Sunday, April 14, 2013
"No officer, I was just typing directions into my GPS…"
Texting while driving is dangerous, but some people do it anyway. This year, Virginia's General Assembly passed a measure that increased the fine to $125 (it was $20) for the first infraction and $250 for the second. But Virginia legislators did not pass a hands-free measure like they have in the District, and as such enforcing the law could prove difficult. The problem: Using cell phones to dial a number or setting the phone GPS is legal. “Distracted driving is a big problem, but it’s bigger than just phone use,” said Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, to the Washington Post. “Even if a law were successful in stopping phone use and texting, it wouldn’t eliminate distracted driving.” Northern Virginia Del. Scott …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The General Assembly ended with two major policy changes.
This week, the General Assembly ended with a budget and two major policy changes — a historic transportation bill and a Medicaid expansion process that I will discuss next week. The budget reported and now on the Governor’s desk contained a $2 million line item to pay for a Tier I Study of U.S. 1 pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act that I’ve been fighting to secure for four years. This is the next legally required step towards laying the groundwork for actual major improvements to U.S. 1 between Woodlawn and I-495. The transportation bill (HB2313) has statewide and local components. The statewide component repeals the $0.175 gas tax at the pump and replaces it with a 3.5% unleaded tax and 6.0% diesel tax on wholesalers …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Members of the Virginia General Assembly returned home to Mount Vernon on Saturday to discuss the latest from Richmond.
Del. Scott Surovell (D-44th) and State Senators Adam Ebbin (D-30th) and Toddy Puller (D-36th) relayed the progress of their bills to constituents on Saturday at the Mount Vernon Governmental Center, and briefly discussed pending legislation before the 2013 session comes to a close Feb. 23. Surovell has been working to get a statewide ban on texting while driving. "Personally, I don't think the bill goes far enough," he said. "Right now, if the bill carries, you're still allowed to browse the Internet while driving, play music and look at your phone and play 'Angry Birds' while driving. It's also a lot harder to enforce, I think. I think it ought to be hands-free….But at least it's the first step." For the latest on bills in the 2013 …
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
House subcommittee rejects Senate amendment to allow Virginia governors to serve two consecutive terms.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Wednesday, February 13
By Shelby Mertens, Capital News Service A House subcommittee has rejected the Senate’s proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Virginia governors to serve two consecutive terms starting in 2017. Sen. Thomas Garrett, R-Lynchburg, introduced Senate Joint Resolution 276. The amendment passed in the Senate on Jan. 28 with a 25-15 bipartisan vote: 16 Democrats and nine Republicans voted for it, while 11 Republicans and four Democrats opposed it. When the Senate resolution “crossed over” to the House this week, however, it ran into trouble. The proposed amendment was assigned to the House Committee on Privileges and Elections. This week, that panel’s Constitutional Amendments Subcommittee recommended tabling the bill, killing it for …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Jail time no longer a maximum penalty under proposed law.
Although Del. Scott Surovell's proposal to make texting while driving a Class 1 misdemeanor with penalties for conviction up to one year in jail has not come to fruition this session in Richmond, state lawmakers are moving to tighten Virginia's texting-while-driving law. House Bill 1907, which passed this week on a 92-4 vote, increases the fine upon conviction to $250 — up from $20 — for the first texting-while-driving offense and $500 for each subsequent conviction. The bill makes texting while driving an aggravating circumstance to reckless driving, and so anyone convicted such would face a mandatory minimum $500 penalty if they were texting while they were driving recklessly. Further, texting while driving would constitute a primary …
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Grappling with the state budget, trying to ban texting while driving and more.
In less than a month, Virginia Del. Scott Surovell (D-44) will be working 12-14 hour days in the 2013 Virginia General Assembly session, and sleeping in the Richmond basement of a friend. Surovell, an attorney by day, will present 15 bills this session, and a number of constitutional and budget amendments. "The funnest part down there is when you're on the floor and it's time for you to get up and not just cast a vote, but to get up and speak and fight it out on behalf of your constituents. That's the part of the job I like the most," Surovell, who was elected in 2009, told Patch. "It's not easy to get 99 other people to stand with you on an issue, especially when 68 are from another political party. It's a real challenge, but the bigger …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Del. Surovell takes a look back at the DNC.
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 along with Robert Powers from Waynewood. Several Northern Virginians addressed the convention including a Vietnam veteran from Great Falls and a …
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Del. Surovell's take on his second day in Charlotte, N.C.
Editor's note: Virginia Del. Scott Surovell, who represents the state's 44th District, is sending Patch updates of his experiences in Charlotte, N.C. at the Democratic National Convention. The following is from Surovell. Day #2 at the Democratic National Convention was an inspiring day. As usual, we started off the day with breakfast. Our speakers for the morning included Jessie Jackson, Cong. James Clyburn, former Gov. Tim Kaine and Donna Brazile. Jessie Jackson focused on voter ID laws and attempts to disenfranchise voters. Cong. Clyburn and Brazile focused on President Obama’s successes: Saving the American auto industry, ending "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell," finding Osama Bin Laden, reforming student loans and diverting savings to Pell Grants…
Monday, September 3, 2012
Convention takes place this week in Charlotte.
Editor's note: Virginia Del. Scott Surovell, who represents the state's 44th District, is sending Patch updates of his experiences in Charlotte, N.C. at the Democratic National Convention. The following is from Surovell. -- CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012, I arrived in Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention. This is my second convention and my first as a National Delegate. Being selected as a delegate is typically regarded as being an honor within the party. There are several types of delegates to the convention. First, some Delegates are selected by each congressional district at district-level conventions. These positions typically go to grassroots volunteers and local party activists. Then additional delegates are …
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Del. Surovell shares five lessons learned from this weekend's storm.
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 newspaper is delivered, substantial progress has been made on restoration of service. If you continue to have difficulty getting service restored, please …
T Ailshire
8:30 am on Thursday, April 18, 2013
Obviously, you've operated under two assumptions I believe are flawed. First, I have personally observed police officers - not "glancing" at their laptops, but head turned toward it and 6-10 seconds when AT BEST they had peripheral eyes on the road. I have been the vehicle immediately behind said officers on more than one occasion. It follows if I have observed it on more than one occasion this … more ›