David Toscano – Page 48

House Loss is Senate Gain

February 4, 2014 by David Toscano

The big news last week was the transfer of power in the Senate. The election of Lynwood Lewis as the 20th Democratic member of the Senate, and with Democrat Ralph Northam in the tie-breaking role of Lt. Governor, Democrats assumed control and promptly moved to reconstitute committees. This is precisely what the Republicans in the Senate did two years ago. It is not clear how this will affect the key issues of the session, particularly the budget and Medicaid expansion, but we will soon find out.

Medicaid expansion continues to be a major subject of debate. House Republicans have not moved off their opposition, but there is new information every day that makes Medicaid expansion more attractive. An updated set of numbers developed by the administration suggests that Virginia could gain over $1 billion by fiscal year 2022 by accepting Federal dollars and insuring more Virginians who are at or near the poverty line. I have given several floor speeches on this matter and you can access them immediately below or on YouTube. This issue is not likely to be resolved until the end of session.
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Several less publicized of interest to our region have passed. HB1141 will make it easier for arts venues in places like Charlottesville to offer alcoholic beverages at their open houses. HB848 will permit Dominion to engage in placing utility lines underground in older cities like Charlottesville.

I supported HB1113, a bill that would have permitted adoption by a “second-parent.” This bill would have allowed same-sex couples to jointly adopt a youngster. It was opposed by the Family Foundation and ultimately tabled in the Courts of Justice committee. I was pleased to vote for and actively support this bill as I think it would have provided greater opportunity for youngsters to be adopted into loving family situations.

A bill that will require Virginia textbooks to recognize that the Sea of Japan is also known as the East Sea was passed by the Senate and will likely pass the House this week. This measure was brought by many Virginians of Korean descent, who feel justifiably wronged by their oppression at the hands of the Japanese through the end of World War II. While I am not sure that the Virginia General Assembly should be engaged in decisions that have foreign policy implications, and worry about the precedent of legislative intrusion into textbook requirements, this bill will likely pass and be signed by the Governor.

Finally, the House passed HB706, a bill targeted directly at Attorney General Mark Herring and his recent decision not to defend the same-sex marriage prohibitions in Virginia law and Constitution. This bill would give standing to House members to represent the Commonwealth when the Attorney General and Governor have chosen not to. I agree with Attorney General Herring, and spoke against this bill on the House floor. If you are interested in my comments you can see them here. I believe this bill violates our traditional separation-of-powers doctrine, a principle that our Founders felt was essential to the maintenance of democracy. The bill creates the possibility of 140 separate Attorneys General that could intervene in court proceedings and supposedly represent the interest of the Commonwealth, a prospect that would prove chaotic. The Senate will likely defeat this bill, but it is yet another example of how partisanship can trump sound governmental policy.

As always, I enjoy hearing from you during the assembly session with your concerns and views about specific bills. Please do not hesitate to contact our office. It is a pleasure serving you in the General Assembly.

David Toscano

Toscano on “Inside Scoop Virginia”

February 3, 2014 by David Toscano

David Toscano appeared on “Inside Scoop Virginia” on February 3, 2014.

Medicaid Expansion Speech (Jan 30, 2014)

January 30, 2014 by David Toscano

Speech in Support of Attorney General Herring’s Position on Marriage Equality (Jan 23, 2014)

January 23, 2014 by David Toscano

Medicaid Expansion and Ethics Reform Lead the 2014 Session

January 22, 2014 by David Toscano

We are two weeks into the General Assembly and the dominant issue remains Medicaid expansion. Almost every interest group in Richmond, from the Chamber of Commerce to the Medical Society of Virginia to the Hospital Association to various anti-poverty groups have supported efforts to bring federal dollars to Virginia to help insure up to 400,000 people who presently do not have coverage. Gov. McAuliffe stands firmly behind the principle of accessing these federal dollars and bringing them back to Virginia to both spur our economy and provide coverage to more Virginians. Republicans in the House generally have been skeptical of this approach, arguing that the federal commitment to reimburse the state 100 percent of the cost of new enrollees will ultimately be eliminated, with the result that Virginia taxpayers will have to pick up the tab.

I gave two floor speeches on this topic in the last week. The first was a general exploration of the issue. I emphasized how we have 1 million uninsured Virginians (many of whom are using the hospitals’ ERs as their primary care) and how we are sending our taxpayer dollars to other states which have decided to use federal monies to insure their citizens. You can watch the speech here.

The second speech involved the challenges faced by our hospitals because of cuts in federal spending. This is particularly troubling for rural hospitals who are often the centers of economic activity in their localities. Many of these hospitals will face extremely difficult business decisions that may require layoffs, acquisition, or possible closure in the event that we do not access this money. Virginia is refusing $5 million per day in federal monies that could otherwise assist us in insuring the uninsured and supporting our hospitals. We must find a way to bring these dollars back to Virginia. You can see my speech on hospitals here.

In other news, the House continues to work on bipartisan ethics reform. I am part of the subcommittee that is writing this bill. I believe that we need to have a cap on gifts that can be taken by legislators and a strong Ethics Commission that has the ability to enforce the rules and sanction legislators who transgress.

Mental health continues to be an important topic for the General Assembly. Later this week, we will consider a number of bills that could provide assistance to a person in crisis. There are additional monies in the budget to help serve more people with serious mental illness, particularly persons under the age eighteen.

A bill to eliminate the $64 annual tax on hybrid vehicles has passed the state Senate and a similar bill appears poised to pass the House of Delegates.

Several of my bills are moving through the House, including one that will provide additional tools to help elderly citizens who are victims of financial exploitation; a bill that will require additional financial disclosure of tax preferences provided to large corporations; and a resolution that condemns the ABC for their role in the incident in Charlottesville last April.