Summary

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About

Steve Landes, candidate for Clerk of Circuit Court in Augusta County, currently represents the 25th District in the Virginia House of Delegates, which includes portions of Albemarle, Augusta, and Rockingham Counties. He is Chairman of the House Education Committee and Vice Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Additionally, he is a member of the Rules and Privileges and Elections Committees.

Serving his twelfth term, Steve has been an able steward of taxpayer resources in the House of Delegates. During his tenure, he has focused on promoting economic development, fostering education innovations, and increasing healthcare choice, access and affordability. He has been a steady voice of reason heard above the noise that all too often clouds our political discourse.

Steve Landes is a lifelong resident of the Valley and a graduate of Buffalo Gap High School in Augusta County. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. He and his wife Angela live in Weyers Cave, Virginia, with their son Roth. He is Past President and Member of the Weyers Cave Ruritan Club and a Member of the Fort Harrison Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Steve and Angela are both Members and Elders of Mt. Horeb Presbyterian Church.

Steve is presently Community Liaison with Home Instead Senior Care of Staunton, Virginia. Most recently he served as Vice President of Market Development for Blue Ridge Bank, and prior to that he served as Community Relations Coordinator for DuPont Community Credit Union. He also served as Executive Director of NewBiz Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley’s small business incubator. Steve was a Life Insurance Agent and Registered Representative with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. In addition, he worked at Davis & Davis Marketing, Inc., a Staunton-based marketing and advertising firm, as a Media Buyer and then as an Account Executive.

Steve is a Member of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates, representing the House of Delegates. He serves on the Education Commission of the States, the House Select Committee on School Safety and as Vice Chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. Additionally, he serves on the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board, and the Board of Trustees of the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia. From 1988 to 1992 he served as Legislative Assistant to his predecessor, former Delegate A.R. “Pete” Giesen, Jr., and from 1993 to 1995, he served as Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s District Director and District Representative.

Experience

Work Experience

• Community Liaison
  Home Instead Senior Care of Staunton, Virginia

Education

• BS
  Virginia Commonwealth University
  1983

Awards

Outstanding Young Men of America (1988, 1989, 1992, 1996, 1998)
Mental Health Association of Augusta, Dr. and Mrs. Lennart Sandquist Prevention Award (1999)
Valley Conservation Council, Conservation Legislator Award (2000)
Virginia Sheriffs’ Association, Legislator of the Year (2002)
Virginia Farm Bureau, Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award (2006)
Augusta County Farm Bureau Federation, Appreciation for Support Award (2006)
Distinguished Friend of Virginia Agribusiness (2007)
Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Legislator of the Year (2008)
Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Legislator of the Year (2009)
Virginia Bioscience Legislative Leadership Award (2010)
2010 Faculty Senate of Virginia Award
Treasurers’ Association of Virginia, Legislator of the Year (2010)
Virginia Wineries Association, Legislator of the Year (2011)
Virginia Association for Home Care and Hospice, Public Policy Award (2011)
Biotechnology Industry Organization, BIO Legislator of the Year (2012)
The Arc of Virginia, Catalysts for Change Award (2013)
Virginia Court Clerk’s Association, Legislator of the Year (2014)
Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Champion of Free Enterprise (2014), Legislator of the Year (2016)
Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions, Legislator of the Year (2015)
Foundation for Government Accountability, Protecting the Vulnerable Award (2015)
Virginia Retail Merchants Association, Legislator of the Year (2016)
Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust, Champion of Affordable College Award (2018)

Personal

• Birth Year: 1959
• Place of Birth: Staunton, VA
• Gender: Male
• Race(s): Caucasian
• Religion: Presbyterian
• Spouse: Angela Beth Hochmeister
• Children: Roth Steven

Membership & Affiliation

Mt. Horeb Presbyterian Church (elder)
Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia (board of trustees)
Center for Rural Virginia (former board of trustees)
Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (former board of visitors)
Shenandoah Valley Technology Council (former board of directors)
Augusta County Historical Society (former board of directors)
Augusta County Republican Committee
Weyers Cave Ruritan (former president)
United Way of Greater Augusta, Inc. (former campaign chairman)
Fort Harrison Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (member)

