David Toscano – Page 51

Statement from Delegate David J. Toscano on ABC Chairman’s Call for State Police Investigations

July 9, 2013 by David Toscano

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Delegate David J. Toscano released a statement today in response to ABC Board Chairman J. Neal Insley’s call for a Virginia State Police investigation of the April 11, 2013 incident in Charlottesville:

“Chairman Insley’s request for an impartial, third party review of the incident involving ABC law enforcement personnel is encouraging,” said Toscano. “A number of questions about this incident have been raised, and I believe this independent investigation by Virginia State Police will provide insight as to what went wrong, and how ABC can improve and implement better protocols and procedures to ensure than an incident like this does not occur again.”

Delegate Toscano recently sent a letter inquiring about the proper protocols and procedures to Shawn Walker, Director of Enforcement at ABC (see below). In his letter, Mr. Toscano inquired about what policies are currently in place for ABC law enforcement to detain citizens when enforcement officers suspect individuals may be underage and in possession of alcohol, and specifically, what procedures are in place to detain individuals already in motor vehicles. Additionally, Mr.Toscano inquired as to the specific training ABC law enforcement personnel receive in handling their weapons, and what protocols are in place to determine when an officer of ABC should unholster their weapon.

“I have lived in this community for over 30 years and do not recall an incident like this during that time,” wrote Toscano. “I appreciate the role that ABC plays in enforcing the laws against underage purchase, possession, and consumption. But I am concerned about the apparent overreaction of the agents during the April 11 event.”

Toscano Letter to Shawn Walker

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Statement on Renomination as Democratic Candidate for House of Delegates

May 6, 2013 by David Toscano

I am very pleased and honored to accept the nomination of the Democratic party for another term to be your Delegate for the 57th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. I first want to thank my family – Nancy and Matthew – for supporting me all of these years. Without them, I could not do this job.

Since I took office in 2006, I have learned a great deal about how best to represent this district and region. It is a challenge to get things done in Richmond, particularly when you are in the minority in the House. But with every year that goes by, I have become more effective, whether it has been in re-writing the adoption statutes that was accomplished early in my tenure, fighting against the forced resignation of President Teresa Sullivan in 2012, continuing to advocate for more funding for public education, or working to ensure that our Amtrak service from Charlottesville to DC has a dedicated source of funding.

I have been pleased to receive the endorsement of state and local teacher groups and to be designated by the League of Conservation Voters, the preeminent legislative environmental group in the Commonwealth, as a “Legislative Hero” for six years running.

My election as the Democratic Leader in the House has brought increasing responsibilities and opportunities to influence policies in Richmond that reflect the values of our region. As many of you know, the landmark Transportation Bill passed in 2013 could not have been done without Democratic votes in the House. I have pushed for this kind of legislation for years, and it was gratifying to help deliver the votes to pass it, given my new leadership position in the body.

These accomplishments are gratifying, but they cannot be done without you. You have supported me with your ideas, messages of encouragement, and monetary support. To do my job, I will need all three again. Please feel free to pass this announcement on to a friend, let me know what is on your mind, and, if you can, donate to my campaign or my political action committee, the Virginia First PAC. Donations to the PAC will go to help elect other candidates to the House who share our values. In that way, we marshal our local resources to gain more votes for our values in Richmond.

As always, it is an honor to represent you in the House of Delegates. I ask for your vote in November to be returned for another term.

Reconvene Session Passes Transportation Plan, More Restrictions on Abortion

April 9, 2013 by David Toscano

The “Veto” Session commenced at noon on Wednesday, April 3, 2013, and finished at 1:00 a.m. the next morning. It is hard to believe that we could take so long, but most of our time was focused on electing new judges around the Commonwealth in a Special Session.

The Governor made numerous recommendations for changes in bills that had been previously passed by the General Assembly. The most notable of these involved modifications in the transportation bill, which had been passed by a bipartisan coalition in the House and Senate. The Governor’s changes reduced the size of the plan somewhat and included a small reduction in the “hybrid tax”; the $100.00 fee was reduced to $67.00. The fiscal impact of that action was not large, but was viewed as a symbolic change designed to mollify some of the critics of the original bill. Most of the major increases in revenue remained, including the provision to create a dedicated source of revenue for passenger rail. I was happy to advocate and vote for this bill as the most significant advancement in the transportation funding that has been made in several decades (my speech on the original measure is available here). The measure raises about $1 billion extra per year and includes greater sums for transit, road maintenance, and passenger rail. Finally, the Governor made some changes designed to address concerns about the constitutionality of certain measures in the bill that provide some additional revenue for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Democrats again provided the margin of victory for final passage, as numerous “no tax pledge” Republicans deserted the Governor by failing to support the measure.

