Monday, February 6, 2012

RE: [Peninsula-Patriots] FW: Legislative update - calls still needed on eminent domain

J


From: peninsula-patriots-list On Behalf Of DeWitt Edwards
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 3:54 PM
 Subject: Re: [Peninsula-Patriots] FW: Legislative update - calls still needed on eminent domain

Done Dorothy.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free.....it expects what never was and never will be"      Thomas Jefferson

DeWitt Edwards


From: Dorothy Bayford
To: peninsula-patriots-list
Sent: Monday, February 6, 2012 8:49 AM
Subject: [Peninsula-Patriots] FW: Legislative update - calls still needed on eminent domain


FromSubject: Legislative update - calls still needed on eminent domain

These bills are to be heard today...this is about the Virginia Constitutional Amendment regarding eminent domain.
Legislative Update 2-6-2012

**********************************************************
CALL RIGHT NOW - SUPPORT

SJ 3 Constitutional amendment; taking or damaging of private property for public use (second reference).

SB 240 Constitutional amendment; taking or damaging of private property for public use (voter referendum).

Both SJ 3 and SB 240 are on the Senate floor for the second reading TODAY (they were passed by for the day last Friday).  Contact your Senator NOW and ask them to support both SJ 3 and SB 240, without sending either of them back to committee. (See below)

DANGER! DANGER!

The Senate can, by voice vote, refer the bill back to a committee, perhaps Senate Finance.  If they do this, the amendment will die.  Contact your Senator NOW and ask them to do 3 things:

1. if a motion is made to refer SJ 3 back to a committee, vote NO
2. if a motion is made to refer SJ 3 back to a committee, request the vote be recorded
3. vote Yes to SJ 3

To find your legislator, please follow this link:
http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform



SUCCESS

HB 1035: Eminent domain; lost profits and access.

 

HB 1035 passed the House Courts of Justice Committee 13 to 4.  It has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee which meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 1/2 hour after adjournment, 9th floor Appropriations Room.  HB 1035 is not on the docket, yet.  Please thank your delegate for their support.

YEAS--Albo, Kilgore, Bell , Robert B., Cline, Iaquinto, Gilbert, Miller, Loupassi, Villanueva, Habeeb, Farrell, Morris, Johnson--13.

NAYS-- Watts , Toscano, Herring, McClellan--4.

ABSTENTIONS--Minchew--1.



**********************************************************

WE SUPPORT THESE BILLS

1)  Eminent Domain Constitutional Amendment:
HJ 3 Constitutional amendment; taking or damaging of private property for public use (second reference).

Constitutional amendment (second resolution); taking or damaging of private property; public use.  Revises the prohibition on the enactment by the General Assembly of laws whereby private property may be taken or damaged. An existing provision authorizing the General Assembly to define what constitutes a public use is removed. The proposed amendment provides that private property can be taken or damaged only for a public use, only with just compensation to the owner, and only so much taken as is necessary for the public use. Just compensation must equal or exceed the value of the property taken, lost profits and lost access, and damages to the residue caused by the taking. A public service company, public service corporation, or railroad exercises the power of eminent domain for public use when such exercise is for the authorized provision of utility, common carrier, or railroad services. In all other cases, a taking or damaging of private property is not for public use if the primary use is for private gain, private benefit, private enterprise, increasing jobs, increasing tax revenue, or economic development, except for the elimination of a public nuisance existing on the property. The condemnor bears the burden of proving that the use is public, without a presumption that it is.

Status: (We support this bill)

HJ 3 is expected to be voted on in the Constitutional Amendments Subcommittee of the House Privileges and Elections Committee on Monday, 2/6/12 at 8:00 a.m., 4th Floor West Conference Room.  At the time of this update, the meeting is still in progress.

SJ 3 Constitutional amendment; taking or damaging of private property for public use (second reference).

