Weekly Column: Examining and Correcting School Funding Formulas

The following is my column that will appear in this week's Mt. Vernon Gazette in the week of July 25, 2023.  

 Examining and Correcting School Funding Formulas

            The underfunding of Virginia’s public schools recently made headlines, when a new study concluded that Virginia’s K-12 education system receives 14 percent less funding that the average system in America even though Virginia has the 10^th highest median family income.  This independent analysis collides with Governor Youngkin’s persistent call for more tax cuts.

            This year, the state legislature should be adopting budget amendments to reflect adjusted revenues, but we have been unable to agree because of the Governor’s insistence on more tax cuts. Cutting taxes means less revenue for state responsibilities like education and mental health.   

             As someone whose 20 years of education were subsidized by Virginia taxpayers from kindergarten through law school, I fully appreciate the importance of robust investments in public education. 

Weekly Column: The 2023 General Assembly Has Started Its Work

The following is my column that will appear in this week's Mt. Vernon Gazette in the week of January 15, 2023.   

The 2023 General Assembly Has Started Its Work

The first week of the General Assembly session is in the books. We spent most of it getting organized. 

On the day before the session started, we learned that Virginia Beach voters had elected Virginia Beach Councilman Aaron Rouse to the state Senate in a special election to replace now-Congresswoman Jen Kiggans.  That changed the party composition of the Senate to 22 Democrats and 18 Republicans.  Senator-elect Rouse will be sworn in this week after his election is certified and he will be a welcome addition.   

Weekly Column: Budgeting Is a Careful Balancing Act

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

Budgeting Is a Careful Balancing Act

                 In December, Governor Youngkin proposed amendments to the state’s two-year budget.  While he did include some laudable proposals, he also continued to promote some unacceptable strategies.

               Virginia’s revenue picture continues to be very positive, but many of our advisors have indicated that our revenue gains could be ephemeral.  First, inflation continues to be up and when things cost more, people spend more and employers give raises to keep up with inflation.  Since Virginia’s General Fund is largely funded by sales and income taxes, our revenues are up compared to some past years.

Weekly Column: Historic Investment In K-12 Education

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 June 7, 2022.

                Last week, I wrote about some of the local effects of the bipartisan budget agreement that we sent to the Governor last week.  This week I will write about some of the broader issues addressed in the budget.

               First, I was not pleased with the tax cuts which I believe are short-sighted.  The budget contains several other priorities I do not support such as a new $100 million “college laboratory school” program and new funds for school resource officers, but bipartisanship requires compromise.   

Weekly Column: You Can't Always Get What You Want

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 May 31, 2022.

               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. 

Weekly Column: Session Ends - Budget Is Pending

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 March 14, 2022.

Session Ends - Budget Is Pending

Last week, state legislators completed the 2022 General Assembly session and 18 of the 27 bills I introduced are now on their way to the Governor.  Unfortunately, we were not able to reach an agreement on a state budget, on two state Supreme Court justices or on a commissioner for the State Corporation Commission and will have a special session.

               Last week, I served on 16 conference committees charged with working out compromises on some of our most difficult bills to reconcile.

Unfortunately, the House of Delegates unexpectedly killed one of my bills to generate more bike and pedestrian solutions.  We have a massive backlog of unfunded pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure projects in Northern Virginia - especially in eastern Northern Virginia which were built before County land use rules required sidewalks or bike lanes on roads.  There is also no meaningful funding stream under which these projects are competitive so planners do not even develop or seek significant projects.  

Weekly Column: Senate and House Set Up Fight Over $3 Billion Tax Cut

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 28, 2022.

Senate and House Set Up Fight Over $3 Billion Tax Cut  

               In the sixth week of the General Assembly Session each chamber offered their proposed budgets.  Each chamber’s budget is very different.

