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:

Weekly Column: 2020 Virginia Legislature to Consider Many Reforms

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 November 17, 2019.

2020 Virginia Legislature to Consider Many Reforms

          Election Day, November 5, 2019, brought a political earthquake to Virginia.  The Governor’s office, House of Delegates and Senate of Virginia will be controlled by Democrats for the first time since 1991.  Virginians voted for change and we are likely to see significant changes in Virginia policy after nearly 30 years of delayed and avoided actions.  The 2020 Session is a welcomed opportunity to bring Virginia up to speed with the rest of the country.  Your state legislators are now preparing for the 2020 General Assembly session which will begin on January 8 and end in March.

Weekly Column: Successes in the Final Session

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 April 8, 2017.

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.

Weekly Column: 2017 General Assembly Wrap Up Part II - Major Bills

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 March 5, 2017.

Virginia General Assembly Approved New Policies

 

Last 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.

Prince William County Interview on Cable Reports

Last week, I was honored to sit for an interview once again with Woody Evans on Cable Reports to discuss the 2017 Legislative Session and what it has in store for Prince William County.

During the interview, we discussed my legislative agenda including my bills to address sewage runoff from the City of Alexandria, ground water pollution from coal ash, hands-free driving, driver Privilege Cards and much more.

Thank you to Comcast Cable and Cable Reports for having me on the show again!  I hope to be on again soon.

Weekly Column: Proffer and Firearms Reforms; the Electric Chair Returns

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, The Mt. Vernon Voice and The Potomac-Stafford Local in the week of March 28, 2016.

Proffer and Firearms Reforms; the Electric Chair Returns

In the past two weeks, I reviewed action on my legislation and the state budget.  This column covers some of the major bills to pass the state legislature.

We passed legislation to reform the proffer process for residential rezoning.  Many localities have abused the process by requiring builders to make flat cash payments as high as $40,000 per home instead of improvements linked to increase infrastructure demands created by a specific rezoning.  This practice abuses the intent underlying the proffer process, drives up the cost of housing and lacks any meaningful accountability in Virginia’s courts. 

Going forward, for rezonings, proffers must be tied to an infrastructure impact specifically caused by the proposed development.  Additionally, the law completely excludes commercial rezonings and at the request of Fairfax County, excludes rezonings in tax districts servicing Metro stations and land zoned for higher densities adjacent to transit facilities – e.g. most of Route 1.   These changes will incentivize local governments to zone future development as mixed-use, higher-density, “smart growth” instead of more sprawl. 

Weekly Column: My Committees and Legislative Agenda Part II

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, The Mt. Vernon Voice and The Potomac-Stafford Local in the week of January 17, 2016.

My Committees and Legislative Agenda Part II
Last week, the 2016 General Assembly gaveled into action and I became your State Senator for Virginia’s 36th District.

New Committees
The Rules Committee assigned me to three committees. (1)  The Local Government Committee considers legislation addressing land use, zoning and local government.  (2) The Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee has jurisdiction over the safety net programs, prisons, alcoholic beverage regulation and childcare.  (3) The General Laws and Technology Committee examines bills affecting homeowners associations, gambling, professional occupation regulation, procurement and the Freedom of Information Act.  Each of these has jurisdiction over issues  critical to the quality of life in our area. 

Legislative Inaction and Legislative Efficiency?

I was reading the Washington Post this morning and an article about legislative inaction in the U.S. Congress.

Congress passed 140 in the 112th Congress (2011-2012) resulting in 2,324 pages of new laws.  As of July 8, 2014, the 113th Congress has passed 125 new laws resulting in 2,597 pages of new law.

While there are definitely shortcomings in Virginia's 60 and 45 day sessions and the entire part-time legislature concept, I went to look at a couple metrics.

For example, in the 2014 General Assembly, around 2,750 bills were introduced (minus commending resolutions), 902 were passed, 234 continued to next session, and 980 killed.  The Acts of Assembly are the compilation of every bill we pass.  The 2014 version isn't out yet, but the 2011 Acts of Assembly was 2252 pages long.

