Environmental Protection

New Laws go into Effect July 1, 2011

July 1, 2011 by David Toscano

General Assembly Update (7/1/11)

Today marks the effective date on hundreds of new laws passed by the 2011 General Assembly. I am proud to have passed several bills this year that will promote solar energy generation, make mortgage refinance easier, and streamline adoptee’s access to birth records, among others.

Here is a summary of several other interesting bills that are now law. Please share your thoughts on these with me by email or facebook.

Persons in dating relationships are now eligible to obtain protective orders. In the past, abused spouses or those in a familial relationship with an abuser were eligible but those in dating relationships that did not live with their abuser or have a child with him or her were not. My bill on this subject, HB 2422 was incorporated into the final legislation (HB 2063).

Localities can now permit school systems to install video cameras on school buses to detect vehicles that illegally pass stopped buses that may be picking up or dropping off children (HB1911).

Victims of sexual abuse now have 20 years–up from two years–to file lawsuits against their alleged attackers. As a member of the Courts of Justice Committee, I heard hours of testimony on this bill which, while not perfect, provides more time for victims to come to terms with their traumatic experience and initiate civil court proceedings (HB1476).

Motorcyclists, mo-ped operators and bicyclists can now proceed through steady red lights after two light cycles or two minutes if their vehicle doesn’t trigger a light change as long as they exercise due care (HB1981).

Restaurants licensed by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board can permit customers to bring in and consume their own wine and can charge a corkage fee (SB1292).

Individuals who have cast absentee ballots but who die before Election Day will now have their ballots counted (HB1568).

State workers will receive a 5 percent pay raise in exchange for being required to pay 5 percent of their salary toward the Virginia Retirement System, which was recently found to have a $17 billion “unfunded liability.” (Read more about that issue here)

Producers selling agricultural produce or eggs in farmers markets and roadside stands will be exempt from the sales and use tax if the seller’s annual income from sales does not exceed $1000.

As always, it is an honor to serve you in the General Assembly, and I hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July Weekend.

Sincerely,

David

Education Funding, Climate Change, & Survey Results

February 25, 2011 by David Toscano

General Assembly Update (2/25/11)

With the General Assembly session scheduled to end on Saturday, February 26, we are awaiting a final compromise budget agreed upon by the House and Senate conferees. I remain concerned about education funding for Albemarle and Charlottesville and continue to advocate for additional monies for our schools.

Climate Change

This week we debated a resolution to Congress about climate change and clean air. The majority party in the House proposed a resolution (HR 72) asking Congress to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from taking any further action on climate change. The resolution would have prevented the enforcement of many reasonable regulations under the Clean Air Act (CAA), in addition to climate change mitigation. The CAA has been an effective vehicle for environmental protection and has dramatically reduced noxious pollutants in the atmosphere like lead, mercury, and chemicals which cause acid rain. During the debate, I took to the floor to argue against this short-sighted measure. You can see video of some of the debate on my Facebook page. Proponents of the resolution suggested that theories about climate change are based on fraudulent data. One delegate even went so far as to say that CO2 is not a pollutant. The resolution passed by a 64-33 margin, an indication of the amount of the work that we need to do to educate people about the reality of climate change.

Survey Results

Over 1450 people participated in my 2011 Constituent Survey by mail or online and these responses guided my decision-making during this General Assembly session.

Large numbers indicated they oppose cuts in K-12 education (85%), higher education (76%), Medicaid (76%), health services other than Medicaid (70%), public safety (71%) and veterans services (76%). 66% of respondents indicated that Virginia should raise taxes to fill any budget holes. I opposed the House budget proposal which, despite increased revenue estimates from the governor, cut K-12 education by almost $50 million and cut the Medicaid provider reimbursement rate.

51% of respondents opposed redirecting part of the General Fund (GF) to fund transportation and I voted against the House’s proposal to take $150 million out of the GF to fund the governor’s Transportation Infrastructure Bank. I expect to vote for a bill that will include new monies for transportation, but this spending will not be at the expense of education. A majority also opposed the privatization of the state-run Alcoholic Beverage Control retail operation, and this bill was defeated when the Republicans in the House refused to have it taken up in committee.

Survey responses on immigration were more mixed. 49% felt that individuals should be required to show proof of U.S. citizenship before receiving state and local services; 46% opposed this and 5% had no opinion. 53% opposed requiring local and state police to attempt to verify the citizenship of all who are arrested, and 59% indicated that they support this citizenship verification only of those accused or convicted of violent crimes. While I voted for HB 1468, which would require verification of the legal presence of an applicant prior to receiving public benefits, I opposed most of this session’s anti-immigration bills, including Arizona-style bills that dramatically broaden the power of law enforcement to demand identification any time a person is stopped for an offense and a bill that would bar young persons from attending public colleges or universities if their parents are undocumented.

The full survey results are now available.

I hope to have more information to you about the budget soon.

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.

Dueling Budgets & the Immigration Debate

February 16, 2011 by David Toscano

General Assembly Update (2/16/11)

Major events this and last week in Richmond included the passage of the House and Senate budgets, and the consideration of several immigration bills. As has been the case in the last several years, the House budget, while having some positive features, generally lacks support for many of our community’s priorities.

The House budget cuts about $50 million from from K-12 education. If ultimately approved, this would mean substantial reductions for both the Albemarle County and City of Charlottesville school divisions, and is one reason why I voted against the budget.

Another reason involves the cuts to Medicaid funding for those people most in need and for those people who provide critical medical services. For example, the House budget trims Medicaid reimbursements for hospitals and doctors from 72¢ on the dollar to 60¢ on the dollar. We are already among the worst states in terms of our Medicaid reimbursement formula and this will only exacerbate the problem that we have maintaining the Medicaid provider network. While the budget includes additional Medicaid waivers for Virginians with intellectual and developmental disabilities, it caps other community based services like respite hours for families and employees who provide critical services to those most in need.

Finally, the House budget eliminates support for public broadcasting, prohibits Medicaid patients from accessing services at clinics run by Planned Parenthood by prohibiting state reimbursement there, and takes money that could otherwise be used for schools and public safety and transfers it to the transportation fund.

The Senate budget is much more favorable to K-12 education, providing a higher level of funding for both Albemarle and Charlottesville. While it does not attempt to address the VRS funding problems that we have heard a lot about this session in the same fashion as the House budget, it has comparable levels of support for higher education and does not transfer monies from teachers and public safety to the transportation fund. For a complete overview of the differences between the House and Senate budgets, please refer to this study prepared by the Senate Finance Committee (.pdf).

At this point in the process, the two budget documents will be placed before a Committee of Conference composed of House and Senate members, and attempts will be made for each to compromise. I will be attempting to convince conferees of the importance of retaining funding for K-12 education and for critical community based mental health services.

The Senate this week defeated a majority of the immigration measures passed by the House last week. These have been emotional debates and I have heard from many constituents on this issue. If you would like to read more, please see my statement on immigration policy.

Finally, my bills continue to move through the legislative process. My solar energy bill (HB 1686), public infrastructure bill (HB 1872), and a bill to give more flexibility to homeowners seeking to refinance mortgages (HB 1682), all passed the Senate. My bill to lengthen the school year has been incorporated into a study of year-round schooling. Two more bills are still waiting hearing in committee: HB 1868, which pertains to adult adopted-persons better access to their birth parent records and HB 1529, which pertains to the division of assets in divorce proceedings.

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s telephone town hall. Our first attempt was a great success and I will hold other public events like this as well as in-person meetings in the future.

It is an honor to represent the 57th District and I look forward to returning home when session adjourns late next week.