I, along with other Members of the House of Delegates, will reconvene at the Capitol on April 8th in anticipation of Senate action on a state budget exactly one month after the regular session of the 2014 General Assembly adjourned. Yes Virginia, there is still no budget. And 8 million Virginians continue to wait for the Governor and Senate leadership to allow the budget process to advance so that the state can fund its core obligations to our schools, roads, firefighters, law enforcement, and local governments. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I believe that the state budget is really our most important obligation in Richmond. These core functions of government lead to needed services and jobs our communities depend on daily.

House Bill 5002 (formerly House Bill 30) is well crafted, structurally balanced and takes a savings first approach. It makes significant deposits into the rainy day fund, sets aside a revenue reserve to hedge against an uncertain economy and looks to make key investments to stabilize our pension system and invest in our state employees. It also prioritizes our K-12 infrastructure and makes progress towards tuition mitigation in higher education. Along with shoring up our health care safety net including funds for free clinics and community health centers, the House budget also provides opportunities for job creation and economic development which will help all Virginians, namely at the Port of Virginia. Unfortunately, all of this and more is in jeopardy because some are seeking to bring Obamacare's Medicaid expansion in Virginia.

Obviously, there is a lot at stake and your help is coveted. First, sign our petition at www.passthebudgetterry.com. Write a letter to your local paper. Tell them why it is the wrong time to expand a broken system before needed reforms and an independent audit can take place. Medicaid has already grown 1600% over the last 30 years and it is the fastest growing part of our budget consuming 21% of our general fund spending or 40% of all new tax revenue in the Commonwealth. This is before we talk about waste, fraud and abuse!

Please feel free to contact my office at (804) 730-3737 or by email at DelCPeace@house.virginia.gov if you have further questions or would like to know other ways to support our effort to de-couple the budget from Obamacare, pass a clean budget and move Virginia forward. 

It looks like winter may finally be behind us, but the warmer spring temperatures have also heralded the start of "pothole season". Because we had a very wet winter of heavy snow and rain, along with several freeze-thaw cycles, you may notice a lot of potholes in the roads.

Potholes occur when the pavement is weakened by moisture seeping into the pavement, freezing, expanding and then thawing. Traffic driving over the roads loosens the pavement further, and it eventually crumbles and pops out, causing a pothole.

If you see a pothole you may report the problem to VDOT online here  or by calling 1-800-FOR-ROAD (1-800-367-7623). VDOT will investigate each report and will schedule repairs as soon as possible.

VDOT pothole repair trucks are out in full force. Let's keep them busy until all the potholes are filled!