While many of you have focused on the festivities in Washington, we have kept our noses to the grindstone studying bills and trying to determine how they may help or harm our constituents. 

In the days leading to the General Assembly session, bills were assigned to committees. However, the deadline for introducing bills did not end until last Friday. Many of those that were offered the last few days have yet to be directed to the proper committees. For this reason, each committee is trying to act quickly in order to finish consideration by the deadline of Feb. 6, the last day a committee can act. Legislative proposals are moving through the committee process quickly. However, committees have tried to eliminate two types of legislation early: those that have no controversy and those that were introduced for political reasons that have little support or that have been defeated in years past — from gun control to gambling casinos. Once these bills are resolved, we can focus on those that will have the greatest impact on you — the people of Virginia.

In addition to my role as chairman of the General Laws Committee, I continue to attempt to reduce the regulations and policies that drive citizens crazy and cost businesses time and profit.

Luckily, by simply proposing legislation, we have encouraged the Department of Motor Vehicles and the health departments to change their regulations for the better without new laws.

Different views

of government

In my opinion, there are two basic thought processes on the purpose of government. Some look to determine what can government offer to you to make your life better. In doing so, they have little concern of the cost to the taxpayer in the process. Others believe the taxpayer is who we should be protecting by preventing government from unnecessarily burdening you with regulations that will cost you, not only in taxes, but as well by how you live or operate your business. I believe in the latter.

Internationally, those nations that are most successful have focused, not on providing benefits from the government, but rather by invigorating their economies, and, in doing so, creating jobs for people to provide for themselves and their families. 

South Korea is a perfect example of this. While the American poor are better off than the poor in the seventies, the Koreans, by focusing on a growing economy, have grown thirty times the size of their economy of the 1950s.

Frank Ruff represents Charlotte County in the state Senate. His email address is sen.ruff@verizon.net.