Showing posts with label State Corporation Commission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label State Corporation Commission. Show all posts

Monday, September 22, 2014

Governor McAuliffe Announces Administration Appointments (They Just Keep Leaving)

English: Photo of the Virginia State Capitol b...
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe announced additional appointments to his administration today. The appointees will join McAuliffe’s administration focused on finding common ground with members of both parties to build a new Virginia economy and create more jobs across the Commonwealth.


Secretariat of Agriculture

Carrie Hileman Chenery, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
Carrie Hileman Chenery most recently served as the Manager of Legislation & Policy for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.  Prior to that, she was a director of government affairs on the government relations team at the law firm Williams Mullen.  Carrie grew up on a family farm in Lexington, Virginia, and received her B.S. in Environmental Policy & Planning and Agricultural & Applied Economics from Virginia Tech.  She also served as Governor’s Fellow in the natural resources secretariat under Governor Kaine and is a graduate of the 2013 Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership Political Leaders Program at the University of Virginia.


Travis Hill, Chief Operating Officer, Virginia Department of Alcholic Beverage Control
Travis Hill was previously reappointed as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry by Governor McAuliffe in January 2014 after serving in the same capacity under Governor McDonnell since July 2011.  Acting in this role, Travis helped to advance the integration of agriculture and forestry into Virginia’s economic development agenda, including the development of the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industry Development Fund (AFID).  Travis worked with Virginia ABC and Virginia wineries, craft breweries and craft distilleries to promote growth in these industries and increase their use of Virginia grown products.  Prior to his appointment to the Administration, Travis worked eight years as an attorney in the Richmond office of Williams Mullen, representing a wide variety of clients before the Virginia General Assembly, the State Corporation Commission and other regulatory bodies, including Virginia ABC. Travis received both his BA and JD degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Secretariat of the Commonwealth
Board Appointments

Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Commission

  • Sharon E. Davis of Arlington, Archivist, the Honorable John D. Dingell

Board for Contractors

  • Vance T. Ayres of King George, National Coordinator, EIWPF
  • Gene E. Magruder of Newport News, Tradesman, Newport News Shipbuilding
  • Shawn Mitchell of Broadlands, CEO & President, Modern Mechanical
  • Michael D. Redifer of Waynesboro, Building Official, City of Newport News

Board of Visitors of the School for the Deaf and Blind

  • Michael P. Asip, Ed.D of Powhatan, Director of Exceptional Education, Chesterfield County Public Schools
  • Alice B. Frick* of Staunton, retired teacher, VSDB (1965-1995)
  • Ann Latham-Anderson of Crozet, Workforce Manager/Analyst, ChildFund International, Richmond
  • John C. Pleasants* of Sandston, retired, Virginia Department of Corrections
  • Judy S. Sorrell, M.Ed of Staunton, retired Director of the Shenandoah Valley Regional Program for Special Education; current Director, Community Development for Commonwealth Autism Service
  • Paula Young-Johnson of Glen Allen, Sign Language Interpreter, Henrico County Public Schools

Board for Waste Management Facility Operators

  • Christopher A. Chiodo of Richmond, Senior District Manager, Waste Management, Inc.
  • Justin Williams of Richmond, Director, Office of Waste Permitting & Compliance, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Legislative Advisory Council to the Southern Regional Education Board

  • The Honorable David L. Bulova of Fairfax, Member, Virginia House of Delegates
  • The Honorable Janet Denison Howell of Reston, Member, Senate of Virginia
  • The Honorable Mamie E. Locke of Hampton, Member, Senate of Virginia
  • The Honorable Jennifer L. McClellan of Richmond, Member, Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority

  • John R. Broderick of Norfolk, President, Old Dominion University


*Denotes reappointment


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Governor McAuliffe Announces Leadership and First Meeting of Railroad Safety

Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014
 (Photo credit: ATOMIC Hot Links)
Governor McAuliffe Announces Leadership and First Meeting of Railroad Safety and Security Task Force

Richmond, VA – Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced that Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian J. Moran and Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne will co-chair the interagency Railroad Safety and Security Task Force, and that the panel will conduct its first meeting on June 4th, 2014 at 1:00pm at the Virginia Emergency Operations Center in Chesterfield.

