Weekly Column: State Legislature Must Make Tough Decisions

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 April 5, 2020.

State Legislature Must Make Tough Decisions

Instead of reporting on the accomplishments of the General Assembly’s 2020 session, in recent weeks I have chosen to provide information about the COVID-19 crisis and its impacts.  The worldwide coronavirus pandemic is likely to change much of what state legislators passed earlier this year.  Many measures are in limbo, especially the state’s budget.  The legislature will reconvene on April 22 to consider budget changes and vetoes that Governor Ralph Northam may propose. 

This week, Governor Northam announced that he is putting all new spending in the state’s new two-year budget on hold.  Therefore, it appears that when we reconvene, we will consider proposed amendments to implement his proposals, pending economic analyses, projections and decisions on how the state can use the $3 billion in federal stimulus dollars.

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: The Top Three Issues: The Future of U.S. 1, Improving Local Schools, and Helping The Uninsured

The following is my column that will exclusively appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette in the week of August 25, 2014.

The Top Three Issues: The Future of U.S. 1, Improving Local Schools, and Helping The Uninsured

There are many issues facing the communities between the Potomac River, Huntley Meadows Park, Fort Belvoir and the City of Alexandria.  The top three are U.S. 1, the future of our local schools, and a burgeoning uninsured population. 

First, our quality of life revolves U.S. 1.  The future of U.S 1 not only functions as the spine of our mobility, but it drives housing, retail choices, property values, schools, environmental quality, crime levels, and tax revenue.     

A year ago, Senator Puller and I secured $2 million to fund the U.S. 1 Multimodal Study and determine the optimal transit, road, pedestrian, cycling, and accompanying land configuration for the U.S. 1 Corridor.  That study will come to a conclusion in the next few months.

Weekly Column: Special Session Begins Work on State Budget

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette and The Mt. Vernon Voice in the week of April 2, 2014.

Special Session Begins Work on State Budget
Last week, we returned to Richmond for the first day of our special session to finalize Virginia’s two-year, $90 billion budget.

Governor Terry McAuliffe proposed amendments to the budget originally introduced. The major change was for Virginia to expand its Medicaid program to all adults earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level with the cost reimbursed by the federal government for the next three years and phased down to 90 percent of the cost by the year 2020 pursuant to the Federal Affordable Care Act.

Shifting this cost to the federal government frees up at least $225 million of Virginia taxpayer money to fund other programs this budget cycle. Governor McAuliffe proposes to use those savings to provide $100 million for a “rainy day fund” to cover potential future Medicaid expenditures as requested by Republican Senators. He also budgets $76 million to shore up the Virginia Retirement System because the General Assembly borrowed money to balance the budget back in 2010-2011.

Weekly Column: Legislation Starts to Move & Speaking Out on Route 1

This column appeared in the Mount Vernon Gazette, Mt. Vernon Voice and Patch on January 25, 2012: 

Legislation Starts to Move & Speaking Out on U.S. 1  

The General Assembly completed its first full week of work this week.

First, two of my bills have been passed by the House Courts of Justice Committee and are heading to the floor of the House of Delegates. One clarifies when an appellate court must calculate interest on remand of an appeal. A second bill makes it clear that a Power of Attorney automatically terminates when unmarried parents file for child custody or visitation or separated spouses file for support.

This week, I also presented a bill to adjust Virginia’s threshold between misdemeanor and felony offenses from $200 to $500. Virginia’s limit is the lowest in the United States and has not been adjusted since 1981. The value of $200 from 1981 is $549 today according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Weekly Column: My 2012 Agenda: Transportation, Economic Development, Sunshine & Consumer Protection

This column appeared in the Mount Vernon Gazette, Mt. Vernon Voice and Patch on January 5, 2012: 

My 2012 Agenda: Transportation, Economic Development, Sunshine & Consumer Protection

On January 11, 2012 at noon, the Virginia General Assembly kicked off the 2012 Session. Last week, I wrote about an overall preview of the session. This week, I am writing about my legislation which you can view online at http://lis.virginia.gov or my website www.scottsurovell.org.

Congestion on U.S. 1, the extension of the Yellow & Blue Lines, and economic development is the top priority for our area. Congestion on Route 1 affects not just our commutes, but economic development, job creation, the neighborhood revitalization, local school performance, the quality of our local environment, and the value of our homes. Route 1 will not be improved until we get a fair share of construction funding.

Weekly Column: House Budget Fails Our Schools, Transportation System

The following column appeared in the Mount Vernon Gazette, Mount Vernon Voice, and Patch.com on February 17, 2011:

The Budget took center stage this week in Richmond. Virginia budgets in two-year cycles. We passed the “big” budget last year. This year, the legislature tweaks
it to address changes in revenue or policy.

