Highlights from the 2010 General Assembly Session

The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance, promotes pro-business policies focused on the state legislature.  During the 2010 session, the Chamber collaborated with the business lobby in Richmond, informed members with weekly electronic “Legislative News and Notes” and engaged members with electronic “Legislative Call to Action Alerts.”

In a year that was dominated by significant state budget deficits, there were a substantial number of gains and “wins” for the business community.  Legislative victories included: 

• Funding for capital expenditures to activate conventional passenger rail service from Norfolk to Petersburg and on to Richmond and Washington, D.C.

•$3.6 million for tourism marketing for the Virginia Tourism Corporation

• 40% funding for retailers collecting the “dealer discount”

• $7.5 million for NAS Oceana property acquisition

• Reinstatement of the Internal Revenue Code Section 199 deduction for manufacturers, engineering and architectural firms.

The Chamber also worked diligently to defeat measures that were harmful to business.  Included in this category was opposition to the expansion of eligibility for unemployment insurance, opposition to insurance mandates that would have significantly increased costs for private health insurance, and opposition to bills that would allow schools to open prior to Labor Day.

The Chamber also supported the Governor’s $46 million jobs and opportunities legislative agenda and bills that designated future offshore drilling revenues to transportation.

Click here to access a flyer highlighting the Chamber’s accomplishments during the 2010 General Assembly Session.