David J. Toscano

Attorney at Law

Toscano issues call for legislative hearing on campus sexual violence

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – Delegate David J. Toscano (D-57th District) today issued a call for a legislative hearing to examine the reporting practices of sexual assault at Virginia universities and colleges in the aftermath of the recent gang rape allegations at University of Virginia in the RollingStone article of November 19, 2014. The call came in a letter addressed to the Chairs of the House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees, Delegate Dave Albo, Senator Tommy Norment, and Senator Mark Obenshain, respectively.

“This is a serious problem at UVA, but it is larger than just one institution,” said Toscano. “We have a special role as legislators to do what we can to attack this problem. We fund public and private institutions of higher education in Virginia, both directly and indirectly through TAG grants. More importantly, it is our children and grandchildren who attend these institutions and who deserve our protection.”

Toscano suggested that the legislative panel hear first from the Governor’s Task Force on Combating Campus Sexual Violence chaired by the Attorney General, and receive information on protocols that colleges and universities have in place to encourage reporting these crimes to law enforcement. Toscano requested the hearings take place during the first week of the 2015 General Assembly, scheduled to convene on January 14, 2015.

A copy of Delegate Toscano’s letter to the chairs is available here.

A copy of Delegate Toscano’s statement of November 21 is available here.

David ToscanoDelegate David J. Toscano represents the 57th District in Virginia’s House of Delegates, which consists of the City of Charlottesville and parts of Albemarle County.  Since 2012, Delegate Toscano has also served as House Democratic Leader, elected by his fellow Democratic delegate peers.

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Contact:  Carmen Bingham, (434) 220-1660, carmen@davidtoscano.com
Office of Delegate David Toscano, 57th District
House Democratic Leader
211 East High Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902

Addressing and Combating the Issue of Sexual Assault

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Comments on the Rolling Stone article and sexual assault

The events described in the recent article in Rolling Stone magazine are deeply disturbing and should prompt us to redouble our efforts to combat sexual assault. I have conveyed my serious concerns to University administrators and believe it is proper that they have turned this case over to the Charlottesville Police Department.

While sexual assault is not a problem unique to UVa, that fact should not obscure our responsibility to confront this problem directly.  Our great University should not and cannot become a poster child for inaction. UVa and the Commonwealth should be leaders in addressing a problem that is increasing in severity. The 2014 report from the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault study reported that:

  1. One in five women is sexually assaulted while in college.
  2. Undergraduate women are most likely to be raped during the first six weeks of their first semester of college.
  3. Campus assailants are often serial offenders. This is perhaps the most shocking fact of all.

President Teresa Sullivan and Rector George Martin have both issued statements decrying the epidemic of sexual assault on college campuses. But, as they acknowledge, words alone will not suffice. UVa is one of twelve schools in the country under a U.S. Department of Education Compliance Review; it will immediately need to increase its efforts to combat this very serious problem within the community. This includes both continuing to challenge its students on the need to report sexual assault and requiring university officials to report offenses when made aware.[1] It means encouraging these allegations to be handled as criminal misconduct rather than treating them as “honor offenses”. It means continuing to confront and eliminate a culture of alcohol and drug abuse. It means taking swift and firm action against individuals who engage in these activities, as well as the organizations such as fraternities and sororities who condone such behavior. If the facts of this case are supported, there should be serious criminal and civil sanctions directed at the fraternity and the members who were involved.

As a city and region, we should increase our police presence in the Rugby Road area. The University should also increase its own security measures. And as a Commonwealth, we should seek changes in law that will encourage victims and universities to report this behavior and expel students guilty of this egregious activity. The Governor recently established a Task Force on Combating Campus Sexual Violence, and they will begin reporting recommendations very soon. We should enact legislation that requires universities to develop vigorous reporting policies involving sexual misconduct and requirements that universities mark the transcripts of students convicted of sexual misconduct so that if they seek to transfer, the next institution would have the benefit of this information. Another option involves legislation or regulation designed to crack down on fraternities which are operating as “de facto” clubs without liquor licenses.

The Charlottesville Police Department is now involved investigating these allegations; we should let them do their work expeditiously and unencumbered. But while they do, we need to examine new policies. And I will continue to encourage the University to do much more to address this problem.

As always, I am honored to represent this community and encourage individuals to contact me at david@davidtoscano.com.

[1] UVa’s policy on Student Sexual Misconduct provides information for victims and encourages reporting. It is designed to encourage a culture of reporting. It only tangentially mentions the obligations of others at the University to report. Many do not realize that as of August, 2014, many UVa employees became mandatory reporters of sexual misconduct. This would include most members of the faculty and administration, and the reporting would be to UVa’s Title IX Coordinator through a secure website. Ironically, the University published a new Student Sexual Misconduct Policy on November 19, which is now open for comment. Comment period ends December 5, 2014.

Adjournment Without A Budget

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The General Assembly adjourned on March 8, 2014 without a budget. This is the third time that this has occurred in the nine years that I have been serving you in Richmond. We have until the end of June to have a budget in place, but most of us want this to occur as soon as possible because our localities need to have firm figures from Richmond as to monies that are coming to them so they can prepare their budgets. The budget impasse is tied up in the Medicaid debate. It is my view that you cannot separate Medicaid from the budget. If we can access more federal dollars as part of Medicaid expansion, we would not have to appropriate monies in ways set forth in the House budget. We could replace millions of dollars in state dollars proposed for indigent care and for hospitals with federal dollars, freeing up state dollars to be spent on education and public safety. This debate will continue to occur when we reconvene in a special session beginning March 24th.

