Rob Bloxom Reports from Richmond

This is Rob Bloxom with this week’s Capitol Report. 

I apologize for missing last week (Week 3). The schedule is long and while fighting a stomach virus over the weekend, it was made even more challenging. Luckily, it was a 24-hour virus and Monday was an 11am to 7pm day.

This week I will highlight more of my legislation. These are non-controversial bills and are an attempt to make government more efficient. HB1832 repeals a license that Virginia issues to produce brokers to handle disputes between brokers. All the protections of the Virginia license are covered under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (“PACA”) license which is issued under the Federal Government.

The Virginia license came into existence before 1920, and no one is able to remember it ever being utilized. Getting rid of this duplication of license had no opposition. The next bill is HB1887 and is this year’s attempt to make digging farm ponds easier. The Mines & Minerals Department came to me asking me to carry a bill to help them recruit inspectors by changing the applicants’ requirements. In the negotiations with them I asked for another six-month exemption from inspections of “Sand Mining”. I also defined digging a farm pond as not surface mining. This is another small step in the right direction to allow farmers to dig farm irrigation ponds and get rid of a pile of sand that may be next to their ponds. The bill has seen no opposition as of yet.

My last bill that I will cover this week is HB1875. It would add nuclear and hydrogen electrical power generating to the non-carbon calculation in “The Virginia Clean Economy Act.” The conservation community lined up as well as the solar and wind industry to defeat the bill. Virginia consumers are set to see 450 million dollars added to their electric bill this year if electrical producers do not increase the energy “non-carbon” sources by a certain percentage. In my simple way of thinking, if carbon is the enemy that speeds up global warming, then any and all non-carbon sources of electricity would be welcomed. 

This is not the case. Only wind and solar energy are “good” enough for the environmental community. My concern is with the demand for electricity increasing at an alarming rate, Virginia is starting to “import” energy and most will be generated by the use of coal plants in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. 

One only has to remember a few years ago and the smoke in the air from the wildfires in Canada to understand that Virginia borders do not matter to the environment. 

The last topic I will touch is the Washington-style politics of naming a bill. When I first arrived in Richmond the Speaker at the time was very strict in not naming your bills. His stance was that we vote on code, not catchy titles. HB1716 which relates to the right of contraception. has recently caused a stir on Facebook. This gives the patient the authority over the advice given by doctors or pharmacists. The ability to get any type of contraception has never been an issue in Virginia, nor has the right to contraception ever been questioned. It is widely available without government interference. 

There has never been a chance at that passing in Virginia even when Republicans had a super majority. 

In the next few weeks, I will continue to address my legislation as well my budget proposals. I am happy to meet with constituents visiting Richmond and listen to their specific interests. As always, I welcome any questions or concerns at my district office at (757)824-3456, Richmond office at (804)698-1000 or email me at delrbloxom@house.virginia.gov.