Election Day Earthquake Brings Three Possible Policy ShiftsElection Day was an electoral earthquake in Virginia politics. Fourteen seats in the House of Delegates switched from Republican to Democratic members – the largest switch since 1899. Two have not yet been certified due to irregularities and three are heading to recounts. We do not know if any party will control the House and probably will not know until late in the day on the first day of session after the dust has settled.While the new situation in the House of Delegates will create some uncertainty over the next fifty days, it will create some opportunities in Virginia public policy, but not a wholesale change of direction. The Senate of Virginia is still controlled by the Republican Party and most major committees have significant partisan majorities.Notwithstanding, I am hopeful that in the short-term, we might see some changes in a three areas: Medicaid Expansion, Criminal Justice Reform, and Nonpartisan Redistricting.
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Possible configurations for the intersection of U.S. 1 and
Buckman Road/Old Mt. Vernon Hwy
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Let’s Grow Early Voting
The 2017 Virginia elections once against demonstrated that Virginians are choosing to vote early in larger numbers each election.
As compared with 2013, early voting in Prince William County was up over 210%, 170% in Fairfax County, and 146% in Stafford County. In 2016, over 120,000 or one in five Fairfax County voters cast their votes early while nearly forty-four percent of Prince William County voters voted early.
Voting early allows voters to avoid precinct lines, unpredictable weather, job, family or health problems. Voting by mail gives voters more time to complete their ballot in the privacy of their home. Most importantly, it provides the flexibility to allow more people to participate in our democracy.
Given its popularity, there are more things our government can do to facilitate early voting.
Four Big Issues No One is Discussing This Election CycleVirginians go to the polls in three weeks and if you followed the new cycle, you would think that the next General Assembly Session is going to be all about Confederate Statutes, street gangs and natural gas pipelines – none of which is accurate. Here are four big issues facing Virginia that have been missing in action this cycle.
Redistricting
Hyper-partisan legislative districts are at the root the partisan gridlock we see today. While the Senate Democratic Caucus drew Virginia’s Senate districts in 2010, Virginia’s congressional and legislative districts were otherwise drawn by Republicans majorities with the cooperation of Republican governor’s in 2000 and 2010. Democratic voters have been crammed into a small number of seats and Virginia’s Congressional and House of Delegates districts are way out of proportion to Virginia’s actual voting.Virginia’s next Governor will participate in Virginia’s next redistricting process. Ralph Northam and I have repeatedly endorsed and voted for non-partisan redistricting which would go a long way towards voters picking their leaders instead of leaders picking their voters.
People Support Firearm Limits. Elected Officials Should TooStephen Paddock’s Las Vegas assault rifle killing spree has again highlighted the dangers of Virginia's and America’s much-too-lax firearms environment. Virginians know the dangers of high-powered weapons having experienced snipers Malvo and Muhammad and the Virginia Tech massacre. Some of us have been steadily, but unsuccessfully, trying to pass reasonable firearms violence prevention laws in Virginia for years.For example, after Jared Loughner’s 2011 attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, I cosponsored legislation to prohibit the sale of firearm ammunition magazines that hold more than 20 bullets. The legislature has rejected the bill every year since.In 2015, a Fairfax attorney told me about a client he defended in a mental commitment proceeding in which his client was found to be a danger to himself or others. Virginia law prohibits these people from obtaining a concealed weapon permit or possessing a firearm, but the law does not prohibit the possession of ammunition. I tried to prohibit mentally-incapacitated people from purchasing or possessing ammunition, but the legislature struck it down. (video at right)
Burying Utilities Should Be A Priority
As we enter hurricane season, I start to get questions about burying utility lines. We are making limited progress in Virginia but efforts hit a setback last week.
In communities built since the mid-1980’s all utilities are underground. In the older parts of Northern Virginia, such as where we live here in Eastern Fairfax and Prince William Counties, nearly all utilities are above ground.
In June, 2012, Northern Virginia was rocked by a Derecho that stormed in from Chicago, killed 22 people and caused over $2.9 billion in damage. Our older infrastructure, coupled with our heavy older and established tree canopy caused major utility outages. In the Derecho’s aftermath, I heard calls through my district for undergrounding of utility lines. I even held a town hall focused exclusively on undergrounding power lines.
U.S. 1 Widening Yields Many Benefits for the CommunityOn August 3, 2017, the Federal Highway Administration is hosting a ribbon cutting to commemorate the widening of U.S. 1 through Fort Belvoir. The project’s completion is an important milestone for our community and has broad ramifications.When I first ran for office in 2009, I stated that improving U.S. 1 was my number one priority. U.S. 1 is the spine of Mount Vernon, Lorton, Woodbridge, Dumfries/Triangle and Eastern Stafford’s central nervous system and a critical driver of not just transportation, but also access to employment, recreation, retail businesses and restaurants. U.S. 1’s fate can mean revitalizing area schools and housing and can enhance our overall quality of life from Stafford County to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
Time for Local Governments to Invest in Early Voting
In Virginia, we have a elections every year. This year, we even have three including a special election for school board on August 29 and then elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and State Delegate on November 7.Turnout in our state and local elections plummets. In my experience, a large reason is that voting takes precious time away from jobs and families and given Northern Virginia traffic, time is at a premium.
