2007 Session Updates

End of Session News

Once again we come to the end of the Session and I reflect back on our past seven weeks and how quickly they have passed. Every year has its ups and downs and this year was no exception. Part of the good times is enjoying meeting people who have come down to Richmond to talk about what is important to them. Furthermore, a greater spirit of cooperation that has existed has made our day to day work much more satisfying.

In this final week of session I would like to take the time to bring you up to date on several of the bills I have sponsored this session. Senate Bill 925, measures to determine opacity, is one of the most important bills that I am sponsoring. This bill passed successfully in both Houses. The bill once signed into law would allow different factors to be used in measuring opacity at power plants like Mirant. Currently industrial plants can only be held responsible when they exceed regulations during inspections. This will force Mirant and other plants to be held responsible for their actions at all times.

Also one of my top priorities this session was Senate Bill 938, which creates an address confidentiality program in the Attorney General’s office. Victims of domestic violence will have access to this important program. This legislation would allow victims of domestic violence to limit use of their street address and home telephone number in official documents. I am pleased to announce a charter program available in Arlington for victims of domestic violence. This would allow the Attorney General’s office a chance to study the program prior to it being implemented on a state wide level. This bill has passed both Houses as well.

The environment has always been a huge concern for me. This session two bills have passed both houses and are awaiting approval by the Governor. The first is a waste minimization study, which would evaluate Virginia’s waste minimization efforts and future needs. Virginia currently has no comprehensive solid waste plan to promote the waste management hierarchy; first reducing waste, second reusing, third recycling and lastly using land fills. With less funding than in many other states going to recycling this study will be important in establishing a clear concise plan for recycling efforts in Virginia.

The second study would establish a task force to work with the Department of Conservation and Recreation to study land preservation, water supply protection and the availability of large parks to serve future generations in Northern Virginia. With the population continuing to grow throughout the region it is vital that we set aside open space for future generations to enjoy. I expect this study will point out the need for more protected parklands, watersheds for drinking water supplies and open space for the future of Northern Virginia. I also expect recommendations for financing their protection.

As this Session draws to an end, I look forward to returning home and beginning to work on my campaign and legislation for next year’s session.
As always, I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have at 800-889-0229 or on my website www.patsyticer.com

Latest News

This past week was a very busy week. The Virginia Nurses Association was here and brought many supporters to the Capitol to lobby in support of improved educational opportunities for nurses. A couple of years ago I sponsored a resolution that addressed some of the issues facing the nursing community. Various workforce studies suggest that Virginia may be short 20,000 nurses by the year 2020. Further complicating the nurse shortage is the lack of faculty available to teach courses. Governor Kaine has proposed to raise teacher salaries by ten percent and to set up a $200,000 scholarship fund for nurses seeking advanced degrees who plan on teaching. Nurses are an essential part of our health care system and we must do what we can to ensure that individuals choosing the profession will have incentives to enter the field and adequate, accessible facilities for education.

One of the most important issues has been the two bills introduced that would require the Air Pollution Board, Water Control Board and Waste Management Citizen Board to combine into one. It would also take away the air and water boards to deny permits for industrial emissions as well as the water board’s ability to punish polluters. Fortunately, the House bill has a re-enactment clause which would require that the legislation be considered again next year before it is put into law. Having three separate boards to consider environmental matters increases the transparency in government decision making. It also increases community participation and awareness. The consolidation of the three boards would require members to possess expertise in all three board areas, which is an unrealistic goal. I feel it is critical for our citizens to have input when it comes to decision making about the environment, and I am working against these bills. If enacted, Alexandria could loose one of its most important allies in our dispute with Mirant.

Another issue of importance to me is funding for preschool education. By spending more money preparing children for success in school, this preventative measure would help us spend less money later on down the line. Research has shown that at-risk children exposed to the right early childhood experiences will enjoy greater success socially, academically and professionally. Governor Kaine’s $4.6 million budget proposal would provide for Preschool pilot programs, to serve children who otherwise would go without this important developmental training. Another important aspect to the preschool pilot program would be the preschool rating program. This would give participating preschools a quality rating system. Parents would benefit the most from this ranking system; however preschools looking to make improvements would also benefit by having access to educational experts. This would, in turn, elevate the standards of day care centers throughout the Commonwealth.

