General Assembly Upates 2011

General Assembly Update (2/1/11)

The General Assembly continues to push through a large docket of bills for the 46-day session. Our days are long now, often beginning at 7:00 a.m. and ending at 10:00 p.m. Much of the controversy over the last week has focused on a number of proposed constitutional amendments. For a constitutional amendment to take effect in Virginia, it has to be passed by two consecutive legislative sessions and then placed on the ballot for voter approval. To date, we have considered the following: the Right-to-Work Amendment, the Transportation “Lock Box” Amendment, an amendment on Condemnation and Eminent Domain, and the so-called “Repeal Amendment.” And more are coming.

I have opposed most of these for various reasons. The right-to-work principle has been enshrined in the Code of Virginia since 1950 and it has never seriously been challenged for 60 years, either by the legislature or the Supreme Court of Virginia. I spoke on the House floor against this amendment, citing James Madison, who wrote in Federalist # 49 that Constitutions should only be amended for “great and extraordinary occasions.” There is no threat to right-to-work in Virginia and therefore no need to pass the amendment. Despite our arguments, this resolution passed the House by a large majority. It will likely die in the Senate.

I took the same position on the so-called Repeal Amendment.This proposal would allow two-thirds of state legislatures to overturn “any provision of law or regulation” passed by Congress or issued by the federal government. This may make good politics for some, but it would turn the Constitution on its head. If passed, legislators would have to be familiar with federal legislation, and would be required to take positions on a wide variety of issues, including thousands of regulations that are promulgated to implement federal law each year. We could potentially be voting on international treaties that had been approved by the U.S. Senate. Legislatures would likely have to remain in session full time to address these issues, at considerable cost to the taxpayer. Beyond that, the Commonwealth of Virginia could be disadvantaged because it would be possible for the smaller states to join together to overturn Federal laws that might benefit our state. For example, if the Congress decided to locate a major military facility in the Commonwealth, and two thirds of the states did not like this decision, they could band together to stop it. Even if you believe that the Federal government has overstepped its bounds and has grown too large, this amendment is not the solution.

In other news, my budget transparency bill, which would have given citizens and legislators greater opportunity to review changes in the budget that were made at the last minute, was tabled by the House Appropriations Committee. I continue to believe that, independent of your political perspective, transparency is the best approach for governmental decision making, and the budget is one of the places where we need more transparency. There is an increasing tendency for power to be concentrated in the Appropriations and Finance Committees. It is not infrequent for bills that were rejected by one or both houses find their way into the budget bill and become the law of the Commonwealth. In addition, powerful individual legislators can insert their “earmarks” into the final budget bill at the last minute, which are then are passed without much time for scrutiny. This is not a way to run a democratic legislature.

Many of my bills remain alive in the process. One would make a major change in Virginia law to protect victims of dating violence. I proposed this bill on behalf of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance and strongly believe, particularly in the wake of Yeardley Love’s death last year, that our protective order statute needs to be strengthened and we need to do a much better job in protecting victims of dating violence. Another bill would allow the City of Charlottesville to require property owners and developers to post “public infrastructure maintenance bonds” to ensure that streets and sidewalks are repaired after construction occurs, thereby saving taxpayer money. This will likely pass this week. My bill to establish solar energy pilot projects that will test ways to allow consumers more options to use solar energy on their property and sell excess energy back onto the grid will likely reach the House floor this week. This bill emerged from a proposal I made last year and represents a cooperative effort between Dominion Power and Piedmont Environmental Council, two groups who frequently disagree.

I have received hundreds of emails in these first few weeks on a wide range of subjects as the General Assembly considers thousands of bills and other proposals. I appreciate your input and hope you will continue to feel free to share your priorities, concerns, questions, and support throughout the remainder of the 2011 session. For those of you who have yet to take my constituent survey, it can be found here.

It is a pleasure serving you in the General Assembly.

Please feel free to contact my office any time with questions, concerns, or suggestions. My number in Richmond is (804) 698-1057 and you may reach me by email at deldtoscano@house.state.va.us. I look forward to serving you in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,

David

General Assembly Update (1/21/11)

Greetings from Richmond. We convened the 2011 session of the General Assembly on Wednesday, January 12. The first few days are generally reserved for reorganization and few bills are actually heard. Nonetheless, there is considerable controversy already brewing at the Capitol. In Gov. McDonnell’s amended budget, he has proposed several million dollars in school funding cuts for Albemarle and Charlottesville, he has yet another proposal to privatize the Alcoholic Beverage Control and, in perhaps the most controversial proposal of all, he has suggested that state employees be forced to contribute a portion of their salary to the state retirement system.

I have signed on to legislation that will restore the school funding cuts to Albemarle and Charlottesville. I have also expressed serious concerns about the governor’s plan to force employees, most of whom have not received a raise in several years, to contribute to the retirement system.

This year, we are confronting a major problem with the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and its $17.6 billion “unfunded liability,” which is approximately the amount of money appropriated from the General Fund in a year. The term “unfunded liability” describes the ability of a retirement plan to pay the future benefits due to employees if they retired immediately. Since all employees will not retire immediately, sound financial planning does not require that a fund be 100% funded. In fact, economists believe that if a plan is 80% funded, and so long as contributions are continuing to be made into the fund and investments perform adequately, a retirement fund is fine.