Constitutional amendment (second resolution); taking or damaging of private property; public use.  Revises the prohibition on the enactment by the General Assembly of laws whereby private property may be taken or damaged. An existing provision authorizing the General Assembly to define what constitutes a public use is removed. The proposed amendment provides that private property can be taken or damaged only for a public use, only with just compensation to the owner, and only so much taken as is necessary for the public use. Just compensation must equal or exceed the value of the property taken, lost profits and lost access, and damages to the residue caused by the taking. A public service company, public service corporation, or railroad exercises the power of eminent domain for public use when such exercise is for the authorized provision of utility, common carrier, or railroad services. In all other cases, a taking or damaging of private property is not for public use if the primary use is for private gain, private benefit, private enterprise, increasing jobs, increasing tax revenue, or economic development, except for the elimination of a public nuisance existing on the property. The condemnor bears the burden of proving that the use is public, without a presumption that it is.
Status: (We support this bill)
02/02/12  Senate: Read first time
02/03/12  Senate: Passed by for the day


SJ 3 is on the Senate floor for the second reading TODAY (it was passed by for the day last Friday).  Contact your Senator NOW and ask them to support SJ 3, without sending it back to committee. (See below)

The Senate can, by voice vote, refer the bill back to a committee, perhaps Senate Finance.  If they do this, the amendment will die.  Contact your Senator NOW and ask them to do 3 things:

1. if a motion is made to refer SJ 3 back to a committee, vote NO
2. if a motion is made to refer SJ 3 back to a committee, request the vote be recorded
3. vote Yes to SJ 3

HB 5 Constitutional amendment; taking or damaging of private property for public use (voter referendum).

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); taking or damaging of private property; public use.  Provides for a referendum question on the November 6, 2012, election ballot to approve or reject an amendment eliminating the General Assembly’s authority to define a public use for which private property may be taken or damaged and providing that no private property shall be taken or damaged for a public use without just compensation to the property owner and that only so much of the property as is necessary to achieve the public use is taken or damaged.
Status: (We support this bill)

HB 5 is expected to be voted on in the Constitutional Amendments Subcommittee of the House Privileges and Elections Committee on Monday, 2/6/12 at 8:00 a.m., 4th Floor West Conference Room.  At the time of this update, the meeting is still in progress.

SB 240 Constitutional amendment; taking or damaging of private property for public use (voter referendum).

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); taking or damaging of private property; public use.  Provides for a referendum question on the November 6, 2012, election ballot to approve or reject an amendment eliminating the General Assembly's authority to define a public use for which private property may be taken or damaged and (i) requiring that eminent domain be exercised for public uses and not for the primary purpose of private gain, private benefit, private enterprise, increasing jobs, increasing tax revenue, or economic development; (ii) defining what is to be included in determining just compensation for permissible takings; and (iii) prohibiting the taking of more private property than is necessary for the stated public use.
Status: (We support this bill)
02/03/12  Senate: Passed by for the day


SB 240 is on the Senate floor today for the second reading (it was passed by for the day last Friday).  Contact your Senator and ask them to vote YES on SB 240 when it comes to the floor vote.

HB 1035 Eminent domain; lost profits and access.

Eminent domain; lost profits and access.  Provides definitions for the terms "lost profits" and "lost access" and how to determine the amount of just compensation, which includes lost profits and lost access resulting from the taking, that must be paid for property taken by eminent domain. The bill has a contingent effective date of January 1, 2013, provided that the voters approve an amendment to Section 11 of Article I of the Constitution of Virginia at the 2012 November election.
Status: (We support this bill)


SUCCESS:  HB 1035 passed the House Courts of Justice Committee 13 to 4.  It has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee which meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 1/2 hour after adjournment, 9th floor Appropriations Room.  HB 1035 is not on the docket, yet.  Please thank your delegate for their support.

YEAS--Albo, Kilgore, Bell , Robert B., Cline, Iaquinto, Gilbert, Miller, Loupassi, Villanueva, Habeeb, Farrell, Morris, Johnson--13.

NAYS-- Watts , Toscano, Herring, McClellan--4.

ABSTENTIONS--Minchew--1.



