Weekly Column: Budget Compromise, Child Support Deadbeats & Session End Approaches

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 18 2019.

It is hard to believe, but the last week of the General Assembly has arrived and we hope to gavel out by this coming Saturday.  This past week was very busy as we tried to complete work on bills from opposite chamber and negotiated amendments to the budget. 

First, the Governor and the money committees announced an agreement regarding tax conformity and the revenue side of the budget.  The compromise provides a $110 refund for each tax return (individual or joint) this year.  From 2020 to 2026, it increases the standard deduction at the state level by $1,500 for individuals and $3,000 for joint filers – resulting in $86 in savings for individuals and $172 for couples.  The bill also removes the $10,000 cap on itemized deductions for state taxes.  Given the state income tax is only 5.75%, the tax relief afforded is about $57.50 for every $1,000 of additional mortgage interest, state or local property taxes paid over and above $10,000.  

I was not happy with this proposal for several reasons.  First, it takes about $450 million per year out of the state budget which could fund desperately underfunded General Fund (non-transportation) priorities such as secondary education, higher education, childcare, healthcare, safety net, environmental protection, parks, and public safety.  Second, most of the people receiving the bulk of these cuts are already receiving big federal tax cuts while we run the biggest deficits in United States history instead of following the Governor’s proposal to target modest tax relief targeted to low wage working Virginia families.  This week, negotiators will attempt to finalize the expenditure side of the budget. 

Next, my legislation to modernize child support collection continued to move through the process.  There is over $2.4 billion of delinquent child support in Virginia.   When child support goes unpaid with low income families, it is often paid by taxpayers through the state’s Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) and it is recovered through the Commonwealth’s Department of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE).  In the last five years, child support deadbeats have begun to seek employment with “gig economy” companies as independent contractors such as Uber and Lyft who are exempt from child support withholding.  My legislation would change that and passed the Courts Civil Subcommittee by one vote.   

My legislation to change the Town of Dumfries Town Charter to move elections from May to November passed the full House and Senate.  There is no need for taxpayers to fund separate elections, especially when they result in much lower turnouts.   

The legislation I introduced to create a pilot project to provide Fairfax County with an additional tool to fund underground utilities on U.S. 1 passed the House Commerce and Labor Committee and should be up for a final vote this Tuesday.   

Next, my bill to give Fairfax County authority to fine retailers for rogue shopping carts after refusing to pick them up for 10 days failed in a House subcommittee on a tie vote.  Several Mount Vernon and Springfield residents testified about the disruption loose carts cause in neighborhoods, sidewalks, and the environment – I have now removed over 250 shopping carts from Little Hunting Creek alone.  We will try again next year. 

Also, my bill to enhance prohibit cars from illegally passed other cars by using bike lanes and creating a new serious traffic offense for seriously injuring a cyclist or pedestrian while distracted passed the House Transportation Committee, but was killed by the House Courts of Justice Committee.  Many rural members do not understand the need for better cycling safety rules. 

My legislation to creates consequences for destroying public records to avoid a Freedom of Information Act passed, but only after fines for violating the state’s public meetings law were removed.  I am moving the bill into a conference committee to negotiate a compromise because the closed meeting rule is routinely abused.   

Finally, on Wednesday, I held my annual Facebook Townhall.  Over 56 constituents posted questions and about 1,500 have viewed the 90-minute town hall.  You can watch the recorded version on my official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/surovell.   

Please contact me at scott@scottsurovell.org if you have any questions.  It is an honor to represent you in the Senate of Virginia.

Weekly Column: Vote “Yes” for FCPS Teachers' Salaries

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Gazette, and The Mt. Vernon Voice in the week of October 20, 2016.

Vote “Yes” for FCPS Teachers' Salaries

When you vote on Tuesday, November 8, Fairfax County voters can vote for our schools by voting to allow a four percent tax on prepared restaurant meals.  Of the revenue generated by the tax, 70 percent is required to be dedicated to public schools and 30 percent to other county services, capital improvements and property tax relief.

I support a meals tax because we need to strengthen our schools.  Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) are suffering from underfunding.  While state funds have increased by over 50 percent since the 2009 Great Recession, local funds, which represent 80 percent of our school system's budget, have risen only 20 percent and lagged investments made in Arlington and Alexandria.