Under our system, the Governor proposes his amendments first, then the House and Senate pass competing measures which are then worked out in a conference committee and passed at end session. I voted no to the House amendments this week because of several serious flaws. First, the House reduced education spending by $92 million over what the Governor proposed - a $6 million cut for Fairfax County. The House also voted to mandate stricter physical education requirements – an $18 million mandate - but provided no additional funding . The state mandated standards of learning (SOL) testing be taken online this year - an $8 million unfunded mandate. If the state keeps mandating without funding, then Fairfax County will have to choose between higher real estate taxes or deferring the complete implementing full-day kindergarten. I voted against $34 million of unfunded mandates for Fairfax County Public Schools. This kind of irresponsible policy-making is not sustainable.

The House amendments also use $150 million of General Fund money to transportation to fund a “Transportation Infrastructure Bank” designed to float more bonds, i.e., to borrow. Transportation in Virginia has been historically funded with cash, not borrowing, and with gas taxes, 30 percent of which are paid by people who don’t live in Virginia.

Virginia’s General Fund money pays for schools, colleges and public safety. Most General Fund money we send to Richmond does not come back because Northern Virginians make more money and the state only funds 19% of our school budget. Dipping into General Fund money instead of the Transportation Trust Fund for roads not only compromises schools, colleges, and public safety, but it means that Northern Virginia taxpayers would pay for even more for downstate roads than already - in this state, services that everyone in Virginia should support. I stood up and spoke out against this on the House Floor and will continue to do so because it is not fair.

The House also passed a $2 million winery tax credit and a $25 million tax credit for corporations funding private school scholarships. A tax credit means lost revenue and this one is like asking every four-person Virginia family to write a $12 check to fund private school scholarships. I will not vote to fund wineries and private schools while we cut our public schools.

The House budget amendments also allowed localities to use Pre-School Initiative monies to fund full-day kindergarten, basically taking money from poor families to fund full-day kindergarten in more affluent areas instead of simply funding education directly. The House budget also prohibits stem cell research which will impede progress in curing diseases and limit opportunities for research and development and job growth in Virginia.

Finally, since the General Assembly failed to fully fund state employee (including teachers) pension obligations over the last decade, Virginia has a $17 billion unfunded pension liability. This is about one-half of a year’s worth of spending. The Governor proposed to stop the damage by undoing a 1983 agreement where state employees agreed to forego a raise and restructure the state pension plan to require employees to contribute five percent toward their pensions and to give them a three percent raise. The House and Senate Budgets basically rejected this proposal although in different ways.

Either way, this is a ticking time bomb that will ultimately affect our bond rating. We need to start funding these obligations now instead of continually pushing them off on to our kids.

Finally, last week, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce announced their Top 50 Transportation Projects in Virginia. U.S. 1 and a Yellow Line extension were not on the list. These projects will never happen without the support of the broader business community or statewide leadership. I hope the Governor and his team can help the downstate business community better understand our needs. We must start beating the drums now for the widening of U.S. 1 and extension of the Yellow Line. Look for me standing on a box on a street corner in Richmond with a megaphone.

Good government requires your involvement so please be in touch or come visit in Richmond so I can best represent you in the General Assembly. As always, you can find more information regarding my bills or my agenda on my blog – The Dixie Pig
(scottsurovell.blogspot.com). It is an honor to serve as your State Delegate.

Weekly Column: Young Leaders Visit, Fighting for Fair Transportation Funding and Improving Access to Childcare

The following column appeared in the Mount Vernon Gazette and Mount Vernon Voice on February 3, 2011:

The legislative session is now moving at a furious pace. On Monday, I presented one bill at 7:00 a.m., a bill and a budget amendment at 8:30 a.m., another bill at 10:00 a.m., our caucus met at 11:30 a.m., and our floor session ran for two hours at noon. Our committees are all pressing to complete action on bills so that they can be heard before next “Crossover Day” next Tuesday when the House and Senate swap bills.
Also, I was honored by a visit from my Young Leaders this week. Delegate Amundson started the Young Leaders Program and we restarted it this year. I was visited by four students from West Potomac and two from Mount Vernon. The program introduces students to state policy and state government. The students met several policy makers, myself and Senator Puller, attended committee hearings, and watched a floor session. During one committee hearing, they were able to observe debate on repealing the state gay marriage ban, a constitutional limit on state debt, and restoration of felon voting rights. They are now beginning to work on a project as a result of their visit. I appreciate the support of Cox Communications who helped to cover the program’s cost.
My bills are also moving through the system. Although not adopted, several of my bills were referred for study. The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) decides which transportation projects to fund in Virginia. It has ten commissioners representing each transportation district and four at-large members who represent the interests of transit, rail, airports, and ports. The transportation districts are based on the 1930’s congressional district lines, plus a Northern Virginia seat that was added in 1985. Presently, the three urban/suburban districts have 62% of the state’s population and 3 of 10 votes. The rural districts have 38% of the state’s population and 7 of 10 votes.
My legislation requires the commissioners to be appointed based upon congressional districts. It would more than triple Northern Virginia’s current representation plus help Hampton Roads and Richmond. It would give Northern Virginia the seat at the table that it deserves. The Governor’s Office and Transportation Subcommittee agreed this needs to be addressed so it was referred to the Governor McDonnell’s Government Reform Commission for further study.
Senator Puller’s U.S. 1 Transit Study resolution is moving through the Senate and the Secretary of Transportation continues to assure me that my budget amendment to fund it should be included in the final budget. I am hopeful we are finally seeing some progress.
During my campaign, I noted that there were fourteen preschools east of U.S. 1 and not a single preschool or childcare center on the west side of U.S. 1 (Woodlawn, Janna Lee, Hybla Valley & Groveton) in my district. After several meetings of my Preschool and Childcare Working Group, I introduced legislation this year to ask the Department of Social Services to study ways to maximize federal childcare matching funds and increase the availability of subsidized childcare in Virginia. There are 20,000 children on Virginia’s subsidized childcare waiting list and 2,000 in Fairfax County – many of which are in the U.S. 1 Corridor. Making high quality childcare and preschool more affordable and available to families in our community is critical to improving our school performance. My legislation was amended and then tabled this year with a commitment from the Department to further study the measure over the next year and revisit the issue in 2011.
About 100 constituents attended my Town Hall Meeting with Senator Toddy Puller on Saturday, January 29. We had a two-hour discussion on a wide variety of topics ranging from redistricting, retirement benefits, and education funding to the extension of the Yellow Line and transit expansion. It was great to be back home and get some feedback on how we are doing.
Also, nearly 700 households have responded to my constituent survey. Improving the economy, working on transportation and education were the top three issues. A majority of respondents did not favor further cuts to the state budget and said we should consider raising taxes. A majority of respondents also favored some form of modest tax increase for transportation. If you are interested, I will be posting more complete results on my blog, The Dixie Pig at scottsurovell.blogspot.com over the next two weeks. You can also continue to submit feedback online at www.scottsurovell.net/survey.
You can also comment on legislation, set up a meeting or request a Capitol tour at www.scottsurovell.net. Good government requires your involvement so please be in touch or come visit in Richmond so I can best represent you in the General Assembly. It is an honor to serve as your State Delegate.

Preschool/Childcare Working Group Update

Earlier this year, I assembled a working group to focus on expanding preschool access and quality childcare in the U.S. 1 corridor. We had our third meeting this past week.

As of today, there are approximately 3,800 Fairfax County children waiting for subsidized childcare. Childcare centers in the U.S. 1 corridor have recently closed because there are not enough families who can afford high quality childcare.

There are at least fourteen preschools on the west side of U.S. 1 in my district. There are zero on the west side. There are a handful of licensed at home childcare providers on the east side and dozens on the west. The provision of childcare in the 44th District is starkly different depending on where you live.

We also learned that the capital costs for starting a new childcare center are significant. Childcare centers have to be built to burn-proof standards with extraordinarily safe building standards - effectively the same standards as hospital. Given these costs, the limitations on labor costs, and families' limited ability to afford childcare, the costs of entry into the childcare market are extraordinarily high. Government subsidies are needed to expand preschool and childcare opportunities.

We are focusing on legislative solutions in the following areas:

• Lowering the local government match required to access state funds for subsidized childcare.
• Requiring a biennial rebenchmarking of childcare payment rates for the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
• Providing real estate tax exemption for all non-profit childcare center.
• Creating a fund to provide low-interest loans for capital improvements to non-profit childcare facilities.
• Monitor proposed state rules to limit subsidized childcare to familes for five-year period and require enrollment in DCSE for unmarried recipient families.
• Expand availability of parenting mentoring programs.

If you have any feedback for our Working Group please post it up here or send me an email at DelSSurovell@house.virginia.gov.

Time to Invest in Preschool

This is a column I wrote that appeared in the Mount Vernon Gazette on May 20, 2010. If you are interested in participating in this working group, please contact my aide Chris Bea at DelSSurovell@house.virginia.gov.

When the state got into funding secondary education about 90 years ago, it was supposed to be an equal partner. That is not the case today in Northern Virginia and this needs to change. I strongly believe that one of the best ways the state could help us here in Mount Vernon is to invest in preschool education.