               First, I was able to secure several changes to the budget that are important to our community.  The Senate Finance Committee included $10 million in the budget to fund the Phase II improvements at Widewater State Park.  Phase II will include a new visitor center, new trails, a loop road, parking areas, and picnic areas.  I have been fighting for this for five years and I am working with Delegate Candi King and Delegate Tara Durant to ensure the House of Delegates will agree to fund it.

Weekly Column: Week #2: A New Governor, Bills Moving & Budget Amendments For SD36

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 24, 2022.

Week #2: A New Governor, Bills Moving & Budget Amendments For SD36 

In the second week of this year’s General Assembly, Governor Youngkin gave his State of the Commonwealth speech to a joint session of the House of Delegates and Senate and we began serious work on over 2,000 bills. 

               While I was pleased that Governor Youngkin said he wants all Virginians to get vaccinated for COVID-19, supports a Chesapeake Bay cleanup and ending raw sewage discharges into the James River, he also advocated for many policies that many people of the 36^th Senate District do not support, policies like charter schools and funding cuts to schools and our transportation. 

Senate committees advanced several of my bills recently. 

Weekly Column: A New Day in Richmond and Many Challenges

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, 2021.

A New Day in Richmond and Many Challenges

               As the Virginia General Assembly begins its 2022 session, my 13^th, I look forward to working with Governor Glenn Youngkin, the new House of Delegates leadership and other legislators to reach a consensus on the best direction for our state.

              While I did not support them, I attended Governor Youngkin’s inauguration and  swearing in, along with the swearing in of Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares.

Budgets Reflect Priorities

               No matter what happens with other bills, one thing we are required to accomplish this session is to pass a budget.  Thanks to federal pandemic funds, Virginia has significant excess revenues in our two-year budget cycle that ends on June 30, 2022.  A little over half of those revenues will be appropriated to the “Rainy Day Fund” and to mandatory water quality improvement. 

Weekly Column: State Legislature Decides on Funds, Addresses Needs

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 August 13, 2021.

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. 

Weekly Column: Finding Solutions in the General Assembly

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 15, 2021.

Finding Solutions in the General Assembly

 Both the Senate of Virginia and the House of Delegates have released proposed budgets and we will vote on the budget soon.  We are also working to resolve some complex bills and to accelerate vaccinations.

Vaccination Progress

               Health care providers have administered over 1.2 million covid-19 vaccinations in Virginia as of February 12, nine of ten available first doses.  As of last week, that means that Virginia ranked seventh among states as a proportion of our population.   The state also announced a unified vaccination scheduling system although Fairfax County chose to opt out.  Virginia is now receiving 129,000 doses per week which is up 23 percent from our initial allocation.  We have also expanded the vaccination program to 36 CVS drugstores around the state.  We expect the pace to pick up once the Food and Drug Administration approves the new single-shot vaccines.   

Weekly Column: Legislators Revised the Budget to Address Many Needs

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 2, 2020.

Legislators Revised the Budget to Address Many Needs

The General Assembly met over the last few months in a special session to finalize our state budget.  We had to revisit the budget because in the last week of our regular, winter session, the COVID-19 pandemic started to flare up, the shutdown began shortly after and the economic damage and uncertainty made it impossible to build a two-year budget. Governor Ralph Northam proposed amendments that the General Assembly approved in April putting all new spending on hold until we had reliable revenue estimates.  Two weeks ago, we approved a revised budget that takes a more modest approach than our original budget, but it still has some significant investments. 

First, we balanced our budget as required by the state constitution.  Second, the budget leaves over $1 billion unspent in reserves because of continued economic uncertainty.  It is a very fiscally prudent budget. 

Weekly Column: Good News & Bad News in Governor's Amendments

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 12, 2020.

Good News & Bad News in Governor's Amendments

                On Sunday, Governor Northam signed the remaining bills that were pending for action, proposed 140 amendments to the state budget, and also 101 amendments to bills.   As of today, the plan is for the House of Delegates to meet outdoors and the Senate of Virginia to meet in a tent behind the Virginia Science Museum in Richmond next Wednesday at noon for our “Veto Session.” 

