David Toscano

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David Toscano
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A Deal on Guns?

January 29, 2016 by David Toscano

One of the biggest surprises of this General Assembly Session to date involves a possible deal to enhance gun safety in the Commonwealth. On Friday, January 29, Governor McAuliffe and Speaker Howell proposed a deal involving concealed carry permit reciprocity, enhanced background checks, and greater protections for victims of domestic violence. The deal is still not finalized, because a number of bills will have to pass and be signed by the Governor before all of the measures take effect. Much of the Capitol was surprised by the proposal, which apparently originated after the NRA approached the Governor’s office to see if anything could be done to restore concealed permit reciprocity agreements that Attorney General Herring recently stated he would not enforce because a review was not done of the other states’ permit requirements, as current law specifies. The proposal, as it is emerging, has three basic components:

  1. Virginia will continue to recognize concealed carry permits from other states as was done prior to the Attorney General’s action of several months ago. It has been my view that we should not allow a state with less stringent criteria than Virginia to control who should be able to carry concealed in our state. Virginia has specific criteria for concealed permits and it is only common sense that non-Virginians also meet our criteria in order to exercise the privilege of carrying a concealed weapon in the Commonwealth.
  2. Victims of domestic violence will gain greater protection, something we have advocated for years. Under the proposed deal, a person subject to a protective order that has been adjudicated by a judge will not be permitted to own, possess, or transport a firearm for as long as the Order is in effect. Concrete data exists that shows this change will actually save lives; there have been four reported gun deaths committed by former partners after a protective order was issued. I have offered and supported bills like this in the past, all of which had been previously killed by the more strident gun groups.
  3. We would expand background checks at gun shows. Last year, I proposed such a measure which was defeated in subcommittee. Under present law, licensed dealers at gun shows have to conduct a background check of every person who attempts to buy a firearm. Private sellers at the shows, however, do not. This has been called the “gun show loophole.” Under the deal, private sellers would not be required to conduct a background check, but if they have any concerns about a person seeking to buy the firearm, they could request such a check be done by the State Police in advance of selling the firearm.

While this deal is not perfect and there is much work that remains, it represents a major step toward gun safety. It remains to be seen if the “gun groups” will support any deal, but passing bills like these would go a long way to improve the feeling of safety and security among domestic violence victims and within our communities. It is important to stress that we would not have gotten here without the courage of Attorney General Herring and the actions of our Governor.

I am most interested to hear how my constituents feel about this proposed deal. Several votes will be taken in the next week or two, and it will be good to hear from citizens with any concerns that you have.

In other news, we continue our efforts to elect Supreme Court Justice Jane Roush to a full term on the bench. On Wednesday, she was deemed qualified in a unanimous vote by the House Courts of Justice Committee. The Republican leadership has been critical of Roush, but has never really presented a rationale for why she should be fired. If she is ousted, it will be the first time a sitting Supreme Court Justice has been removed in over 115 years. The only apparent reason is the Republican leadership did not like the way Governor McAuliffe handled the appointment. At present, the candidate of the Republican leadership does not have sufficient votes to be approved by the Senate, with the result that we are deadlocked. If the appointment is not made by the end of the Session, Governor McAuliffe has the opportunity for another “recess appointment,” and is likely to reappoint Justice Roush. We will then do this again in January 2017.  This entire situation is extremely troubling because it is further politicizing the selection process.

My resolution, HR75, which commends the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom and condemns the statements of those that would argue that Muslims should be prohibited from entering the United States because of their religion was passed this week. Two of my other bills, HB935, a bill to extend foster care services to youngsters over the age of 18, and HB915, a measure that will allow localities like Charlottesville and Albemarle who have video dashboard monitoring systems on their school buses to report violations of unlawful passing, continue to move forward and may come to the floor next week. I am hoping that each of these measures will be passed and become law.

The Democrats in the House have been reenergized by eight new Democratic members who took their seats in January. As Leader, this is making a dramatic difference as we advance our proposals in the House.

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Filed Under: General Assembly 2016 Tagged With: Gun Safety, Judicial Appointments, Religious Freedom

House of Delegates Approves HR 75

January 26, 2016 by Carmen Bingham

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Office of Delegate David Toscano
Contact: Carmen Bingham
(804) 698-1057
carmen@davidtoscano.com

The House of Delegates today approved HR 75, authored by Democratic Leader David J. Toscano (D-57th, Charlottesville-Albemarle), to commemorate the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and draw attention to the importance of ensuring the right of religious liberty and the ability of citizens to practice their faiths as they choose in the United States.