Contact

Legislative Assistant: Judith (Judy) W. Wyatt, Legislative Director; William Wrobleski, Communications Director
Administrative Assistant During Session: Pam Stump

Email:

• Government – DelSLandes@house.virginia.gov

Offices

Capitol Office
Pocahontas Building
900 E. Main St,
Richmond, Virginia 23219
Phone: (804) 698-1025

District Office
P.O. Box 12
Verona, VA 24482
Phone: (540) 255-5335

Web

Government Page, Campaign Site, Twitter, Facebook

Politics

Source: none

Recent Elections

2017

2015

Source: Virginia Legislative Information System

Finances

LANDES, R STEVEN (STEVE) has run in 10 races for public office, winning 10 of them. The candidate has raised a total of $1,351,524.

Source: Follow the Money

Committees

Committees

Vice Chair: Appropriations
Chair: Education
Rules
Privileges and Elections

Subcommittees

Appropriations – Commerce, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Technology Subcommittee
Appropriations – Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee
Appropriations – Health and Human Resources Subcommittee
Appropriations – Higher Education Subcommittee
Appropriations – Special Subcommittee on Amazon
Privileges and Elections – Subcommittee #2
Rules – Subcommittee #1
Rules – Joint Rules

Appointments

• Appropriations – Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee
• Appropriations – Higher Education Subcommittee
• Civic Education, Commission on
• Civic Education Subcommittee #1
• Commerce, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Technology Subcommittee
• Education Commission of the States
• Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia, Board of Trustees
• Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates
• Growth and Opportunity Board, Virginia
• Health and Human Resources Oversight, Joint Subcommittee for
• House Appropriations
• House Education
• House Privileges and Elections
• House Rules
• Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission
• Joint Rules
• MEI Project Approval Commission
• Revisions to SOQ & SOL
• Standards of Learning Innovation Committee
• State Training Centers, The Special Joint Subcommittee to Consult on the Plan to Close
• Tax Preferences, Joint Subcommittee to Evaluate
• Virginia Preschool Initiative, Joint Subcommittee

Voting Record

See: Vote Smart

New Legislation

• Chief Patron
• Chief Co-Patron
• Co-Patron

Source: Virginia Legislative Information System

Issues

Source: Campaign page

In the 2018 General Assembly Session, Delegate Landes continued his work on providing solutions on the issues that matter most to Virginia families; crafting fiscally responsible legislation that invests in core government functions and key priorities, while protecting your taxpayer dollars. Legislation introduced by Delegate Landes focused on continued economic development, and implementation of education innovations.

Governance

Virginia State Budget

Delegate Landes knows our state budget is the most important work legislators do each year in Richmond. As Vice Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Delegate Landes has advocated that the General Assembly follow a path of fiscal responsibility, investing in core government services and key priorities while protecting the Commonwealth’s taxpayers. His commitment to fiscal conservatism led him to vote against the 2018 biennium budget due to the inclusion of Medicaid expansion and the long term negative impact on Virginia’s fiscal well-being. Learn more about Virginia’s Budget here and the House Appropriations Committee here.

Civil Rights

Defending the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Delegate Landes has a demonstrated record of supporting the 2nd Amendment. He is a member of the Virginia Legislative Sportsmen Caucus and the National Rifle Association (NRA). As a result of his strong pro-2nd Amendment record, he has consistently earned an “A” rating from the NRA during his service in the General Assembly. Delegate Landes will continue his work protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms and fight attempts by those who wish to infringe upon them.

