Issues

Education
House Democrats have consistently fought for a strong public education system in Virginia. This year, the Republican majority proposed budget changes that would have vastly reduced future K-12 funding – their changes to the Standards of Quality formula would have cut $78 million from this year’s budget and upwards of $250 million in the next, according to the nonpartisan Joint Legislative Audit Review Committee. Thankfully, Republicans eventually abandoned their ill-advised education cuts in the face of Democratic opposition.

With Virginia’s teachers earning nearly $6,100 less than the national average, Democrats have also led the charge to raise teacher pay and ensure funding takes into account the actual costs of education.

During this year’s final budget approval, Democrats were also able to secure funding for the Virginia Career Education Foundation, a public-private partnership that increases access to vocational education programs for high school students.
Health Care
House Democrats have consistently fought for increased access to health care – for example, fighting this year for a public-private partnership that would have expanded health insurance for low-income workers employed by small businesses.

The General Assembly devoted a substantial portion of this year’s legislative session to reforming Virginia’s mental health system. In the wake of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, the General Assembly passed comprehensive and historic legislation designed to improve treatment and services for persons with mental illness. The legislation addresses the following issues, among others:
- Changing criteria for involuntary commitment in cases where it is found that the person may cause serious harm to himself or others or may suffer serious harm due to his inability to protect himself or provide for his basic needs;
- Specifying evidence that can be considered in issuing emergency custody orders, temporary detention orders, and commitment orders;
- Notifying parents when students are receiving mental health treatment at a college or university;
- Establishing court procedures for commitment hearings;
- Clarifying that persons ordered to involuntary treatment are prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm.
In addition, the budget approved for the next biennium includes $41.6 million dollars in new mental health funding to improve access to emergency care, expand outpatient services, and provide additional case managers across the Commonwealth.
Protecting Children
During budget negotiations, House Democrats successfully passed funding for Alicia’s Law, which will double the capacity of state law enforcement to catch online child sexual predators. An additional $1.5 million will fund two regional units of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a statewide network of highly trained law enforcement officers who track down offenders. In as many as 30 percent of cases, there will be a local child victim identified and saved.

The General Assembly also passed legislation to accelerate the transition of children in foster care to permanent families, thereby improving their chances of succeeding in life. Foster family homes will receive higher maintenance payments, and subsidies to encourage adoption will be increased. Incentives were established for placement of foster children in local homes instead of impersonal institutions.

In order to better protect children in day care, the Department of Social Services will establish and maintain a Screened Family Day Home Provider List. This information will offer additional information to families wishing to screen a family day care provider.
Veterans
This year, House Democratic leaders introduced the Military Veterans & Personnel Bill of Rights. The four point bill would have expanded supplemental pay to any state employee who is on active military duty, allowed the National Guard to participate in the group state government life insurance program, provided an income tax exemption for Guard and Reservists activated to service, and authorized members of the armed services and their spouses to freeze access to their credit reports.

While this proposal was ultimately defeated, the General Assembly did pass several reforms to support our servicemen and women after their return from combat.

The Department of Veteran Services will closely monitor and coordinate mental health and rehabilitative services support for Virginia veterans, members of the Virginia National Guard, and Virginia Armed Forces reservists, and the legislature also significantly funded the “Wounded Warrior” project that provides assistance to veterans and service persons suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders and traumatic brain injuries.
Fiscal Responsibility
Despite a challenging economy, the two-year budget approved by the House and the Senate makes substantial investments in Virginia’s key priorities: education, mental health, and protecting the environment. The budget funds a landmark bond package for capital construction at Virginia’s public colleges, universities and community colleges. The final bond agreement invests nearly $1.5 billion in projects throughout Virginia. It also funds an expansion of our parks system and preservation of open space in the Commonwealth.

House and Senate Democrats successfully fought for a $1.1 billion increase in funding for public schools in the new two-year budget. This increased funding came despite efforts to shift more of the costs of K-12 education to localities. The budget provides $22 million to expand Pre-K education for at-risk four-year-olds, one of Governor Kaine’s top priorities. The expansion will allow thousands more at-risk children to enroll in high-quality pre-kindergarten in coming years.

One of Virginia’s most valuable environmental assets is the Chesapeake Bay. The budget invests $20 million for agricultural best management practices that will help farmers to reduce the impact of their activities on Virginia’s waters. It also includes $3 million for combined sewer overflow projects in Richmond and Lynchburg to protect the bay from excessive discharges during significant storms.

Democrats have spent the past two legislative sessions fighting for the homestead tax exemption, which would have allowed homeowners to exempt up to 20 percent of their home’s value from property taxes. Unfortunately, Republicans defeated the measure.
Consumer Protection
This year, the General Assembly reformed short-term unsecured “payday” loans. Payday lenders will be allowed to charge an origination fee of up to 20 percent of the loan. An additional $5 fee will be used to establish a database to monitor loans to prevent abuse. Interest rates will be capped at 36 percent. The minimum term of any loan will be at least two pay periods. To prevent a cycle of worsening debt, lenders will be prohibited from making a loan to borrowers who already have an outstanding loan. A “cooling off” period will be imposed on borrowers of more than five payday loans within 180 days.

As more commerce and financial data is transmitted and stored digitally, consumers have become more vulnerable to identity theft and fraud. Any consumer in Virginia may now freeze access to their credit report and, during that time, prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing the credit report, or any information in it, without the consumer’s express authorization.

The General Assembly also took action on predatory mortgage lending. Persons who participate in foreclosure rescues for profit with intent to defraud a consumer are now eligible for prosecution under the Consumer Protection Act. All lenders and brokers will be subject to a criminal background check, and the State Corporation Commission may impose a fine of up to $2,500 for violating lender or broker laws and regulations.

Finally, any time an individual’s personal information has been accessed by an unauthorized person, the keeper of the information– whether business or government – must notify the individual and the Office of the Attorney General that a breach has occurred.
Government Transparency
Since taking the majority, House Republicans have passed a number of rule changes that have seriously limited the public’s access to their legislature.

Currently, bills deemed “controversial” by the GOP leadership are often killed in early morning subcommittee meetings without recorded votes. Smoking ban legislation, minimum wage bills, and nonpartisan redistricting reforms have all been squashed in this manner.

Democrats have attempted to override a number of these anti-sunshine measures, pushing to record all votes and publicly broadcast House floor sessions via audio or video, as the Virginia Senate does on their website.