                First, the good news for our area.  The language requiring the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit to study extending the Blue Line to Lorton, Woodbridge and Potomac Mills is still in the budget.  In addition, the authority and appropriations to fund the Prince William County Public Defender’s Office is still in the budget and cannot be amended further at this point.

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: COVID-19 and Our New State Budget

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 March 15, 2020.

COVID-19 and our New State Budget

               On Thursday, we passed the Senate Budget and nearly as soon as it was passed, the Corona-19 Virus situation exploded.  While this virus crisis is unprecedented, our budget was well-structured and balanced as required by our constitution, and we are prepared for a recession.

               Virginia has its largest cash reserves in the history of the Commonwealth – over $2 billion.  We have been building this reserve both because of constitutionally required deposits to our Revenue Reserve or “Rainy Day” Fund, but also because analysts have been warning us about a likely recession for years even though until last week, we were in the longest economic expansion in American history.

               Our outside bond rating agencies have been warning us that much of American economic growth has been generated by government stimulus versus underlying solid economic fundamentals.  For example, the Trump Tax cuts from 2017 and additional federal government spending accounted for about 1.1% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product over the last three years.  Some of Virginia’s productivity was generated by the $1 billion annually invested through Medicaid Expansion.

Weekly Column: Assault Weapons Ban – Getting It Right

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 23, 2020.

Assault Weapons Ban – Getting It Right

Last week the Senate Judiciary Committee considered a House of Delegates’ bill to regulate assault rifles and other firearm attachments.  I have always supported stronger regulation of assault rifles. 

I lived through the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks while crouching in my car getting gas to avoid being shot.  In 2016, three police officers including one of my constituents were shot with an AR-15.  Officer Ashley Guindon was killed on her first day on the job.  I do not support civilian ownership of weapons of war that are unnecessary for hunting or self-protection.

Experts estimate that there are five to ten million assault weapons in the U.S., including at least 100,000 in Virginia.  The proposed House bill felonized the sale or transfer of assault weapons, certain magazines and silencers, and had no buyback program for assault rifles.  It felonized the possession of certain magazines and silencers after two years.  We repeatedly advised the House that the votes did not exist in the Senate, but the House chose to send the bill over by a one vote margin with three House Democrats voting “no” and one not voting.  

Weekly Column: 2019 State Budget Misses Opportunities

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 March 19, 2019.

The 2019 General Assembly session adjourned on February 24 after a few hiccups.  Two weeks ago, I discussed the legislation that I passed.  In this column, I will explain various budget actions we took. 

First, unlike the Federal Government, our budget is balanced as required by the Constitution of Virginia. Next, the General Assembly needed to address modifications to our tax code to bring it up to speed with changes made by Congress with the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2018.  This is usually labelled “conformity.”  “Straight conformity” would cause an additional $600 million of state revenue largely due to the interplay between the new increased federal standard deduction and the $10,000 cap on state and local taxes and mortgage interest (“SALT”).  

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: Passing Bills, Serving the Public

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 11, 2019.

Passing Bills, Serving the Public

Last week in the General Assembly was a week of accomplishments, revelations and stress. 

The Senate approved and sent to the House of Delegates 20 of my 25 bills  and added several of my budget amendments to the Senate budget. 

The Senate  agreed to $2 million to study extending Metro’s Blue Line to Lorton, Woodbridge and Potomac Mills, along with enhanced transit on U.S. 1 in Prince William County.  I have been fighting for this for three years and with Senator George Barker’s help, we got it included in the Senate budget.  Additionally, my proposal to fund additional treatment services and a study for incarcerated, sexually-violent predators was included so that they can  receive treatment before they are committed to a post-incarceration civil treatment facility, an approach that costs taxpayers significantly more per day than a standard jail.  There is no reason to delay therapy until they have completed their sentence.  This will save taxpayers millions of dollars if it works. 

