In The Press

Slavery Was Defining Issue of Civil War
April 15, 2010
All Virginia is now aware of the flap over the recent proclamation of "Confederate History Month” by the Gov. Robert McDonnell (R). The governor’s original proclamation was a superficial paean to an era that never existed. He has correctly moved to retract that statement with one more historically accurate.

Unsnarling I-66 Congestion
March 10, 2010
Fairfax County has been wrestling with the congestion of Interstate 66 since the early 1980s. When I joined the Northern Virginia Regional Commission as City Councilman in 1998, traffic along Interstate 66 was already the #1 complaint of my constituents.

Sen. Chap Petersen Successfully Amends HB 1300 in the Senate
March 3, 2010
House Bill 1300, allowing the trading of emissions credits in air quality non-attainment areas, was narrowly amended (21-19) by the Virginia Senate on the motion of Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax), who filed a floor amendment to protect northern Virginia localities currently protected under state law from further decreases in air quality due to emissions trading. The amended bill then passed the full body on a vote of 27 to 11.

Sen. Chap Petersen Speaks at Climate Change Press Conference
March 2, 2010
Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34) among seventeen legislators from the Virginia General Assembly spoke at a press conference at the state Capitol opposing Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s official position on carbon emissions.

Sen. Petersen Joins With 28 Northern Virginia Colleagues in Letter to Sec. Connaughton
February 26, 2010
Senator Petersen signs on to a letter sent to the Virginia Secretary of Transportation asking for a comprehensive review of our snow removal procedures and policies so that VDOT can better serve our citizens in the future.

Senate Committee Releases Budget
February 25, 2010
This week the Virginia State Senate took action to stabilize public education in the Commonwealth and prevent our school children from being the ultimate budget losers. On Sunday, Feb. 21, the Senate Finance Committee reported a biennial (or two-year) budget, which restored $315 million for K-12 education in the state budget from the proposal of Gov. McDonnell (R). This restoration marked a significant break with the Virginia House of Delegates.

'Not a Lot of Good News'
February 24, 2010
The looming state budget crisis and subsequent concerns over program and service cuts made for a packed house for Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34) and Del. David Bulova’s (D-37) Town Hall meeting Saturday, Feb. 20. The meeting, which took place in the Fairfax City Council Chambers, drew more than 100 people eager to hear Petersen and Bulova’s take on the proposed state budget and legislation they are introducing and supporting. While nearly every facet of the proposed budget was touched upon, education was the central topic of discussion at the two-hour meeting.

Sen. Chap Petersen’s Bills Unanimously Approved by House of Delegates
February 23, 2010
The Virginia House of Delegates unanimously passed three of Sen. Chap Petersen’s bills, Senate Bills 110, 112 and 116, on Tuesday. SB 110 authorizes localities to place liens against properties for clean energy projects, such as installation of solar or geothermal technologies, which are financed by a municipal lending program. SB 110 further permits the localities to sell these "clean energy" loans to outside investors.

Sen. Chap Petersen’s Energy Conservation Plan Gains Ground in House of Delegates
February 19, 2010
The House of Delegates Counties, Cities and Towns and Labor Committees, respectively, unanimously passed Senate Bill 110 dealing with clean energy financing and Senate Bill 112, the SAVE Act. Senate Bill 110 permits localities to lend money for clean energy projects, such as installation of geothermal and solar technologies, and place liens against benefited properties, which gives localities security in cases of loan defaults.

Sen. Chap Petersen’s Church Protection Bill Advances in House Committee
February 18, 2010
Sen. Chap Petersen’s Senate Bill 116 that substantially expands Virginia’s Consumer Protection Act to safeguard houses of worship from fraud and gives the Attorney General the ability to prosecute perpetrators of such fraud passed unanimously (19-0) in the House Committee on Commerce and Labor on Thursday.

