Letter to Specialty Bars Regarding Open Court of Appeals Seats

On December 11, the incoming chairs of Senate Judiciary Committee and House Courts of Justice Committee sent this letter to Virginia's specialty bar associations regarding the open Court of Appeals seats.

Severe Weather Likely This Afternoon And Evening

This afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch until 9 p.m. in our region. I will update this post with more information as the weather impacts Northern Virginia.

Fixing Old Colchester Road Bridge Over Giles Run

I sent the attached letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation to request grant funding to study improvements to the Old Colchester Road bridge over Giles Run Creek. 

Weekly Column: Examining and Correcting School Funding Formulas

The following is my column that will appear in this week's Mt. Vernon Gazette in the week of July 25, 2023.  

 Examining and Correcting School Funding Formulas

            The underfunding of Virginia’s public schools recently made headlines, when a new study concluded that Virginia’s K-12 education system receives 14 percent less funding that the average system in America even though Virginia has the 10^th highest median family income.  This independent analysis collides with Governor Youngkin’s persistent call for more tax cuts.

            This year, the state legislature should be adopting budget amendments to reflect adjusted revenues, but we have been unable to agree because of the Governor’s insistence on more tax cuts. Cutting taxes means less revenue for state responsibilities like education and mental health.   

             As someone whose 20 years of education were subsidized by Virginia taxpayers from kindergarten through law school, I fully appreciate the importance of robust investments in public education. 

1984 Attorney General Opinion Regarding Bulkhead Repairs

 Over the last year, I have heard confusion regarding the interplay of Virginia's Living Shorelines Law and repairs or replacement of existing shoreline treatment.  

Below is an 1984 Attorney General's Opinion explaining what constitutes repairs and maintenance versus construction of new facilities.

1984 Virginia Attorney Gene... by

My Endorsement For Mount Vernon School Board Representative 2023

In the last four years, Northern Virginia's teachers and students have become a political punching bag for Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares.  The Fairfax County School Board has been under siege with politically-motivated lawsuits and political investigations for the last four years.  As a result, only four incumbents are running for re-election and our Mt. Vernon School Board Member Karen Corbett Sanders is not running for re-election.

Karen has done an amazing job fighting to ensure that students in our part of the county get the attention and share of resources that they deserve.  I am exceptionally proud of her efforts to reform the admissions process at Thomas Jefferson H.S.S.T. which previously rarely admitted students from Carl Sandburg Middle School, Walt Whitman Middle School, Hayfield Secondary School, or Mark Twain Middle School. Before the reforms she led, two middle schools made up 20% of every class.  She led the charge to obtain funds to renovate our schools.   You can read more about her accomplishments in the Commending Resolution I passed this session:

Senate Joint Resolution 409 Commending Karen Corbett Sanders 

I joined with Mt. Vernon District School Board Member Karen Corbett Sanders in endorsing Mateo Dunne to serve as the Democratic endorsed candidate for the Mt. Vernon District seat on the Fairfax County School Board. I join in my endorsement along with Delegate Mark Sickles, Former Delegate and Fairfax County School Board Chair and Mt. Vernon Member Kristen Amundson, Fairfax County Board Chair Jeff McKay, and Former Fairfax County Board Chair Sharon Bulova.

   

www.mateodunne.com/

The Medicaid Unwinding and What It Means for Virginia

The Medicaid Unwinding is one of the biggest challenges that many of our constituents will face in the coming year and community engagement is going to be crucial to make it go smoothly. This isn't just a problem for people who will lose coverage. When people are uninsured, they don't go to the doctor for preventative medicine which can result in long-term worse health outcomes, and higher costs when they eventually have an emergency. Health insurance premiums may rise for everyone to pay for that emergency care.

Weekly Column: $100 Million for Undergrounding U.S. 1 Utilities; General Assembly Session Ends

The following is my column that will appear in this week's Mt. Vernon Gazette in the week of February 27, 2023.  

 $100 Million for Undergrounding U.S. 1 Utilities; General Assembly Session Ends

           We have completed the 2023 Session of the General Assembly, but our work is not done.  Legislating has ended for now, but we did not finalize the state budget and will likely return for a special session to compete that work.

Of my 31 bills, 19 are with the Governor and one additional bill could be considered in a special session.  All of my bills passed with bipartisan support and I am hopeful that the Governor will sign them.

           Most importantly, we made significant progress in obtaining funding for undergrounding utilities on U.S. 1.   Delegate Paul Krizek, Senator Adam Ebbin and I amended a bill addressing a new Fauquier County transmission line to add a first-ever pilot program for an underground electric distribution line on the U.S. 1 Corridor if Fairfax County requests the funding as part of the U.S 1 widening and bus rapid transit project.  The bill is now on the Governor's desk.  

