Habeeb also received an “A” grade from the Chamber for his voting record during the session.

“The Legislative Report Card allows us to recognize and honor legislators who uphold free market principles and support the interests of the business community,” said Barry DuVal, President and CEO of the Virginia Chamber. “Delegate Habeeb’s grade of “A” reflects his understanding of the issues facing Virginia businesses. Delegate Habeeb also made significant contributions to advancing one of the Chamber’s main legislative priorities, legal reform, during the 2013 Session and was also awarded the Legal Reform Advocate Award.”

Habeeb was recognized for his award and his pro-business voting record at the Chamber’s Board of Directors’ Reception and Legislative Awards Dinner last week in Tysons Corner, VA.

Habeeb has also received a 95% rating from the Family Foundation for his voting record in the 2013 General Assembly Session.

Habeeb is the Republican candidate running for re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates in the 8^th District. The 8^th District includes the City of Salem, part of Roanoke County, Craig County, part of Montgomery County and part of the Town of Christiansburg.

For more information, or questions, please contact Erik Rison at 540-915-2962.

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SALEM – Prior to the midnight deadline yesterday evening, Governor Bob McDonnell submitted his amendments to the 2012-2014 Biennial Budget.  Among the Governor’s amendments were provisions that fill important judicial vacancies across the commonwealth.

Delegate Greg Habeeb (R-Salem) applauds the Governor’s actions, “I am excited to inform you that Governor Bob McDonnell has provided funding for an open Juvenile & Domestic Relations judgeship and an open Circuit Court judgeship in the Roanoke Valley.  These judgeships were originally included in the House of Delegates’ budget based on budget amendments I filed.  However, they were cut from the final Conference Report Budget.”

“Since we left Richmond, our delegation has aggressively lobbied the Governor to reinstate funding for these 2 critical judgeships.  We are thrilled that our bipartisan work has resulted in the restoration of funding.  As a practicing attorney, I have seen how fundamental access to justice is to the workings of our government.”

“We will be returning to Richmond next week to vote on all of the Governor’s budget amendments as well as his amendments to all other bills.  Please do not hesitate to contact my office if you have any comments about any of the Governor’s proposed amendments.”

Delegate Habeeb’s office can be reached at (540) 915-2962 or by email at Delghabeeb@house.virginia.gov.

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Habeeb was the Chief Patron for two of the six tort reform package bills that passed the General Assembly this year.  The legislative package represented a major compromise between the business, medical and legal communities and makes significant changes to key areas of Virginia’s tort laws. The measures help reduce costly and unnecessary lawsuits, streamline the litigation process, protect the integrity of the tort system and reduce legal costs for Virginia businesses.

Habeeb also received an “A” grade from the Chamber for his voting record during the session.  Barry DuVal, President and CEO of the VA Chamber, noted that Delegate Habeeb’s record “indicates strong support for the business community.”

Habeeb will be recognized for his award and his pro-business voting record at the Chamber’s upcoming Board of Directors’ Reception and Legislative Awards Dinner on May 8^th in Tysons Corner, VA.

Habeeb has also received a “93%” rating and was tied for the second highest score among General Assembly legislators from the advocacy group, Tertium Quids.  He is also in the top 20% of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots’ ratings.

Habeeb is the Republican candidate running for re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates in the 8^th District. The 8^th District includes the City of Salem, part of Roanoke County, Craig County, part of Montgomery County and part of the Town of Christiansburg.

For more information, or questions, please contact Erik Rison at 540-915-2962.

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• Montgomery County: Pre-filing deadline is  Wednesday, March 13 at 6PM.  The Mass Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 23rd at 10am in the Montgomery County Government Center.

• Roanoke County: Pre-filing deadline is Thursday, April 11 at 5pm.  Candidates for delegate at state convention may also bring the completed form to the Mass Meeting on Thursday, April 18 at 7pm in the South County Library.

• City of Salem: Pre-filing deadline is Wednesday, April 17th at 6pm.  The Mass Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 25th at 6:30pm in the Salem Civic Center (Parlor A).

If you have any questions about pre-filing to be a delegate at the State Convention, please let my office know and we’d be happy to help you find any information you might need.  My legislative aide, Erik Rison, is available at Erik@greghabeeb.com or (540)915-2962.

The meeting is open to all citizens of the 8^th District and Roanoke Valley. Habeeb will discuss his legislation, other issues addressed during the General Assembly session and will take questions from citizens.

