My General Assembly wish list for 2016

Published 12:22 pm Wednesday, December 23, 2015

I’ve got a special wish list that can’t be satisfied by finding presents under a Christmas tree or found in red-and-white stockings hanging on a mantle.

This wish list can only be achieved by getting a majority of 100 members of the Virginia House of Delegates and 40 members of the State Senate to agree.

Email newsletter signup

Impossible, you say?

Not even jolly old St. Nick of the North Pole can make these men and women agree, much less be civil toward each other.

During the upcoming General Assembly session — when lawmakers will travel to Richmond for a few weeks to consider hundreds of bills and proposals that will impact all Virginians — I want our the state representatives to work in a bipartisan manner to make life for all of us more prosperous, reaching across the aisle and compromising on legislation that will make our commonwealth and this region more business friendly, creating more jobs, industry and commerce while preserving the rural nature of the Heart of Virginia.

I want more than that, though.

I want the General Assembly to stop passing empty legislation that pushes unfunded mandates down to the localities, making it harder and harder for towns, counties and cities to operate without raising our taxes.

I also want the General Assembly to reverse its decision to allow hunting on Sundays across the state. Many local hunters and hunt clubs have publicly denounced the law and vowed not to hunt on Sundays. I also want the General Assembly to study the impacts of a universal public preschool offering in every locality across the commonwealth. Studies have shown that early education greatly impacts the success of children’s growth and development.

I want state legislators to reduce the number of reasons that the government can withhold data from the public by strengthening the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

While some may dismiss these wants, I think they would make the lives of all of us in the Heart of Virginia better.

Jordan Miles is managing editor of The Farmville Herald. His email address is jordan.miles@farmvilleherald.com.