Weekly Column: General Assembly Is Finalizing Bills

The following is my column that will appear in this week's Mt. Vernon Gazette in the week of February 20, 2023.  

 General Assembly Is Finalizing Bills

    Now that the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates have completed work on all bills from each chamber, each chamber has begun work on bills from the other chamber.  Some of the more difficult bills met their fate last week. 

    It appears that both houses will approve around 20 of my bills which I will discuss in a future column.  This column focuses on several of my bills that the House of Delegates rejected.

Protecting Choice

    In the aftermath of last year’s Dobbs decision, we must do everything we can to protect Virginia women and healthcare providers from prosecution for exercising their reproductive healthcare rights.  Virginia is likely to become a sanctuary for women seeking reproductive healthcare due to our geographic position and existing laws.  My legislation would prohibit the extradition of Virginia medical professionals who provide reproductive healthcare to other states.  It failed on a party-line vote.  

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.  

November 8 Vigil for Bijan Ghaisar

Last Thursday night, I helped organize a vigil for Bijan Ghaisar at the corner of Fort Hunt Road and Alexandria Avenue where he was shot four times in the head, unarmed after he was the victim in a traffic accident - two blocks from my house.

I have sent two letters to the Federal Bureau of Investigation seeking answers and have merely been told "we are working on it."

The Federal Government's failure to promptly issue a report and make a decision in this case is outrageous.

Thank you to the 100 citizens including many Mount Vernon residents who came out to remember Bijan and tell the government that his family and our community deserve answers.

Here is the news coverage in case you missed it.

WJLA Channel 7 - Rep. Don Beyer says FBI investigation into Bijan Ghaisar shooting wrapped up weeks ago (Nov. 8, 2018)   

WTOP - Vigil marks nearly 1 year after Virginia man fatally shot by Park Police

Channel 9 Coverage - Peggy Fox

Channel 4 Coverage - Jackie Bensen 

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.

Interview on Cable Reports with Delegate Torian

Last week, I was also honored to sit for an interview with Woody Evans on Cable Reports along with Prince William Delegate Luke Torian. 

During the interview we were able to discuss our legislative agenda including my legislation to create tolling fairness, extend the Blue Line to Lorton, Woodbridge, Potomac Mills and Dumfries, reform predatory lending, and promote transparency in Virginia government.

Thank you to Comcast Cable and Cable Reports for having me on again!

Weekly Column: My 2016 Legislative Agenda: Part I

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 December 29, 2015.

My 2016 Legislative Agenda: Part I
On January 13, 2016, I take my oath of office as your state senator.  I am planning on introducing approximately forty bills and about a dozen budget amendments in our sixty day session.

Predatory Lending
Predatory lending is a major problem in the U.S. 1 Corridor.  Car title lenders have been abusing this loophole by charging rates over 200% by recharacterizing car title loans as separately regulated car title loans.   To reign in car title lender bait and switch tactics, I am proposing to limit interest rates on consumer finance loans at 36%.  I have also introduced legislation to prohibit car title lenders from using subsidiaries from using the open end credit loophole to also evade consumer protections.

Weekly Column: Budget Tweaks, Execution Secrecy and Ethics

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette and The Mt. Vernon Voice in the week of March 2, 2015.

Budget Tweaks, Execution Secrecy and Ethics

In the last week of the recent General Assembly session, we passed a budget and some of the most contentious legislation of the session.  We actually adjourned one day early on Friday, the first session in the six regular sessions in which I have served that has finished early.

 

Here's a quick rundown on several bills:

 

Four of my bills passed both houses and are with the Governor for his action.  I described them in my column last week.  I hope they will be signed into law without any amendments.

Weekly Column: The Budget Debate Begins!

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, The Mt. Vernon Voice and Patch in the week of February 17, 2014.

The Budget Debate Begins 

This week in Richmond brought some surprises, good news and some frustration.

First the good news.  On Sunday, the House and Senate announced their budgets signaling the beginning of budget negotiations.  Senator Puller was able to secure language to prioritize funding for preliminary engineering and environmental studies necessary to continue the U.S. 1 Multimodal Transit Analysis Study.  I am hopeful we can keep that in the final budget once the negotiations begin.

Second, the Senate budget amendments also proposed some Senate Republicans’ alternative way to provide insurance coverage to low income Virginians using a “revenue recovery fund” instead of an outright Medicaid expansion.  There is some bipartisan support for expanding coverage, but it is not clear if there are enough votes to get legislation through the House of Delegates.