While most press coverage focused on the Medicaid issues, there were several significant actions taken by the General Assembly this session. They include the following:

Mental Health Reform

I served on the Mental Health subcommittee in the House that was able to advance a number of reforms, including the extension of emergency custody orders for citizens in crisis from six to twelve hours, requiring the state hospitals to provide a bed in the event that no other beds are available, and the implementation of a psychiatric bed registry to more quickly find beds for people in need.

Ethics Reform

I was the chief co-patron on a bipartisan bill that enacts a $250.00 cap on tangible gifts, requires that gifts to family members be reported, and ensures that the gift disclosures be made online so that citizens can easily see them. There is still much to be done in this area, but this is the first overhaul of this statute in many years, and represents a good effort to restore some faith in our ethics laws in the aftermath of the McDonnell scandal.

Standards of Learning Reform

We have reduced the number of SOL “high-stakes” tests in Grades 3 to 8, and have created a new committee that will recommend additional reforms.

Transportation Reform

The hybrid vehicle tax that was part of the 2013 transportation reform measure that many of us opposed was repealed.

Utility Service

We passed a bill that will make the undergrounding of utilities easier to accomplish by spreading the costs across the ratepayers. This is a very important measure for older communities like Charlottesville where above ground power lines often fail when major tree limbs fall during storms.

School Reform

We delayed by two years the issuance of the “A-F” letter grades for schools.

Bicycle Safety

We provided some additional protections for bicyclists by enacting a 3-5 foot passing distance around bicycles.

A number of measures were either tabled or defeated that might have some interest. The Virginia Dream Act, which would allow in-state college tuition for children of Virginia immigrants, was defeated, as was an effort to increase the minimum wage. Efforts by conservatives to push a new constitutional convention were passed by the House, but defeated in the Senate.

There were no new attacks on women’s reproductive health passed by the General Assembly, but our efforts to rollback the forced ultrasound requirement were defeated. The proposal to transfer $3 million from the City schools to the County schools was defeated in the House Appropriations Committee.

We have not yet designated a new judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit, which has been pushed back to sometime in April.

We return to Richmond on March 24th to work on Medicaid and the budget. Debates on this issue will likely continue throughout the spring.

As always, it is a pleasure representing you in the General Assembly and I hope that you will contact me with your views on various issues in the weeks leading up to our next session on March 24th.

David Toscano

Prospects for the 2014 Virginia General Assembly Session

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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

New Virginia Laws in Effect as of July 1, 2013

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July 1, 2013, marked the date on which legislation passed in the previous session took effect, including any changes in the budget. Included in these are the following:

  1. Various fees and taxes will be reformed as part of the recently enacted bipartisan transportation bill. As part of the bill, the gasoline tax of 17.5 cents per gallon has been replaced with a percentage based tax of 3.5% for gasoline and 6% for diesel (an equivalent of ten to eleven cents per gallon). Some have argued that this will mean that the price at the pump will decline, but since the price of gas is based more on the market than on the tax rates, it is hard to predict. Citizens will see a small increase in sales tax that is now designated for transportation. In Hampton Roads and NoVA, there will be additional taxes and fees, with the revenue designated for transportation initiatives in those regions. The bill also, for the first time, provides a dedicated source of monies for passenger rail. The result of the bill will be greater assistance for road and transit improvements throughout the state, including Albemarle and Charlottesville. One downside is the imposition of larger fees on hybrid vehicles, something which makes little sense to me and which we will likely try to repeal in the next legislative session. This is not a perfect bill, but is nonetheless significant as creating the largest influx of transportation money in two decades.
  2. Citizens can now be stopped and ticketed for texting while driving. Unlike the seatbelt safety law, it is now a primary offense meaning a police officer or sheriff can stop a driver if they see a driver texting while driving. Fines for first offenses will range from $25 to $125. So stop texting and driving.
  3. A two percent (2%) teacher pay increase goes into effect on July 1, conditioned on localities providing a local match. A raise is also included for University personnel.
  4. School divisions will be eligible to apply for school safety grants of up to $100,000.00 to purchase security equipment and technology.
  5. Businesses will now be able to donate equipment and machinery to community colleges and vocational schools, and be eligible for a grant of up to $5,000.00.
  6. Persons who financially exploit the elderly or incapacitated will be subject to harsher criminal penalties.

The big news of this month was, of course, the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). While this is an extremely significant court decision, it does not overturn Virginia’s constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex marriage, a measure I did not support and favor repealing. Repeal will not be easy so long as the House of Delegates retains its current composition. Some of us are concerned that, in order to ensure they will have benefits derived from marriage, gay partners may now seek to relocate from Virginia into states that either allow gay marriage or recognize it. This would be detrimental to our state, and especially our business climate. To compete in a global economy, Virginia businesses need to recruit and retain talented and productive individuals and couples. Given our presently hostile laws, gay couples may choose to relocate to other states, or not come to Virginia at all. We have a long way to go to ensure that gay rights and partners are protected. I expect to see and support various non-discrimination bills that will be offered in the next General Assembly session, including provisions that will extend state benefits to gay partners.

Full List of New Virginia Laws in Effect as of July 1, 2013

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