A mid-session assessment

By Gov. Bob McDonnell

Upon entering my third General Assembly session as governor, I laid out a bold agenda of legislative initiatives that focus on strengthening the core functions of government to spur private sector job creation and get Virginia's economy back on track. I am pleased that at the halfway mark of the 2012 session, a majority of these initiatives have passed their respective houses with broad bipartisan support.

We are focused on getting results on the major challenges facing our citizens through a legislative agenda focused on eight major areas.

We are advancing policies that help the private sector create good-paying jobs; increase access to higher education; further improve our high-quality K-12 education; build a transportation system that best serves its users; make government smaller and smarter; help our veterans at home; and ensure our citizens are safe and secure. These are initiatives that will greatly improve quality of life for Virginians today while also investing in the future of the commonwealth.

Through our "Greatest Opportunity" jobs and economic development agenda, we are advancing initiatives that continue to invest in job-creating measures so that businesses are able to grow and thrive. This legislation builds on my administration's top priority - ensuring that more Virginians can find good jobs.

This year, we are once again placing an emphasis on K-12 and higher education. We are on track to pass innovative education reform legislation through our "Opportunity to Learn" K-12 agenda that will increase options for our children and strengthen classroom learning so that every child has access to great teachers, high standards and programs that will pave the way to success upon graduation.

We are also advancing higher education reforms and investment to prepare our students for top jobs, make college degrees more affordable and advance our goal of awarding an additional 100,000 degrees to Virginians over the next 15 years.

Making government smaller and more efficient and effective is an important initiative of this administration. We are advancing legislation that will consolidate duplicative state agencies, boards and commissions and eliminate outdated programs, as well as legislation to reduce burdensome unfunded mandates the state sends down to localities.

Additionally, this year we are addressing the long-term unfunded liabilities of the Virginia Retirement System through legislative reform initiatives and a budget proposal to inject the largest employer contribution to VRS in history.

Transportation continues to be a top issue. Last year, we made the greatest investment in transportation in a generation, $4 billion, without raising taxes. This year, we are advancing additional measures that provide additional funding for maintaining Virginia's infrastructure and are continuing our efforts to ensure greater accountability and transparency in Virginia's transportation entities while delivering projects more quickly and cost effectively.

Finally, we are advancing legislation that ensures our streets remain safe so that businesses and families will continue to choose to call the commonwealth home.

We are doing this through measures to toughen sentences for certain crimes; further protect victims of crime; improve successful prisoner re-entry programs; and strengthen our response to emergencies.

We are also advancing legislation to help reach our goal of making Virginia the most veteran-friendly state in America through measures that ensure that all members of the Virginia National Guard receive in-state tuition; improve absentee ballot access for overseas military; and guarantee that unclaimed remains of veterans receive honorable burials.

There is one central theme among all of this legislation - job creation and economic growth.

By ensuring that our children are receiving a high-quality education so that they are prepared for the jobs of the 21st century, continuing to invest in private-sector job-creation initiatives, reducing the size and scope of government to best utilize taxpayers' hard-earned dollars and making sure that we are best serving those who protect our freedom at home and abroad, we are setting Virginia on the right course today to get more people back to work, while also preparing the state for success in the future.

Bob McDonnell, a Republican from Virginia Beach, is Virginia's 71st governor.