General Assembly Updates 2018

Virginia General Assembly Democrats 2018 Session

Let’s stand with the students and bring real change to gun safety

March 27, 2018 by David Toscano

Introductory note: Near the end of the 2018 General Assembly session, and several weeks after the Parkland shooting, Republican Delegate Nick Freitas from Culpeper delivered an incendiary and divisive speech linking gun violence to abortion and the welfare state, attacking today’s Democratic Party as the creators of slavery and massive resistance, yet claiming that any dialogue on this issue required “respect for opposing points of view.” Most of my colleagues viewed his speech as disrespectful; my comments below expand on my speech on the floor in response and the March for Our Lives last Saturday.

When it comes to our discussions about reducing gun violence, elected officials always seem to be speaking past each other instead of speaking with each other. America is telling us that this is no longer acceptable. We see it in the outpouring of energy surrounding the March for our Lives events in many American cities and an apparent shift in public opinion on this issue. [Read more…]

Overtime—Special Session to be Convened

March 12, 2018 by David Toscano

The 2018 General Assembly Session adjourned on Saturday, March 10, without voting on a final budget bill. This is unusual but not unprecedented; in my first year, 2006, we deadlocked on a budget until June 28, and in 2014 we did not have a budget until June 23. I am confident we will pass a budget, but it appears that it will take some time for the House and the Senate to come to an agreement. I fully expect that if we do not have a budget early enough to fund government operations on July 1, Gov. Northam will likely propose a new budget and require us to vote on it. [Read more…]

One Week Left and Dueling Budgets

March 5, 2018 by David Toscano

We have one week to go in this General Assembly session, and the major issue left to resolve is the budget. In December 2017, Gov. McAuliffe introduced his last budget, and both the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have been working on it since then. The House budget bill is dramatically different than the Senate’s budget, largely because the House is willing to expand healthcare coverage to thousands of Virginians by accepting federal Medicaid dollars. In the House budget, the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) can apply immediately for expansion; DMAS is also directed to request a special waiver that will allow certain Medicaid recipients to receive workforce training, in hopes that able-bodied recipients may then obtain employment or provide community service. The Senate budget does not include the Medicaid expansion monies from the governor’s budget, with the result that the Senate had to cut more than $400 million from Gov. McAuliffe’s introduced budget. [Read more…]

Vote on the Utility Rate Bill

February 27, 2018 by David Toscano

On Monday, February 26, 2018, the House passed SB 966, one of the most significant bills we considered this year, by a 65-30 margin. I voted against the bill. The bill was proposed largely in response to the so-called “Rate Freeze Bill” enacted several years ago.

As I have written previously, utilities had been “overearning” for the last several years and the bill would provide not only for refunds, but a new way by which the utilities could invest in modernizing the grid.

When the bill was first introduced, it had serious flaws, including a provision allowing the utilities to, in some cases, collect twice for the same investment. This was the so-called “double dip,” and I successfully offered an amendment on the House floor that removed it. The same amendment was placed on the Senate bill. [Read more…]

House Passes Budget with Medicaid Expansion — Awaits Senate Action

February 23, 2018 by David Toscano

On Thursday, February 22, the House of Delegates passed perhaps the best budget I have seen come from the body in the last twelve years. The House Budget includes the following highlights: [Read more…]