The Governor made some changes in budget language that may assist those of us who seek to expand Medicaid in the Commonwealth. My position continues to be that Medicaid expansion is good because it will create 30,000 new jobs in Virginia, insure approximately 300,000 Virginians who do not have coverage at present, allow the return of billions of dollars in Virginia tax monies that would otherwise go to states throughout the country that have embraced Medicaid expansion, and will be 100 percent funded by the federal government for the first several years of the expansion. It will reduce pressure on our emergency rooms, which have become the “health insurer of last resort” for many of the poorest in our region. Using emergency rooms for primary care is very inefficient and raises costs to taxpayers (the state reimburses hospitals for emergency room bills that are not covered by insurance and that individuals are unable to pay) and to those of us who have private insurance coverage.

A day in Richmond at the General Assembly would not be complete without a debate on social issues. This time it was the Governor who was pushing the social agenda, as he inserted language into a bill that would prohibit private health insurance companies from offering health care coverage for abortion as part of private insurance that would be purchased by individuals within the new health care marketplace. A majority in the House and Senate embraced the Governor’s language, despite the arguments of many Democrats (myself included) and some Republicans that this was an unnecessary and unreasonable intrusion into the marketplace, where private buyers and sellers negotiate the terms of the coverage that companies provide. Our further concern is that it could drive certain citizens away from the health exchange, with the result that either they do not get any coverage at all, or because the insurance pool would become smaller, the cost of insurance would rise for other people who seek it. This is not good social policy in a Commonwealth seeking to lower the cost of insurance for everyone and looking to the marketplace for solutions.

Finally, the 16th Judicial Circuit, which serves this area, got two new judges late in the evening. The first is Dale Durrer, who resides in Culpeper and will serve on the General District Court, replacing the Honorable Roger Morton, who recently retired. The second is Claude Worrell, II, an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in the City of Charlottesville, who will take the seat previously occupied by the Honorable Dwight Johnson, who retired in January. I expect that these gentlemen will make fine judges, and am very pleased that we were able to retain these judgeships for our community.

With the completion of the Session, my attention returns to constituent service, my law practice, and the fall elections. It is a pleasure and honor to represent you in the Virginia House of Delegates. As always, please feel free to contact me to share your thoughts and comments on matters before the Commonwealth.

Sincerely,

David

Session Ends with a Bang

February 26, 2013 by David Toscano

The 2013 session of the Virginia General Assembly adjourned on Saturday, February 23rd at 5:21 p.m., with the passage of what is arguably the most significant legislation with which I have been involved since I took my seat in 2006.

This session will be remembered primarily for two issues – transportation and Medicaid.

Transportation

When this session began on January 9, 2013, few would have predicted that we would ultimately pass the most significant transportation plan since 1986. This was not easy, and it almost unraveled at the last minute due to the intervention of our Attorney General, who had opposed any increases in transportation revenues, even the inadequate proposal that the Governor made in January. The Governor’s initial proposal failed to raise sufficient revenue for transportation, was built on an assumption that we would receive money due to federal action that no one was sure would occur (enactment of the Marketplace Equity Act, a.k.a. “internet sales tax”), and took the wrong approach on policy grounds by eliminating the gasoline tax while raising the sales tax. I originally opposed this proposal, and voted against it when it was first considered on the House floor.

But then things changed dramatically.

Frequent direct contact with the Governor’s office and the willingness of the Democratic Caucus to stick together on what was needed for this package were instrumental in modifying the plan as it continued through the legislative process. What ultimately emerged was a transportation plan which, while not perfect, included significant new revenues, approximating $1.4 billion extra per year for transportation construction, maintenance, transit, and rail. I have described this package in greater detail in a letter that I have sent to those who have contacted me on this matter. As a result of these significant and sustainable increases in revenue, I supported this bill. You can view the clip of my speech on the House Floor supporting the bill on YouTube.

One of the most heartening elements of this session was the degree to which the House Democratic Caucus was able to make the difference in passing the transportation plan. Without House Democrats, this plan would not have passed — there were simply not sufficient Republican legislators who were willing to support it. This is one of the untold stories of the 2013 session and one that should not go unnoticed for the future. While our numbers in the House are not as large as we would like, we clearly made the difference in a plan that is the most significant passed in the last twenty-five years.

Medicaid Expansion

On the Medicaid front, many of us argued that Medicaid expansion makes good economic sense for the Commonwealth while allowing more than 250,000 Virginians to get access to health insurance. Many hospitals and medical professionals in the Commonwealth argued for expansion because it would create 30,000 jobs, bring approximately $9.9 billion to the Commonwealth, and would provide a vehicle to discourage individuals without insurance from using the emergency rooms of our hospitals to meet their primary care needs – a costly way of providing care and one that ultimately raises costs for every Virginian who buys private insurance or is insured through their job. You can view my speech here.