Sen. Chap Petersen’s Green Public Buildings Act Passes Unanimously in Senate
February 16, 2010
Sen. Chap Petersen’s Green Public Buildings Act, Senate Bill 109, received unanimous approval (40 – 0) in the Virginia Senate on Tuesday. The Green Public Buildings Act, one piece of Petersen’s larger energy conservation plan, mandates all new construction of state buildings greater than 5,000 gross square feet in size or new renovations of state buildings where the cost of reconstruction exceeds 50 percent of the building’s value adhere to LEED or Green Globes standards.

Lawmaker Dispatches
February 15, 2010
Sen. Chap Petersen of Fairfax won passage of an amendment that would allow localities to provide a tax credit for certain green buildings, equipment, or renovations that conserve energy. This amendment can be a powerful tool for localities to incentivize smart, efficient construction and is one piece of a larger green energy and jobs platform that Senate Democrats are building.

How the School Funding Index Hurts Northern Virginia
February 14, 2010
The proposed "freeze" in the local composite index (LCI) would have allocated Virginia's public school funding based on economic data that were demonstrably false. In the case of Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, our LCI (or local wealth) rating under the freeze would have been pegged to our 2005 real estate market, when the property values were at their zenith. That market no longer exists and is not rationally related to the distribution of funds in 2010.

Green Public Buildings Act Passes Senate Committee
February 12, 2010
Fairfax Democratic State Sen. Chap Petersen’s Green Public Buildings Act, Senate Bill 109, was unanimously passed by the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. The Green Public Buildings Act requires all new construction of state buildings greater than 5,000 gross square feet in size to adhere to LEED or Green Globes standards. This also applies to new renovations of state buildings where the cost of reconstruction exceeds 50 percent of the building’s value.

Big Dig Continues
February 12, 2010
This week our office has been consumed with calls from constituents digging out from the Great Blizzard of 2010. Thank you to those who contacted us regarding their friends and neighbors. We have been talking around-the-clock with the VDOT supervisors, who are coordinating the relief efforts, and we are trying to get every street plowed as soon as possible.

Ready for Incheon Patriots?
February 12, 2010
George Mason University hopes to tap into global educational opportunities by opening a campus in South Korea. Senate Bill 712, sponsored by Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34), would allow Mason to establish a campus in Incheon, South Korea. Incheon Free Economic Zones approached the university about the possibility of the campus in hopes of turning three parts of the city — Songdo, Cheongna and the island of Yeongjong — into business hubs.

18 Snow Trucks Headed to NoVA
February 11, 2010
On Wednesday, Virginia Resources Recycled sent 18 trucks to Northern Virginia, heeding Sen. Chap Petersen’s (D-Fairfax) call for four-wheel drive vehicles from around the state to assist in the snowplow efforts in a speech Petersen made on the Senate floor on Monday following the region’s unprecedented weekend snowfall.

Virginia Senators Work Across Party Lines to Help Beleaguered N. Virginians
February 10, 2010
On Wednesday, Virginia Resources Recycled sent eighteen trucks to northern Virginia, heeding Sen. Chap Petersen’s (D-Fairfax) call for fourwheel drive vehicles from around the state to assist in the snowplow efforts in a speech Petersen made on the Senate floor on Monday following the region’s unprecedented weekend snowfall.

Virginia Senate Passes Senator Chap Petersen’s Clean Energy Financing Bill
February 9, 2010
On Tuesday, the Virginia State Senate voted in favor (26-14) of Sen. Chap Petersen’s clean energy financing legislation, Senate bill no. 110. Senate Bill no. 110 gives localities the ability to secure loans for local clean energy improvement projects, such as the acquisition and installation of geothermal or solar technologies, by placing liens against properties where these technologies have been installed. “This is a bill with the potential to create jobs,” added Petersen about his legislation. “There is a lot of interested private capital, but they cannot move forward unless this bill goes through.”

Focus on Budget
February 4, 2010
Vienna’s American Legion Post 180 hosted its first 2010 Town Hall meeting with elected officials Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34) and newly sworn-in Del. Mark Keam (D-35), on Jan. 23. The most dissected topic was the Commonwealth's budget. Petersen and Keam each gave an overview of the challenges confronting the Commonwealth, particularly in the areas of budget shortfall, renewable energy and redistricting.

