Friends of Jennifer McClellan
2013 General Assembly Update - Vol. 2

January 29, 2013 

In This Issue
My Column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Interview on VCTA Cable Reports
Commemorating the 50th Anniversay of MLK's "I Have a Dream" Speech
Legislation to End Workforce Discrimination Passes Senate
Tracy Thorne-Begland Elected to Judgeship
150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
Take My 2013 Constituent Survey
Watch the House of Delegates Live
Measures to Address Election Day Lines Defeated
My 2013 Legislation
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Session Updates



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RTD Op-Ed: Don't abandon transportation-funding path that works

Richmond Times-Dispatch
My second 2013 Session RTD Op-Ed appeared on Sunday, January 27th.  In it I discuss the transportation funding. 

Interview on
VCTA Cable Reports
VCTA Cable Reports- Richmond B

I appeared on Woody Evan's VCTA Cable Reports with three other members of the Richmond Delegation to the General Assembly: Sen. Henry Marsh, Sen. John Watkins, and Del. Joe Morrissey.

 

During this broadcast, we discuss many issues including:

 

- banning the sale and possession of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,

 

- automatically restoring the of rights for nonviolent felons when they have finished serving their sentence,

 

- funding for transportation infrastructure,

 

- improving the quality of K-12 public education to better meet the needs of students, and

 

- lifting the moratorium on uranium mining.

Delegate McClellan Commemorates 50th Anniversary of MLK's 
"I Have a Dream" Speech
Del. McClellan commemorates the 50th Anniversary
On January 18, the House of Delegates passed my resolution HJ 650 
commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. 
 
I read portions of his speech, and moved that when we adjourn, we did so in his honor and memory.
Legislation to End Workforce Discrimination Passes Senate
SB 701
Last week, the Senate passed legislation that would protect LGBT state employees from workplace discrimination.  

This is only the third time that pro-LGBT legislation has passed through either chamber of the General Assembly in the history of the Commonwealth.

But now SB 701 moves to the House of Delegates where it will face an uphill battle.  You can show your support to end workplace discrimination through Equality Virginia's website
Tracy Thorne-Begland Elected to Judgeship
Tracy Thorne-Begland

On January 15, the General Assembly elected Tracy Thorne-Begland to a full term on the Richmond General District Court. 

 

Tracy was the unanimous choice of the Richmond delegation, and was enthusiastically supported by the Richmond legal community and the Richmond Circuit Court (which appointed him to an interim appointment in July). 

 

His election confirms what we already knew: Tracy is highly qualified for the bench and is the best choice for the job. I am proud to call him my constituent. 

150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclimation

2012 marks the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.  On January 18, the House of Delegates unanimously passed my resolution HJ 692 commemorating this event.

 

The Emancipation Proclamation is considered one of the five founding documents of this country, and it will always be forefront in our minds. 

 

Now with this 150th anniversary, we want to make sure that everyone thinks about it more than just on January 1st.

 

Events commemorating the event will be held over the next two years. 

 

Watch WRIC's report on the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation here.

2013 Constituent Survey
JLM Head Shot
I am eager to hear from you and learn where you stand on these and other important issues.  
 
I recently distributed my 2013 constituent survey, and I encourage you to complete it and return it to my office. You can also complete the survey here
 
Your responses and comments do influence my positions on legislation.
Watch the House of Delegates Live
Del. McClellan Speaks on Ultrasound Bill
Generally the House of Delegates convenes on weekdays at noon throughout the General Assembly session.

When the House is in session you can use this link to watch live feed of the action. 
Join Our Mailing List
Greetings!

 

We are now one-third of the way through the 2013 Session, and the pace has definitely picked up.  The past two weeks have been very eventful, but overshadowed by a surprising show of raw political power by Senate Republicans this week.  

 

While the country celebrated Martin Luther King Day and the second inauguration of the first African American President, Senate Republicans took advantage of the absence of Senator Henry Marsh to turn a House bill making technical adjustments to the redistricting plans adopted in 2011 into a brand new Senate redistricting plan.  

 

This new plan creates a new minority-majority district, but moves about 45 percent of Virginians into new Senatorial Districts, packs African-American votes even more tightly into other the other minority-majority districts, diminishes Democratic strength in districts that are represented currently by Democratic State Senators, strengthens Republican support in most of the districts currently represented by Republicans, and lumped Democratic Senator Creigh Deeds and Republican Senator Emmett Hanger in the same district.  

