Over the last year, I have heard confusion regarding the interplay of Virginia's Living Shorelines Law and repairs or replacement of existing shoreline treatment.
Below is an 1984 Attorney General's Opinion explaining what constitutes repairs and maintenance versus construction of new facilities.
On Wednesday of this week, I cleared my trial calendar and headed to Richmond to vote for the bipartisan conference report on our $188 billion state budget. The compromise was a mixed bag. This week, I will write about some local priorities in the budget. Next week, I will write about the coming tax cuts and some of the broader investments that benefit the entire Commonwealth.
First, the Commonwealth’s current fiscal picture appears healthy but I have serious concerns that our excess revenues are largely driven by $5 Trillion of federal stimulus monies that have been pumped into our economy instead of solid underlying economic fundamentals. It is very dangerous to reset tax rates assuming revenues that could vanish when the stream of borrowed money fizzles out.
State Legislature Decides on Funds, Addresses Needs
On August 10, the General Assembly completed work in a special session to appropriate federal pandemic funds and elect judges.
In March, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). ARPA brought $4.3 billion in unexpected funds to Virginia but required it to be invested in specific areas such as water, sewer and broadband infrastructure to respond to the COVID-19 emergency, address pandemic impacts and provide government services suffering from revenue reductions because of the pandemic. Unlike other counties, Fairfax County received $222 million in direct ARPA funding with similar requirements.
First, Monday brought a large firearms rights protest to Capitol Square. Over 20,000 Virginians protested on and off Capitol Grounds. Several arrests were made before the protest due to anarchists discussing shooting during the protests. Most counter protestors stayed away to avoid creating conflict.
I met with about 30 firearms rights supporters including a handful of my constituents in my office. We discussed several bills including our “red flag” bill which was the largest focus. While we agreed to disagree about many matters, we had a very civil discussion and I appreciated their input.
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.
The General Assembly Session gavels in on January 9, 2019 and we have a full agenda awaiting us for our 45-day or “short” session.
First, the budget will probably take center state this year even though we adopted a two-year budget last year. As I mentioned in my previous column, between federal tax reform, rising revenues, and the Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision that allows states to tax internet sales, the Commonwealth has over $1 billion of excess revenue to appropriate. Governor Northam has proposed a targeted tax cut to working Virginians, investments in K-12, and investments in higher education.
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| Nate Benforado with SELC Addressing Committee |
Underground Utilities, Transportation Solutions Get AttentionThe second to last week of the General Assembly session brought a conclusion to most committee work in the legislature, passage of several important bills and a fierce wind storm.On Friday, a powerful wind storm struck Virginia and inflicted millions of dollars in damage to people and property, far more harm than most people anticipated. Many people lost electricity, some for several days. According to Dominion Energy, it was the fifth worst power outage in company history after Hurricanes Isabel, Floyd, Irene and the 2012 Derecho.The mass destruction reaffirms my view that we need to invest in utility undergrounding immediately. The newer developed parts of Northern Virginia where power lines are underground did not suffer outages and while undergrounding is expensive, the disruption of people’s lives has great value also.
Progress on Predatory Lending, Fracking, and Education Equity
The third week of the General Assembly brought action on about two dozen of my bills.First, my two remaining bills to address education equity were unanimously recommended by the Education Subcommittee. The first bill prohibits localities from requiring children to use “electronic textbooks” without providing students with devices to use such “books” at home. Many children in the U.S. 1 Corridor do not have computers or broadband at home and our schools should not mandate electronic learning without providing devices.
The General Assembly has reorganized, added nearly twenty new members, and we inaugurated a new Governor on Saturday. The 36th District now overlaps with five new state delegates including four new women. I am looking forward to the new ideas and energy they bring.This year brings a long session and a new two-year budget. The biggest news in Governor McAuliffe’s proposed budget was about $500 million of new education monies, a proposed funding solution for Metro, and $170,000 to finally clean up a derelict barge in Belmont Bay.While we need to fix Metro, Governor McAuliffe’s proposed fix takes over half a billion dollars away from other Northern Virginia transportation projects and will serious jeopardize the current timeline on U.S. 1 projects in Fairfax County and potentially Prince William County. I cannot support it as written and will work to find other revenue sources to solve this problem.
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.
