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
·
Attorney General Bob McDonnell
·
Del. Brian Moran, Chairman, House Democratic Caucus
·
Shaun Kenney, Communications Director, Republican Party of Virginia
·
Donald Luzzatto, Virginian-Pilot
·
Kevin W. Grierson, Esq., Wilcox and Savage P.C.
·
David Mastio, Editor, BlogNetNews
·
Jack Holt, OSD-PA
For more information, and to
register, go to
http://blogs-united.blogspot.com/
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7. New Virginia
laws go into effect on July 1st.
Office of the Attorney General
For Release:
June 29, 2007
Contact:
J. Tucker Martin or David Clementson
Website:
www.vaag.com
Phone:
804-786-2071
Email:
Tucker.Martin@oag.state.va.us or
dclementson@oag.state.va.us
McDonnell Legislation
Takes Effect Sunday July 1st
"Protecting Virginia's Future" Agenda Includes Email Registration for
Sex Offenders, Senior Alert, New Protections for Private Property Owners
Richmond-
The overwhelming majority of the
proposals comprising Attorney General Bob
McDonnell's "Protecting Virginia's Future" 2007 legislative agenda will
become law on Sunday July 1st. The Attorney General's agenda,
consisting only of bills worked on, or crafted by, the Office of the
Attorney General, includes the first-in-the-nation
requirement that sex offenders register online identities and email
addresses with Virginia's Sex Offender Registry; new protections for
private property owners; the creation of a "Senior Alert" for missing
seniors with cognitive impairments; and new rights for victims of crime.
McDonnell formally announced his 2007 agenda in January.
Speaking about the success of
his legislative agenda, McDonnell noted, "These common sense proposals
will provide new protections for all Virginians. Property owners will be
more secure from the threat of government taking their property. Seniors
with cognitive impairments will benefit from a new safety net dedicated
to finding them if they become lost or confused. Virginia's children
will use the Internet with new safeguards to help keep sex offenders off
of popular social networking sites. Victims of crime will be able to
testify during the sentencing phase of a trial, allowing their voices to
be heard."
McDonnell continued noting,
"The overwhelming majority of these bills passed with broad bipartisan
support in the General Assembly. I thank the patrons of these bills for
their tireless work."
The "Protecting Virginia's
Future" agenda consisted of 43 bills. Of those 43 bills, 40 initially
passed the General Assembly, for a 93% success rate. Following
gubernatorial action, 38 of the bills will take effect on July 1st.
Taken together with last year's legislative agenda, which saw 20 of 21
initiatives passed and signed by the Governor, McDonnell has seen 58 of
his 64 legislative proposals become law since taking office.
Attorney General Bob
McDonnell's 2007 Legislative Agenda
"Protecting Virginia's Future"
The Following Bills
Will Become Law on Sunday July 1st (Bill Patrons Noted in
Parentheses)
Protecting our Senior Citizens from Harm
Crimes
Against Seniors
(O'Brien and Cline)
-
Increases the penalties for any person
who abuses or neglects an incapacitated adult and the abuse or neglect
results in the death of the incapacitated adult.
Senior
Alert
(Rerras and
Dudley)
-
Creates a Senior Alert modeled on
Virginia's Amber Alert, when elderly adults with cognitive impairments
are missing and the disappearance poses a credible threat to the
adult's health and safety.
-
Authorizes the State Police to
coordinate regional alerts and to develop model policies that local
law enforcement and media representatives may implement voluntarily in
their areas to ensure a coordinated effort in finding those adults
with cognitive impairments who become lost.
Protecting our Children from Internet Sexual Predators
Internet Safety -
E-Mail Registration and Increased penalties for Child Porn and Online
Solicitation
(McDougle
and Hurt):
§ Requires
registration of all email addresses and other online identities as part
of the Sex Offender Registry.
§ Authorizes
the State Police to provide certain information to social networking
websites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com.
§ Creates
mandatory-minimum sentences for production and distribution of child
pornography and online solicitation of children. These mandatory
minimums will be especially harsh for offenses involving child victims
below 15 years of age.
Internet Safety - Youth
Internet Safety Fund
(Callahan)
§ Establishes
the Youth Internet Safety Fund for a Prevention and Awareness Campaign
about dangers of the Internet. Will permit an ongoing public education
and awareness program for parents and children through TV, radio, DVD's
and other promotional materials.
Internet Safety -
Warrants, Subpeonas, Bail and Asset
Forfeiture (Obenshain and
Bell)
§ Expands
asset forfeiture provisions to include possession of child pornography
and online solicitation cases.
§ Includes
on-line child solicitation and production of child pornography cases in
the presumption against bail.
§ Allows
Commonwealth's Attorneys to issue administrative subpoenas to Internet
Service Providers for computer-facilitated child exploitation
investigations.
Protecting our Commonwealth during a Crisis
Emergency Preparedness
(Wampler, Newman,
Cuccinelli and Hamilton, Sherwood, O'Bannon)
-
Expands the Governor's authority to assist a sister state's request
for aid without having to declare a state of an emergency.