The Senate, on a 37-2-1 vote, passed my bill to create a framework to clean up Virginia’s coal ash repositories.  The bill requires at least 6.8 million cubic yards of the 27 million cubic yards to be recycled into “encapsulated” products like bricks, cinderblocks or cement.  The bill also requires Dominion to work with localities to minimize transportation impacts; to give priority to local workers; and to continually seek proposals to recycle ash as technology evolves so that we can minimize coal ash landfill storage.  While the bill is not everything I want, it achieves my primary objectives to prohibit “cap in place” or using old leaky ash ponds to store ash forever and to promote recycling. 

On a vote of 29-11, the Senate passed my legislation to give Fairfax County an additional tool to pay for underground utilities on U.S. 1.  The bill allows the County to pay for underground utilities and then recover the cost by levying a utility fee that will cost about $0.80-0.90 per month.  I have heard loud and clear from my constituents that they want underground utilities on U.S. 1.  Prince William County’s government funded it for all 10 miles of U.S. 1.  If Prince William can afford it, so can Fairfax County, and I am hoping to provide County officials with a method to do it. 

On a vote of 34-6, the Senate passed my bill to create penalties for government officials who intentionally try to avoid our sunshine laws.  The bill creates penalties for destroying public records to avoid the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and penalties for officials who incorrectly vote to certify that they only discussed specifically exempted and previously-announced matters in closed public meetings.  

I also passed legislation clarifying that cars cannot use bike lanes to pass other vehicles and making it easier to convict drivers for seriously injuring cyclists and pedestrians.  U.S. 1 is the deadliest road in Virginia for pedestrians and pedestrian deaths are up by 50 percent in the last five years in Virginia.  Most injured cyclists and pedestrians cannot remember what happened or are killed when struck.  This will help balance the playing field on the criminal side of justice. 

Finally, this was another rough week as the Governor’s situation continued to percolate, the Attorney General admitted to using blackface at age 19 in college and two different women accused our Lieutenant Governor of sexual assault.  We were initially willing to wait for time and information after one accusation was made, but when a second woman 4,000 miles away made a very serious allegation, it was clear to some of us that this was becoming an issue that could distract from his duties. The Senate Democratic, House Democratic and Legislative Black Caucuses and called for his resignation.  I am continuing to assess my position on the situations and welcome your input. 

Please weigh in on my constituent survey at http://bit.ly/sd362019survey and email me at scott@scottsurovell.org with your feedback.  I will host a town hall meeting on Facebook on February 13, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.  I hope you will watch and participate online at www.facebook.com/surovell.  It is an honor to serve as your state senator.

Weekly Column: Federal Tax Reform to Force Action at 2019 General Assembly Session

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 26, 2018.

Federal Tax Reform to Force Action at 2019 General Assembly Session

At a recent Senate Finance Committee retreat, state legislators had a preview of economic and revenue projections and other significant issues expected to be debated in the 2019 General Assembly session.

A vice-president of Moody’s Analytics said that Virginia’s economy continues to perform well due to increased federal spending coupled with federal tax cuts.  However, he likened the performance to a sugar high and said that indicators are starting to point toward a recession in the next two years because of increased interest rates and increased import/export tariffs.  He cautioned that rising lending could exacerbate a recession.  He also noted that Virginia’s budget was well positioned for a recession because we have bolstered our Rainy Day Fund.

Next, we examined the state budget.  Nearly 70 percent of Virginia’s general fund revenue comes from income taxes.   Traditionally, Virginia has been a “conforming” state, meaning that the Virginia’s definition of adjusted gross income is identical to the federal definition and taxpayers and accountants do not have to use two different sets of rules to figure out taxes.  However, the tax bill passed by Congress in early 2018 significantly rewrote what constitutes income and limited deductions.  Most significantly, Congress and President Trump limited the deductibility of real estate taxes and state and local income taxes to a total of $10,000 (aka “SALT”).