Virginia Senate Approves Transportation Overhaul

Vienna-area Sen. Janet Howell calls compromise — expected to raise $880 million a year for roads and mass transit —"truly the best we're going to get."

By Stephen Nielsen, Capital News Service A divided Virginia Senate on Saturday passed Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signature issue of the 2013 legislative session – a bill to overhaul the state’s system for funding transportation. Just hours before the session’s end, the Senate voted 25-15 for House Bill 2313, which will raise about $880 million a year more for roads and mass transit by increasing sales taxes while lowering the fuels tax. The debate over how to increase revenue continued right up to the vote. Sen. Charles "Chuck" Colgan-D of Manassas Park, Manassas and parts of Prince William County, voted in favor of the bill. “This isn’t any bill. This is the only bill,” said Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment, R-Williamsburg. He said it’s …

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Transportation Funding: Senate Committee Passes Amended Proposal

The Virginia House and Senate will have to come together on a comprehensive package quickly.

A Senate Finance Committee passed a transportation plan for Virginia on Tuesday that varied from Gov. Bob McDonnell's proposed transportation funding proposal.  The Senate Finance Committee plan differs from McDonnell's proposal in key ways— for example, it raises the gas tax instead of eliminating it. (see the summary of the HB 2313 substitute in the media box at right for additional details.) The plan, which was not itself a bill but does move the discussions forward,passed on a 9 - 6 vote with bipartisan support.  Manassas and Manassas Park Sen. Charles J. Colgan is a longtime member of the Senate Finance Committee, but voting information wasn't available on Tuesday. Sen. Janet Howell, who represents fellow Northern Virginia areas of …

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Gov. McDonnell's Transportation Plan Hits Roadblock

Funding package was derailed by Virginia Senate Democrats late Tuesday, though the House version of the legislation still has a chance for approval.

By Whitney Spicer and Alix Hines, Capital News Service  All 20 of Virginia's Democratic senators — including Manassas and Manassas Park's own Sen.Charles J. Colgan — voted against Gov. Bob McDonnell's transportation plan late Tuesday, effectively blocking the Senate's version of the proposal for this legislative session. The move makes it less likely Gov. Bob McDonnell will pass a transportation package in his last year in office. While the House amended and approved a version of the plan, HB 2313, earlier Tuesday, sending it to the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Democrats "vowed to block any proposal that generated less than $1.2 billion a year in new roads money," the Washington Examiner reports. That opposition is what doomed SB 1355 …

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City Officials: Route 28 Project is 20 Years in the Making

State transportation and Manassas city officials cut a ceremonial ribbon at the Route 28 overpass Thursday morning. All four lanes of traffic over the new overpass opened in mid-October.

 The City of Manassas and Virginia Department of Transportation officials cut a ceremonial ribbon on the completion of the Route 28 Grade Separation Project, Thursday morning.  All four lanes of traffic over the new Route 28 overpass opened in mid-October and has significantly improved traffic flow, reduced congestion, improved emergency vehicle access and eliminated rail/vehicle interaction on Route 28, Manassas city officials said. The Route 28 project has been long-term, beginning in 1992 with a request to VDOT from the City of Manassas for a feasibility study to review relocating or upgrading the rail crossing on Route 28.   In 1995, VDOT and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT) conducted a Railroad …

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Colgan Said He Lost Sleep Over State Budget Talks

Manassas Park Sen. Charles J. Colgan reflects on Virginia General Assembly budget negotiations and the big step he took to avoid a government shutdown.

Va. Lawmakers Strike Deal on Budget

Manassas Park Sen. Charles J. Colgan may cast the single Democratic vote needed to pass the budget, PBS reports.

Democratic Sen. Colgan Votes With Republicans on Ultrasound Bill

Senator from Manassas Park votes with Republicans on hotly-debated ultrasound bill.

Manassas Park Senator and long-time Democrat Charles J. Colgan voted with Republicans to pass an amended form of an hotly-debated bill that would require women to undergo external ultrasounds before abortions, according to a Washington Post report . The 21-19 vote in the Virginia Senate came after Gov. Bob McDonnell, who opposes abortion, asked that the bill be amended after it became apparent that a more invasive, vaginal ultrasound would be necessary in many situations because many abortions are done in the first trimester of pregnancy. Some lawmakers said they voted in a favor of an earlier version of the bill because they didn't yet understand that it would require vaginal ultrasounds, according to a Feb. 21 Washington Post article.  …

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Manassas Park School Officials Tell State Lawmakers What They Really Want

Virginia lawmakers went back to Richmond this month with a list of priorities and positions from Manassas Park City Schools educators.

Virginia lawmakers went back to Richmond this month with a list of priorities and positions from Manassas Park City Schools educators.  Virginia’s longest-serving senator, Charles J. Colgan (D) and delegate-turned-Republican U.S Senate candidate Bob Marshall, received the list from Manassas Park City Schools administrators just before the holidays. The Virginia State General Assembly session began on Jan. 11.  Both men represent Manassas Park and parts of Manassas. Here is a summary of Manassas Park School officials’ stand on certain education matters, as told to Marshall and  Colgan. I.     Manassas Park schools oppose any changes in the Standards of Quality (SOQ)  Funding Formula that would reduce any funds to local school divisions, …

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Colgan Seeking 10th Term in Va. Senate

Eighty-four-year-old Sen. Charles J. Colgan said Manassas Park is his "favorite" and that he will explore the possibility of widening Route 28.

Eighty-four-year-old Sen. Charles J. Colgan announced this month he will seek another term in the Virginia Senate—his 10th term to be exact.  Colgan, a democrat who represents Manassas Park, the City of Manassas and parts of Prince William County, said he made the decision to seek another term in office after talking with his family and other supporters.  “My wife said, ‘What are you going to be doing the next four years if you don’t go back to the senate?’” Colgan said. “She said, ‘You are going to have a lot of spare time.’ And I thought that made a lot of sense.”  Colgan is currently the longest-serving senator in the Virginia Senate. He was elected to the senate in 1975.  He is ranked first in Senate seniority and is the first senator …

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Connie Moser

6:44 am on Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Bob, here's the contact info: Capitol Office Senate of Virginia P.O. Box 396 Richmond, VA 23218 Email*: district29@senate.virginia.gov Room Number: 626 Legislative Assistant: Peggy Tyree-Wells Phone: (804) 698-7529 Fax: (804) 698-7651 District Office 10660 Aviation Lane Manassas, VA 20110-2701 Phone: (703) 368-0300 Fax: (703) 257-2856 Legislative Assistant: Peggy Tyree-Wells   more ›