Now that the 2013 session of the General Assembly’s work has been completed, except for the April 3 veto session, I will continue my report on several measures. I have already covered the transportation legislation and Medicaid .  I cast 2,000 votes in this session for our district. Six bills that I authored or was chief co-patron for await the Governor’s signature, along with three budget amendments. Three of my bills were referred to study commissions. Last year, we passed legislation that required voters to present some form of identification. This included a social security card, voter …

As we move to the end of the General Assembly session, we are engaged in intense negotiations on the major issues. Also, we have had significant progress on U.S. 1. Earlier this session, Senator Puller and I culminated four years of work to build support for a U.S. 1 study when the McDonnell Administration confirmed that it is holding $2 million to fund the next U.S. 1 improvement study. Last week, I met with over a dozen state, local and regional stakeholders here in Richmond to discuss the next steps on planning U.S. 1 improvements. The study will have several elements. It will likely focus…

Last week in the General Assembly we hit “Crossover” on Tuesday – the day that each body must complete all work on their own bills.  On Monday, I was in the capitol building from 7:30 a.m. until our session ended around 9 p.m.  That day, the House of Delegates passed legislation dedicating $17,440 of taxpayer funds to study the creation of a Virginia currency in case the Federal Reserve System fails. It passed on a mostly party-line vote.  Minutes later, we also passed legislation condemning the United Nations’ Agenda 21 which the U.N. adopted  in 1992. The bill describes Agenda 21 as a “…

The Virginia legislature is now approaching “crossover” – the day that each body must complete work on its own bills and begin work on bills from the other body.  As I write this, one of my bills has passed the House and four more are probably headed to the  Senate for consideration.  Earlier this year, I represented a client who had work done on his condominium by a contractor. My client did not know the contractor was unlicensed.  An unlicensed contractor cannot sue because their contract is illegal (like trying to sue on a contract for cocaine), but he placed a lien on my client’s …

Last week in the General Assembly was a busy one.  I have introduced 15 bills, three constitutional amendments, one study resolution, seven budget amendments, and I am Chief Co-Patron on four bills.  In two days, I presented twelve bills, cast about three hundred votes at four different committee hearings and two floor sessions. As a child of the 80s, it’s more like the late stages of Atari Missile Command. Three of my bills were referred to study commissions.  One would require the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to abide by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  The SCC is an …

Legislation has started to move through the legislature as the hard work of legislating began during the second week of session.  First, we made some progress securing state funding for the next study required to widen U.S. 1.  We hope to have this locked in by the end of session, but I am very optimistic and we are setting up meetings with Fairfax County to confirm the process.  At the beginning of the week, I presented my legislation that would allow Virginians to vote to repeal Virginia’s 2006 constitutional amendment prohibiting any recognition of same-sex relationships.  In committee, I …

Governor McDonnell’s transportation proposal dominated the first three days of session. I welcome this long-overdue debate.  The improvement of Route 1 is exactly the kind of project that has been stalled because of the lack of state money because it cannot be tolled or cannot be improved by a public-private partnership.  It will only happen with real money from new tax revenue. Virginia’s gas tax, one of the lowest in the nation, has been at 17.5 cents since 1985.  As roads crumble and Metro struggles to move more passengers, Virginians cannot expect to have a reliable transportation system …

Last week, I wrote about a few of the bills and budget amendments I’m going to be carrying this session. This week, I am going to write about some of the broader issues in play this session. First, the State Budget has dominated legislative sessions since I was elected in 2009 and that is not likely to change.  Although revenues are up over the last year by $340 million, due to the constitution and laws on the books, most of that money is already committed to the “Rainy Day Fund,” transportation, water quality improvement, and repaying the state retirement that was not funded in the 2010-2011…

The 2013 Virginia General Assembly will convene on January 8 in Richmond for a 45-day or “short” session. I would like to share with you some of the bills and budget amendments that I will propose.  Next week, I will talk about some of the broader issues in play this session. When I requested suggestions from my constituents, I received over 50 ideas and I considered all of them in putting together my agenda. Thank you. I covered one of my bills in my column two weeks ago, a bill to prohibit use of a mobile phone while driving for any purposes other than a voice call.  Improving U.S. 1 …

