The last of my bills was heard in Committee this week, beginning with SB 444, which passed unanimously out of the Senate Finance Committee. The bill protects taxpayers who invest in historic rehabilitation projects and was necessary because of an odd technicality resulting from a 2011 Federal Court decision. The ruling resulted in Virginia taxpayers being inadvertently taxed on the proceeds of their own tax credit, which was never the intent. Historic rehab tax credits have been extremely valuable in our district, generating substantial private investment and revitalizing urban centers. The clarification of Virginia's intent under the statute will now keep those investments secure.

SB 451, my bill to make Medicaid fraud investigation and enforcement more efficient, passed unanimously out of the Courts of Justice Committee.  The bill conforms Virginia's fraud prosecution procedures to federal rules that allow Virginia to continue to receive a 10% collection enhancement on Medicaid fraud recoveries.  Without this bill, Virginia would stand to lose substantial federal dollars that support our work to combat fraud.

My bill, SB 684, also passed unanimously out of the Senate Finance Committee giving Winchester the option to direct certain sales tax proceeds generated from a baseball facility to pay for the cost of construction.  It is a permissive provision that has already been extended to eleven other localities and my bill adds Winchester to the list in an effort to support Winchester's consideration of a baseball stadium.  It is good policy because it costs taxpayers nothing to simply direct the new revenue from sales tax generated at a stadium once it is built.  That revenue then goes to help pay the cost of the stadium.  If the city chooses not to pursue a facility, then it is at least available for future economic development.

I am very sad to report that SB 449, my bill requiring the Board of Housing and Community Development to set safety guidelines for anchoring movable soccer goals in public recreational areas, failed to pass in committee.  The genesis of the bill was the tragic story of Hayden Ellias, who was killed in Frederick County when an unanchored goal fell on him.  Since then, there have been at least six more deaths and at least five serious injuries as a result of unanchored goals. It takes as little as 22 pounds of pressure to tip over a 400 pound goal and it is a preventable accident.  I was extremely disappointed that the committee could not agree to support the bill, but I intend to work again next year to propose a solution.

Two sweeping reform measures passed in the Senate this week. The first, SB 678, is a major government reorganization plan proposed by Governor McDonnell.  It represents one of many measures passed during his term that targets duplicative, antiquated and ineffective state government functions.

When I cite just some of the groups abolished by the bill, you begin to see the absurdity of what government has become.  Among other things, the bill eliminates the Commonwealth Competition Council; Interagency Dispute Resolution Advisory Council; Virginia Public Building Board; Virginia Council on Human Resources; Department of Employment Dispute Resolutions; Reforestation Board; Seed Potato Board (incorporates those duties into the regular Potato Board); Pesticide Control Board (transfers duties to Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services); Board of Surface Mining Review; Board of Mineral Mining Examiners; the Virginia National Defense Industrial Authority; Boating Advisory Committee; and the Board of Towing and Recovery Operators. It also deregulates mold remediators and inspectors, hair braiders and braiding schools and consolidates the Bright Flue-Cured and Dark-Fired Tobacco Boards.

Have no fear.  No important state function is overlooked. In each case, meaningful responsibilities of an eliminated body are subsumed by another board. Again, I share this list for perspective and to demonstrate the scope of what can be done to capture economies of scale and remedy some of the obsolete and embarrassingly outdated framework of state government.  I hope that this is a trend we continue and eventually we have the opportunity to do the same with local government functions as well.

The second sweeping reform, SB 679, eliminates a long list of statewide mandates on local and regional government entities related to procurement, education and land use.  It is the result of the Governor's Task Force on Local Mandate Review, a comprehensive undertaking to solicit feedback from school divisions and local governments on the worthless and expensive mandates that should be abolished. The findings support my strong bias against mandates in general. Time has proven that burdensome and intrusive federal government mandates take away our liberties as Virginians. The same is true for mandates imposed on localities by the state, which only serve to drain resources and undermine local authority.

Our Finance subcommittees continued to hear testimony this week from agencies, state employees, advocacy organizations and constituents on a number of critical funding matters.  Among the subjects before my subcommittees were the Virginia Retirement System; funding for state employees; Compensation Board money and organization; Medicaid funding; disability waivers; funding for judges and clerks of the court and resources for prison programs. 

The Governor's proposed budget is before us and we are entertaining hundreds of individual requests for changes to the bill. In addition, of the nearly 3,000 bills being heard this session, the Finance Committee must consider any bills that have a fiscal impact.  These bills are referred to our committee once they have passed the committees with authority over the subject matter.  In short, a great bill that passes in Senate committee can still fail if it goes to the Finance Committee and the committee determines that the funding mechanism will not be created or does not exist to support the additional cost of the measure.

We transition to the second month of session this week.  That places us in a race against the clock to negotiate the Senate's version of the budget and to have all bills cleared through the Senate and voted on prior to crossover.  Crossover marks the deadline by which all Senate bills must be sent to the House and all bills originating in the House must be forwarded to the Senate.

My final bills are being negotiated and a number passed this week.  SB 448, my bill to make it easier to protect infants under child abuse laws, passed unanimously out of the Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee.  The legislation is the result of collaboration with Dr. Teresa Clawson at Winchester Medical Center and other neonatal intensive care unit physicians around the state who worked with me to draft legislation improving the current statute.   The bill facilitates prevention and treatment of substance-exposed newborns. 

The number of babies born with serious drug exposure has almost doubled in the last decade, with the lifetime cost to care for medically complex addictions ranging between $1.5 and $2 million.  The legislation loosens time frames for detection of drug exposure and expands certain testing definitions to make it easier for doctors to intervene.

SB 443, my bill targeted at punishing financial exploitation of the elderly, had a challenging two weeks of negotiation following the initial presentation to the Courts of Justice Committee.  There were questions about penalties and concerns that well-meaning caregivers might be subject to prosecution for decisions that deprive the elderly of their property or other financial resources. The bill makes it a felony to use force, deception, intimidation, misrepresentation or other means without legal justification to take control of the finances or property of an incapacitated adult. 

In my view, no person should be financially vulnerable because of their physical or intellectual disability.  Proponents of my bill, including the Governor's Administration, the Attorney General's office, AARP and other patrons of the bill, all felt strongly that fraud and exploitation targeted at vulnerable populations remain so prevalent that it was critical for some version of the bill to succeed.  In the end, the bill passed out of the Courts of Justice Committee and the Public Safety Finance Subcommittee. 

SB 450, my bill known as the chemotherapy parity bill, passed the Commerce and Labor Committee.  It closes a loophole that permits health insurers to deprive cancer patients of certain life saving chemotherapy drugs just because they are prescribed orally and not intravenously.  Physicians groups, cancer organizations and cancer patients in my district worked diligently to help promote the bill, and I am hopeful that insurance groups will not prevent it from passing the full Senate.       

I am pleased to report that two outstanding students from our district have joined me in Richmond as Senate pages this year.In the past, students from Clarke County, Winchester and Frederick County have served.  This year eighth graders Helen-Anne Gable of Fauquier County andMadeleine Jahnke of Loudoun County are pages in the program.  Pages must be 13 years old and work in Richmond for the duration of the General Assembly session. They staff committees, work formembers and assist with the floor session.  They also have time set aside each day for homework.  In March, each will graduate from the Senate page program, which has been rated one of the best in the country.