44th District Real Estate Data By Zip Code

The Washington Post has put up recent real estate data by zip code.  I thought it was interesting to see what's going on in the 44th District.

Unfortunately, the way the data is posted, it is very hard to compare it against the rest of the area or even Fairfax County.

Either way, here it is:

Zip	Sales	MSP	PperSF	MDOM	AvgSPtoOLP
22308	222	$614,250	$374	20	97.20%
22307	234	$470,000	$345	18	96.90%
22315	512	$434,700	$285	12	98.30%
22306	298	$387,000	$275	16	97.30%
22309	422	$360,000	$240	16	97.10%

KEY

Sales: Number of homes sold
MSP: Median sale price
PperSF: Price per square foot
MDOM: Median days on market (a measure of how long a home was on the market before it went under contract.)
AvgSPtoOLP: Average sale price to original list price
(a measure of how much a home sold above or below its original price)

You can get the full data here and the story about leading/trailing zip codes here.

Weekly Column: The Final Week: U.S. 1 Funding Secured and A Transportation Deal

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, The Mt. Vernon Voice and Patch in the week of February 26, 2013.

The Final Week: U.S. 1 Funding Secured and A Transportation Deal

This week, the General Assembly ended with a budget and two major policy changes - a historic transportation bill and a Medicaid expansion process that I will discuss next week. 
 

The budget reported and now on the Governor’s desk contained a $2 million line item to pay for a Tier I Study of U.S. 1 pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act that I’ve been fighting to secure for four years.  This is the next legally required step towards laying the groundwork for actual major improvements to U.S. 1 between Woodlawn and I-495. 

 

The transportation bill (HB2313) has statewide and local components.  The statewide component repeals the $0.175 gas tax at the pump and replaces it with a 3.5% unleaded tax and 6.0% diesel tax on wholesalers equal to about a $0.10-0.12/gallon tax at the pump.

Budget "Cut" Bills Start to Come Due

I have written several times over the last couple weeks that the press continues to frame the proposed budget reductions here in Richmond as "cuts" when in fact these actions are really just a means of transferring responsibilities from the state government to local governments and individuals.
The results of our actions are now starting to play out as local governments start to adopt their budget. Northern Virginia localities have proposed the following tax increases:

Jurisdiction	Current Tax Rate	Maximum Advertised New Tax Rate	Percent Increase	Assessed Values Decrease
Alexandria	$0.93	$1.00*	+7.0%	-7.45%
Fairfax County	$1.05	$1.12	+6.6%	-5.56%
Arlington County	$0.875	$0.965	+7.6%	-5.56%
Fairfax City	$0.88	$0.965	+9.6%	-9.7%
Falls Church	$1.07	$1.27	+18.6%
Loudoun	$1.14	$1.30	+14.0%	-3.29%
Prince William	$1.212	$1.236	+1.98%

* Hasn't been voted yet, but is proposed by City Manager.

Obviously, part of these tax increases are due to assessed property values decreasing, but if the state had not cut its school funding by $700 million this year, all Northern Virginia jursdictions were slated to get new monies from the state in-part due to declining assessments - instead Northern Virginia taxpayers are footing the bill through higher real estate taxes.

None of this also captures what goes on in the private sector which is much harder to measure. For example, when the state cuts Medicaid reimbursements to health care providers, they often raise prices on their non-Medicaid patients - driving up private health insurance costs with are either paid by taxpayers directly, result in lower wages, or lost jobs. Alternatively, when the state restricts Medicaid waivers (so people can be cared for at home instead of in a facility), families have to pay the costs or sometimes leave work to care for someone in need.

State reductions in higher education funding result in families paying higher tuitions. Virginia's colleges are already signalling major tuition increases for next year.

While many in the General Assembly are already taking credit for making "tough decisions" and not raising taxes in a recession, the end result is to push the tough decisions to our local governments, businesses and families who have to deal with the consequences. Kids need to go to school, people are still going to get sick, criminals will commit crimes, and our mentally ill need care.

These expenses are not going away - different people are just going to end up paying them. In many cases, people are going to end up paying who cannot afford them. One reason we have government is because its is more efficient and equitable for us to share certain expenses as a group instead of making individuals bear the cost of everything. This budget is a big step backwards and the bills are starting to come due.