Equal Rights Amendment

GA Update Extra: They Had A Chance, And They Blew It

February 21, 2019 by David Toscano

House Republicans Said They’d Vote if ERA Got To The Floor: They Missed Their Chance

Over the last few weeks, we were told on numerous occasions that if a resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment got to the floor of the House of Delegates, a number of Republicans would vote for it, and Virginia would become the state that would add the ERA to the U.S. Constitution. Yesterday, we learned that was wrong.

I offered a floor amendment to a Senate Joint Resolution that, if supported, would place the House on record as ratifying the ERA; it couldn’t get much clearer than that. The resolution addressed equal protection under the law; so did my amendment. My amendment did not seek to change a Rule. It did not request the “discharge” of a committee, a procedural tactic designed to bring the ERA to the floor since it has been bottled up in committee. It was a one paragraph addition to SJR 275 to support the ERA.

The Republican leadership did not even permit me the opportunity to argue in favor of amending the resolution; I was only able to do it after the fact, during a point of personal privilege. Instead, without any debate, the Speaker and the majority leader forced a vote to re-refer the resolution to the House Courts of Justice Committee, which has finished its business for the year. You can see our response to this outrageous exercise of raw political power that denied the right of the majority to actually vote on the ERA here.

Although it was their leadership which engineered a way to duck a vote, each and every Republican supported the motion to re-refer. It would only have taken 2 Republicans voting with the 49 Democrats to keep SJR 275 on the floor, and then we could have voted on the amendment. This was their chance to actually take a vote on ratifying the ERA, and they blew it. I imagine ERA advocates all over Virginia are taking notice of promises made but not honored when the opportunity was presented, and of friends who stood with them when the choice was clear.

Today we will debate the proposed changes to the House of Delegates Rules that would allow the existing ERA ratification resolution to come to the floor for a vote. I hope you will watch our floor session by visiting this link.

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…]

Week One of the 400th Session Is Underway

January 14, 2019 by David Toscano

Four hundred years is a very long time. For that entire period, Virginia has been governed by a representative legislative body. From the Jamestown settlement in 1619 to Williamsburg to Richmond, the House of Delegates (formerly House of Burgesses) has met each year to pass laws – some good and some bad – reflecting the preferences of those who elected us to serve.

We convened on Wednesday, January 9, 2019, for this 400th anniversary session, and, as with all 399 sessions before, the issues we will discuss are important to the people of Virginia. [Read more…]

Why I Serve In The General Assembly

January 7, 2019 by David Toscano

The 2019 Session Is Upon Us

Since my election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2005, my goal has always been to serve this region with honesty and integrity while pushing the progressive measures which reflect this community’s values. For all of this time, Democrats have been in the minority in the House, with the result that many of the initiatives our region supports have not yet been adopted. Nonetheless, we have achieved some major victories, not the least of which occurred in the last session when we were able, after 5 years of trying, to pass Medicaid expansion, and provide access to health insurance to over 300,000 Virginians. It was the most consequential vote in decades.

Working with others in the General Assembly, we have been able to raise teacher salaries, make more investments in environmental protection and mental health, and provide monies for critical investments in transportation, including roads and mass transit. We have worked to restore and increase funding for education that was cut during the Great Recession. And we have fought efforts to restrict the reproductive rights of women and deny the rights of our LGBTQ and immigrant communities. As Democratic Leader for the past seven years, I was proud to help lead these fights. Under the McAuliffe Administration, Virginia’s economy expanded and many new jobs were created. Under the Northam Administration, growth rates have increased and we have been able to better meet the needs of all citizens in the Commonwealth. I remain committed to the following principles and will work to see policies embodied by them passed in upcoming sessions.

Good Jobs that Honor Work, Provide Opportunity, and Build Prosperity: Virginians Need a Raise

Hardworking Virginians should be able to earn a livable wage and have a decent standard of living, including the ability to access paid time for family leave, vacations, and sickness. Opportunity and prosperity are ensured when employees are protected at work, and have access to health care and other benefits. Virginia families want their children and grandchildren to succeed and not be forced to move from their communities to seek a better life. To that end, we should pass laws to ensure:

A concrete plan to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour, lowest in the nation, to $15 per hour.
Strong paid family leave policies.
Contracting procedures that reward companies which provide health care and benefits to their employees while ensuring workers’ rights to a safe and secure workplace.
Equal pay for equal work.
Nondiscrimination in hiring and employment.
Incentives to ensure that all Virginians have access to affordable and quality health care.
Prohibitions against wage theft in the workplace.
Better workforce training linked to good jobs in the community.
Greater investments in Virginia’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, directing these monies for local use (similar to the $1 million grant we obtained for Habitat’s Southwood initiative).

Access to Affordable and Quality Health Care

Virginians continue to experience problems with accessing health care at affordable rates. Large numbers of Virginians remain uninsured, and in many parts of the Commonwealth insurance premiums take too large a percentage of a family’s income. Medicaid expansion will permit a larger number of Virginians access to quality insurance, but there are other areas where reforms are necessary. I support:

Effective implementation of Medicaid expansion.
Expanding health care insurance options to increase access and hold down costs.
Transparency in providing information about the costs of services and prescriptions so that consumers can make educated choices.
Investment in public health centers and free clinics to assist those who are unable to pay for medical procedures and prescriptions.
Emphasis on preventive public health rather than expensive emergency medicine.
Increasing investments to ensure that food insecurity is eliminated among Virginians.
Protecting women’s reproductive rights.
Lowering drug prices under Medicaid by leveraging the purchasing power of state agencies.
Protecting consumers from surprise medical bills from out-of-network providers.
Ensuring that persons with pre-existing conditions do not lose insurance.
Enhancing the ability of our Bureau of Insurance (BOI) to rein in health insurance premium increases.

[Read more…]

House Republicans Said They’d Vote if ERA Got To The Floor: They Missed Their Chance

SCC and the Exercise of Power

The 2019 Session Is Upon Us

Good Jobs that Honor Work, Provide Opportunity, and Build Prosperity: Virginians Need a Raise

Access to Affordable and Quality Health Care

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