The General Assembly Session has flown by this year with only two full weeks in Richmond remaining. The Senate is working at a rapid pace hearing bills from the House of Delegates and working on the budget.
In a previous update, I described my Senate Bill 1418 I am carrying with Delegate Terry Kilgore to streamline the burdensome regulatory process for hydro pump storage facilities to be built in the coalfield region. There are several companies looking to build new facilities in the region that will potentially create thousands of jobs and needed local revenue for our counties. We are hard at work to create jobs in Southwest Virginia and diversify the economy.
With the decline in coal production, we must act quickly to replace the lost jobs and opportunities. My Senate Bill 1418 and Delegate Kilgore’s House Bill 1760 are working through the General Assembly. Once the bills pass both the House and Senate they will head to the Governor to sign into law. Please contact Governor McAuliffe and ask him to sign Senate Bill 1418 and House Bill 1760! You can call his office at (804) 786-2211. Tell the Governor to sign the bills to grow the economy and create new jobs in Southwest Virginia.
In the many months leading up to the General Assembly Session, I work with constituents from all over my Senate district crafting legislation. Concerned citizens email and call frequently before session with their suggestions for legislation and ideas for laws that need to be changed. Each year, I submit several pieces of legislation that come directly from the citizens that live in Southwest Virginia.
Thanks to a staff member at Radford University, it came to my attention that a flawed judgment from the Virginia Attorney General led to a situation that needed to be remedied for institutes of higher education. As a consequence of the ruling, college and university staff were no longer allowed to administer epinephrine or diabetes medication even in an emergency situation.
Working with Radford University, I am carrying legislation to allow a doctor to prescribe a college or university epinephrine and insulin to have on hand for an emergency situation. My Senate Bill 944 has passed the Senate and will be voted on by the House this week. Once the bill passes, it will help keep our students safer and protect our Virginia colleges and universities.
Thank you for your continued support. It is an honor to represent Southwest Virginia in the General Assembly. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with your questions and comments during session. You can contact my office by phone at 276-889-1044 or by email at district38@senate.virginia.gov. Be on the lookout for my weekly General Assembly Session update in your local paper and on my Facebook page.
Best regards,
Ben Chafin
The 38th Senatorial District includes all of Bland, Buchanan, Dickenson, Pulaski, Russell, and Tazewell Counties, the Cities of Norton and Radford, and portions of Montgomery, Smyth, and Wise Counties.
