http://hamptonroads.com/2010/02/virginia-senate-kills-bill-offshoredrilling-profits
By Julian Walker
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 10, 2010
special thanks to Richard Charter
The Democratic majority in Virginia’s Senate this afternoon killed for the year legislation from Virginia Beach Republican Sen. Frank Wagner to dedicate future offshore drilling royalties to the state general fund, a coastal energy research consortium and to localities for transportation fixes.
Wagner carried SB601 on behalf of Gov. Bob McDonnell, whose transportation funding plan partly relies on money from drilling. It was defeated on a 22-18 party line vote.
Noting that federal officials haven’t yet approved drilling off Virginia’s coast or decided how royalties would be dispersed, Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, called the bill “a fantasy” that seeks to dedicate dollars “the state is never going to see.”
In rebuttal remarks, Wagner said actions at the state and federal level in recent years have put Virginia closer to being granted approval for offshore drilling. Rejecting the bill sends the wrong signal to Washington, he argued. Upcoming November elections could alter the political makeup of Congress and change how it deals with offshore drilling, he added.
A similar defeat likely awaits offshore-drilling royalty legislation from Del. Chris Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, which previously passed the House of Delegates. That measure, HB756, already rests in the Senate Finance Committee, to which Wagner’s bill was dispatched.
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http://www.dailypress.com/news/virginia/dp-va–xgr-offshoredrill0210feb10,0,1076395.story http://www.dailypress.com/news/virginia/dp-va–xgr-offshoredrill0210feb10,0,1076395.story
Daily Press
Dems say bill would give ‘false hope’
RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Senate has killed a measure pushed by Gov. Bob McDonnell to allocate funds received from possible offshore drilling for oil and gas off the state’s coast to services such as education, health care and public safety.
Democrats argued that Congress was not likely to approve the sale of leases for drilling rights, and to pass a bill allocating such royalties would give citizens false hope in tough economic times.
The Senate voted 22-18 Wednesday along party lines to send the proposal back to committee, where it will be carried over until next year.
The House passed a similar measure on Monday that would divert 70 percent of the revenues to transportation, 20 percent to energy research and 10 percent to localities.