The Governor and conservative members of the General Assembly, primarily in the House, vehemently opposed Medicaid expansion, feeling that it would place greater costs on the Commonwealth and would provide legitimacy to “Obamacare.” This is their sentiment despite assurances that 100 percent of the cost would be paid by the federal government for the first 3 years, and then 90 percent in future years. At present, the federal government pays 50 percent of Medicaid expenses.

Many of us further argued that failure to expand Medicaid would mean that Virginia tax dollars would be used to help fund Medicaid expansion in states who had decided to do so. Nationally, many states with Republican governors and statehouses, including Arizona, Ohio, and most recently, Florida, have decided that Medicaid expansion makes good economic and human sense and, therefore, have embraced expansion. Governor McDonnell, however, has consistently said no. What emerged in the final days of the General Assembly session was reform language that was placed in the budget to create a commission to determine whether and when reforms had been enacted sufficient to justify expansion in Virginia. It is not the approach that I would have taken, but it represented the best that we could do to move expansion forward.

At the last minute, however, Attorney General Cuccinelli issued an opinion that he believes such an approach is unconstitutional. This opinion had the effect of almost derailing passage of both the budget and the transportation plan. Cooler heads prevailed, and the Medicaid expansion language was accepted by the House and the Senate, enabling both the budget and the transportation plan to pass.

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The significance of transportation and Medicaid overwhelmed other measures that were considered during this session. It was disheartening to watch as important bills were not passed, notably measures to restore voting rights to non-violent felons, eliminate workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation, and make our streets and roads safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Future updates will detail these and other pieces of legislation, including changes in energy policy, some educational reforms, pay raises for teachers and faculty, prohibitions against texting while driving, and a new program to allow vital records to be issued by DMV.

I look forward to being back in Charlottesville with family and friends, and resuming my law practice. As House Democratic Leader, I will be traveling the state this year in an effort to increase the number of delegates who share our values in the General Assembly.

It is a pleasure and honor to represent you in the Virginia House of Delegates. As always, please feel free to contact me to share your thoughts and comments on matters before the Commonwealth.

Sincerely,

David

Thoughts on the Transportation Bill

February 25, 2013 by David Toscano

I received many letters and emails regarding the transportation bill passed by the Virginia General Assembly on February 23, 2013. After considerable thought, and consultation with the Governor’s office and my colleagues in the House and Senate, I decided to support this bill, because it represents a significant step forward in our efforts to address transportation funding challenges in the Commonwealth.

Unlike the Governor’s proposal, the bill retains gasoline taxes as the basis for funding transportation, though not to the extent that I desired. It is not a perfect bill, but is substantially better than what the Governor proposed in January of this year. It accomplishes many important things, not the least of which is the raising of approximately $1.4 billion per year in new money for construction, maintenance, transit, and rail. For the first time in Virginia history, we will have a dedicated source of revenue for intercity passenger rail, something many of my constituents believe is very important, in light of the efforts we have made to support the Lynchburg-Charlottesville-Washington train. This dedicated source of revenue will ensure that the Northeast Corridor train, so important to Charlottesville travelers, will continue to operate for many years to come. But beyond that, it opens up the possibility of rail service to Roanoke, and enhanced train service in the Norfolk to Richmond and I-95 corridors.

The bill also provides substantial new monies for transit operations, which are key to assisting people in getting to work and providing critical support to urban areas in the Commonwealth.

The bill provides significant dollars to the Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads areas of the state, by allowing them to raise additional revenues for transportation that they can use in these regions. It enhances economic activity, most notably by creating, for every $1 billion of construction spending, approximately 35,000 jobs.

While I do not believe the bill is ideal, it represents a solid step forward and one we would have thought impossible a month ago. We will have the opportunity to modify the bill in the years ahead, and one change I hope to be able to make is to eliminate the tax on hybrids and to restore some of the emphasis on gasoline tax that has been lost in the bill.

In the bill’s final version, the 17.5¢ per gallon gasoline tax was eliminated, and instead a new tax at the wholesale level was substituted. There is some belief that this may lead to a minor reduction in gasoline prices at the pump, but that remains to be seen, and we will only know after the bill takes effect on July 1, 2013.

Despite my opposition, the bill also transfers some monies from the General Fund that we typically use for education, health and public safety, but in lesser amounts than what the Governor proposed. This is an area that we need to revisit in the coming years, because we need to increase our funding for education and we need sufficient funds to do so.

If you are interested, the text and video of my speech given during the debate on the transportation bill can be found on my here.

I appreciate your input on this critical issue, and look forward to any further questions you may have on the initiative.