 

The actions of the Senate Republicans violate the Constitution of Virginia, which requires redistricting to occur in 2011. The Republican's stunt also received widespread, bipartisan criticism from Senators Warner and Kaine to Governor McDonnell and Lt. Governor Bolling, as well as editorial boards across the Commonwealth and the nation.  As a result, Virginia once again found itself in the unflattering national spotlight. 

 

The redistricting bill now comes to the House for a vote on the Senate amendments.  The House Republicans have taken the bill by for the day all week.  A vote is currently scheduled for Tuesday. 
 

Here is some of the press coverage of the surprise Senate redistricting plan:

Measures to Address Election Day Lines Defeated

Vote Button
Thousands of Virginians waited in line for hours to vote in November. In an effort to address the issues leading to this burden on voters, Virginia Democrats have proposed changes in the state's election laws.  Democrats also proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow the automatic restoration of civil rights for non-violent felons who have completed their sentences, an action that Gov. Bob McDonnell supported in his State of the Commonwealth Address.   

However, the week of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, the House Privileges and Elections subcommittees killed all of the House restoration of rights legislation, as well as several bills to make extend voting hours and expand early voting, including:
  • HB 1774 extending voting hours by keeping polls open until 8:00 p.m.
  • HB 1922 allowing no-excuse in person absentee voting. 
  • HB 2017 increasing the number of voting machines in precincts.
  • HB 1710 allowing parents or legal guardians of children four or younger who care for the child at home to vote absentee.

Restoration of Rights legislation is still alive in the Senate, and I hope to have an opportunity to vote for it in the House.

My 2013 Legislation
TTB Debate

  

I have introduced 15 bills for consideration by the General Assembly for its 2013 Session. 

  

As of Friday, two of my bills have been passed by the House of Delegates and are now awaiting consideration by the Senate. They are:

  

HB 1837

Allows the court to take testimony in open court in divorce cases without providing further notice to the defendant if the defendant has been personally served and has failed to appear. Under current law, the court may take depositions without further notice to the defendant if the defendant has been personally served and has failed to appear. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council of Virginia.

   

HB 2059

Reduces the cap on the Communities of Opportunity Tax Credit pilot program from $450,000 to $250,000. This pilot program was created by legislation I sponsored in 2010 provides tax credits to property owners in low-poverty areas in the Richmond metropolitan area participating in Housing Choice Voucher programs.  Unfortunately, the program has been extremely underutilized.  A companion budget amendments allocates the remaining funds to housing counselors to help educate renters and landlords about the program to increase participation.

  

*****

 

Two additional bills have passed out of subcommittee, and will be heard in full committee.  These bills are:

  

HB 1871

Defines the term "bullying" and requires school boards to develop anti-bullying policies and procedures in the student code of conduct  and policies and procedures to educate school board employees about the need to create a bully-free environment. The bill also requires the Board of Education to develop model policies and procedures for use by each school board to educate school board employees about the need to create a bully-free environment.

 

 

HB 1872

Would expressly authorizes investments made online for any of the tax credits that the same investment would have qualified for had it been made the old fashioned way.  This bill would jumpstart the new and innovative "crowdfunding" industry championed by Senator Mark Warner and Congressman Eric Cantor through the 2012 Jobs Act, which authorized online investments in start-up companies.  The Washington Post called crowdfunding the #1 idea for small business in 2012.

   

Excitement over this bill has generated petition signatures from over entrepreneurs from every corner of the Commonwealth. 

 

*****

 

One bill was passed out of Health, Welfare and Institutions committee with a 21-1 vote, but was rerefered to the committee and is awaiting action by the committee once more. It is: 

 

HB 1876

Eliminates the requirement for a 30-day waiting period prior to a sterilization operation for persons who are over the age of 18 and capable of giving informed consent who have not previously become the natural or adoptive parent of a child.  This bill has garnered quite a bit of attention.  You can read more on HB 1876 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

 

*****

 

One bill has been reported from Courts of Justice committee and referred to the Appropriations Committee.  It is:

 

HB 2211  

Increases the penalties for a second or subsequent stalking offense under certain circumstances. Under current law, stalking does not become a felony until the third conviction.  Every year since 2007, I have sponsored a more expansive version of this bill in response to the murder of University of Richmond student Denora Hill.  Due to the fiscal impact of the original bill, I have narrowed the proposal to reduce the fiscal impact in hopes of getting some increased penalties passed.

