Dear Friends and Neighbors,

First things first ? congratulations to the Patriots men?s basketball team for their tremendous accomplishment! While there are few issues in the General Assembly that enjoy complete agreement, the Patriots received a standing ovation on the House floor after making the Final Four. This Friday, the City of Fairfax will honor the Patriots with a parade down University Drive beginning at 11:15 a.m. See www.fairfaxva.gov for more details. I hope to see many of you there!

A week ago last Sunday night, I tucked the kids into bed and headed to Richmond for the Special Session called by Governor Kaine to deal with budget and transportation issues. The day was a marvel of parliamentary procedure. Because this is a new session, we re-adopted all the rules and introduced a new budget (essentially the old budget but with a different bill number). However, with little movement on negotiations between the House and the Senate (which is in the hands of eleven conferees), we quickly adjourned and I was soon on my way back to Fairfax.

Yesterday, I received word that the full House will meet again next Monday and that this time we may be in Richmond for a few days. I look forward to providing everyone with an update on our progress.

The most interesting part of the day came after adjournment, when as a member of the Committee on General Laws, I had the opportunity to interview former Fairfax County Chairman Kate Hanley. Ms. Hanley is the Governor?s designee to be the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The Secretary assists the Governor in making over 4,000 appointments to Virginia's boards and commissions. Citizen involvement on these bodies is a point of pride in Virginia, and many boards and commissions are responsible for developing policies and adopting regulations. A list of appointed positions can be found at www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/StateGov ernment.

Simply as a point of freshman pride, March 7th marked the day that the Governor signed my first bill (House Bill 421) into law. As some of you may know, Virginia ranks second only to Pennsylvania in the importation of trash from other states. It?s not only an environmental concern, but a safety concern as hundreds of garbage trucks a day haul waste down I- 95 to central Virginia. In response, Virginia has strengthened landfill permitting requirements and now requires any proposed waste facility to be consistent with the local government waste management plan before the State will issue a permit. This is important because it gives the public a chance to be involved in the decision-making process. However, the Department of Environmental Quality recently exposed a loop-hole in the law by ruling that compliance with the local plan wasn?t required for a class of permits known as ?permits-by-rule.? This wasn?t inconsequential, since facilities covered by permits-by-rule include waste-to-energy facilities (incinerators) and transfer stations. House Bill 421 closed that loophole and makes sure that our communities are protected from unplanned facilities. The issue was brought to my attention by Fairfax and Loudoun counties based on the real possibility that a waste company was looking to exploit the loophole.

In closing, congratulations to Bonnie Brae Elementary PTA on a successful Basket Bonanza fundraiser ? I understand that some civic-minded person kindly bid on an auction item to shadow me in Richmond for a day. Also, I had the opportunity to attend the Mantua Elementary PTA Carnival. What a fantastic crowd. Goes to show what a great, active community we have. Thank you to the Rotary Club of Fairfax, the Woman?s Club of Fairfax, and the Mantua Citizens Association for inviting me to give my ?Report from Richmond.? Please let me know if your PTA or organization is holding a similar event or is in need of a speaker ? I would be happy to attend.

Sincerely,