Much of what we do is "housekeeping" where there is no meaningful objection to the legislation.  For example, of the 902 bills we passed, 502 were unanimous.

Obviously, the Federal Government is a complex entity, it's budget is probably three times longer than Virginia's.  You would think that the U.S. Congress needs to pass at least 5-10 times as much "housekeeping" legislation (or at least pages) as the Virginia General Assembly.  They are not even doing that.

I recognize that pages do not necessarily reflect substance, and it's not unusual to see a bill that has ten new words and takes up 10 pages.  However, it is really remarkable just how little the U.S. Congress has achieved in a two year session when you compare it to the typical product of our part-time, 45-60 day legislature.

2011 Wrap Up & New Laws Effective July 1, 2011

The Division of Legislative Services has published their annual summary of laws effective July 1. I have posted it below.

You can also read my legislative summaries previously published on this blog on the following links:

Delegate Scott Surovell's 2011 Sine Die Letter
2011 Legislative Highlights
2011 Budget Highlights
2011 Voting Record

New VA Laws Effective July 1

2011 Voting Record ***UPDATED***

The 2011 Regular Session is now concluded and the Clerk has compiled each of our respective voting records. I have posted it below. We took 1478 recorded votes. If you would like further clarification on the bills or votes below, you can look up individual bills here:

Legislative Information System

My 2010 Voting Record was previously posted here:

The Dixie Pig: Voting Record for 2010 Session (June 6, 2010)

Thanks to legislation introduced by Delegates Jim Lemunyon and Mark Keam co-sponsored by the entire freshman class last year and introduced again this year, this information will be posted online in future sessions.

UPDATED - I've updated this with my voting record through the Veto Session and the first part of our special session on redistricting.

2011 Complete Voting Record

2011 Session Legislative Highlights

My second session has been an interesting experience. In some ways, it has been less contentions than last year, but there have been some interesting moments on the floor.

We still do not have a budget yet, but here is a quick summary of some important legislation from this session.

You can also read an official summary prepared by the Division of Legislative Services here.

PASSED LEGISLATION
Care of Disabled Adults (Surovell - Yes)
We were hit by a bombshell this year when the Department of Justice issued a report that cited Virginia's Central Virginia Training Center with civil rights violations. Virginia's "Training Centers" are institutional facilities where adults with profound disabilities live. The Northern Virginia Training Center is located on Braddock Road between the City of Fairfax and the Beltway.

The DOJ Report alleged that residents were not provided adequate care, properly informed of treatment decision, improperly restrained, improperly refused discharge, and was generally inappropriately treated. The report also criticized Virginia's entire system and said that we were only one of five states that still maintains treatment centers instead of using community based care via Medicaid "waivers."

We passed legislation authorizing additional waiver funding and providing the Governor with flexibility needed to begin address the concerns in the report. This issue isn't over.

Anti-Choice Legislation (Surovell - No)
Last year, we saw a steady stream of anti-choice bills that were killed in the Virginia Senate. This year, the Senate unanimously passed legislation regarding hospital regulations regarding infections. When it got to the House, an amendment was added that required clinics providing first trimester abortions to be regulated like hospitals. Because it was a House amendment, the bill went straight to the Senate floor where a 20-20 tie was broken by Governor Bolling. Given the constructions standards that hospital regulations create, this will jeopardize 17 of the state's 21 clinics providing these services. Litigation will certainly ensue. This was a rare breakdown in the Senate which has historically been a bulwark against anti-choice legislation.

Autism Insurance Coverage (Surovell - Yes)
After a decade-long fight, we passed legislation mandating limited coverage for some services for autistic children. It was not as robust as it should be but it is a good first step which will help thousands of Virginia families to cope with a very painful and expensive problem.

Expansion of Sexual Abuse Victim Remedies (Surovell - Yes)
We adopted legislation extending the statute of limitations for personal injury actions for sexual abuse against persons to twenty years.