Economy

The General Assembly continues its work to create an environment that fosters economic growth. The House of Delegates has defeated 26 separate tax hikes since 2003, saving families and businesses over $30.2 billion, defeating $770 million in tax increases proposed by House Democrats in 2018 alone. Delegate Landes will continue to seek ways to provide regulatory relief to small businesses, encourage innovators and entrepreneurs, and create real economic growth for Virginia families.The Virginia Chamber of Commerce named Delegate Landes a recipient of the “Workforce and Education Free Enterprise Award” for his work in the 2018 General Assembly session. His record in the General Assembly earned him the title of “Champion of Free Enterprise” from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce in 2017. Delegate Landes’ pro-business efforts in the 2016 General Assembly session earned him “Legislator of the Year” awards from both the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association. Landes has a lifetime “A+” rating from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.In the past, Delegate Landes sponsored legislation creating the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund that established an economic development grant and loan program targeted specifically at agricultural and forestry operations. Additionally, he sponsored legislation, which created a Small Business Jobs Grant Fund administered by the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity for jobs created. To promote agriculture and assist rural areas in Virginia, he introduced legislation that created the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry as part of the Governor’s Cabinet and established the Center for Rural Virginia.Delegate Landes will continue to find ways to ensure Virginia’s status as one of the best states for business. He introduced House Bills 1968 and 1969, legislation making it easier for small businesses seeking grant funding and House Bill 1970, which enabled counties to establish economic revitalization zones. He also introduced House Bill 2341, requiring private sector business and industry representation in the Commonwealth’s Board of Education. All of these bills become law effective July 1, 2017.

Education

Delegate Landes believes every child in Virginia, regardless of his or her ZIP Code, deserves access to a high-quality education. As Chairman of the Education Committee, he supports reforms to improve and reduce Virginia’s Standard of Learning (SOL) tests and give schools more flexibility in the accreditation process. The House of Delegates invested over $800 million in new funding in K-12 education in the biennial budget.In the 2018 General Assembly session, Delegate Landes sponsored a number of education bills that have been signed into law. He sponsored House Bill 1125 to address Virginia’s growing teacher shortage. He also sponsored House Bill 3, which ensures dual enrollment courses students take in high school transfer for credit to state universities as long as they meet a quality standard; and House Bill 347, which requires the data that the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia annually collects and publishes on the percentage of graduates of public institutions of higher education and certain nonprofit private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth who are known to be employed in the Commonwealth and the average salary and the average higher education-related debt for such graduates to be disaggregated by degree program and level. The Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust named Delegate Landes a “2018 Champion of Affordable College” for his work during the 2018 session.In the 2017 General Assembly session, Delegate Landes introduced several bills relating to education policy that became law. House Bill 1401, prohibits public institutions of higher education from abridging the freedom of any individual, including enrolled students, faculty and other employees, and invited guests, to speak on campus, except as otherwise permitted by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution; House Bill 1402, which requires each chairman or vice-chairman, rector or vice-rector of the governing board of a public institution of higher education to be a resident of the Commonwealth; and House Bill 2341, which requires private sector business and industry representation in the Commonwealth’s Board of Education.

Health Care

Delegate Landes continues to promote Virginia’s healthcare safety net, providing funding to targeted services without expanding broken government entitlement programs. In the 2017 General Assembly session, the House of Delegates worked to reform Medicaid and welfare, combat opioid and heroin addiction, and increase access to healthcare services.In 2017, Delegate Landes introduced legislation that became law establishing Direct Primary Care Agreements. House Bill 2053 allows an agreement between a health care provider and an individual patient under which the provider charges a predetermined fee as consideration for providing primary care to the patient. This bill will establish a new and innovative healthcare delivery model between patients and their doctors. House Bill 2417 directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to establish a program to mitigate, through the use of prepayment analytics, the risk of improper payments to providers of services that are paid through the Department’s fee-for-service delivery system who commit fraud, abuse, or errors. This law resulted from JLARC recommendations. He also introduced a budget amendment, Item 306 #h11 that added funding to increase the number of Family and Individuals Support Waiver slots by 400.Delegate Landes is committed to strengthening and expanding our healthcare safety net. He will continue his fight to increase healthcare access, affordability, and choice, without expanding government entitlement programs. Additionally, Delegate Landes was appointed to serve on the Joint Subcommittee for Health and Human Resources Oversight. In the Joint Subcommittee, members of the House and Senate will explore ways to respond to healthcare changes at the federal level, provide ongoing oversight of Medicaid and the children’s health insurance programs, and to provide oversight of Health and Human Resources agencies.