The problem with the VRS is that we have consistently underfunded our system while the stock market, where this money is invested, has not brought the returns to which we have become accustomed. In addition, over the last twenty years, the General Assembly has actually met the required actuarial funding request in only three years. If we had made those contributions, our assets would be $5.4 billion more than we have at present, thereby putting less stress on the system. The problem has been exacerbated by the $620 million the General Assembly “borrowed” from the retirement plan to balance the budget last year. I did not support this and voted against the budget, partially due to this provision. We would be in a much better position today had we not taken that money from VRS.

Some economists believe that the problem is even more serious because the actuarial assumptions underpinning the unfunded liability figures are perceived to be too liberal. If that is the case, the fund could experience problems even greater than are now being projected.

One overlooked portion of the governor’s proposal which could have considerable impact on state employees in our area, including faculty at the University of Virginia, is his plan to decrease the amount of state contributions to what is called the “Optional Retirement Plan.” Under this plan, members of ORP will have their state contributions reduced from 10.4% of their salaries to 8.5% of their salaries, and, unlike VRS employees, who will receive a 3% raise to partially offset the change, ORP employees will receive nothing. It is estimated that approximately 25,000 employees around the state are enrolled in this plan, including faculty at the University, VCU, Virginia Tech, George Mason, William and Mary, ODU, and Longwood. At UVA, 3,156 employees are enrolled in ORP compared to 6,210 at VRS, so the stakes are high.

Given the numbers of people involved and the fact that we will not solve this problem overnight, it is important to move deliberately, getting as much information as we can and as much input as possible, before developing a long term strategy to solve the VRS problem. Moving too quickly will be a disservice to employees and interject levels of inequity that are unfair and could create unintended consequences for the future. If you have any suggestions on what we should do to address this problem, I would appreciate hearing from you.

In addition, please take my citizen survey either by returning the mailer you may have received or by taking the survey online. Feel free to pass this message along to friends that may be interested.

It is a pleasure serving you in the General Assembly.

Please feel free to contact my office any time with questions, concerns, or suggestions. My number in Richmond is (804) 698-1057 and you may reach me by email at deldtoscano@house.state.va.us. I look forward to serving you in the coming weeks.

General Assembly Update (1/12/11)

At noon today, the 2011 General Assembly Session officially began with a prayer and the passage of two procedural resolutions. With hundreds of bills filed and at least $191 million in budget cuts proposed, there is much business to address during this short, 45-day session.

I have filed bills on a number of subjects, from government transparency, to renewable energy development, to bike safety. Here are just a few of them:

• HB 1869: requires the budget conference committee to issue reports to inform members and the public of any non-state appropriations or other line-items that were not in either house’s budget bill or that represent legislation that failed in either house. This bill will add more transparency to the budget process.
• HB 1870: requires corporations and other entities that received state monies for the purpose of economic development to issue reports on the actual jobs created so that the state may spend tax-payer money more efficiently.
• HB 1685 and HB 1686: expands support for renewable energy by allowing agricultural customers to aggregate their meters, thereby making large manure-to-energy and other renewable projects more feasible, and by authorizing the State Corporation Commission to create a pilot program to allow greater use of solar energy in more densely populated areas.
• HB 1683: prohibits motor vehicles from following a bicycle too closely and mandates a three-foot passing distance around bikes.
• HB 1871: increases the minimum number of “seat-hours” required in Virginia’s public schools by a day’s equivalent every year for 10 years beginning in 2012.

I appreciate the many responses I have received so far to my 2011 Constituent Survey. You may have seen the ad placed in the Hook (soon to appear in C’Ville Weekly, as well) and you may have received a survey in the mail. Please fill out the survey — you may also do so online — and let me know what your priorities are this Session, so that I may better serve the 57th District.

Please also feel free to contact my office any time with questions, concerns, or suggestions. My number in Richmond is (804) 698-1057 and you may reach me by email at deldtoscano@house.state.va.us. I look forward to serving you in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,

David

General Assembly Update (1/8/11)

The following is a list, presented in random order, of things that I would like to see occur in 2011. In 2011, I hope that:

1. The City and the owners of the Amtrak property on West Main Street find a way to pave the station’s parking lot;
2. Charlottesville and Albemarle County mount a serious effort to consolidate selected services and plan together for the future, both for economic efficiency and to bring a higher level of service to their citizens;
3. Teresa Sullivan and the many new leaders at the University of Virginia succeed in their quest to chart a path to remain the flagship institution of higher education in the Commonwealth and one of the best public universities in the nation;
4. Tom Perriello secures a position worthy of his talent, integrity, and energy that will assist the nation as we seek to maintain our competitive edge in an increasingly challenging international environment;
5. City Manager Maurice Jones and County Executive Tom Foley succeed in overcoming the fiscal challenges brought on by the economy and by a state government that continues to provide inadequate support;
6. Construction begins anew on the Landmark Hotel located on the City’s Downtown Mall;
7. The state finds a way to support expanded passenger rail and shores up support for the phenomenally successful Lynchburg-Charlottesville-DC route;
8. The City implements what has been its plan for 40 years-completing the Meadowcreek Parkway;
9. Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli abandons his fishing expedition to obtain emails from UVA faculty and staff related to climate change and understands what the scientific societies of some 50 individual countries have concluded: that the planet is warming, due in large part to human activity, and that this poses a threat to economic activity and quality of life across the globe; and
10. We restore civility and bipartisanship to a political process that otherwise prevents the United States from being all that it can be. I wish you and yours the happiest New Year.

Sincerely,

David