Criminal Law (Surovell - Yes)
We banned "synthetic marijuana" also know "spice" or "K-2" and passed my legislation to fix an typo in the Reckless Driving statutes regarding passing a stopped school bus, created authority to create sentencing diversion programs for war veterans, and allowed a judge to order restitution to a child pornography victim.

Education Requirements (Surovell - No)
The legislature passed legislation requiring elementary and middle schools to have students engage in at least 150 minutes per week of physical education.

Deregulation of Home Telephone Service (Surovell - No)
We passed legislation that removes the requirement that Verizon provide telephone coverage to a home if there is alternate coverage available such as wireless service or broadband service.

Car Title Lending (Surovell - No)
The legislature passed legislation allowing car title lenders to lend money to individuals who live outside of Virginia.

Civil Justice Changes (Surovell - Yes)
We passed legislation putting in place a system for raising the medical malpractice award cap for the next 20 years, raised the jurisdictional limits of General Districts Courts to $25,000, and required the disclosure of Chineese drywall in homes.

E-Verify (Immigration) (Surovell - Yes)
The one immigration related bill that was passed required state contractors that have more than 50 employees to use the federal E-Verify system.

FAILED LEGISLATION
HPV Vaccinations for Children (Surovell - No)
Legislation that would have repealed a requirement that girls receive vaccinations against the human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer was killed in the Senate. There is an opt-out provision under current laws.

Privatization of Alcoholic Beverage Control (No Vote)
The Governor's proposal to privatize the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control was never given a committee hearing in either chamber.

Immigration (Surovell - No)
There were approximately 12-15 different bills addressing immigration that were introduced this year. These ranged from requiring police to check the immigration status of any person taken into custody, to banning immigrants from public colleges and universities in Virginia, to requiring employers to use an system called E-Verify to check employee's immigration status. A limited E-Verify bill passed. All other bills were killed in the Senate.

Texting While Driving (No Vote)
Legislation to make texting while driving a primary offense (one you can be stopped for) was killed in the Senate.

Cigarette & Plastic Bag Taxes (No Vote)
A proposal to increase the cigarette tax from 30 cents to $1.45 per pack to help pay for health care through Medicaid and smoking prevention programs was rejected along with a $0.05 and $0.20 tax on plastic bags.

Employment Non-Discrimination (No Vote)
Legislation to prohibit discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, in state employment was rejected.

Constitutional Amendments (No Vote)
Constitutional Amendments to ratify the Equal Rights Amendments, create a VRS Lockbox, repeal Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage, automatically restore the voting rights of convicted felons who have served their sentence, and allow states to repeal federal law (Surovell - No) were all killed.

Criminal Policy (No Vote)
Legislation to raise Virginia's lowest-in-country misdemeanor-felony threshold on property crimes from $250 to $500 was killed (Surovell Bill). An effort to require ignition interlock devices for all first offense DWI convictions was killed in the Senate (Surovell - No).

Civil Justice Policy (No Votes)
The legislature refused to extend the mandatory retirement age for judges.

2011 Capitol Classic: House Wins in a Landslide

Last night, I participated in the annual Capitol Classic Basketball Tournament. The tournament is an annual event where the Governor's Office plays the Lobbyists and the House plays the Senate. The event raised $10,000 for the Massie Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University.

This year the House beat the Senate 29-13. I scored the first basket of the game and had one assist.

The Senate never quite got it in gear. They didn't have a basket until there was about 3 minutes left in the first half. They ultimately put some points on the board to make it a bit more respectable, but it was hard for them to keep up with the number of players we had.

Our team included our Coach Delegate Chris Jones (R - Suffolk) and Delegates John Cosgrove (R - Chesapeake), Tag Greason (R - Loudoun), Terry Kilgore (R - Scott), Manoli Loupassi (R - Richmond), Glen Oder (R - Newport News), Dave Toscano (D - Charlottesville), my intern Greg Manuel and a few other staffers. The Senate team included my law partner Senator Chap Petersen (D - Fairfax) along with Senators McEachin (D - Richmond), Emmit Hanger (R - Augusta), Ralph Northam (R - Norfolk), George Barker (R - Fairfax), Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, and a few other staffers and interns.

