Think Shannon may be running for AG?

2009 Gubernatorial Race, Local, Politics, Virginia 2 Minutes

Del. Steve ShannonDel. Steve Shannon (D-35) has been rumored to be planning a run for attorney general in 2009. Taking a look at the bills he has introduced, I’d say he’s laying the groundwork 😉 Notice his tag cloud? The largest item is crime.

Among the bills he has introduced:

  1. HB964: Increases penalties for a convicted sexual offender who fails to register on Virginia’s Sex Offender Registry
  2. HB966: Increases penalties for an assault and battery of a law enforcement agent of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
  3. HB969: Increases penalties for hazing a juvenile in to a gang by requiring the juvenile to engage in sexual acts with gang members
  4. HB973: Closes a loophole in Virginia’s indecent liberties statute for the protection of children
  5. HB974: Requires law enforcement to update Virginia’s criminal information network whenever a protective order is issued
  6. HB970: Empowers judges to place the subject of a permanent protective order on probation to ensure compliance with the protective order
  7. HB965: Enables victims of stalkers to apply to the Criminal Injury Compensation Fund for resources for services such as relocation assistance
  8. HB956: Ensures Virginia’s compliance with the federal Violence Against Women Act by clarifying that Virginia shall pay the cost of personal evidence recovery kits for sexual assault victims (co-sponsored with Norfolk’s own Paula Miller)

Oh, and if that weren’t enough, he’s working on closing tax loopholes. From The Daily Press:

A Virginia lawmaker is trying to close a state tax loophole that allows Wal-Mart and other companies to reduce taxes by paying rent to themselves.

[…]

As a member of the House Finance Committee, Shannon filed bills over the past four years targeting tax schemes that exploited differences between state and federal tax laws. He first learned about the use of the REIT strategy in Virginia in a Daily Press story, and Kaine later asked him to submit a bill.

“The governor’s office asked me to carry it because I’ve done a lot of work with public finance and tax planning,” Shannon said.

The bill he’s referencing is HB975. If it passes, Virginia could collect back taxes. North Carolina recently closed this tax loophole and collected $33.5 million from these two companies.

Public safety and closing tax loopholes – I’d say this guy has a future 😉

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18 thoughts on “Think Shannon may be running for AG?”

  2. Yes, except for that pesky gay problem he has personally. He voted for and supported the Marriage Amendment until the 11th and a half hour and can’t be trusted with GLBT issues. Like Edwards, he “just isn’t there yet”. Better than a Republican I guess, but troubling just the same.

  6. F’ off, Brian.

    ~

    You know, just for once, I’d like to see a politician further their aspirations through prevention instead of punishment. But I suppose it takes a better sort of person. Perhaps the sort that eschews politics in the first place.

    And, upon a few more seconds of thought, it takes a better sort of voter, too.

  7. It’s a fair point, MB. Does Virginia still have only three troopers dedicated to making sure the sex offenders on the statewide registry actually live at the addresses they’ve provided? I still remember all the noise I heard about that, but I don’t recall hearing about a solution, and you’d think someone would have claimed credit for that by now.

    …by the way, were victims really required to pay for their rape kits?

  9. Brian, you know how this ends, right? We cast aspersions, but it ends up with the Republican being caught with god knows what up god knows where with someone who is good god too young.

  12. Come on Brian. I’m not one of those that think every good looking guy has to be secretly gay. Steve is happily married with children and I get no gadar from him. My point was that he has internal (religious?) unease about GLBT issues that woories me if he became the state’s chief legal offical.

    The office of Attorney General carries more power than I think most people realize, especially with regard to interpretation of law. Remember AG Bob’s intervention in 2006 on the marriage amendment and his “legal explanation” that was distributed in every polling place as part of the election materials??

    Steve would be better than any republican (like Cuccinelli), but would hope we could do better from a GLBT perspective. I have much the same opinion of Deeds for Governor. Brian Moran gets us. And supports us when it counts.

    But I digress..sorry Viv!

  14. I must admit that I did not expect that my first comment here was going to be taken so seriously. Maybe I should start using emoticons.

    I mostly support Republicans, but I wish they would get over themselves on gay marriage and military service.

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