-
Expands the ability of law enforcement and medical personnel to carry
out their duties during an emergency such as administering and
dispensing of drugs by authorized personnel.
-
Streamlines and enhances procedures relating to the issuance, appeal,
and delivery of orders of isolation and quarantine.
-
Increases the membership of the Secure Commonwealth Panel to include
other important stakeholders.
-
Establishes a joint subcommittee to study the problems associated with
liability issues for healthcare providers during a state of emergency.
-
Protects law enforcement personnel who enforce a quarantine or
isolation order by informing them of potential exposure they may
receive from those they quarantine.
-
Permits a locality to enter into mutual aid agreements with a
neighboring locality of another state that has declared a state of
emergency.
-
Clarifies that local law enforcement officers are authorized to
deliver, serve, execute and enforce orders of isolation and
quarantine.
Protecting our Citizens' Private Property Rights
Eminent
Domain (Bell,
Cuccinelli, Newman and
Norment)
-
Provides property can only be taken when
the public interest dominates the private gain and the primary purpose
of the taking is not private financial gain, private benefit, an
increase in tax base or revenues, or an increase in employment.
-
Provides that a property owner may
challenge that a taking is a pretext for an unauthorized use.
-
Places new limitations upon the Housing
Authority's ability to condemn for blight.
Ensuring our Victims' Rights
Domestic Violence Victims - Protective Orders
(Obenshain and Lohr)
-
Enhances the penalties
for multiple violations of a protective order that involves an act or
threat of violence with a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 days for
the second offense and 6 months for a third or subsequent violation.
Victim's Rights
(Norment
and Welch, Gilbert, E. Scott)
-
Ensures victims may testify during the
sentencing phase of a defendant's case.
-
Permits evidence of a defendant's prior
criminal history including the conviction and imposed punishment
during the sentencing phase of trial.
Ensuring Justice for Victims of Capital Murder
Death Penalty-
Expansion of (Gilbert)
-
Provides that the willful, deliberate
and premeditated killing of any witness under subpoena in a criminal
case when the killing is for the purpose of interfering with the
person's duties in such case is punishable as capital murder, a Class
1 felony.
Keeping our Families Together
Comprehensive Services
Act (Devolites
Davis and Fralin)
-
Expands eligibility for state pool funds
to include children requiring mental health services to avoid
placement in foster care.
-
Allows for further study on the impact
of this legislation on the program so the General Assembly can take
further action next year.
Protecting our Communities from Violence
Gangs &
Terrorism (Albo)
-
Punishes those who recruit others to
commit acts of terrorism.
-
Allows the Attorney General to assist
Commonwealth's Attorneys to prosecute crimes related to gang
participation, gang recruitment and terrorism recruitment when such
crimes occur in state prisons.
Promoting Second Amendment Rights
Guns -
Straw Purchases (Lingamfelter)
-
Prevents those attempts not sanctioned
by law enforcement authorities to conduct the illegal purchase of
firearms in the Commonwealth by misleading gun dealers as to the
actual intended purchaser. Specifically, this will prevent New York
authorities from targeting Virginia gun dealers for civil lawsuits.
Providing Opportunities for our Veterans' Families
Veteran's
Tuition
(O'Brien and Janis)
-
Clarifies existing law to ensure that
all qualified survivors and dependents of Virginia military personnel
lost in action attend public institutions of higher education free of
tuition and fees when admitted.
-
Establishes the Virginia Military
Survivors and Dependents Education Fund to provide financial
assistance for board and room charges, books and supplies, and other
expenses.
-
Directs the State Council of Higher
Education for Virginia is responsible for disbursing funds
appropriated or otherwise made available to support the Fund.
Promoting Health
Organ Donation
Act (Frederick)
-
Updates Virginia law related to organ
donation so that it is similar to other states to promote organ
donations and to ensure that the donor's wishes are met.
Promoting Regulatory Reform
Regulatory Reform
(Wagner and Landes)
-
Creates a "fast track" removal process
for those administrative regulations that are outdated, inefficient or
obsolete.
-
Streamlines the Administrative Process
Act to promote
necessary rule making and to provide more flexibility to participants
in the process.
Promoting Educational Opportunities
Enforcing Truancy Policies
(Lambert and Reid)
-
Enables law enforcement, educators and
social service entities to facilitate the rehabilitation of juvenile
offenders with excessive absences from school to serve the student's
educational needs more promptly and effectively.
Protecting our Citizens' Voices
Recount Ballot
Security
(Cosgrove)
-
Ensures the integrity of and voter
confidence in our electoral system by codifying a process to secure
all ballots and election materials when a recount is pending.
Charitable
Trusts
(Waddell)
-
Provides that in a situation where a
party is seeking the modification or termination of the original terms
of a charitable trust, sufficient notice to the public must be made to
allow them to share their views with the Attorney General.
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