Virginia Lawyers Weekly Criminal Justice Reform Update

 Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down Peter Veith of Virginia Lawyers Weekly to discuss the status of the General Assembly Special Session and the status of Criminal Justice Reform in the session! 

River Farm Update

Last week, I met with Supervisor Dan Storck, Senator Adam Ebbin, Delegate Paul Krizek, representatives from the offices of Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Congressman Don Beyer, and the Fairfax County, the National Park Service (NPS), and Northern Virginia Regional Park Authorities (NVRPA), and the Mount Vernon Ladies Association (MVLA). The purpose was to discuss a strategy to preserve River Farm.

The NPS owns a conservation easement on the front two acres of the property closest to East Boulevard Drive.  The American Horticultural Society (AHS) donated a conservation easement of seven acres along the river to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.  The remainder of the property appears to be unencumbered.  We have not been able to determine whether Ms. Haupt's gift to AHS contained a condition to keep the property open to the public, but if she did, such a restriction was not recorded in land records.

Weekly Column: Creating More Equitable Admissions Policies for Magnet Schools

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 July 27, 2020.

Creating More Equitable Admissions Policies for Magnet Schools

               We need more equitable admissions practices in what are called “Governor’s Schools.”  Earlier this month, Governor Ralph Northam appointed me to a task force with about 20 other individuals including Secretary of Education Atif Qarni to examine equity within our Governor’s Schools System.  Governor’s Schools were created in 1973 to provide an intense, summer academic experience to high-achieving students and were later expanded to full-year programs, including Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in Fairfax County which also serves Prince William and Arlington Counties.

              I have often expressed concerns about TJHSST’s admissions practices.  Very few children from eastern Fairfax or Prince William Counties are admitted.  When I reviewed data few years ago, fewer than five children had been admitted out of 125 applicants from Walt Whitman Intermediate School.  In the most recent freshman class, there were none or there were so few African American students admitted that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) was prohibited from releasing the actual number.  

COVID-19 Update Thread

As you probably know, our region has confirmed multiple cases of COVID-19, the new coronavirus. The Virginia Department of Health has created a webpage dedicated solely to virus updates where you will find content that is updated daily. The CDC also has a dedicated website. 

Virginia Department Of Health

Center For Disease Control

If you are a healthcare professional evaluating a patient for suspected COVID-19, please contact your local health department immediately.

Here is a link to all of the Governor's Executive Orders:

COVID EXECUTIVE ORDERS

As always, please reach out to my office at 571-249-4484 or district36@senate.virginia.gov if you have questions or ideas about things we can do to serve the community better. I will continue to add updates below.

***UPDATE MONDAY, 6/29/20 2:30 P.M.***

New Housing Assistance Program

The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will administer the $50 million program through a variety of partners, including nonprofit organizations and local governments, which will receive upfront funds that they will distribute on behalf of eligible households. Individuals and families receiving funding will also be connected to housing counseling and receive other technical assistance.

 

Eligible households must demonstrate an inability to make rent or mortgage payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Monthly rent or mortgage must be at or below 150 percent Fair Market Rent (FMR), and eligible households must have a gross household income at or below 80 percent of area median income (AMI).

Learn More And Determine Your Eligibility

Fairfax County BRT/U.S. 1 Widening Update

Today, Fairfax County's Department of Transportation provided an update on the status of the U.S. 1 Bus Rapid Transit Project and U.S. 1 Widening.

Richmond Highway Widening Update

They have been developing responses to public comments

Incorporated minor design adjustments

Meeting with property owners

Working on right of way plans

Conducting title research

Design changes

• Two way cycle tracks
• Bridge features modified
• Change from bridge to a pre-cast arch
• Section adjustments to accomodate larger trees
• Plaza designs at intersections
• Raised driveways along U.S. 1
• Reviewing viability of stormwater management facility enhancements

Schedule Revisions

• Project has been delayed one year
• Design approval in 2019 did not happen
• FONSI planned in Fall, 2019 - didn't happen
• ROW acquisition was supposed to start in Winter, 2019 and did not
• ROW/Utility Relocation seems to be taking longer-6 years instead of 3.5 years

Design approval was expected but did not

• Fairfax County has not approved design
• Ongoing design features need to be resolved (stuff above) along with construction of BRT project with this
• Approval was submitted in 11/19 but delayed due to a Title VI complaint that was initiated
• VDOT did receive conditional design approval except for the Little Hunting Creek Underpass

Weekly Column: Where Should the NVTA Spend $500 Million of Your Money?

Where Should the NVTA Spend $500 Million of Your Money?

              Now is the time to help direct transportation funds to our community.

 For 27 years, between 1986 and 2013, Virginia did not raise its transportation taxes.  While labor, steel, asphalt and concrete got more expensive and cars became more fuel efficient, gas tax revenues declined.  During those years, Virginia stopped repaving roads and other maintenance to fund road construction.  In 2013, the General Assembly passed new taxes to restore highway maintenance funding and we passed new regional taxes to fund regional transportation construction through the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA). 

