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Records of the Virginia Secretary of Transportation, 2014-2018. Accession 52182, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
Transferred from the Virginia Secretary of Transportation on 10 January 2018.
In 1970, the Governor's Management Commission Study recommended the creation of six "Deputy Governors" to assist the Chief Executive in his managerial duties. Compatible functions of government were grouped under these administrative heads, who would serve as the Governors top management team or "secretariats," as they are called now.
Governor Linwood Holton's top priority for the 1972 session of the General Assembly was a proposal for a Governor's Cabinet, reorganizing state agencies into six major departments--each headed by a secretary appointed by the governor. Transportation and public safety was one of these six departments. The office of Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety was created on April 8, 1972, by an act passed by the General Assembly. Governor Holton appointed Wayne A. Whitham, a member of the Winchester City Council, as the first Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety. When Whitham took office on July 1, 1972, he was responsible for State Highway Commission, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of State Police, Highway Safety Division, Office of Emergency Services, Department of Military Affairs, Virginia State Crime Commission and the Law Enforcement Officers Training Standards Commission. The Office has undergone a series of administrative reorganizations since. On April 12, 1976, the Legislature established separate secretariats for transportation and for public safety, effective July 1, 1976. On July 1, 1984, the offices were again combined. Most recently, the Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety was divided into separate secretariats on February 22, 1990. The Secretary of Transportation is a member of the Governor's Cabinet, and is appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. The Secretary is responsible to the governor for the Department of Transportation, Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Department of Aviation, Department of Motor Vehicles, Virginia Port Authority and the Motor Vehicle Dealers Board.
Aubrey Layne, Jr., was reappointed Virginia's Secretary of Transportation by Governor Terrence McAuliffe on 22 November 2013. Layne was appointed the Commonwealth Transportation Board as the Hampton Roads representative in 2009 and to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Commission in 2010. Prior to his appointment, Layne served as President of the Achievable Dream Academies and before that as President and Principal Broker of Great Atlantic Properties. Layne earned a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Richmond is 1979, is a Certified Public Accountant, and received an MBA from Old Dominion University in 1997.
The Secretary of Transportation records, 2014-2018, consist of 13 archival boxes and are divided into 4 series. Series have been designated for Correspondence - Assigned State Agencies (I), Correspondence - Secretary (II), Decision briefs (III) and Subject files (IV). These records document the work of Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne, Jr., during the McAuliffe administration and were created or collected, 2014-2018, though some documents in this collection pre-date this time period.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Series I. Correspondence - Assigned State Agencies, 2014-201 8(bulk 2014-2017) Series II. Correspondence - Secretary, 2014-2017 Series III. Decision memoranda, 2014-2018 (buk 2014-2017) Series IV. Subject files, 2014-2017Correspondence - Assigned State Agencies, 2014-2018, is housed in 9 archival box and is arranged chronologically within each agency. This series consists primarily of incoming correspondence and related attachments from local, state and federal government officials, state and federal legislators, officials from other states, business owners, and associations, as well as constituent correspondence that was sent either directly to the Secretary of Transporation or sent to the Governor and referred to the Secretary. Correspondence was accordingly forwarded to specific agencies for response based on topic. Also includes correspondence between the Secretary and agencies, as well as a few copies of outgoing correspondence. Attachments may include agreements, articles, budgets, invitations, legislation, memorandums of understanding, presentations, and reports. Topics include environmental health, health insurance, legislation, lyme disease, Medicaid, mental health facilities, and social services, among others. Includes correspondence with the following agencies: Dept. of Aviation (DOAV), Dept. of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Dept. of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), Dept. of Transportation (VDOT), and the Virginia Port Authority (VPA).
Topics for DOAV may include, but are not limited to: aerospace, airline service, airports, Federal Aviation Authority, policies, funding, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, state aircraft, Virginia Airport Operators Council, and the Washington Airports Task Force.
Topics for DMV may include, but are not limited to: Driver's licenses, funding, legislation, REAL ID, taxis/uber, and transportation safety grants.
Topics for DRPT may include, but are not limited to: Bus transportation, CSX projects, Federal Transit Administration, federal and state transportation funding, grants, high speed rail, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, policies and procedures, railroads, and safety.
Topics for VDOT may include, but are not limited to: Budget, Commonwealth Transportation Board, EZ Pass / tolling policies, Federal Highway Administration, Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization, HB2 Prioritizarion Project, interstate congestion, local traffic issues, Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, Public Private Transportation Act (PPTA), regional transportation priorities, revenue bonds, Statewide Transportation Improvement Program / Six Year Improvement Program, Washington Airports Task Force, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and transportaion construction projects including the I-95 corridor, I-66 corridor, Route 460, and Route 29 western bypass.
Topics for VPA may include, but are not limited to: Economic growth, Newport News Shipbuiling, Port of Richmond, shipbuilding, and the Virginia International Gateway Terminal.
Correspondence, 2014-2017, is housed in 1 archival box and is arranged chronologically. This series contains primarily incoming correspondence and related attachments from from local, state and federal government officials, state and federal legislators, officials from other states, and associations, as well as constituent correspondence sent directly to the Secretary of Transportation. Also include monthly support services financial statements. This series is indistinguishable from correspondence with state agencies. Correspondence may include related materials such as presentations and reports. Topics include congratulations, constituent concerns, highway construction projectd, legislation, tolls, and transportation funding.
Decision briefs, 2014-2018, are housed in 2 archival boxes and are arranged chronologically. These briefs consist of Governor Decision Requests sent to the Office of Governor McAuliffe and include a cover sheet with a brief description and routing/approval information, as well as attached correspondence. Decision requests cover topics such as aircraft use and policies, appointments, DMV fees, funding, grants, hiring, letters for governor's signature, Port of Virginia, rail transit, REAL ID, regulations, and the Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund.
Subject files, 2014-2017, are housed in 3 archival boxes and are arranged alphabetically. This series includes project and topical files and may contain correspondence, conference materials, notes, presentations and reports.