Jurisdiction
| 2015 Population | 2040 Projected Population | Total Increase | Percentage Increase |
Total Delegates
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Total Senators
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fairfax County
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1,129,330
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1,347,487
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218,157
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19.3%
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13.2
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5.2
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Prince William County
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443,463
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682,111
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238,648
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53.8%
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6.7
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2.7
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Stafford County
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134,251
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208,845
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74,594
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55.5%
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2.0
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0.8
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Loudoun County
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374,451
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684,911
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310,460
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82.9%
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6.7
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2.7
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Arlington County
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234,678
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313,352
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78,674
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33.5%
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3.1
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1.2
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City of Alexandria
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159,571
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215,119
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55,548
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34.8%
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2.1
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0.8
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City of Fairfax
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23,193
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25,286
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2,093
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9.0%
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0.2
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0.1
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City of Falls Church
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14,183
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20,577
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6,394
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45.0%
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0.2
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0.1
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Fauquier County
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67,898
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84,873
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16,975
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25.0%
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0.8
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0.3
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TOTAL
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2,581,018
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3,582,561
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1,001,583
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38.8%
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35.0
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13.9
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Successes in the Final Session
On April 3, 2017, the General Assembly met in Richmond to consider the Governor’s amendments to and vetoes of various bills. Governor Terry McAuliffe vetoed 40 bills, a one-year record in Virginia. All of his vetoes were upheld.
The Governor vetoed legislation requiring local governments to pay damages caused by undocumented immigrants in their locality, legislation requiring reports of resettled refugees, a bill prohibiting “sanctuary cities” from receiving state funds and bills requiring Virginia sheriffs to hold people without legal justification.
He vetoed bills requiring identification to vote early by mail, allowing protective order subjects to carry concealed weapons and to be given weapons training information and allowing Virginians to carry concealed switchblades. He also rejected bills that would prohibit local governments from requiring contractors to pay employees living wages, bills to expand charter schools in Virginia and numerous other bills designed to limit voting.
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| Possum Point Coal Ash Ponds - 120 acres |
Virginia General Assembly Approved New PoliciesLast week, I reported on my accomplishments in the recent session of the General Assembly. This week, I am highlighting a few other important policy changes coming to Virginia because of our action.First, we passed several bills addressing the ongoing opioid crisis which is causing carnage across Virginia. Community organizations will be authorized tothat possess the counter-overdose drug naloxone and after 2020 opioid prescriptions will only be allowed to be transmitted electronically to minimize forgery risk. We passed legislation authorizing Virginia to sign onto the Interstate Metro Safety Compact. This was absolutely necessary not only because of Metro’s ongoing problems, but to ensure that Metro continues to receive critical federal funding.I have heard from several communities about problems created by AirBnB, a company that allows people to temporarily rent rooms or their homes. In some areas, neighbors feel like residential properties have become hotels. We passed legislation to confirm that localities’ can regulate these temporary rentals. The bill also authorizes localities to create registries for people renting their rooms for fewer than 30 days and to fine abusers.
2017 General Assembly Session In the Books!
In the 2017 General Assembly session, which ended on February 25, we were able to make some progress in spite of a $1.1 billion budget shortfall.
First, we approved amendments to the state’s biennial budget. After drawing on a $560 million Rainy Day Fund, the budget funds the state share of a long-overdue two percent salary increase for teachers, a three percent raise for state employees, and a $7,000-per-year increase in starting salaries ($36,000) for state troopers. As always, we met our constitutional obligation to balance the budget.
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| Senator Surovell at Hayfield Elementary |
Coal Ash Bill Passes, Computers and Predatory Lending to be Studied
We have one week to go in session and negotiations are rapidly reaching conclusion as we push to finish out work so we can get back to our families and our jobs.
This past week, my legislation to raise Virginia’s threshold between misdemeanors and felonies from $200 to $500 failed. Virginia’s threshold has not changed since 1981. Our existing system unnecessarily focuses police and prosecutors on minor crimes instead of violent crime while tainting thousands of Virginia’s suffering from depression or drug addiction with felony charges for life.
The House of Delegates passed my legislation requiring Dominion to provide better information on coal ash pollution, disaster preparedness, and recycling. I am not happy that a permitting moratorium was removed, it is better than no bill at all and the Governor will also have a chance to amend the legislation.
Crossover week of the 2017 Session came to a close as we finished initial action on over 3,000 bills. Twenty-two of my bills of were passed by the Senate and moved on to the House of Delegates.
My two Saturday Town Hall meetings had the largest crowds I have seen in eight years. There was significant concern regarding federal immigration raids on U.S. 1. On Friday, I received alarming reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had arrested numerous Latinos in a raid on U.S.1. While the deportation of convicted felons has been consistent policy, random street sweeps and arrest or deportations of law abiding residents is unprecedented in our community. I will work to get better information and seek to stop these actions.
The last week of January was especially busy as the General Assembly approached February 7th – Crossover – the day we are required to complete all work on bills originating in our chamber. The bills saved for last usually involve the hardest issues to resolve.
Out of the 40 bills I introduced twenty-two have passed the Senate or are poised for passage before Crossover.Last week saw another victory for water quality. This session, I introduced three bills to help control water pollution caused by coal ash. One of my bills was reported by the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee over the objection of Dominion Power. The bill prohibits the issuance of any final permits until Dominion to identifies and describes all water pollution occurring at coal ash ponds and demonstrate corrective measures, evaluate coal ash removal or “clean closure,” and demonstrate that leaving coal ash in place or “cap in place” will not put the community at risk during hurricanes, floods or other major weather events.
