General Assembly 2019

Moving Toward Adjournment: Much Still To Be Done

February 15, 2019 by David Toscano

We continue to do our legislative work in Richmond, even with all the headlines about the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General. Thanks to all who have expressed their views to me about what should happen. The House Democratic Caucus issued statements on these matters, which I support. You can see the statement released February 7th here and another statement regarding the Lieutenant Governor released on February 9th here.

BUDGETS

Late last week, the House and Senate both approved budgets. Since there are differences between the two, they will need to be reconciled; several members of each body are appointed to the conference committee to resolve differences between the measures. Neither the House or Senate budget are as generous in funding education as was the Governor’s proposal, though both include the Governor’s proposal for a 5 percent raise for teachers. The Commonwealth is still struggling to bring inflation-adjusted school spending back to the levels that existed prior to the 2007-08 recession. The Senate budget provides $40 million to local school divisions, but the local divisions must also dedicate local money to make the teacher raises occur. The House budget is more generous than the Senate in funding more school counselors, a key recommendation of the House Select Committee on School Safety on which I sat. The House budget cuts $35.6 million from the Governor’s plan to provide additional money to school divisions with higher at-risk populations. [Read more…]

Two Weeks To Go, Important Work To Do

February 11, 2019 by David Toscano

Deal Emerging on Budget and Taxes?

Amidst all that is happening in Richmond, the legislature continues its work, most recently on the budget. You can see my opening remarks on the budget proposed by the House Appropriations committee here. In my view, although the proposed budget was a good effort, it missed historic opportunities to invest substantially in what Virginians desire and need, from K-12 education to environmental initiatives to affordable housing. I voted against this budget because I believe we can do better.

Instead of recognizing and addressing the regressive burden last year’s federal tax changes placed on our lowest income earners, our Republican colleagues doubled down on the Trump tax scheme, and left working Virginia families at the lowest end of the wage scale to pay the most (proportionally) in state taxes. House Republicans rejected a series of amendments to restore many of the progressive initiatives the Governor had proposed, as well as a Democratic initiative to provide an immediate tax refund to working families. The budget also cut efforts to dedicate funds for coastal resiliency as we fight the effects of global climate change; you can see the debate on this here. [Read more…]

Doing the People’s Business During a Challenging Time

February 5, 2019 by David Toscano

We are now in the busiest week of the legislative year. On Sunday, the House and Senate budgets were unveiled. Today, February 5, is “crossover,” the day on which all bills must be passed in one legislative body to cross over to the other side of the Capitol for consideration. We debate the budget this Thursday. All of this work is, of course, going forward in the shadow of the turmoil surrounding the Governor. I posted my thoughts (you can read it here) about this still-unfolding situation as of Saturday morning on social media, and will probably have more to say later. For now, however, we legislators are focused on doing the job our constituents elected us to do.

STATUS OF MY BILLS

Eight of my bills have passed the House and will now be considered by the Senate. Four initiatives address rising health insurance premiums and health care costs, and are directly related to the spike in insurance premiums that occurred in Charlottesville in late 2017 during the ACA Marketplace open season to purchase 2018 health care insurance. [Read more…]

You Win Some and Lose Some: But You Never Stop Trying

January 25, 2019 by David Toscano

When I first arrived in the House of Delegates in 2006, a friend of mine counseled me not to get too personally attached to any proposed legislation. “Bills are like goldfish,” he said. “You love and care for them when they are alive, but when they die, you go out and get another fish.”

There is some common sense in this attitude, especially when you can bring bills back in the next session to try again, but I have to admit it’s a severe disappointment when very important efforts are defeated, especially when they could make a big difference. In the last week, I have watched this happen to measures like the ERA ratification resolution, which was defeated in the House Privileges & Elections Committee after a herculean lobbying effort. It is not totally dead, and we are working on another strategy to push for a vote on the House floor, but we have some major hurdles to overcome.

There are a few of my bills which have not yet been placed on a subcommittee agenda (as of Friday afternoon, at least), including HB 2377 to grant localities the authority to decide what to do with Confederate statues in public spaces and HB 1959 to allow any voter to vote absentee without having to provide a reason or fit into a special category. For these, the fight to win them is still ahead, and I appreciate all the work being done to help that happen. [Read more…]

Raw Power: SCC, ERA, and Guns

January 21, 2019 by David Toscano

We have now completed the first 12 days of the 2019 General Assembly Session, and the legislative train has clearly begun to pick up speed. But not everything is on the same track. The big developments last week included election of a State Corporation Commission judge, defeat of a dozen common-sense gun bills, and passage of the ERA amendment by the Senate.

SCC and the Exercise of Power

The State Corporation Commission (SCC), a constitutional creation separate from the executive and legislative branches, is one of the most important entities of our state government. It is distinctly different than similar commissions in other states because it has a broader regulatory charge; it not only regulates railroads and utility rates, but also approves health insurance rates and oversees a wide variety of other areas important to consumers. The General Assembly selects the three members of the Commission, and the Governor has no veto power to deny their seating. Under the Virginia Constitution, at least one of the three Commissioners must also meet the qualifications to be a judge, and last year that Commissioner retired before his term had expired; but the Republicans in the House and Senate have not been able to agree on a new appointment to replace him for over a year—until last week. In a surprise and shocking move, at the speed of a “bullet train” and with little notice to the General Assembly or the public, the Republicans approved a new Commissioner within 24 hours of her announced candidacy. Judge Patricia West, most recently an associate dean and professor at Regent University Law School and previously Virginia Secretary of Public Safety for Governor George Allen and chief deputy attorney general to former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, admitted in her abbreviated hearing before the Commerce and Labor Committee that she has absolutely no experience in health or energy regulatory policy, key issues before the Commission. The public had no opportunity to comment on the choice, and very few General Assembly members had a chance to actually speak with the candidate, as is the typical protocol prior to approval. [Read more…]

BUDGETS

Deal Emerging on Budget and Taxes?

STATUS OF MY BILLS

SCC and the Exercise of Power

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