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.
The 2020 General Assembly: 39 Surovell Bills Passed
The 2020 General Assembly finished work on all legislation this past Sunday, except we did not pass a final state budget or elect new judges to fill vacancies. We will return to Richmond on Thursday, March 13, to complete that work and adjourn for this year.This was my most successful session in passing bills in my eleven years in the General Assembly. The legislature sent 39 of my bills to Governor Ralph Northam. We carried over nine bills and referred them to study commissions. The legislature also carried over my legislation to abolish the death penalty to be potentially considered over the summer.I will highlight some of the other major bills we passed and discuss more bills and the budget in future columns.
The second-to-last week of the General Assembly was very busy with many long sessions including one night where we were on the floor until after 1:00 a.m.
Two major firearms bills were sent to the Governor last week. First, my legislation to authorize local governments to regulate firearms passed both chambers and is off to the Governor. The bill will allow localities to regulate firearms in public buildings like government centers, police stations, libraries, community and recreation centers. It will also allow regulation of parks and publicly permitted events such as farmer’s markets.
Localities have been requesting this authority for well over a decade and was further underscored after the shooting that occurred during the Charlottesville Unite the Right March and firearms rights activists open carrying AR-15’s at the City of Alexandria Farmer’s Market. All entrances where firearms are restricted will be required to be marked with signage so that people will not be caught off guard.
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.
The Sixth week of the General Assembly brought us to “Crossover” – the day each chamber is required to cease work on their own bills and work on bills from the other Chamber.
The last two days brought furious action on many major bills. Forty-three of my own bills crossed over to the House of Delegates. Last week, the Senate passed my legislation creating driver privilege cards for undocumented immigrants for the first time and on a bipartisan basis. We still have work to do in order to reconcile the House and Senate bills, but it will change the lives of over 100,000 Virginia residents.
We also passed my legislation authorizing state-level class action lawsuits. Forty-eight other states and the District of Columbia already allow similar lawsuits. The lack of such remedies in Virginia mean that corporations can steal money from Virginians in smaller amounts and never face justice.
The Virginia Legislature Is Addressing Many Concerns
In the fifth week of the Virginia General Assembly session, the Senate passed my legislation increasing the requirement for auto insurance minimum liability from $25,000 to $35,000 and minimum property damage covered from $20,000 to $40,000. These minimums have not been adjusted since 1975 when cars cost $4,400 on average and medical bills were much lower. The failure to raise these means that many injured people are not receiving fair compensation for their injuries or property damage.
The Senate passed a bill to repeal Virginia’s requirement that people produce a photo identification to vote. This was Virginia law prior to 2012. Upon enactment, after July 1, 2020, voters will need to show specified identification at the poll check-in, but if they do not have any of the proper forms of identification, they will still be allowed to vote after signing an affirmation of their identity, subject to violation of a felony for lying. This system worked fine for decades without any incidents of voter fraud. We should not assume that every person, like some of our seniors or the permanently disabled, has a government-issued, photo identification.
Important Bills Are Moving
In the fourth week of our historic General Assembly session, both the Senate and the House of Delegates voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment after a 50 year battle. Our Clerks transmitted the ratifications to the Archivist of the United States of America and now the battle moves to Congress and the courts.
We had a lengthy debate in the Senate on repealing unnecessary restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health, including requiring an intrusive, medically-unnecessary ultrasound before seeking an abortion and rules designed to make abortion clinics extremely expensive to construct. The Senate voted 20-20 and the Lieutenant Governor broke the tie to approve the measure.
On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee passed my legislation to eviscerate predatory lending in Virginia. The bill provides a 36% interest rate cap with monthly fees that result in annual percentage Interest rates (APR’s) of 50-110%, depending on the length of the loan. The longer the loan, the smaller the rate. The bill would prohibit the 267% loans currently allowed at title lenders, businesses that have exploded along U.S. 1 and online loans currently made at rates exceeding 400%. I expect a tough Senate floor fight. The House has already passed similar legislation.
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.
Virginia Legislature Moved Quickly on Equal Rights and Gun Violence Prevention
The second week of the General Assembly Session put us at the center of American history. We moved several long-delayed, legislative priorities.On Wednesday, both the Senate and the House passed resolutions to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to make Virginia the 38th and final state to ratify the Constitutional amendment. The Senate has passed the resolution at least six times in past years, but the House of Delegates has never approved it. Ratification will hopefully bring equal rights to 160 million women in America and attention will now shift to the U. S. Congress. Congress can abolish or extend the 1982 ratification deadline they previously set. I was proud to carry this legislation every year since 2012 and even during years when few people were paying attention. Virginia is finally on the right side of history for the first time in about 150 years.
On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee, on which I serve, had its first meeting and we immediately addressed firearm violence prevention. We considered, modified and passed four bills, three of which the full Senate passed later in the week and one of which was continued for final vote this Tuesday.
On Wednesday, January 8, I was sworn in for my second term as the State Senator for the 36th District for the next four years. This this session will be my eleventh Regular Session and it is proving to be an exciting time to be in the General Assembly of Virginia.
This marks the first time that the Democratic Caucuses have held a majority of seats along with a Democratic Governor since I was in law school twenty-six years ago. We are poised to make significant policy changes in Virginia that will provide long-term benefits to the Commonwealth.
The Senate Democratic Caucus chose me to serve under the Majority Leader and Caucus Chairman as the Vice Chairman of the Caucus. I am excited and honored to serve in this new role - especially as we assume the majority.
Getting Bills Ready for the 2020 State Legislature
The 2020 Virginia General Assembly will convene in about a month and legislators are now preparing bills to propose. Many constituents and advocacy groups are proposing legislation.
Two weeks ago, I reported on some of the bigger issues we are likely to tackle. In this column, I am covering a few of the bills that I will introduce. I will discuss more in future columns.
In the 2018 and 2019 sessions, we came very close to passing legislation prohibiting drivers from having a phone in their hand in a moving vehicle. In the last session, we approved legislation to prohibit this in construction zones, but the Speaker killed it by ruling Governor Ralph Northam’s attempt to widen it to all highways not germane. It will pass this session.