I used to play a lot of basketball in the Fort Hunt Youth Athletic Association and in law school, but I haven't kept up my game much in the last 15 years. The game was a good reminder to me of how much I need to work on getting in shape.

If I'm lucky enough to be back next year, I'll be looking forward to getting it in gear next year. The Massie Center is a terrific program that provides cancer treatment options closer to home for thousands of people.

Senator Ticer Retires

Last week, State Senator Patsy Ticer announced her retirement.

She has been involved in Virginia Democratic politics for a long time. She is an institution in the City of Alexandria.

Patsy previously served on the City of Alexandria City Council and as the first woman Mayor of Alexandria after Jim Moran was elected to Congress in 1991. In 1996, she was elected to the Senate of Virginia. My delegate district shares four precincts with Senator Ticer's district.

Patsy currently serves as Chairman of the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee. She has been a consistent voice for women, children, the environment, and progressive policies in the State Senate.

With her retirement our area will lose a reliable friend and ally for policies and programs that benefit the citizens of Mount Vernon and the U.S. 1 Corridor. Her steady presence and leadership will be missed.

Her successor will be selected sometime this fall. If a primary method of election is selected, it will take place on August 23.

A Visitor From Aldersgate

Tuesday, I was honored to be joined on the floor by Rev. Dr. Dennis Perry, pastor of Aldersgate United Methodist Church, here in Mount Vernon.

I asked Rev. Perry to deliver the prayer at the opening of Tuesday's floor session. You can find a video of Reverend Perry's prayer below.



After session began, I introduced Rev. Perry to the full house and spoke about the fantastic work Aldersgate does in the Mt. Vernon community. Here's video of my introduction of Rev. Perry.

Crossover Approaches

Tommorrow is "Crossover" - the day when the House and Senate must complete all work on their own legislation and it is transmitted to the other chamber.

We have a ton of bills up today for Second Reading - or in layman's terms, debate. You can see the docket if you click here. Lots of bills about guns, concealed weapon permits, and hunting.

I also have one on my bills on the floor for debate. HB 831 requires the Commonwealth and all localities to confirm that an out-of-state corporation has properly qualified to do business in Virginia before they can bid on a public contract. While practicing law, I have found that most companies do not qualify to transact business when they should. I had one case involving a company that had been doing business with a locality for 10 years that hurt 13 people. It cost my client $1,500 to serve them with a lawsuit instead of $12 to the Sheriff because they had not qualified. My bill will level the playing field for Virginia companies and bring more revenue for taxpayers. I am hopeful that it will pass.

If you have any comments on any legislation, please use the tool on my website here.

After Crossover, the Budget will begin to take center stage. Things are going to get interesting once the budget cuts are announced. I expect the rest of the Commonwealth will start having to confront the same kinds of school cuts we have been discussing in Fairfax County for the last three month, and services for our most needy are probably going to take a body blow. I am gearing up for the fight.

First Week in Richmond

It was an interesting first week in Richmond. I started the first day (Wednesday) by running over the Clerk's Desk in the House Chamber to file my 17 bills before the filing deadline. You can view them here, and I'll have more information on my website soon.

I had some family come into town. My uncles, parents, cousins, and a few other friends were in the Chamber along with my wife and kids who got to be on the floor for the swearing in. After my kids played with my voting station and finished fighting over my chair we got started, took the oath, and I became official.

It was a very humbling experience for me on a number of levels. First, being the grandson of a pair of Brooklyn jews who were not exactly welcome to Virginia when they first arrived. Second, I am also the grandson of a long line of Virginia farmers who struggled to make a living from Virginia's red clay with limited education and opportunities. My grandmother once told me that her father would never believe he had a lawyer in the family. A legislator would have really been a impossible to imagine accomplishment for my family.

