Letter to Constituents - 2021 Session

We had a very successful 2021 General Assembly session and we passed many new laws that will be implemented in the coming months and affect those living in the 36th Senate District for decades. 

I sent a newsletter that went to many constituents and supporters.  I could not send it every household because of the cost.  If you would like to read the newsletter, I have included it here:

Kingstonian Column: Affordable Housing Must Be Part of U.S. 1’s Remake

The following will appear in the May, 2018 Kingstonian Magazine and Beulah Corridor monthly magazine.

Affordable Housing Must Be Part of U.S. 1’s Remake 

This past month, as part of the “Embark Richmond Highway” process the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors made significant progress building on the U.S. 1 Multimodal Study authorized by Senator Puller and myself in 2011 which envisioned a six-lane U.S. 1 bordered by sidewalks, multiuse paths, a median-dedicated bus rapid transit and two-stop Yellow Line extension.  The zoning changes envisioned by Embark will be truly transformational.  However, U.S. 1’s revitalization is generating legitimate questions about the future of affordable housing for current and future members of our community.  

From the beginning, I have been concerned the impact of revitalization on affordable housing.  The South County Task Force led by Mary Paden recently convened a panel discussion on affordable housing after it was largely omitted from the Embark recommendations.

Weekly Column: Affordable Housing Must Be Part of U.S. 1’s Remake

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of April 15, 2018.

Affordable Housing Must Be Part of U.S. 1’s Remake 

U.S. 1’s revitalization, called Embark, is generating some legitimate questions about the future of affordable housing for current and future members of our community.  The first part of the Embark plan envisions building fourteen miles of bus rapid transit and extending the Yellow Line to Hybla Valley.  This is a long-overdue plan that can bring new life, opportunities and jobs to our area.

From the beginning, I have been concerned about Embark Route 1’s impact on affordable housing and have raised concerns in the planning meetings.  The South County Task Force led by Mary Paden recently convened a panel discussion on affordable housing after it was largely omitted from the Embark Route 1 recommendations.

Weekly Column: Embark Ushers in a New Phase for U.S. 1

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of March 26, 2018.

Embark Ushers in a New Phase for U.S. 1

Last week, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the Embark Route 1 comprehensive plan revision, a step that lays the groundwork for development over the next 30-40 years for the seven miles of U.S. 1 between the Huntington Metro Station and Fort Belvoir.  This plan, reflecting several years of community input, has significant implications for both Fairfax and Prince William Counties.

When I was elected to the House of Delegates in 2009, efforts to reach consensus for a Fairfax County, U.S. 1 road design had frozen during work on the U.S. 1 Centerline Study, issued by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in January, 2010 after a 15-year process.  Prince William County was planning a series of U.S. 1 redesigns while Fairfax County’s decision-making had stalled after disputes arose about incorporating transit into redesigns and right-of-way impacts.  Then-Congressman Jim Moran had secured $180 million to expand U.S. 1 to six lanes in Fort Belvoir, but that expansion would create a bottleneck at Jeff Todd Way.

Weekly Column: Senate Budget, Town Halls and AirBnB

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Gazette, The Mt. Vernon Voice, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of February 13, 2017.

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.

California Ordered to Repay $331 Million - Is Virginia Next?

Today, $350 million worth of chickens came home to roost in California.  Virginia might be next and here's why. 

In the aftermath of the 2008 mortgage-driven financial crash, federal, state and local government budgets were walloped.  One of the jurisdictions hardest hit with foreclosures was Prince William County.  Property values plunged.  Vacant houses were everywhere as people dumped houses that they could never afford with adjustable rate mortgages coming due for readjustment purchased with "no doc" loans.

In 2011, Attorneys General across the United States reached a $25 billion settlement with five major banks regarding illegal and abusive mortgage lending practices.  Virginia's share of the settlement was over $66 million and was directed to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to disburse.  As part of a floor debate, I made the card on the right.   

Here's what the court's order said Virginia could do with the money:

Each State Attorney General shall designate the uses of the funds set forth in the attached Exhibit B-1.  

To the extent practicable,such funds shall be used for purposes intended to avoid preventable foreclosures, to ameliorate the effects of the foreclosure crisis, to enhance law enforcement efforts to prevent and prosecute financial fraud, or unfair or deceptive acts or practices and to compensate the States for costs resulting from the alleged unlawful conduct of the Defendants.  