I would like to share with the community some of my reflections on the recent Democratic Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina at which delegates nominated President Barack Obama for re-election.  The Mount Vernon and Lee areas were well represented. Ginny Peters and I were elected national delegates from our area along with Virginia Senator Adam Ebbin. Delegate Mark Sickles spent most of the week in Charlotte along with Chris Ambrose and Ronald England from Lorton. I ran into Peter Appel and Robert Nealon, and John Arundel who was covering it as a reporter all week long from Belle Haven …

Two months ago, my wife and children were out of town so I decided to work at my office in the City of Fairfax until about 9:30 p.m. As I drove home from Fairfax, I was listening to WTOP and didn’t notice anything unusual other than a thunderstorm warning for the far western suburbs.  Around 10:30 p.m. the wind started blowing and the power went out.  I called my wife after our generator didn’t turn on and looked outside. The 100 year-old trees in my yard were swinging around like Hurricane Isabel and it didn’t stop for fifteen minutes. That’s when I knew this was no ordinary storm.  The next…

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) approved Virginia’s voting law changes for use in the November 6 election. Many are questioning why DOJ approved the changes. Virginia has a long history of voter suppression. When the colonies declared independence from England, only land-owning, male citizens were allowed to vote. In 1851, the Constitution was amended to allow all white men to vote. During Reconstruction, the people passed a new state constitution called the “Underwood” Constitution which allowed all freedmen to vote. This resulted in large numbers of African American men and …

The other day, I came across an article about the widening of Route 1 in Woodbridge.  Between that and the coming federally-funded widening through Fort Belvoir, I often get queries from constituents who want to know why Route 1 is being improved there, but not between Woodlawn and the Beltway.  There are two reasons – planning and money.  Before a road can be widened there are a series of required studies that lay the groundwork for construction.  In our community, that process was started back in 1991 by Senator Toddy Puller who passed multiple resolutions through the General Assembly to …

Everyone deserves the security of good healthcare and reliable insurance.  Americans have chosen a mixed system of public and private health insurance.  We have Medicare for the elderly, military health care for our active duty and veterans, and Medicaid, a federal-state program that insures many disabled, low-income, and elderly people, especially people needing long-term care.  The political delay games currently being played in Richmond will hit our community harder than any other part of Northern Virginia. In the 44th Delegate District with 80,796 residents, the 44th District is tied for …

The storm of June 29, 2012 will go down as one of the more memorable moments of Mother Nature in the Lee-Mount Vernon area.  I pulled into my driveway around 9:30 p.m. while listening to WTOP.  There was no mention of a pending storm.  Within an hour, the trees in my yard were wildly swinging around.  After we lost power and my natural gas generator didn’t automatically come on, I ventured outside to turn it on manually and the battery exploded.  Lesson #1 – Stay inside the house during a Derecho. While everyone in the 44th District will probably not be fully restored by the time this …

Well, it’s over. The 2012 General Assembly ended on May 15, 2012 at 2:00 a.m. after a 13-hour House of Delegates’ session involving 117 of Governor Bob McDonnell’s amendments and the election of 40 judges. It was a fitting end to a very contentious session. The day was not without controversy. This year, we authorized a bonus and raises for state employees for the first time in five years to be funded with unanticipated revenues.  These state employees include state troopers, corrections employees and people who work for the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC), …

I voted against the final state budget last week because it fails to address our needs and reflects badly-skewed priorities. It was an eventful two days in Richmond.The Senate budget deadlock centered on new funding to “buy down” tolls on the Dulles Toll Road and in Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads is in revolt right now due to a public-private partnership the Governor negotiated for a new tunnel that could cost Portsmouth drivers $1,000 per year.Several years ago, the Dulles Toll Road was transferred to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which assumed responsibility for the …

Last week, I received a report from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding Mount Vernon and Lee’s rivers and streams.  The annual assessment reports are disturbing and continue to show our rivers and streams are in poor health. According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s analysis of the data, 71% of Virginia’s streams violate state water quality standards along with 94% of all estuaries (tidal parts of Hunting Creek/Cameron Run, Little Hunting Creek, Dogue Creek and the Potomac River). Every embayment and stream monitored in my delegate seat violated state water …

Although we still did not pass a budget, the last week of session was an eventful week. We considered over 1,600 bills this session. I have written a more thorough summary of about 40 highlighted bills on my blog — The Dixie Pig — which you can read at scottsurovell.blogspot.com.  We passed the most important legislation last at about 9:45 p.m. on Saturday night. This legislation restructures the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and reorients local government responsibilities to VRS. Many local governments, including Fairfax County Public Schools, most public universities, counties, and towns…