Weekly Column: 2014 Session Focuses on Ethics, Medicaid and U.S. 1

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, The Mt. Vernon Voice and Patch in the week of January 12, 2014.

2014 Session Focuses on Ethics, Medicaid and U.S. 1

On January 8, 2014 ,the 2014 General Assembly Session was gavelled into session and I took my third oath of office. 

The biggest issues on the horizon right now are ethics reform and the expansion of Medicaid.  Governor McDonnell’s problems over the last twelve months have shown a spotlight on Virginia’s inadequate gift, disclosure, and campaign finance law. 

Two months ago, I wrote a column with six changes that are critical including reporting gifts and transactions between special interests and elected officials’ family members and businesses, caps on gifts to elected officials including local government officials, campaign contributions limits, disclosure of all activity during twelve month periods, restrictions on spending campaign money on personal expenses, and creating an independent ethics commission with audit and enforcement powers.

Weekly Column: Cleaning Up Virginia’s Ethics and Disclosure Laws

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, The Mt. Vernon Voice and Patch in the week of August 12, 2013.

Cleaning Up Virginia’s Ethics and Disclosure Laws

Media reports of Governor Bob McDonnell accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars of “gifts” and loans have provoked discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of Virginia’s ethics laws. Some have called for a special session of the state legislature.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is requesting a special session after he failed to report his only stock holding – Star Scientific – and $18,000 in gifts from Star Scientific head Jonnie Williams, including a lake house vacation  and a catered Thanksgiving dinner. Another state delegate has echoed that call after his undisclosed trip to Taiwan was reported by the media.

We will be back in session in four months. While a special session to consider the Governor’s impeachment should be on the table, a special session four months before regular session focused on a series of interrelated complex new laws to be considered by a lame duck governor distracted by a federal criminal ethics investigation would not be productive. The General Assembly can thoroughly debate and decide appropriate ethics reforms in the normal 60-day session starting in January when the process can be more deliberative and the public can be involved more easily.

Here is what should be on the table for 2014:

New Opinion Highlights Virginia Campaign Finance Loopholes

In Virginia, General Assembly members and statewide officeholders are prohibited from fundraising during session.  The main purpose of this is so that decision-makers cannot press groups for campaign contributions while legislation and votes are pending like they can in Congress.  In theory, it also cuts down on grandstanding during session where leaders can pick fights on issues just to get press and raise money.  Most people think this prohibition is a good thing.

Jeff Schapiro with the Richmond Times Dispatch has a column in today's paper in which he said.

The Republican nominee for governor may have a new objective, though he doesn’t seem to be telling many people: Scuttling Virginia’s 16-year-old ban on campaign fundraising during the annual legislative session.

I hope that's not the case. 

Back in 2012, a state senator from Virginia Beach was interested in hosting a Romney fundraiser during our session.  Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued an Attorney General's Opinion holding that the statutory prohibition on General Assembly and Statewide Officeholders fundraising during session did not apply to solicitations on behalf of presidential candidates.  In 2010, he had issued a previous opinion giving a sitting state senator the green light to raise money to run for Congress.  He ended up winning. 

Interviews Regarding Call for Resignation

Here are two interviews I recently gave regarding my call for Governor McDonnell to step down.

This is my interview on The John Fredericks Show.



I was also interviewed on Fox 5 which you can watch here.  DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

It's Time to Move On Governor McDonnell

The Virginia Governor's Mansion, Built in 1813

Over 237 years ago, a handful of Virginia’s leaders put their lives on the line to declare the independence of the Commonwealth of Virginia and start a new Democratic experiment in the East Coast wilderness. 

Since that time, Virginia has seen seventy-one Governors.  They included men like Patrick Henry and future presidents such as Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler.

Only two Virginia Governors have not finished their terms voluntarily.  John Tyler resigned when he was elected to the U.S. Senate and George Smith died at the end of the first year of his term.  No Governor has ever resigned in scandal – ever.

Other states have not been as fortunate.  Illinois has lost four of their last seven Governors to felony indictments.  North Carolina’s ex-governor was convicted of a felony relating to failure to properly disclose a helicopter ride in 2010.  Alabama’s Governor was just released from prison this year after being indicted in 2006.