Such permissible purposes for allocation of the funds include, but are not limited to, supplementing the amounts paid to state homeowners under the Borrower Payment Fund, funding for housing counselors, state and local foreclosure assistance hotlines, state and local foreclosure mediation programs, legal assistance, housing remediation and anti-blight projects, funding for training and staffing of financial fraud or consumer protection enforcement efforts, and civil penalties.  

Accordingly, each Attorney General has set forth general instructions for the funds in the attached Exhibit B-2.

What did Virginia do in the 2012 Session? 

Finalizing a State Budget - Not Pretty

The new proposed amendments to the state budget are now up online.  You can see them here:

Proposed Senate Amendments to House Budget

The biggest issue is that revenue collections came in well below what was expected largely due to lagging capital gains tax revenues.  The overall shortfall is expected to be about $1.6-$2.0 billion.

What follows below is my initial impressions of what has changed versus Governor McDonnell's introduced budget.  Don't kill me if there are a couple mistakes.

VA Leads the National Way Foreclosure Settlement Diversion

Sometimes I wonder why voters get so cynical about the government.  Then there are days that I join the chorus.

As a state with booming housing starts and population growth in the late 2000's Virginia was hit hard by the foreclosure crisis.  Prince William and Loudoun were hit hard.  It also hit the Route 1 Corridor.  When I knocked doors in new townhouses around Huntington in 2009, neighbors were complaining to me about people purchased claiming rental homes are primary residences, putting 10% down, and then bailing.  There have been other pockets of foreclosures along U.S. 1 as people over committed into homes they couldn't afford.

Last year, forty-nine attorneys general and the federal government announced a $25 billion settlement with five of the largest banks.  As part of that, $2.5 billion was paid to states.  The Court ordered the following regarding that money:

In Virginia. we took $66,525,233.00 and it initially went into the Attorney General's Regulatory, Consumer Advocacy, Litigation and Enforcement Revolving Trust Fund.   You can read the court order for yourself - it's pretty clear:

Each State Attorney General shall designate the uses of the funds set forth in the attached Exhibit B-1. To the extent practicable,such funds shall be used for purposes intended to avoid preventable foreclosures, to ameliorate the effects of the foreclosure crisis, to enhance law enforcement efforts to prevent and prosecute financial fraud, or unfair or deceptive acts or practices and to compensate the States for costs resulting from the alleged unlawful conduct of the Defendants. Such permissible purposes for allocation of the funds include, but are not limited to, supplementing the amounts paid to state homeowners under the Borrower Payment Fund, funding for housing counselors, state and local foreclosure assistance hotlines, state and local foreclosure mediation programs, legal assistance, housing remediation and anti-blight projects, funding for training and staffing of financial fraud or consumer protection enforcement efforts, and civil penalties. Accordingly, each Attorney General has set forth general instructions for the funds in the attached Exhibit B-2.

2012 End of Session Sine Die Letter

Every year I send out a letter summarizing the General Assembly Session.  Most of us call it our Sine Die Letter named after the motion that is made to adjourn sine die at the end of a session. 

My letter for 2012 appears below the fold.

Also, check out my end of session summaries and my voting record with the following links:

The Dixie Pig: 2012 Session Wrap Up (Minus a Budget)
The Dixie Pig: 2012 Budget Misses the Mark

The Dixie Pig: Movie Star Tax Credits, A Gay Judge & the Session Ends

Delegate Scott A. Surovell's 2012 Voting Record

State Budget Misappropriates Money for Foreclosure Victims

There has been a lot of talk about the current budget stalemate.  What the press has not focused on is all of the problems in the current budget.  I wrote about this earlier this week.  One problem I did not discuss in that column was the misappropriation of the mortgage settlement.

We recently suffered one of the biggest financial crises this country has ever seen.  It was caused by a number of factors.  One of them was an overheated real estate market, fed by out of control banks lending money to people who had no business borrowing.

After the size and scope of the problem was discovered, the banks tried to cut their losses by jamming hundreds of thousands of foreclosures without proper documentation or jumping through the right hoops.  Thousands of families were evicted without proper basis and people who attempted to negotiate in good faith were steamrolled.