Weekly Column: General Assembly Is Finalizing Bills

The following is my column that will appear in this week's Mt. Vernon Gazette in the week of February 20, 2023.  

 General Assembly Is Finalizing Bills

    Now that the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates have completed work on all bills from each chamber, each chamber has begun work on bills from the other chamber.  Some of the more difficult bills met their fate last week. 

    It appears that both houses will approve around 20 of my bills which I will discuss in a future column.  This column focuses on several of my bills that the House of Delegates rejected.

Protecting Choice

    In the aftermath of last year’s Dobbs decision, we must do everything we can to protect Virginia women and healthcare providers from prosecution for exercising their reproductive healthcare rights.  Virginia is likely to become a sanctuary for women seeking reproductive healthcare due to our geographic position and existing laws.  My legislation would prohibit the extradition of Virginia medical professionals who provide reproductive healthcare to other states.  It failed on a party-line vote.  

Weekly Column: Making Progress

The following is my column that will appear in this week's Mt. Vernon Gazette in the week of February 13, 2023.  

Making Progress in Richmond

               As the General Assembly completed its fourth week of work last week, I am pleased to report that the state Senate approved 29 of my 32 bills and sent them to the House of Delegates.  The Senate voted for 19 unanimously and only one bill passed without any Republican votes.

I am carrying legislation on behalf of the Virginia Crime Commission that requires the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue an annual report showing the incidence of drunk driving (DWI) arrests for both drug and alcohol relative to numbers of officers and population densities.  The bill also requires DMV to collect data on drug levels related to motor vehicle deaths and DWI arrests so that we can determine where to leverage our resources and make adjustments in the law. 

Bills Moving on to the House

2023 General Assembly Crossover Update The General Assembly has reached the Crossover portion of the legislative session. This is when bills passed in the Senate go to the House and bills passed in the House go to the Senate to gain approval from both chambers. This session the Senate has passed 29 of my bills. Those are all summarized and linked below:

SB 796	Consolidated Corporate Tax Filings Makes it possible for larger companies to file a consolidated tax return instead of hundreds of separate tax returns to save paperwork and expense at the Virginia Department of Taxation.	Yea’s: 38 No’s: 0
SB 799	Juvenile and Domestic Relations Expert Witness Testimony Allows parties to present expert medical testimony in Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court by affidavit instead of requiring witnesses to come to trial.	Yea’s: 40 No’s: 0
SB 801	US Army Police Authority Gives U.S. Army and Air Force Police the authority to serve search warrants off-base jointly with Virginia law-enforcement agencies. Requested by Fort Belvoir police who discovered limitations trying to investigate stalking charges.	Yea’s: 40 No’s: 0
SB 813	Freedom of Information Act Credit Cards Clarifies that governments are required to release the names of government employees using government credit cards. The Virginia Comptroller has claimed that this information is exempt from disclosure under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.	Yea’s: 39 No’s: 0
SB 814	Deaf Interpreters Allows Virginia Courts to use interpreters from a broader pool of potential signing professionals due to lack of interpreters available post-pandemic.	Yea’s: 40 No’s: 0
SB 815	Lemon Law for Small Businesses  Extends Virginia Lemon Law to any small business that owns five or fewer cars.	Yea’s: 27 No’s: 12
SB 817	Attorney’s Fees Lien Clarifies the rules regarding asserting and perfecting  attorney’s liens in tort and contract cases.	Yea’s: 39 No’s: 0
SB 821	Sex Offense Notice Fix Requires the Secretary of Education to gather notification information for all school systems for sex offense charges and convictions, clarifies method of notification to ensure a document trail, requires law enforcement to check employment for accused persons, and expands the list of sex crimes for notification.	Yea’s: 39 No’s: 0
SB 835	Definition of Obscenity   Removes depictions of homosexuality from the statutory definition of “sexual conduct” for purposes of books that can be sold, loaned, or displayed to juveniles.	Yea’s: 25 No’s: 12
SB 841	VASAP Local Boards Clarifies that courts have the power to adjudicate probation violations for DUI charges that are reduced to Reckless Driving and requires Virginia’s Alcohol Safety Program to include a local attorney who practices DUI law on local alcohol safety boards.	Yea’s: 39 No’s: 0
SB 871	Auto Dealer Franchise Agreements Prevents auto manufacturers from putting excessive requirements on automotive dealer franchises and preserves locally owned dealerships’ independence.	Yea’s: 39 No’s: 0
SB 886	Sick Leave for Healthcare and Grocery Store Workers Requires employers of essential healthcare and hospital system workers to be provided sick leave to allow such workers to take time off when they are sick to help slow the spread of future COVID outbreaks as well as mitigating the common cold and flu.	Yea’s: 22 No’s: 18
SB 895	Court of Appeals Immunity Jurisdiction Clarifies that interim orders in Domestic Relations cases are not appealable and that appeals of interim orders dismissing cases based on immunity are heard by the Court of Appeals instead of the Supreme Court of Virginia.	Yea’s: 39 No’s: 0
SB 1065	Leesylvania Easement Allows the Department of Conservation and Recreation to transfer an easement to ten houses on the Potomac River surrounded by Leesylvania State Park.	Yea’s: 38 No’s: 0
SB 1067	Red Flag Clean-Up Clarifies various factors to be considered by a magistrate or judge in reach a decision to remove firearms from a person due to their threats or mental condition.	Yea’s: 23 No’s: 16
SB 1083	APCO Shared Solar Authorizes solar providers to begin providing shared solar in the Appalachian Power service territory.	Yea’s: 35 No’s: 5
SB 1166	Commission on Utility Regulation Transparency Improves transparency and oversight of Virginia’s transition to clean energy by requiring regular meetings, reports to the Commission regarding implementation of significant legislation by the State Corporation Commission, Governor and other entities, provides full-time staff for vetting energy policies and studies, creates a new energy development fund to be promote energy research at in-state research universities, and provide oversight of state application for federal energy grants.	Yea’s: 21 No’s: 19
SB 1243	Reproductive Health Data Protection Prohibits a Virginia judge from ordering the extradition of a Virginia citizen for out-of-state abortion or reproduction-related prosecutions for conduct that is legal in Virginia and creates a private cause of action to allow individuals to sue companies for selling data regarding their reproductive health or location data.	Yea’s: 23 No’s: 17
SB 1244	Crime Victim’s Rights Act Fix Requires that the Attorney General comply with the Crime Victim’s Rights Act.  If this would have been in place, the Ghaisar family would have been consulted before the Virginia Attorney General dismissed the prosecution of the two U.S. Park Police Officers who murdered him.	Yea’s: 40 No’s: 0
SB 1266	Shared Solar Minimum Bill Fix Reduces the minimum bill that Dominion Energy can charge shared solar subscribers and expands the cap on allowed shared solar service.	Yea’s: 24 No’s: 15
SB 1397	Default Structure to Adopt Essential Health Benefits Plan Creates a process for the state to adopt a new baseline essential health benefit for purposes of the plans sold in the Virginia State Healthcare Exchange for future years.	Yea’s: 40 No’s: 0
SB 1398	DWI Study Requires DMV to collect data on drivers who are convicted of using drugs, alcohol, or a combination of them and aggregate the data on a statewide basis so that the decline in alcohol-impaired driving and the rise of drugged driving can be better evaluated for additional solutions.	Yea’s: 40 No’s: 0
SB 1399	Authority to Adopt New Essential Health Benefits Plan Creates authority for the State Corporation Commission to adopt a new baseline essential health benefit plan this year based on two new mandated benefits approved in last General Assembly Session.	Yea’s: 40 No’s: 0
SB 1402	Expungement Cleanup Amends the expungement and sealing reforms passed in 2021 to facilitate the implementation and programming of the new sealing processes. Clarifies that marijuana charges are automatically sealed instead of expunged, clarifies that a petition for sealing can only include offenses that stem from the same transaction or occurrence, and ensures access to expunged records by the subject of the record.	Yea’s: 39 No’s: 0
SB 1431	Recall Election Rewrite Clarifies the circumstances that a local government official can be removed from office in a recall election.	Yea’s: 39 No’s: 0
SB 1482	New Commissioner for the SCC Authorizes a new commissioner on the State Corporation Commission to equalize the length of terms due to two pending vacancies.	Yea’s: 40 No’s: 0
SB 1494	Attorney Discipline Revision Provides a disbarred attorney seeking reinstatement to elect a three judge panel to consider reinstatement instead of only consideration by a committee of attorneys.	Yea’s: 25 No’s: 14
SB 1495	Civil Penalty for Abuses of Power Allows any person who is impacted by the willful unlawful actions of a local government to sue the locality to seek an injunction and recover attorney’s fees.	Yea’s: 40 No’s: 0
SJ 257	Commending the Honorable Glenn L. Clayton II	Passed Senate and House
SJ 279	Commending the Honorable Mitchell I. Mutnick	Passed Senate and House
SJ 280	Commending Doreen Gentzler	Passed Senate and House
SJ 299	Commending the Honorable William J. Minor, Jr.	Passed Senate and House