Senator Bill Stanley

Greetings from the State Capitol.  This week at the General Assembly has been a busy time for all of our local legislators.  Here in the Senate, we are diligently working to try to finish considering all bills submitted by Senators in our eleven standing committees, as well as voting on those bills that make it out of committee and on to the Senate floor.  This is a fast-paced process, and it requires us to study carefully these numerous pieces of legislation in a very short period of time.  This year, I was honored to be elected as the Senate Republican Caucus Majority Whip, which is a very important leadership position in the Senate.

My responsibilities as Whip are to count votes in committee and on the floor, to make sure my fellow Senators are aware of the priorities of the caucus, and to ensure that important legislation passes out of the Senate Chamber and on to the House of Delegates for consideration.  With a 20-20 split between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, every vote on each bill is important. This new position gives me the ability to talk with all the Senators in the caucus and to explain to them problems and concerns of Southside and Southwest, and to be a strong voice for our region in order to ensure our needs are addressed.

This week, two more of my bills passed through the Senate and now will move to the House of Delegates for their consideration. My SB 64, the “Castle Doctrine,” was rolled into Senator Richard Stuart’s SB4. This bill will create civil protection for persons in their homes.  If that person is justified in using any degree of physical force, including deadly physical force against another person when the other person has unlawfully enters the dwelling, and having committed an overt act toward the occupant or another person in the dwelling, and the occupant reasonably believes he or another person in the dwelling is in imminent danger of bodily injury, then they are immune from civil liability for injuries to or death of the other person who has unlawfully entered the dwelling that results from the use of such force.

Also, other bills I have sponsored have made it out of committee.  SB67 removes fingerprinting as a local option for a concealed handgun permit, which will streamline the process, and save our local sheriff’s departments both time and money.  SB70 is a bill that will help re-energize our home construction industry.  This bill would establish a two-year period during which licensed contractors could purchase materials and supplies used in residential or commercial construction without having to pay Sales Tax; it now has been referred for a study to be completed by 2013. 
America’s most prominent weather forecasting rodent, Punxsutawney Phil, may have seen his shadow this week on Groundhog Day, but we have yet to see anything close to winter conditions in Richmond this session.  With temperatures that actually made it into the seventies and beautiful sunny days, we had a steady stream of visitors this week from the 20th District. 

Visitors get to see first-hand the legislative process and how our time is spent between session and committee meetings. 

Martinsville visitors included Lawrence Mitchell, Bill Manning and Pam Heath, as well as Sheriff Steve Draper and several deputies from the Martinsville Sheriff’s Office.

Stopping by from Henry County were Bailey Patton and Paul Geib, Jr from Spencer, as well as Lane Perry, Sheriff of Henry County and several of his deputies.

Visitors from Danville included Sheriff Mike Mondul, Rhonda Walker and Mark Powers from USW 831 Steelworkers, and Sue Davis, Superintendent of Danville Public Schools, along with Millie Dunston, George Wilson, and Becky Bolton. I also had the privilege of speaking to a group from Danville Community College, including Shannon Hair, Cathy Pulliam, Ashley Compton, Jim Lindley, Elana Rojas, Mike Dickerson, Christal Moreno, and Bethany Lyon. 

Thanks to Julie Nix from Rocky Mount and Ferrum College for stopping by, as well as Bobby Mangrum, from Stuart. 

It was good to see Brian Mosier and John Lee with Mecklenburg Electric from Gretna.

Reginald Gardner, Joey Haynes and Sandy Hendrick from the Carroll County School Board also stopped by.

And it was great to see Franklin County’s newly elected Sheriff, Bill Overton, along with some of his deputies.

Finally, I’d like to introduce you to Ruth Ann Mueller, who is serving as an intern in my office during the 2012 session. She is currently a senior at The College of William & Mary double majoring in government & Hispanic studies with hopes to attend law school in the next 1-2 years. She was placed in my office through the Director of the W&M Richmond Internship Program, Senator Tommy Norment.  Through this program, she has had the opportunity to meet Governor McDonnell, many members of the Senate leadership, as well as research bills and work in my office twice a week.  We are enjoying having Ruth Ann with us.

Feel free to contact my office during the session at 804-698-7520.  We are located in Room 313 of the General Assembly Building, across from the Capitol.  My Legislative Assistants, Brian O’Connor and Brenda Bowman, will be more than happy to assist you.

That’s all for this week.  We’ll be wrapping up our work on the overwhelming majority of bills filed by Senators during the upcoming week, so there’ll be much on which to report in next week’s column.
Until then, have a great week.