Educators widely recognize that early childhood education gives children strong fundamentals for succeeding in school and that children who do not have these programs start kindergarten at a disadvantage. There is not a single preschool on the west side of U.S. 1 in the 44th Delegate District. There are 14 preschools on the east side including the preschool my grandparents helped found in 1941 — Tauxemont Preschool.

Children who attend preschool have a huge advantage over children who do not. We have too many children in Mount Vernon who show up for kindergarten who have never sat in circle, focused on a task or learned how to hold a pencil. Just last week a study was published confirmed that children who lack quality daycare before age four-and-a-half start off behind, frequently stay behind, and are at-risk for all kinds of problems in adolescence and as adults.

Notwithstanding all of this research, one day during the session when we were debating this year’s state budget, two budget negotiators from downstate argued that Fairfax County was a wealthy place that did not have a significant need for state education funding and argued against funding for at-risk children’s programs because they maintained, these programs are not effective. Likewise, the original House Budget made massive cuts to funding for at-risk children's education programs and rolled all programs into one block grant so that localities would have the discretion to make funding decisions on their own.

I took to the floor of the House and argued that if we took every free and reduced lunch child in Fairfax County and put them into their own school district, it would be the eighth largest school system in Virginia out of approximately 120. Our special education population would be 12th and our English-as-a-Second-Language population would be 14th. We have plenty of many compelling needs in Fairfax County and especially right here in Mount Vernon. Also, I pointed out that while sending a block grant might provide "flexibility" to localities, many of us had concerns about how resources were allocated within our counties when "flexibility" was exercised and that we preferred that funds be allocated for specific programs. When it is time for the School Board to vote, we only have two votes out of 12 (Mount Vernon and Lee Districts).

What is happening in Fairfax County today is precisely demonstrating my point. Both sides of the U. S. 1 corridor have some of the steepest education challenges and the greatest needs in the County yet we are seeing major cuts. Parents across Mount Vernon have been contacting me about cuts to Project Excel, elementary school focus funding, and new fees. This is not sustainable. Long-term we have to invest in our children, in programs for at-risk kids, and have preschool programs available for everyone.

I am assembling a working group to make legislative recommendations regarding how the state can encourage the expansion of opportunities for communities that are not currently well-served by preschools. If you would like to participate in this working group, please email my aide, Christopher Bea, at DelSSurovell@house.virginia.gov or call my office at 571.249.44TH (4484).

Invest in Preschool, Invest in the Future

Yesterday, I spent about five hours raking leaves at Tauxemont Cooperative Preschool with a dozen other parents - part of our duties along with our "school job." Tauxemont is a cooperative preschool which means it has significant parent involvement in the operation of the school. Two of my children went through their program, two currently attend, I'm an alumni, along with my brother and sister, and my father, uncle and aunt who attended in the 1940's after my grandparents helped start the school with other families in the mid-1940's.

Saturday morning, there was an interesting article in the Washington Post regarding the importance of preschool and the evolving debate over teaching techniques. During my campaign, I talked a lot about the importance of preschool and the lack of it in parts of my district. One paragraph jumped out at me:

Research has shown that by 23, people who attended play-based preschools were eight times less likely to need treatment for emotional disturbances than those who went to preschools where direct instruction prevailed. Graduates of the play-based preschools were three times less likely to be arrested for committing a felony.

Here's a link to the study. Of course, there is a whole chicken and egg aspect to this - play-based preschools might be more prevalent among certain demographics, regions or areas, children with early emotional disturbances probably could not participate in play-based preschool, and the list goes on. Notwithstanding, it is something to think about.

The broader point is that the ten precincts in the 44th District on the east side of U.S. 1 have over a dozen preschools (Westgate, Whitman, Woodley, Hollin Hall, Fort Hunt Stratford, Waynewood, Sherwood, Belle Haven, & Bucknell). The four precincts on the western side of U.S. 1 have zero (Huntington, Groveton, Fairfield & Woodlawn).

The lack of preschool on the west side of U.S. 1 translates to more children arriving for kindergarten not as prepared as children on the east side and playing catch up from the first day they are in school. With test scores at some of the schools in our community heading in the wrong direction, we need to start looking at solutions immediately.

As with sports, knowing the fundamentals at an early age goes a long way towards being competitive. Preschool teaches important fundamental skills such as problem solving, cooperative play, language development, or things as simple as learning how to hold a pencil.

Virginia spends about 60% of what Maryland per child on preschool. Preschool also typically costs less per child than the $12,000 per child it typically costs to educate kindergartners. Governor Kaine tried to significantly increase Virginia's preschool spending, but was blocked by the House of Delegates.

The expansion of preschool would have meaningful benefits for the Mount Vernon community, especially compared with the rest of the County. I am going to put together a group to recommend solutions for expanding access to preschools in our community. If you are interested, drop me a note at scottsurovell@gmail.com.