In addition, I also support the creation of an Amber Alert system for our Senior citizens. This program would create an alert for missing seniors and impaired adults. This would allow participating public and commercial radio and TV broadcasters to issue an alert for a missing senior citizen just as they would for a missing child. This legislation would create the uniformity necessary to locate missing individuals in the shortest amount of time possible.

Another important note is Virginia may join 40 other states in the passage of a broad based boater education requirement. Any person who operates a motorboat or a personal watercraft in Virginia would be required to complete a Boating safety test as well as an equivalency exam before piloting a boat. This legislation has been a priority for the boating industry for the past eight years, and like them, I would like to see it approved and signed into law by the Governor.

As always, I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have at 800-889-0229 or on my newly created website www.patsyticer.com

More News

As we begin the fourth week of session, I wanted to take the time to reflect on two more bills that were introduced and approved by their respective committees. One of the three bills that I have introduced protecting victims of domestic violence has been passed by the Senate on a vote of 39-0. This bill allows victims of domestic violence the opportunity to provide a post office box address, in lieu of a residence address, to be shown on any public list of registered voters. This would give victims more address confidentiality. The second bill, which also was approved by committee, would allow persons convicted of a drug felony to qualify for TANF benefits as long as they comply with criminal court orders and treatment programs. This would allow families to receive the aid they so desperately need rather than punishing the entire family for one member’s previous actions.

In addition to the bills I have introduced, there are several bills that I support. Redistricting will be on us again in 2011. Previous redistricting has been highly partisan. The Senate has passed a redistricting bill which includes a provision for a Constitutional amendment to provide for a 13 member redistricting commission. In an effort to eliminate the highly partisan redistricting of our Senate and House districts, I believe this will prevent the process from resting solely in the hands of which ever party holds power after the 2010 census.

There has been much discussion and debate regarding payday loan practices and reform. Senator Saslaw’s bill has already passed through the Senate. This bill would limit the number of payday loans a person can take out to three. This would be enforced by creating a computer database which any of the loan centers may access. In addition to restricting the number of loans available, the bill would also prohibit a lender from engaging in any misleading or fraudulent acts in the making or collecting of a payday loan, would require lenders when collecting on payday loans to comply with the restrictions outlined in the Fair Debt Collection Practices. Finally, it would provide that a written loan agreement that violates the Payday Loan Act is unenforceable against the borrower. While payday loans would not be prohibited, these provisions would be in place to protect individuals using the loans.

It was wonderful to have so many visitors from home this past week. I enjoyed talking to the arts community from Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax and then attending an arts reception at St. Paul’s Church. In addition the AARP was here in force supporting long term care, realtors from the area were here with many issues, registrars with voting issues and many others during the week. A huge contingent was in Richmond this past week to oppose new power lines in Loudoun. The week also marked the anniversary of Roe v Wade bringing Pro Choice and Pro Life supporters to the Capitol. As you may know, I have consistently supported this decision to allow a woman the right to decide.

There were a number of receptions this past week as well with the high tech industry having a reception the same night as the mortgage brokers and the Asian American community. Being so busy it was impossible to go to all of the events! I look forward to the many events and faces I will see from Northern Virginia in the upcoming weeks, and to hearing from you on issues of concern. If you wish to share your views, you can call (800) 889-0229.

2007 Week Two

The second week of the 2007 legislation has come and gone with some interesting events to mark its passage. Three of my bills passed through committee and now are coming to the Senate floor for passage. One of those bills, from the Alexandria legislative package, allows for the creation of an Arts and Cultural District in Alexandria if the city council so chooses. The second bill protects historic districts by requiring that if the building is offered for sale the fair market value is determined for restoration of that building rather than tearing it down. The third bill passed allows for Arlington police escorts to violate traffic laws in the course of their official duties. Police escorts risk their lives to provide this service and deserve the same protection under the law which is granted to other officers who must in certain cases violate traffic laws to do their jobs.

The new media was filled with descriptions of Delegate Hargrove, who made comments on the floor of the House that people should just get over slavery, because no one now in the legislature had anything to do with it. He even likened that apologizing for slavery would be like making Jewish people apologize for killing Jesus. This last comment offered our own Delegate Englin the opportunity to speak about prejudice and remind the body that children should not be subjected to any kind of open prejudice in this time. The comments made by Hargrove were prompted by a resolution which would offer a formal apology from the State for the institution of slavery.

