Longwood University Governmental Affairs

The Longwood University Governmental Affairs web site is dedicated to keeping you informed and will provide you with information on key issues in the Virginia legislature, as well as certain Federal issues, that affect Longwood.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Brenda Atkins at 434-395-2027 or atkinsbl@longwood.edu .

Current Legislative Issues

January 21, 2011

Senate Bill 1459 (Houck) and House Bill 2510 (Cox) have been introduced in the 2011 General Assembly.  These bills establish the Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011 for the purpose of fueling strong economic growth in the Commonwealth and preparing Virginians for the top job opportunities in the knowledge-driven economy of the 21st century. The bills provide for (i) a new higher education funding policy; (ii) the calculation of the state general fund share of an institution's basic operations and instruction funding need; (iii) per student enrollment-based funding; (iv) targeted economic and innovation incentives; (v) the creation of a Higher Education Revenue Stabilization Fund as a subfund of the Revenue Stabilization Fund; (vi) the creation of a STEM Public-Private Partnership; and (vii) the creation of a Higher Education Advisory Committee. The bills also make technical amendments.  The bill is a recommendation of the Governor's Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment.    These bills can be viewed at:

 http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=111&typ=bil&val=sb145  and http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=111&typ=bil&val=hb2510

 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

January 5, 2011

On December 17, Governor McDonnell released his proposed budget changes for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011.  It is important to remember that the Governor's proposed amendments must be approved by the General Assembly, which convenes on January 12, 2011.

The good news in the Governor's amendments is that there were no additional base budget reductions to higher education, although some state agency budgets were cut.  Governor McDonnell had previously stated that he planned to provide a "down payment" towards the recommendations of the Governor's Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment, which he did in his proposed budget by setting aside $50 million in "incentive funding intended to support activities in public higher education institutions leading to increases in student graduation, student retention, student enrollment, and the number of students graduating with science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and health care degrees."  The $50 million includes:

• $13 million for undergraduate financial aid
• $1 million for academic transformation through the use of technology
• $3 million to enhance availability of on-line courses
• $33 million dedicated to specific proposal to enhance student enrollment, retention, and graduation with a focus on growing the number of students majoring in STEM/health care

The funds above would be available to all public institutions; however, they would be awarded on a competitive basis (including the financial aid dollars).  Proposals would be submitted to the Secretary of Education and reviewed by the Secretary, State Council of Higher Education, House Appropriations Committee, Senate Finance Committee and the Department of Planning and Budget to determine the distribution of the funds. 

Governor McDonnell is also proposing $25 million for a technology and research fund that supports research and commercialization of technology and $3 million to support the 30 percent mandate for non-credit courses at Virginia's community colleges that enhance workforce development.

I am sure that you have all read or heard that Governor McDonnell is proposing significant changes for employees currently enrolled in the Virginia Retirement System (VRS). Under the Governor's proposal, starting July 1, 2011, the base salary of state employees in VRS will be increased by three percent and those same employees would begin to contribute five percent of their salary for retirement.  All salaried full-time employees who were employed on January 1, 2011 are also eligible to receive a two percent one-time bonus payment on December 1, 2011 if they have attained at least a "meets expectations" on their latest performance evaluation.  This one-time bonus will only be available if agencies and institutions of higher education identify year end balances exceeding twice the cost of the bonus.  For employees under the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP), the Governor is proposing that the contribution level be reduced from 10.4 percent to 8.5 percent. 

Again, these are proposals from the Governor and they must go through the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees of the General Assembly.  These two committees will review, discuss, and in many cases, make changes to the Governor's proposals.  In mid-February both the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee will each release their own recommendations for changes to the budget and at that point we should have a better understanding of where the final budget is headed.  The General Assembly will hold its "short" 45-day session starting on Wednesday, January 12, 2011, and is scheduled to adjourn on Saturday, February 26.  I will keep you posted on General Assembly activities as we move through the session.

Please contact me if you have questions or need additional information.

Brenda L. Atkins

Executive Assistant to the President for Governmental Affairs and Special Projects

CONTACT INFORMATION:  atkinsbl@longwood.edu  or 434-395-2027