This month, a number of state rankings articles were released. Virginia was ranked the best state for higher education by SmartAsset, up from 2nd in both 2015 and 2016. While Virginia generally receives high marks in the higher ed category of many rankings, we continue to lag behind in others. For example, the American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card for American Infrastructure gave Virginia a C-. And, US News & World Report’s ranking of the 50 states placed the Commonwealth at 11th, citing the economy and infrastructure as areas that need improvement.

As we work to develop and implement Blueprint Virginia 2025, we plan to focus on priorities for growth that will help improve Virginia’s business rankings. You can get involved in the Blueprint process by attending a regional meeting this spring, an industry council meeting this summer (dates TBD), or filling out our survey. Learn more about how to get involved here.

Since the 2017 General Assembly session adjourned, we’ve been monitoring the Governor’s actions on bills. Unfortunately, a number of bills we supported have already been vetoed by the Governor. Legislators are scheduled to return to Richmond on April 5th for Reconvened Session, or “veto session.” We plan to send our members a report next Friday with the results of the veto session.

Our team is also busy developing the 2017 Legislative Report Card, which will be released at our Annual Dinner on May 11. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll mark your calendars and make plans to join us in Richmond as we honor General Assembly members for their pro-business votes. More information on the Annual Dinner can be found below.

We’re also looking forward to a few other spring events. Registration is currently open for the 2017 Fantastic 50 Awards on April 27th as well as the 2017 Energy and Sustainability Conference on May 24th. And, please save the date for our 2017 Health Care Conference on June 8th. As always, you can find more information on all of our upcoming events on our website–www.vachamber.com.