Petersen’s Green Public Buildings Act Passes Senate Committee
January 29, 2010
Fairfax State Sen. Chap Petersen’s Green Public Buildings Act, Senate Bill 109, was unanimously passed in the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee on Wednesday. “The bill’s goal is to significantly reduce utility usage, preserve the environment and save taxpayer dollars,” said Petersen to his Senate committee colleagues.

Protecting Congregations
January 29, 2010
A little noticed bill this session is garnering the attention -- and support -- of the faith community. Patroned by Sen. Chap Petersen the bill would extend consumer protections to churches and other congregations and help protect them from consumer fraud.

Sen. Petersen’s Bill to Establish GMU Campus in South Korea
January 28, 2010
Senator Chap Petersen’s legislation, Senate Bill no. 712, allowing for the formation of a George Mason University branch campus in Inchon, South Korea was unanimously passed by the Senate Higher Education Sub-Committee on Thursday.

Angry Over School Funding
January 28, 2010
Gov. Bob McDonnell’s plan to continue using an education funding formula that takes money from more affluent school districts and gives it to less affluent ones has so upset Fairfax County supervisors that they are considering legal action. State Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34) said he was furious when he heard the formula would be frozen at the level set by Kaine.

Sen. Chap Petersen’s Green Public Buildings Act Unanimously Passed
January 27, 2010
Senator Chap Petersen’s Green Public Buildings Act, Senate Bill no. 109, was unanimously passed in the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee on Wednesday. “The bill’s goal is to significantly reduce utility usage, preserve the environment and save taxpayer dollars,” said Petersen to his Senate committee colleagues.

Conservationists and Energy Industry Unite in Support of Sen. Chap Petersen’s SAVE Act
January 25, 2010
The environmental and the energy communities united in support of Senator Chap Petersen’s SAVE Act, Senate Bill no. 112, at the Senate Commerce and Trade Committee meeting on Monday afternoon.

Petersen Pushes Expansion to Consumer Protection Act
January 24, 2010
State Sen. Chap Petersen on Wednesday proposed a substantial expansion to Virginia’s Consumer Protection Act, Senate Bill No. 116, to give the Attorney General the ability to sue individuals and organizations for defrauding churches.

Down in Richmond
January 22, 2010
We have a new governor in Richmond as of Saturday, Jan. 16. Congratulations and good luck to Gov. McDonnell (R) and his team. For those of us in the State Senate, the session began last week. Once we launched, my first act was to file my legislative package that consists of 22 bills listed on the state legislative Web site.

Sen. Chap Petersen Speaks on Senate Floor Against LCI Freeze
January 19, 2010
In a speech to members of the Virginia State Senate on Tuesday, Senator Chap Petersen challenged the outgoing administration’s proposed Local Composite Index freeze that would deny critical funding to Fairfax County’s public schools. | Video

Senator Chap Petersen is Newest Addition to Courts of Justice Committee
January 18, 2010
On Monday, Senator Chap Petersen filled one of the two vacancies in the prestigious Courts of Justice Committee in the Virginia State Senate. Petersen’s assignment was announced by majority leader, Senator Richard L. Saslaw on the Senate floor.

Environmental Groups and Gas Industry Endorse Senator Chap Petersen’s Energy Conservation Plan
January 14, 2010
On Thursday, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters announced their support of the Green Public Buildings Act and the Steps to Advance Virginia’s Energy Plan Act, part of Senator Chap Petersen’s energy conservation plan for Virginia.

Senator Chap Petersen Announces Energy Conservation Plan for Virginia
January 13, 2010
On Wednesday Senator Chap Petersen announced his energy plan for Virginia, comprised of five Senate bills, including the Green Public Buildings Act and others with the purposes of conserving energy usage, meeting efficiency standards and saving tax dollars.

Petersen: Car-tax Cut Not A 'Mistake'
January 7, 2010
Democrat critical of Kaine on car tax; will push gas-tax index to boost transportation dollars.

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