“I look forward to speaking face to face with the citizens of the 8^th District,” said Habeeb. “The Town Hall helps me get feed-back from my constituents.  I have pledged to be accessible to all voters, no matter their political affiliation, and this town-hall is part of my ongoing commitment to fulfilling that pledge.”

The town hall meeting will last approximately one hour. People may also ask questions by sending an e-mail to Erik@greghabeeb.com.

The Roanoke County Administration Center is located at 5204 Bernard Drive, SW in Roanoke County.

Space for media will be reserved.  Habeeb will be available for interviews.

If you have any questions, please contact Erik Rison by calling 540-915-2962 or e-mailing erik@greghabeeb.com

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The 2013 Session of the Virginia General Assembly has now come to a close.  While I will certainly miss the buzz and excitement of Richmond, I am always happy to be home with Christy and the kids.

We have accomplished a great deal this session. Once again, the House of Delegates kept its focus on job creation, economic development and strengthening K-12 Education. The legislative agenda I advanced this year placed particular emphasis on our school systems.

Working with Republicans and Democrats, I passed legislation to fix chronically underperforming schools.  My bill to give local school boards more control over school administrator contract renewals was also successful.  I also continued the fight to give parents and school boards control over school calendars. These are important steps in bettering the education we deliver to every child in the Commonwealth.

Also this year, I helped lead efforts to keep Virginia the best state in the nation for business. We worked to create new incentives for small businesses and worked to protect Virginia’s right-to-work laws. Our focus on encouraging private-sector job creation has kept unemployment here in the Commonwealth far below the national average at 5.5%.

Virginia is also known as the best managed state in the nation. That is in part because of the reforms we have initiated over the years. We continued that work this year by cutting red tape, eliminating unfunded mandates on localities and demanding reforms to our broken Medicaid system. Our goal is to get government out of the way when it should not be involved and make it more efficient when it must be involved.

I am proud of what we were able to accomplish. Although I don’t agree with every piece of legislation that came out of the House of Delegates this year, we did prove that Richmond is still very different than Washington.  Here in Virginia we believe in people not government and we believe in solving problems, not kicking the can down the road.

It continues to be my honor to serve you in Richmond and my staff and I will continue to represent you now that we’re back home.  Please, stop by my office in Salem if I can assist you in any way. You can also always call my office at (540) 915-2962 or e-mail delghabeeb@house.virginia.gov.

Today, the Virginia House of Delegates adopted changes to Virginia’s two-year state budget and in the process pushed back against the implementation of ObamaCare in Virginia.

One of the major items considered in the budget this year was Medicaid expansion.

The budget adopted today does not expand Medicaid.

Medicaid needs reform. From the very beginning of this General Assembly session, I have said Medicaid reform must come before any consideration is given to Medicaid expansion.

Medicaid is the fastest growing item in the state budget. The costs are spiraling out of control. If we do not reform Medicaid now, we are going to end up with a huge hole in our state budget, no way to pay for it and a broken program.

This budget guarantees that Medicaid will be reformed before ANY CONSIDERATION is given to Medicaid expansion and guarantees that the Republican-controlled House of Delegates will have final control over Medicaid expansion.

The budget establishes the Medicaid Innovation and Reform Commission. That commission will be made up of 5 Senators and 5 Delegates. That commission is vested with the authority to determine if the reforms made to Medicaid are strong enough for Medicaid expansion to go forward.

That means this commission will have to determine if Medicaid expansion saves Virginia money (estimates now say it could cost $700 million or more) and if the federal government is going to let us determine how we provide care (don’t think President Obama is going to do that).

President Obama has attempted to force ObamaCare on us. Medicaid expansion could absolutely wreck Virginia’s financial system without reforms.

Today we have taken a step to guarantee that Medicaid expansion in Virginia will not happen without first enacting serious reforms and without absolutely ensuring it won’t cost Virginia taxpayers.

I was proud to vote today to push back against ObamaCare and pass a conservative budget that Virginians can be proud of.

Sincerely,

Greg

RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell issued the following statement, after House passage of Legislation to create the Opportunity Educational Institution in Virginia to rescue chronically failing schools. The legislation is now on its way to the governor’s desk.

“I am pleased with the bipartisan recognition in the General Assembly that we can no longer tolerate chronically failing schools in Virginia. Every child in Virginia deserves access to a quality education and the lifelong opportunities that education will give them. I particularly thank the patrons, Delegate Habeeb and Senator McDougle for their leadership on this critically important education reform effort. With today’s vote in the House, Virginia sends a message that the status quo is not acceptable in chronically failing schools. We have laid out a clear path to turn around those schools and provide the students who attend them with the world-class educational opportunities they deserve.

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