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| Possum Point Coal Ash Ponds - 120 acres |
2017 General Assembly Session In the Books!
In the 2017 General Assembly session, which ended on February 25, we were able to make some progress in spite of a $1.1 billion budget shortfall.
First, we approved amendments to the state’s biennial budget. After drawing on a $560 million Rainy Day Fund, the budget funds the state share of a long-overdue two percent salary increase for teachers, a three percent raise for state employees, and a $7,000-per-year increase in starting salaries ($36,000) for state troopers. As always, we met our constitutional obligation to balance the budget.
Coal Ash Bill Passes, Computers and Predatory Lending to be Studied
We have one week to go in session and negotiations are rapidly reaching conclusion as we push to finish out work so we can get back to our families and our jobs.
This past week, my legislation to raise Virginia’s threshold between misdemeanors and felonies from $200 to $500 failed. Virginia’s threshold has not changed since 1981. Our existing system unnecessarily focuses police and prosecutors on minor crimes instead of violent crime while tainting thousands of Virginia’s suffering from depression or drug addiction with felony charges for life.
The House of Delegates passed my legislation requiring Dominion to provide better information on coal ash pollution, disaster preparedness, and recycling. I am not happy that a permitting moratorium was removed, it is better than no bill at all and the Governor will also have a chance to amend the legislation.
The last week of January was especially busy as the General Assembly approached February 7th – Crossover – the day we are required to complete all work on bills originating in our chamber. The bills saved for last usually involve the hardest issues to resolve.
Out of the 40 bills I introduced twenty-two have passed the Senate or are poised for passage before Crossover.Last week saw another victory for water quality. This session, I introduced three bills to help control water pollution caused by coal ash. One of my bills was reported by the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee over the objection of Dominion Power. The bill prohibits the issuance of any final permits until Dominion to identifies and describes all water pollution occurring at coal ash ponds and demonstrate corrective measures, evaluate coal ash removal or “clean closure,” and demonstrate that leaving coal ash in place or “cap in place” will not put the community at risk during hurricanes, floods or other major weather events.
The General Assembly Session is in full gear and legislation has begun to move through the process as we start to take action on 3,000 bills.
First, this weekend I am hosting two town hall meetings in Prince William County. On Saturday, January 28 from 9-11 a.m. I will be at the Occoquan Town Hall with Delegate Luke Torian and Senator George Barker, and from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. I hold a Town Hall with Senator Jeremy McPike and Delegate Luke Torian at Forest Park High School. Please come out, attend and ask questions.
Three of my bills have been passed by the Senate and moved on to the House. Mostly importantly, we reached a compromise solution that will require the City of Alexandria to have measures in place to prevent 95% of all raw sewage discharges into the Potomac River by 2025.
Reaching this conclusion was not easy and the City is not happy about it, but water quality is a concern to all Virginia’s regardless of political party. The resolution would not have occurred without the help of City of Alexandria Senator Adam Ebbin and Committee Chairman Richard Stuart who represents the Northern Neck.
Several of my bills are moving quickly in the General Assembly’s “short,” 45-day.
First, the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee passed my bill to require the city of Alexandria to expedite its cleanup of its primary raw sewage discharges into the Potomac River after consolidating my bill with Committee Chairman Senator Richard Stuart’s bill.
Many legislators agree that we cannot tolerate 70 million gallons of untreated sewage pouring into the Potomac River for the next 30 years while the city addresses the rest of what’s called a “combined sewer overflow” system dating from the 1800s. Water quality is a nonpartisan issue. I will continue to expedite this legislation with Senator Stuart and Delegate Dave Albo who is carrying similar legislation in the House of Delegates.
On Wednesday, January 11, the 2017 Session of the General Assembly Session will gavel in for a 45-day “short” session. I am looking forward to a very busy six weeks and would like to update you on my plans for session. I am introducing nearly 40 bills, but here are a few highlights.
First, lagging state revenues continue to limit legislative initiatives and create funding priorities. The Virginia State Police is hemorrhaging Troopers due to lagging pay and a planned two percent raise for teachers and state employees was delayed after anticipated revenues fell short. They will be a priority this year.My number one legislative priority will be prohibiting drivers from having mobile phones in their hands while driving. Between January 1 and July 1 of 2016, traffic fatalities in the United States were up by 10% - for the first time in 50 years. Most experts attribute this to distracted driving. Anyone driving our roads only has to look at the vehicle next to them to realize this is a problem that requires attention.