“This task force is an important step toward ensuring that Virginia is doing everything it can to keep our railroads and the communities around them safe, and that we are prepared to respond to incidents like the derailment and fire in Lynchburg earlier this month,” said Governor McAuliffe. “I have asked Secretaries Moran and Layne to bring our public safety, transportation and environmental protection agencies together to investigate what happened in Lynchburg and make recommendations of how Virginia can work with the federal government to keep our communities and our natural resources as safe as possible.”

The Railroad Safety and Security Task Force will include representatives from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), the Virginia Department of Fire Programs (VDFP), the State Corporation Commission (SCC), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and the Virginia State Police (VSP). The task force will solicit input from industry stakeholders, local governments and members of the public and produce a report of recommended state and federal actions to prevent railroad accidents and ensure that Virginia is prepared as possible to keep communities safe in the case of a future incident.

“Last month’s incident in Lynchburg could have been much worse, but local, state and federal responders worked together to keep the public safe and clean up the wreckage as soon as possible,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian J. Moran. “I want to thank Governor McAuliffe for forming this task force to ensure that every corner of Virginia is as prepared to act in the case of another accident as Lynchburg was, and that we are working with our federal partners to keep another incident like this from happening again.”

Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne continued, “Virginia’s railways are critical to the commerce and trade of the entire nation, and operating them safely should be priority one for the Commonwealth and our federal and industry partners. This task force is our opportunity to increase interagency cooperation, solicit public input and formulate recommendations to keep our railways and adjacent Virginia communities and resources as safe as possible.”

Governor McAuliffe announced his intention to form the Railroad Safety and Security Task Force earlier this month while touring the site of the April 30th train derailment and fire in downtown Lynchburg, VA
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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Governor McAuliffe Announces Revenue Collections Declined 3.4% in February

An assortment of United States coins, includin...
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A Solid Gain in Withholding was Offset by Subpar Collections of the Sales and Insurance Premiums Taxes

RICHMOND- Governor McAuliffe today announced that state general fund revenue collections declined 3.4% in February.  There was a solid gain in individual income tax withholding but that was offset by declines in retail sales, insurance premiums tax and recordation taxes. The Governor noted that February is not generally a significant month for revenue collections and percentages can vary accordingly. 
Collections of payroll withholding taxes grew a solid 6.6 percent in February.  Collections of sales and use taxes, reflecting January sales, fell 12.7 percent in February.  The first significant snow storms since December 2010 occurred in January probably affecting sales tax receipts due in February. Also, the State Corporation Commission issued insurance companies refunds in February this year versus in January of 2013, distorting total monthly revenues.  Finally, recordation taxes from real estate transactions were down 38.4 percent, as severe winter weather dampened home sales. 
Speaking to the revenue trend, Governor McAuliffe said that withholding receipts posted a solid gain, perhaps reflecting more positive news on the labor market front.  However, he noted that the weak sales tax performance was probably influenced by the severe weather conditions this winter.  The Governor further indicated that going forward much will depend on final income tax payments due on or before May 1.  “My goal is to keep job creation up” he said.  “If that happens, I am hopeful that other variables such as sales tax collections will improve.”
On a year-to-date basis, total revenue collections fell 0.8 percent through February, lagging the midsession annual forecast of 1.0 percent growth.  Adjusting for the accelerated sales tax program and the 0.125 percent sales tax transfer required by the provisions of HB 2313, total revenues grew 0.3 percent through February, trailing the adjusted forecast of 2.1 percent growth.  Collections of payroll withholding taxes – 63 percent of General Fund revenues – increased 3.0 percent, slightly ahead of the midsession annual forecast of 2.9 percent growth.  Sales tax collections – 18 percent of General Fund revenues – have declined 4.9 percent, slightly trailing the annual forecast calling for a 4.4 percent decline.  
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