Volume 17
Number 4
February 4, 2005

Director on Record

Where We Are

Bills Tracking

Chapters

The Director on Record
And Now....the Rest of the Story

After this session, there should be no doubt that participating in Faithful Democracy impacts the legislative process.

The faith community took SB1305, a bill that emerged uncontested from a Senate committee, and generated enough public opposition in a week to force the patron to defeat his own bill by referring it back to committee. Such a dramatic reversal required a coordinated effort across the state to orchestrate e-mails, letters, calls, and personal visits. Stakeholders agreed to and worked a strategy to defeat the bill with effectiveness and efficiency.

Now before you begin too much hand-wringing that we need similar strategies around our other priority issues, let me tell you the rest of the story. I am pleased to tell you that work on other issues is also happening through our Regional Chapters, general membership, and even at the highest levels of our institutions with similar effectiveness!

For instance, a bill in the Senate Commerce and Labor committee sought to dramatically increase the minimum earnings required for poor workers to qualify for unemployment. It would have displaced over 6000 poor workers and would likely force them back into welfare. Lutheran Bishop Jim Mauney came from Roanoke to Richmond and spoke with several Senators about the bill and it was defeated several days later. BUT, a companion bill in the House sought to do the same damage to poor workers and was likely to pass in the House.

On Methodist Advocacy Day, Bishop Kammerer of the Virginia Conference was prepared to tell the patron and the Chambers of Commerce that the faith community was concerned and not backing down. Her presence prompted a compromise just hours after Bishop Kammerer left the building that actually increased some unemployment benefits and pegged the earnings requirement to minimum wage. This is a tremendously positive outcome for poor workers.

The message to us is very clear. When people of faith are involved, be they religious leaders from all of our traditions, congregational leaders, or lay people sending e-mails, legislators take note. “It’s a numbers game,” said one House member recently. “If you get folks from the churches here about a bill we will take notice.”

The faith community is having a positive impact on our priorities, and not just SB1305. That impact cannot always be evaluated on success or defeat of bills. Rather, it is best illustrated when we are working together toward our common goal! - Doug

Bill crossover happened Tuesday.

Each House is now working on those bills which survived the other chamber. Committee and subcommittee work is where the action is occurring. There is no problem when a bill that passed one house passes the other in identical form. When there are variants, then a conference committee is apponted to (hopefully) iron out the differences. Budget crossover happened Thursday. Each house passed its own budget. There are some significant differences which will necessitate a budget conference committee. All of this is against the backdrop of a February 26th scheduled adjournment - not many days to do much important work!

Bill Tracking

Bills in black are those that the Virginia Interfaith Center opposes. Grey indicates the bill is dead.

NOW IS THE TIME TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS BY FAX, EMAIL, PHONE, OR VISIT! Send email and fax messages to your legislators via our user friendly communications system on our Web site at www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org.

Key - HB= House Bill; SB=Senate Bill; BA=Budget Amendment; PBI=passed by indefinitely (dead); Tabled=probable death; Left in Committee=probable death

The Budget
The Senate Finance and House Appropriations committees reported their recommendations on Super Bowl Sunday. Here is an update regarding our priorities:

Single Room Occupancy: The Senate recommended $300,000 for SRO predevelopment for single homeless persons. The House did not recommend any funding for SROs.

Rental Assistance: Neither the House nor Senate recommended any funding for Rental Assistance.

Prenatal Care: The Senate maintained the Governor’s increase in funding to increase the income threshhold for women to receive prenatal care to 175% of the federal poverty level (FPL). The House removed the Governor’s funding ($3.3 million). By doing this, the state gives up $6.1 million in potential federal matching funds.

SB 1305
Thanks to your advocacy, SB 1305, related to property disputes in denominations, was defeated.

Correction: In the bill tracking section of last week’s edition of LegisLink, the status of SB 1305 incorrect. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Get Involved! Regional Chapters

Did you know that the Virginia Interfaith Center has 9 chapters across the Commonwealth? The Center’s regional chapters host various events throughout the year including Candidates’ Forums, Social Justice U Advocacy Training, and Session Wrap-Ups with Legislators. We have chapters in the following localities:

If you are interested in participating in local events, please contact our office at office@Virginia Interfaith Center.org or 804-643-2474 or your local regional coordinator.