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.
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.
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.
Mark your calendars to join me, Delegate Paul Krizek and Friends of Little Hunting Creek for our annual creek cleanup!
Details are as follows:
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.
WMATA Announces Yellow Line Construction: Service Across the Potomac to Pause for Renovations
Last Week On Tap: House Kills Five Bills
Last week, Week 7 of the 2023 Regular General Assembly Session, brought major action on many bills. This coming week, no committees can meet after Monday and the session is scheduled to end on Saturday, March 12.
The House of Delegates killed seven of my 25 remaining bills. First, SB246 required law enforcement officers to advise a driver why they were stopped before asking for their driver’s license and vehicle registration. I introduced this bill after a constituent from Kingstowne ended up in the local news after she was stopped and charged with driving while intoxicated and after she asked why she was stopped. She blew a 0.00% breath alcohol concentration and her case dismissed, but the entire situation was avoidable. This policy is consistent with Virginia law enforcement accreditation standards, Virginia State Police and Fairfax County Police policies, but the Virginia Sheriffs Association opposed it and a House committee voted the bill down on a party-line vote.
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.
Juvenile Deception, Facial Recognition and Medical Record Transparency
The sixth week of the General Assembly brought us to “Crossover” – the moment when each chamber must finish work on bills originating in each chamber and we begin work on bills coming from the other side.
Twenty-five of my twenty-seven bills were passed by the Senate and will now be heard in the House of Delegates. On the last day of session, I defended eight bills on the floor of the Senate alone. I will discuss several in this column that I have not covered in prior columns.
Last Week in Richmond: 25 Bills Moving
In the General Assembly, the first week of February is always the week we deal with difficult and controversial legislation and this year was no different.
I have introduced 27 bills and 25 appear headed for passage to the House of Delegates, one was tabled and referred for study at my request and one was killed. That bill was intended to make serving in the General Assembly more realistic for people whose employers would not be supportive of service in a part-time legislature like ours.
Week Four: Bills Moving in Richmond & Retail Marijuana Under Discussion
In the fourth week of the General Assembly’s session, several of my 27 bills advanced.
The Senate passed my resolution to create a two-year study between the House and Senate to evaluate the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response. If adopted by the House of Delegates, this will be a major, two-year evaluation with recommendations about lessons learned.
One of my bills would place our projected $1 billion surplus from the Virginia 529 Plan into an endowment fund to create 2,000 full-ride scholarships for female and minority students who would have been denied admission to Virginia universities before 1900 because of gender and race-based discrimination practices. I asked that the bill be tabled and referred to an ongoing study about the surplus. Various Senate committees have favorably acted on all of my other bills so far.
Named Chairman of Two Subcommittees & Bills Are Moving
In the state legislature’s third week in session, the Senate passed and sent to the House of Delegates five of my bill and many of my other bills advanced.
First, I was named the Chairman of two different subcommittees. The Senate Commerce & Labor Committee Chairman created a Labor & Employment Subcommittee which I will chair and consider 11 bills focused on workforce issues. I was also named the Chairman of the Criminal Law Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee which will consider 19 bills addressing criminal justice issues.
Senator Scott Surovell sent the letter below to the Fairfax County Redistricting Committee which is considering changes to the names of the Mount Vernon Magisterial District and Hollin Hall Precinct.
The Fairfax County Redistricting Committee is meeting on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 from 6-8 pm to consider their recommendations.
Senator Surovell Opposes Mount Vernon Name Change Letter by Scott A. Surovell on Scribd