 

*****

  

Four of bills were effectively defeated in committee by being tabled.  They are:

 

HB 1838

Would have prohibited an agent whose license has been revoked or voluntarily surrendered from directly or indirectly owning, controlling or being employed in any manner by an insurance agent or agency. 

 

The Bureau of Insurance has seen an increase in the number of instances where an investigation will lead to the revocation or surrender of an agent's license, and he/she will continue to operate the business in an unlicensed capacity. Because of the ownership role in the agency, the former agent continues to commit similar violations by directing employees either to knowingly or unknowingly commit violations, thereby posing a continued threat to consumers.  The proposed change to the Code would prevent many such activities. 

 

Under this legislation allowing your agent's license to lapse or failing to do your continuing education and losing the license to termination would not mean an agent cannot own an agency.  Only an agent who was investigated and decided to surrender the license voluntarily rather than face a Commission hearing would have been impacted by the bill.

 

HB 1874

Would have amended the discovery rule, which triggers the running of the statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases involving the diagnosis of a malignant tumor or cancer. The bill provided that for a claim that negligence is a proximate cause of the failure to diagnose or a delay in the diagnosis of a tumor or cancer, the two-year statute of limitations is extended for one year from the date the diagnosis is communicated to the patient. Under current law, the claim must be that there was a negligent failure to diagnose the tumor or cancer. 

 

As drafted, the bill is too broad, and I asked that it be tabled to spend more time getting the language right.  I will reintroduce this bill next year.

 

HB 1875

Would have added one voting faculty member to the board of visitors of each public institution of higher education and of the State Board for Community Colleges. Currently, each board of visitors and the State Board for Community Colleges may appoint one or more nonvoting advisory faculty members.

  

HB 1989

Would have increased the amount of time nonviolent offenders can shave off their sentences for good behavior. Under current law the opportunity for parole has been eliminated, but there is no distinction between violent and nonviolent offenders.   

You can read more on HB 1989 in The Virginian-Pilot

 

*****

 

My remaining five bills are still awaiting action in committee. They include: 

 

HB 1869

Requires Long-term care insurance providers to give the policyholder and any designee of the policyholder at least 60 days notice of a lapse or termination of the policy for nonpayment of premium. The bill also requires the policy to include a provision that allows the coverage to be reinstated after lapsing if the insurer is provided proof that the policyholder or certificateholder was cognitively impaired or had a loss of functional capacity before the expiration of the grace period. This bill offers additional protections to policy holders who may show early signs of dementia and may not understand the ramifications of a notice of lapse or termination.

 

HB 1873

Requires the Information Technology Advisory Council adopt standards that allow consumers using a health benefit exchange to have access to their (i) health data held by an exchange and (ii) administrative data regarding the exchange, including provider price, network coverage, and the consumer's claims data.  These standards would apply regardless of who runs a healths benefits exchange in Virginia.

  

 

HB 1991 

Creates a safe harbor and affirmative defense for charges of prostitution for child victims of human trafficking who have been forced into prostitution.

  

HB 1992 

Provides a 60 day de novo review of hearing decisions in state employee grievance proceedings relating to interpretation or application of a state agency policy.

 

HB 2273

Would allow the Henrico County Enterprise Zone, which was added to the City of Richmond Zone in 2003 as a joint Enterprise Zone, to continue for a full 20-year term. An Enterprise Zone is a specific area identified by Henrico County and approved by the State for targeting incentives to stimulate business development and job growth. Businesses within the Enterprise Zone can take advantage of State and County financial and technical assistance and other incentives for physical improvements to building, parking areas, and signage.

 

Although Henrico's Zone has been among the most productive in the Sate providing investment, jobs and increased tax revenues for the Commonwealth, it is scheduled to expire in 2014 since the City of Richmond Enterprise Zone was established in 1995. This bill was introduced at the request of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors.  

 

*****

 

You can follow all of my bills and resolutions here or on my website.

My door is always open to you, and if you would like to contact me on any matter, please call me at (804) 698-1171 or email deljmcclellan@house.state.va.us.

 

I look forward to continuing to serve the 71st District and working to move Virginia forward. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you. 

 

Sincerely,



Jennifer L. McClellan
Virginia House of Delegates

71st District