General Assembly 2014

The 2014 Virginia General Assembly Session began on Wednesday, January 8, 2014, when 100 delegates were sworn in and Gov. McDonnell gave his final “State of the Commonwealth” address. The outgoing Governor gave a deeply personal speech, apologizing for his transgressions over the last year and celebrating what he considered to be a number of singular achievements. He praised the bipartisan transportation bill passed last year, which would never have passed without the substantial support of the Democrats in the House. One of the highlights of the speech was when he welcomed back Senator Creigh Deeds with a simple, “Welcome back, Creigh; we love you.” This brought a standing ovation among the Assembly, the Cabinet, the Supreme Court, and the gallery.

Another highlight of the first week involved the unveiling of the bipartisan conceptual agreement on ethics reform. This is described in greater detail in an op-ed piece that I co-authored with Majority Leader Kirk Cox. You can read it here.

Delegate Toscano with representatives from Albemarle High School who came to the General Assembly to discuss their Math, Engineering and Science Academy (MESA) program — Delegate Toscano with Jeff Prillaman, Eric Lee Hahn, and Tony Borash who came to the General Assembly to discuss Albemarle High School’s Math, Engineering and Science Academy (MESA) program

Little business was transacted in the first week, but challenges await. Paramount among these is the passage of a two-year budget and the questions of whether we will accept federal monies to insure 400,000 additional Virginians who are not presently covered. Gov. McAuliffe and I strongly support this; the House Republican Caucus strongly opposes it. If we are to pass changes in Medicaid, we will have to find a “Virginia Way” to do it. We need to find a way to cover those additional 400,000 Virginians, lessen the fiscal impact on hospitals and emergency rooms, keep Virginia taxpayer dollars in the Commonwealth rather than having them being sent to other places who have accepted Medicaid expansion, create 30,000 new jobs, and ensure that rural hospitals can remain open as engines of the economic activity and providers of critical health services. Hospital Associations says we are losing $5 million a day by not accepting the federal monies.

The highlight of the first week was undoubtedly the inauguration of Terry McAuliffe as the 72nd Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northern as the Lieutenant Governor, and Mark Herring as the Attorney General. They will make a great team. Governor McAuliffe struck a conciliatory tone in his inaugural address by stressing our common values and the need to work together to bring greater economic opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. He has been working very hard reaching out to Republicans to find common ground on a wide variety of issues. Whether they will allow some success is not yet clear. But I will be there fighting for the Governor’s legislative agenda.

We will shortly publish the results of our constituent’s survey. Thanks to those who took it.

You do not need to participate in the survey to provide us input on what you think is important for us to consider in Richmond. Please call my Richmond office at (804) 698-1057 or email me at DelDToscano@house.virginia.gov.

It is a pleasure serving you in the General Assembly.

David Toscano

Each General Assembly session takes on its own special character and tone. 2013 was the year of transportation, as House Democrats ensured passage of a bipartisan bill to inject significant monies into road construction and maintenance, rail, and mass transit.

The 2014 Virginia General Assembly session will likely give most of its attention to the following issues:

Budget

This is Governor McDonnell’s last 2-year budget, and his proposal will reflect his priorities. This is the year where we “benchmark for standards of quality,” that is, we determine the costs of providing quality education and hopefully fund it. I will push for additional monies for K-12, higher education, and mental health.

Jobs and Economic Opportunity

The economy is not improving as fast as we would like, and I will be supporting initiatives to create jobs and enhance workforce training to give our citizens greater economic opportunity.

Educational Reform

We will see efforts to reform the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests; I support giving local school divisions more flexibility to innovate and pay teachers what they deserve. We must find ways to challenge our students by fostering creative thinking and problem solving, thereby creating a workforce so our companies can remain competitive in the global economy. All of this, however, will take financial resources, and will require legislators to set priorities in their budget negotiations.

Mental Health System Reform

The tragic events involving Senator Creigh Deeds and his family have cast a harsh spotlight on the gaps in our mental health system. We made progress following the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy but more resources will be needed to improve the system. I support creation of more crisis intervention teams (CITS) and creating protocols to ensure that each person who needs a bed gets one.

Medicaid Enhancement

House Democrats support enhancement of Medicaid, along with many businesses, hospitals and physicians. There are several reasons to support enhanced Medicaid– which means reforming the system to protect taxpayer dollars while expanding service to those who need it. First, it means jobs and economic activity: $9.9 billion would be injected into Virginia’s economy by enhancing Medicaid, and an estimated 40,000 jobs would be created; it will keep our tax dollars here in Virginia rather than sending them to states that voted to expand Medicaid. Second, it protects local hospitals that provide critical services not to just indigent clients but entire communities; many of us worry that without Medicaid enhancement, some of our smaller community hospitals may risk having to close. Third, it would give up to 400,000 Virginians access to quality care that they do not presently have; it would keep them from having to use emergency rooms, thereby lessening costs for all Virginia taxpayers.

Ethics Reform

Following the scandals involving both Governor McDonnell and Attorney General Cuccinelli, efforts will be brought forth to reform Virginia’s reporting requirements for our top elected officials. Governor-elect McAuliffe has already stated he will institute a self-imposed ban of any gifts over $100 for himself and members of his family, and the legislature will consider a number of proposals, including the creation of an Ethics Commission.

Thank you for the opportunity to again serve you in Richmond. Your input is important to me. Share your thoughts — take the constituent survey.

Sincerely,
David