After the swearing in, we were given our committee assignments. I was placed on the Cities, Counties, and Towns Committee and the Science and Technology Committee. The CC&T Committee will put me in a good position to help work towards giving Fairfax County the tools it needs to function more efficiently and the Science and Technology Committee will help me work to bring jobs to Mount Vernon by working with Northern Virginia's Technology Section that is our job engine.

On Wednesday night, Governor Kaine gave a great State of the Commonwealth Address reviewing his terms as Governor. Afterwards, there was a reception for all legislators and cabinet at the Governor's Mansion. It brought back memories from when I was a Governor's Fellow in 1993.

On Thursday, the parade of lobbyists, special interest groups, and concerned citizens started coming by the office. I met with church groups, concerned state and local officials, a few lobbyists, and some other delegates. One of my cousins, a fraternity brother, and some other friends stopped by to lobby on banking issues. My law school roommates brother came for the physical therapists. It was great to see old friends.

Some questions have also started to filter in about my legislation. If you have any questions or feedback, you can provide it here. A link to this will be on my website shortly.

One of the real eye openers was the extent of partisanship that exists down here. Several of my colleagues were removed from long-term prestigious committee assignments. This was presumably due to their involvement in our Caucus Leadership for candidate recruitment and fundraising. There were also several members moved off the the Privilege and Elections Committee who have supported bipartisan campaign redistricting.

Apparently, Friday everyone works to get out of town as soon as possible and the Republicans are busy doing the Inaugural Pre-Parties so us Democrats have lots of time to get some work done. It is going to be a contentious but be fun and rewarding session.

The 44th Gets #88

I spent a rainy day in Richmond today at the first day of our three-day Freshman Class Orientation. It was a fascinating day.

We got acquainted with the new members of our freshman class of 20. There are 12 Republicans and 8 Democrats. We are also a very large freshman class. Typically, one-fifth of the House of Delegates does not turn over each election.

We are a very diverse class in many ways. We have two doctors, a handful of lawyers, folks experienced in economic development, defense contracting, military affairs, technology businesses, telecommunications, trucking business, etc. We have new members from Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, Southside, the Shenandoah Valley, the Richmond suburbs, and Southwest.

We spent the first few hours touring the State Capital Building designed by Thomas Jefferson. In anticipation of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown in 2007, the state invested about $104M in a renovation that was completed on-time and within budget. It has really transformed the complex. It is a fascinating, historic, and remarkable facility that every Virginian should tour.

There were portraits of George Mason, Merriweather Lewis, and Henry Clay. Busts of the 7 Virginia born Presidents. The most valuable piece of artwork in the building is a statue of 44th District resident General George Washington which was appraised as worth $50,000,000. It is the only statue General Washington every lived modeled. Interestingly, in all the artwork and portraits, there were no portraits of any african-americans and only three portraits of women - Queen Elizabeth, Lady Astor, and a woman who I was told had something to do with decoration schemes in the building years ago. Walking throughout and looking around, you really get a feel for the history, tradition, and what an honor it is to serve in this legislative body.

We also got to know the House Clerk, Bruce Jamerson, who runs a really tight ship and ran this ten hour program nearly on time to the second with virtually no breaks. The Clerk is also the keeper of the institution - Mr. Jamerson told me that he was the 20th Clerk in the history of the institution and there have been 54 Speakers. Talk about an exclusive club.

We also spent hours learning how to submit bill requests, received a sobering briefing on the budget situation, learning about FOIA, ethics, and at the end we drew for seniority. When it was my turn to pick, #1-3, 5-7, and #19-20 were gone along with many in between. Being at the end of the alphabet was like Deal or No Deal with no Banker.... Mr. Jamerson held out a small box with a few slips of paper left in it. I pulled #8. Not bad given what was left. That makes me #88 in seniority in the chamber, on a license plate, and moves me up on the list for picking office space, etc. If Democrats regain control, it could mean the difference between Chairing a committee or not in the future.

While the budget situation may be dire, you could really feel a sense of energy, excitement, and anticipation among the twenty members of our freshman class. There is a lot of work to be done.