Toscano, in discussing the resolution, said “we are finding a resurgence of anti-religious sentiment in the United States today, often targeted toward people from other countries who seek refuge from death and persecution in their home countries. The resolution places the House of Delegates on record as opposing political and religious persecution and bias, celebrating the principles of religious freedom set forth by Thomas Jefferson 230 years ago.”

The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom is a precursor to the establishment clause and free expression of religion provision of the United States Constitution.

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Filed Under: News, Press Releases Tagged With: Religious Freedom

2016 Legislative Agenda

January 21, 2016 by David Toscano

Bills offered by Delegate Toscano

Most of the Virginia General Assembly bills have now been filed and they include eleven of my own. I have a great package this year and they include the following:

  • HB899, which will allow persons over the age of 65 to vote absentee without having to provide any excuse whatsoever. This will allow greater ease of voting for senior citizens and hopefully will increase voter participation.
  • HB935, a bill to extend foster care services to youngsters who would otherwise “age-out” at age 18. There are many youngsters who would benefit by remaining in the foster care system for a few more years after they reach the age of 18. This bill would allow them access to a wider variety of services designed to better prepare them for adult life. Virginia has one of the highest percentages of children who age-out of foster care; many of those do not yet have the skills necessary to negotiate adult life. This bill will allow those services to be extended up to the age of 21.
  • HB913, which will prohibit discrimination, employment and housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • HB 915, a measure that will allow localities like Charlottesville and Albemarle which have video-monitoring systems on school buses that record violations of unlawful passing of a bus to execute a summons for a violation by mailing the summons to the vehicle owner who committed the offense. There are an increasing number of drivers who are illegally passing stopped school buses, and this will provide an additional tool to penalize those who violate the law and deter people who might otherwise consider it.
  • HB933 and HB936, two measures that will assist public school divisions. HB933 will keep school divisions from being penalized for taking youngsters who have been placed in their custody from out of their jurisdiction and who drop out soon after entering the division. In some instances, a student will be placed in the custody of the local Department of Social Services and come into a school division from another jurisdiction. They will then drop out almost immediately and the student is then counted against the drop-out rate for that division. This is unfair because the division has not had sufficient time and opportunity to work with the student and retain them in school.HB936 will provide flexibility for school divisions which have to address students with limited English proficiency, primarily among immigrants. The students may be perfectly competent, but because of language difficulties they fail math or English SOLs. This bill will give greater flexibility in how these youngsters are assessed.
  • HB914 is a measure that will prohibit political fundraising by legislators during legislative special sessions. At present, we are prevented from raising money while we are in regular session. The rationale behind that is that we are dealing with bills that affect the economic condition of groups and individuals who provide us political contributions, and acceptance of contributions one day and voting the next on a law that benefits the contributor is not proper. We do not have such a prohibition, however, during special sessions when a number of significant pieces of legislation are considered. For example, we had a long special session several years ago about transportation funding and yet we were allowed to take political campaign contributions from the very groups that would be benefiting by decisions we were making. My bill would stop this.
  • HB941 is a bill that would extend the scope of clean energy programs by including certain residential properties that cannot avail themselves of voluntary special lien assessment provisions that encourage the installation of rooftop solar collectors.
  • HR75 is a resolution that commends the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom and condemns the statements of prominent politicians who argue that Muslims should be prohibited from entering the United States because of their religion.

You can follow these and all other bills offered before the 2016 General Assembly by visiting lis.virginia.gov. Please contact me at deldtoscano@house.virginia.gov if you wish to comment on my legislation or any other legislation before us this Session. My office number in Richmond during  Session is (804) 698-1057.

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Filed Under: General Assembly 2016 Tagged With: Anti-Discrimination, Environmental Protection, Foster Care, Religious Freedom, Renewable Energy

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom Commemoration

January 19, 2016 by Carmen Bingham

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Office of Delegate David Toscano
Contact: Carmen Bingham
(804) 698-1057
carmen@davidtoscano.com

In honor of the 230th anniversary of the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Democratic Leader David J. Toscano (D-57th, Charlottesville- Albemarle) announced filing a resolution (HR75) to commemorate the statute and draw attention to the importance of ensuring the right of religious liberty and the ability of citizens to practice their faiths as they choose, free of persecution in the United States.

Toscano, in discussing the resolution, said “we are finding a resurgence of anti-religious sentiment in the Unites States today, often targeted toward people from other countries who seek refuge from death and persecution in their home countries. My resolution intends to place the House of Delegates on record as opposing political and religious persecution and bias, and to further celebrate the principles of religious freedom set forth by Thomas Jefferson 230 years ago.”

The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom is a precursor to the establishment clause and free expression of religious provision of the United States Constitution.

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Filed Under: News, Press Releases Tagged With: Religious Freedom

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