Weekly Column: Week #4 - Important Bills Are Moving

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of January 17, 2020.

Important Bills Are Moving

In the fourth week of our historic General Assembly session, both the Senate and the House of Delegates voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment after a 50 year battle.  Our Clerks transmitted the ratifications to the Archivist of the United States of America and now the battle moves to Congress and the courts.  

We had a lengthy debate in the Senate on repealing unnecessary restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health, including requiring an intrusive, medically-unnecessary ultrasound before seeking an abortion and rules designed to make abortion clinics extremely expensive to construct.  The Senate voted 20-20 and the Lieutenant Governor broke the tie to approve the measure.  

On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee passed my legislation to eviscerate predatory lending in Virginia.  The bill provides a 36% interest rate cap with monthly fees that result in annual percentage Interest rates (APR’s) of 50-110%, depending on the length of the loan.  The longer the loan, the smaller the rate.  The bill would prohibit the 267% loans currently allowed at title lenders, businesses that have exploded along U.S. 1 and online loans currently made at rates exceeding 400%.  I expect a tough Senate floor fight. The House has already passed similar legislation.

Weekly Column: Virginia Legislature Moved Quickly on Equal Rights and Gun Violence Prevention

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of January 17, 2020.

Virginia Legislature Moved Quickly on Equal Rights and Gun Violence Prevention

The second week of the General Assembly Session put us at the center of American history.  We moved several long-delayed, legislative priorities.

               On Wednesday, both the Senate and the House passed resolutions to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to make Virginia the 38^th and final state to ratify the Constitutional amendment.  The Senate has passed the resolution at least six times in past years, but the House of Delegates has never approved it.  Ratification will hopefully bring equal rights to 160 million women in America and attention will now shift to the U. S. Congress. Congress can abolish or extend the 1982 ratification deadline they previously set.  I was proud to carry this legislation every year since 2012 and even during years when few people were paying attention.  Virginia is finally on the right side of history for the first time in about 150 years. 

          On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee, on which I serve, had its first meeting and we immediately addressed firearm violence prevention.  We considered, modified and passed four bills, three of which the full Senate passed later in the week and one of which was continued for final vote this Tuesday. 

Weekly Column: 16 Bills on the Governor's Desk!

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of February 25, 2019.

16 Bills on the Governor’s Desk!

The 2019 Session is now in the books.  Notwithstanding the controversy generated by our statewide officials, it was one of the most personally successful sessions in the 10 years I have served in the General Assembly.  This column focuses on my personal legislative agenda. 

First, Governor Northam announced a deal to widen I-95 southbound between VA-123 and the Prince William County Parkway in three years using no taxpayer funds and no penalty payment to Transurban.  I have been urging this solution for three years and it will save millions of drivers millions of hours per month when implemented. 

Week #3 - ERA & Predatory Lending Dies, HOA Reform Moves Forward

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of January 29, 2019.

The third week of the General Assembly brought action on many of my bills

First, the Equal Rights Amendment was killed in House Committee at the beginning of the week.  It was the first time the House of Delegates has ever held a hearing on the amendment.  The official statements from members who opposed indicated that they felt women had equal rights and the amendment was no longer necessary.  However, the conservative activist community has attempted to make the amendment all about abortion which is inaccurate - the right to contraception and reproductive freedom is already recognized in the U.S. Constitution.

Women do not have equal rights.  There are numerous pieces of legislation that are regularly passed across the country that have a disparate impact on women.  Unfortunately, these are very difficult to challenge in court because government actions that differentiate on sex are not given the same scrutiny as government actions that differentiate based on race.   I have carried this bill for seven years and we will continue to fight to enshrine equality in the U.S. Constitution. 

Weekly Column: Week #2 - ERA, Ban the Box, and LGBT Nondiscrimination Moves Forward

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of January 22, 2019.

The second week of the General Assembly are now in the books.

First, the Senate of Virginia passed a resolution ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) for the sixth time by a vote of 26-14 which is the largest margin ever.  Seven Republican Senator joined all nineteen Democratic Senators to pass the resolution.  The fight moves on to the House this week which historically has refused to even hold a hearing.

This year is different.  In 2018, the states of Nevada and Illinois ratified the ERA which leaves the amendment one state short from ratification.  While the Supreme Court has not expressly upheld Congress’ power to set a ratification deadline, lower courts have held that Congress can set the terms of ratification which also means that Congress can extend the deadline or accept ratifications after the deadline has run.  Legislation is pending in Congress to do that and this is an opportunity to put Virginia on the right side of history for the first time in probably 200 years.  Stay tuned.  

Weekly Column: ERA On the Move, Redistricting Reform, and I-81 on the Docket

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of January 15, 2019.

        The first three days of the General Assembly ended on Friday and it is proving to me a busy session. 

        On the first day of session, my legislation to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was debated in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee.  ERA would prohibit the government from discriminating against all persons on the basis of sex.  It does not apply to discrimination by private individuals (which is covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other laws).   

        The Commonwealth and the country have a long history of discrimination against women and although most forms of explicit discrimination have ended, there are still government actions taken that have disparate impacts on women and as we have seen from recent events, even the most basic political norms can be easily overturned.  I believe this value needs to be reflected in our Constitution.