                The 36^th Senate District has benefitted from these taxes in projects like US 1/Richmond Highway widening (design and land acquisition), U.S. 1/Dumfries widening (design and land acquisition), U.S. 1 bus rapid transit (design), U.S. 1 at Featherstone widening, $80 million in Virginia Rail Express improvements, a new CSX bridge crossing of US. 1 at I-95 and Old Bridge Road/Occoquan Road intersection reconstruction.

Comment on Regional Transportation Funding Today

 

            The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) has published its rankings for its next Six-Year Plan Update to fund $522 million of projects over the next six years.

            The NVTA plans its projects in a six-year plan every two years.  Local governments and other entities nominate projects for funding.  It uses objective criteria to rate projects based on congestion relief, economic development, pollution reduction and safety with congestion relief getting the highest weight.  This ranking is named after the bill that authorized it – HB599.  

             After projects are scored, the score is divided by the funding request so that we can see which projects give our region the biggest bang for the buck.  As you can see in the table below, this means that while some projects scored very well – such as the U.S. 1 widening – after you consider the cost, their relative ranking dropped substantially.  

             There are $404 million in seven projects at risk in the 36^th Senate District at-risk:

36th District Submitted Project List
Comment Deadline May 24, 2020 

Overall Rank	Project	Description	Request	HB599 Rank
3	Annapolis Drive U.S. 1/VA-123 Connection	Connect Annapolis Drive between U.S. 1 and VA-123	$8.0m	9
5	Widen U.S. 1 Thru Town of Dumfries	Widen and realign U.S. 1 through Town of Dumfries to construct new boulevard, construct sidewalks and paths.	$78.0M	6
10	Summit School Rd. Extension & Telegraph Rd. Widening	Connect Telegraph Road to Minnieville Rd via Summit School Drive to bypass Potomac Mills Mall.	$24.0M	7
20	U.S. 1/Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit	Construct bus rapid transit from Huntington Metro to Fort Belvoir	$71.0M	1
22	VRE Woodbridge Station Improvements	Construct new passenger platform for new third rail.	$2.2M	11
23	Extend Van Buren Road from VA-234 to Cardinal Drive	Planning funds for new road between VA-234 and Cardinal Drive.	$8.0M	30
25	U.S. 1/Richmond Highway Widening Hybla Valley to Fort Belvoir	Widen U.S. 1 to six lanes, new sidewalks, multiuse paths, and reserve space for BRT from Fort Belvoir to Hybla Valley.	$183.0M	3
30	PWC Parkway & Old Bridge Intersection Rebuild	Realign intersection to create more seamless PWC Parkway.	$30.0M	37

Please provide me your comments using the two forms below.  I have include links to information about the projects and the project rankings at the top of the form if you want to investigate further.

Fairfax County NVTA Project List Comment Form
Prince William County NVTA Project List Comment Form

I will be submitting all comments to the NVTA before May 24, 2020.

Weekly Column: Battling the Coronavirus - Efforts Must Be Expanded

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 11, 2020.

Battling the Coronavirus - Efforts Must Be Expanded

It has been four months since the Centers for Disease Control confirmed the first case of coronavirus disease, called COVID-19, in the United States.  As of May 11, over 800 Virginians have died, 3,200 hospitalized and over 25,000 Virginians have tested positive for this virus.  Only about 1.7% of Virginians or 147,000 have been tested.  Our hospitalization rate has continued to climb with over 1,500 people currently in the hospital.  The rate of infection has slowed, but this virus has hit our community very unevenly.

                While nearly every Virginia locality has seen infections, infections have mostly been concentrated.  While Northern Virginia has the highest raw number of infections, outbreaks on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Shenandoah Valley and Northern Neck are proportionally more severe than they are here.  Several of our prisons, local jails and juvenile detention facilities have experienced outbreaks and four inmates being held for non-violent offenses have died. 

Disproportionate Impacts

                The Hispanic community has been disproportionately, adversely affected. Neighborhood Health operates a clinic on U.S. 1 on Beacon Hill.  Although only 50% of their patients are Latino, 90% of their positive tests have been Latinos and 74% of those tested lack health insurance.  The Northern Virginia zip codes with the highest concentrations of positive tests also have largest numbers of Latino residents including the U.S. 1 Corridor, Manassas, Herndon, and Bailey’s Crossroads.  

Weekly Column: Serving During the Pandemic

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 27, 2020.

Serving during the Pandemic

 Last week, the General Assembly returned to Richmond for what was probably one of the most unusual sessions we will ever have.   We convened for one day to consider the Governor’s vetoes of and amendments to the bills and budget we passed earlier in the year.

                The Senate met in the Virginia Science Museum.  The House of Delegates met in a tent on the Virginia State Capitol lawn.  Men did not wear ties because we were told they are germ magnets.  The Senate clerk gave all Senators masks and gloves.  I wore a bandana mask and a bolo made with a Virginia quarter that I bought for the occasion. 

Each Senator sat at tables 10 feet apart in order of seniority which put me in about the middle of the room.  Senator George Barker sat in a plexiglass box due to recent heart surgery.  The clerk provided box lunches and we were prohibited from touching the drink cooler.  We caucused in outdoor tents with chairs scattered six feet apart. The whole day was surreal.

Informacion de COVID-19 En Espanol

Informacion de Law Preguntas para Los Empleados

Las Preguntas Mas Frecuente... by Scott A. Surovell on Scribd

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.