WE OPPOSE THESE BILLS


1)  School Choice:
HB 321 Income tax, state; educational improvement scholarships tax credits.

Income tax; educational improvement scholarships tax credits.  Establishes a credit beginning in taxable year 2012 for corporations donating cash or property to nonprofit organizations providing education improvement scholarships to students who would have been eligible for the free and reduced lunch program under federal law, in order for them to attend nonpublic elementary or secondary schools. Nonprofit organizations to which donations are made would be required to distribute at least 90 percent of their tax-credit-derived funds for such scholarships. The credit would equal 70 percent of the donation made by the corporation and would be refundable. Any corporation taking a charitable deduction on its federal income tax return would be required to add that amount back to its Virginia taxable income in order to receive the credit. There is a $25 million annual cap for the credits.
Status: (We oppose this bill)
01/16/12  House: Referred from Appropriations by voice vote

The House Finance Committee meets Mondays at 8:30 a.m. and Wednesdays, 1/2 hour after adjournment, House Room D.  Wednesday’s docket has not been set, yet.

SB 241 Tax credits; businesses providing assistance to low-income families, etc., in private schools.

Tax credits; assistance to low-income families, scholarships for K through 12 students attending private schools.  Establishes a credit beginning in taxable year 2012 for certain business entities making monetary donations to nonprofit organizations providing education improvement scholarships to students whose family's annual household income is not in excess of 300 percent of the current poverty guidelines and certain students with disabilities, in order for them to attend nonpublic elementary or secondary schools. Nonprofit organizations to which donations are made would be required to distribute at least 90 percent of their tax-credit-derived funds in the form of scholarships to such students. The credit would equal 84 percent of the donation made by the business entity and any unused credit for the taxable year would be refundable. There is an annual cap of $50 million in tax credits for the scholarship program. The Department of Education would administer the tax credit program.

The bill also expands the current Neighborhood Assistance Act Tax Credit program by increasing the tax credit percentage from 40 to 64 percent; expanding the eligibility criteria for programs qualifying for tax credits to encompass programs providing services to certain students with disabilities and individuals whose family's annual household income is not in excess of 300 percent of the poverty guidelines; and repealing the July 1, 2014, sunset for the program. Current law provides that programs qualifying for tax credits must provide services to individuals whose family's annual household income is not in excess of 200 percent of the current poverty guidelines.
Status: (We oppose this bill)

The Senate Finance Committee meets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m., Senate Room B.  SB 241 is not on the docket for Tuesday or Wednesday.

SB 131 Income tax, corporate; educational improvement scholarships credit.

Income tax; educational improvement scholarships. Establishes a credit beginning in taxable year 2013 for corporations donating cash to nonprofit organizations providing education improvement scholarships to students who would have been eligible for the free and reduced-price lunch program under federal law, in order for them to attend nonpublic elementary or secondary schools. Nonprofit organizations to which donations are made would be required to distribute at least 90 percent of their annual receipts for such scholarships. The credit would equal 70 percent of the donation made by the corporation and would be refundable. Any corporation taking a charitable deduction on its federal income tax return would be required to add that amount back to its Virginia taxable income in order to receive this credit. There is a $25 million cap for the credits.
Status: (We oppose this bill)

The Senate Finance Committee meets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m., Senate Room B.  SB 131 is not on the docket for Tuesday or Wednesday.


To find your legislator, please follow this link:
http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform

            Please feel free to forward this message and future updates to your list.


John Taylor
President
Tertium Quids
282 Bald Rock Road
Verona, VA   24482
540-245-1776








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Please Note: If you hit "REPLY", your message will be sent to everyone on this mailing list (Peninsula-Patriots-list@meetup.com)
This message was sent by Dorothy Bayford (dorothy@waterproinc.com) from Peninsula Patriots.
To learn more about Dorothy Bayford , visit his/her member profile
Set my mailing list to email me As they are sent | In one daily email | Don't send me mailing list messages

Meetup, PO Box 4668 #37895 New York, New York 10163-4668 | support@meetup.com
Posted by PTPadmin at 5:44 PM

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