Renewable Energy Archives - Senator Creigh Deeds

A Contentious Week

February 9, 2018 by Creigh Deeds

We are now ending the last full week of the 2018 Session prior to crossover. As explained last week, the Senate and House will have to finish work on bills originating in their own chambers by Tuesday. This has been a week full of contention.

One of the most contentious issues of the session relates to rate setting for utility companies. In 2015, Dominion Power pushed a bill through the legislature which essentially froze part of their rates, disabled the State Corporation Commission from rate-setting reviews for a period of years, and locked in Dominion’s revenues. Dominion argued that action was needed because of the expected financial impacts of adoption of the federal Clean Power Plan. I voted against that bill because I thought it was a bad deal for the ratepayers. Interestingly, one of the “concessions” that Dominion made in that deal to get the Governor’s support and that of some environmentally-minded Democrats was a commitment to produce 500 megawatts of solar energy by 2020. That goal was attained in 2017. As anyone who watches the markets knows, the cost of solar energy is going down and the demand is going up. Hindsight being 20-20, we now know that the “concession” made in 2015 was a low bar. [Read more…]

You Win Some, You Lose Some

January 27, 2017 by Creigh Deeds

The 2017 Session of the General Assembly is flying by. We are two and a half weeks into the session, and we only have about four weeks left. The committees are meeting around the clock to try to dispose of bills, and often legislators must be in three places at the same time. [Read more…]

Major Accomplishments in Richmond This Week!

The General Assembly returned to Richmond on April 3 for our 2019 reconvened session to consider gubernatorial vetoes and amendments. The governor has 30 days from the adjournment of the regular session to sign, veto, or offer amendments to legislation. The authority of Virginia’s governor to amend legislation is atypical compared to the president and many other governors. This power provides an opportunity to impact policy in a significant way.

This year’s session was unique in many ways. The areas of controversy surrounding all three statewide office holders were huge concerns that put a chill over the session. For legislators, the political melee was painful and upsetting, but we had to focus on our work and avoid the frenzy. Governor Northam seemed to disappear into his work and avoid the public for the remaining weeks of session and some weeks thereafter. The end product of this focused work yielded a number of significant amendments for the General Assembly to consider this week.

Typically reconvened sessions are not devoid of controversy. Governors’ amendments or vetoes are often on contentious matters. However this year, Governor Northam sought to address policy concerns on which the General Assembly failed to act. For that reason, the 2019 reconvened session was one of the most, and perhaps the most, significant reconvened sessions that I have witnessed. There were at least three substantial achievements this week.

For years I have focused on reforming our mental health system and have traveled throughout the Commonwealth to visit local community services boards, our state psychiatric hospitals, and some nonprofit and private entities in the field. During this journey I have become fairly well acquainted with what Virginia offers to people in need of mental health services, and I know we must do a better job responding to people in need no matter where they live in the Commonwealth. [Read More…]

Summer Update

August 23, 2018 By Creigh Deeds

The 2019 legislative session is just around the corner, which is hard to believe since it feels like the 2018 Session just ended. In fact, the General Assembly has yet to adjourn the special session. A couple of issues remain unresolved.

The Governor initially called for a special session because the General Assembly did not reach a budget agreement. After months of wrangling, the legislature adopted a budget on May 30 that included Medicaid expansion. It was a huge bipartisan accomplishment. Nevertheless, the Senate and House of Delegates did not adjourn sine die because the party in the majority has not agreed on the selection of certain judges. Periodically I’ve heard rumors that the General Assembly will be called back to Richmond for a vote, but those rumors have thus far proven to be untrue. In the meantime, another critical issue has arisen. [Read More…]

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