In addition to the bills I am patroning, I am co-patroning several important bills form Senators and Delegates throughout Northern Virginia. One of the bills I am supporting is photo-monitoring red light systems to enforce traffic signals. It is supported by all levels of law enforcement as an important tool in public safety, which was taken away by legislation two years ago. Statistics have shown that there has been an increase in traffic violations and accidents since red light cameras have been removed from locations around the state. The current bill would allow the counties of Arlington and Fairfax, the Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, and Virginia Beach, and the Town of Vienna to establish photo-monitoring systems to enforce traffic light signals. Another important bill I am co patroning is the elimination of gas chambers for animal euthanasia in animal shelters. This protects animals from dying in what usually is a slow painful process.

Since arriving in Richmond transportation has been an issue on the minds of many of the legislators. As a member of the Northern Virginia Congestion Club (an involuntary group), I am fully aware of the importance of finding a long term source of funding fro a multi-modal transportation plan which allows us to whittle way the scourge of congestion and maintain the quality of life we enjoy and the economic success achieved in Northern Virginia. We are all aware that freedom of movement in our region is essential to our economic success. We have been waiting for a plan from the majority party in the House of Delegates for a long time, but are pleased to finally have a plan presented last Friday. It has not been fully analyzed at this time and on initial glance appears to borrow too heavily and rely on general funds which contain funds for education, health care, public safety, and etc. for repayment. It is however, a beginning for discussion. It is the goal of the legislature to find and fund an adequate solution to real transportation needs, so it is important that a compromise be achieved to benefit the entire Commonwealth. There has not been a comprehensive solution to transportation needs since 1986, so it is high time.

2007 Session

This year’s session started off on a superb note with the entire legislative body traveling to Jamestown to begin the festivities celebrating the Commonwealth’s 400th anniversary. There was a ceremony in the old church at the site of the original fort established by John Smith and his 104 men. After the day’s business was completed Vice President Chaney spoke eloquently about the beginning of our nation. The Senators and Delegates also toured the site to see the amazing archaeological digs and discoveries made in the last two or three years. The original fort is coming to life, and many artifacts are housed in a small museum close to the site. There is another larger visitor center, and both of them are fascinating. The day ended on a high note with Governor Kaine giving the State of the Commonwealth Address. In his speech the Governor called for bipartisanship in tackling issues such as transportation, health care, income tax relief for the poorest Virginians, teacher pay raises and millions for Chesapeake Bay cleanup. He emphasized that working together we can pass legislation which creates a better Virginia.

As the 30th district Senator, I will try to keep you abreast of key legislation which affects many of us. A few of the issues that I will be working to improve are: environmental pollution, land and forest preservation, domestic violence and health insurance.

As Northern Virginia continues to grow it is our responsibility to be good stewards and protect our environment. This legislative year I hope to push forward several bills which will continue to protect our precious environment. One of the most important bills that I am patroning allows different factors to be used in measuring opacity at power plants like Mirant. Currently industrial plants can only be held responsible when they exceed regulations during inspections. This will force Mirant and other plants to be held responsible for their actions at all times.

Another effort to further protect the environment would ask developers to maintain a tree canopy in areas where construction efforts reduce the canopy. As our area continues to grow, trees are being removed to make way for new development. It is well known that mature trees filter pollutants from the air thereby improving air and water quality. This piece of legislation will protect our tree canopy by allowing localities to require conservation of trees during the development process. Currently the emphasis is on removing full-grown trees, and planting new ones. Through this legislation the emphasis will be on conserving more trees which already exist. The bill also provides that the tree conservation ordinance may require that the site plan for any subdivision or development provide for the preservation and replacement of trees on the development site. This is a small but necessary step to insure that development does not completely remove these valuable resources.

Combating domestic violence has always been one of my top priorities and it continues to be so as we move into the 2007 session. I am proposing legislation which would allow victims of domestic violence to limit use of their street address and home telephone number in official documents. This bill creates the Address Confidentiality Program within the Domestic Violence department of the Attorney General’s Office. This new program allows for designated post office addresses, maintained by the Attorney General’s Office, to be used instead.

I am also introducing a piece of legislation, to mandate that insurance companies cover prosthetic devices and components. The bill will be sent to the commission on mandated health benefits, which will look at it between this session and 2008. I hope the commission reports it out favorably, and then we will take it up for final passage in 2008. This will benefit all Virginians who might fall into the unfortunate circumstances of losing vital limbs.