Tag: David Toscano

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Landes’ surprise: Move to thwart revenue sharing catches locals unaware

So far, Delegate Steve Landes, R-Weyers Cave, has not explained his interest in voluntary settlements such as Albemarle and Charlottesville’s revenue-sharing agreement. File photo Since 1982, Albemarle County has paid the city of Charlottesville $280,092,577 in revenue sharing dollars. Here’s a look at contributions for the most recent fiscal years. Albemarle County

Albemarle hates it and Charlottesville loves it. But neither jurisdiction saw Delegate Steve Landes’ budget amendment coming that could scrub a 1982 agreement in which Albemarle pays millions every year to Charlottesville for the privilege of not being annexed—even though the General Assembly put a moratorium on annexation in 1987.

“The county was only recently made aware of this budget amendment proposed by Delegate Landes and is currently assessing exactly how it might impact the revenue-sharing agreement, including budgetary implications,” says county spokesperson Jody Saunders about the measure first reported by NBC29.

Albemarle has paid Charlottesville more than $280 million in the 35 years the agreement has been in effect, most recently writing a check for nearly $16 million for fiscal year 2016-17. The revenue-sharing agreement was signed after it was approved in a referendum, with the county agreeing to share 10 cents of its real estate tax rate each year with the city.

Weyers Cave resident Landes represents western Albemarle, and while he’s heard from irate constituents about the revenue-sharing agreement, particularly at budget time when the perpetually cash-strapped county debates real estate tax increases, the move came as a “total surprise” to the Board of Supervisors, says chair Diantha McKeel.

“Right now we’re gathering information,” she says. “We don’t know what the ramifications are.”

She suggested C-VILLE contact Landes for more information about the amendment, but so far, the delegate has not returned multiple requests for comment.

“We just sort of spotted it,” says House Minority Leader David Toscano. “[Landes] is on the appropriations committee. It would be easy for him to get it in a budget amendment.”

Toscano has several concerns. The revenue- sharing agreement is a policy issue that typically would be handled with a patron who would introduce a bill, he says. Using a budget amendment is “very unusual,” he says.

“There are terrible unintended consequences,” he says. Around 50 other jurisdictions, including Lexington and Rockbridge County and Lynchburg and Campbell County, have voluntary agreements on annexation issues. “There are tremendous implications for other jurisdictions,” says Toscano.

“And when you use the language of the amendment, it’s very difficult to understand,” he says.

Indeed, C-VILLE had to seek a translation from UVA law professor Rich Schragger.

“Hmmm, this is hard, but I think that it means that agreements between localities that involve a waiver of a right to annex are invalid if the Assembly has placed a moratorium on annexations,” Schragger writes in an e-mail. “In other words, an agreement to forgo exercising a right that is now unavailable to the city (because there is now an annexation moratorium) is invalid.”

What is unclear, says Schragger, is whether the legislature could void an existing contract between Charlottesville and Albemarle that’s supposed to be perpetual.

“It’s a very interesting legal question,” says Toscano. “Typically I don’t believe the legislature can impinge on the right of contracts, but it could be possible. I don’t know.”

Toscano, a former Charlottesville mayor, says he would not support the amendment. The revenue agreement has “benefited both localities,” he says, and suggests the city reserve a portion of the payment for capital improvements that have regional uses. “A classic example would be the courts, which would benefit both jurisdictions.”

Supervisor Rick Randolph made a similar suggestion last year as Albemarle considered moving its courthouses from downtown. “I proposed a reduction of 50 percent of what we’re actually paying,” he says, because of the economic benefit the city gains from having county courts within its limits. “All I was saying was, ‘Let’s talk about it,’” he says.

Not surprisingly, city officials are skeptical about the amendment. “It sounds to me like a political trick,” says City Councilor Bob Fenwick. “It’s a contract. I don’t see how [Landes] can break it. That would wreak havoc on contract law in Virginia.”

Former mayor Dave Norris points out that both jurisdictions agreed to the measure, and says it has served them well. “The city could have collected millions” in tax revenue if it had annexed more of the county’s urban ring, he says, and the revenue sharing has “kept the urban center healthy.”

Toscano suspects the amendment won’t make it into the budget. “I think when Steve realizes he’s opened a can of worms that will affect other jurisdictions, I think he’ll kill it,” he says. “I don’t think he wants to upset the commonwealth’s apple cart.”

Information Courtesy Albemarle County

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Legal opinion: Don’t clutter the Constitution of Virginia

Bad idea: Constitution of Virginia author Dick Howard advises against amendments, especially for social and economic issues. Photographed here in 2006, when he warned against the now-unconstitutional definition of marriage amendment. JACK LOONEY

Virginia voters will notice two constitutional amendments on the ballot in November, and given past history, they’ll probably pass them, despite legal experts concerns that such amendments clunk up the state constitution.

The first amendment on the ballot enshrines an existing right-to-work statute that prohibits employers from requiring union membership. The second allows spouses of first responders killed in the line of duty to be exempt from property taxes if their localities agree.

UVA law prof Dick Howard drafted the current constitution, which was approved in 1971. “The constitution embodies fundamental law—the branches of government, local government, the bill of rights and individual rights,” he says. “The more you load the constitution with policy judgments, the more it’s like a code.”

Howard also says it’s a mistake to put social issues into a constitution, and points to Prohibition as exhibit A for bad amendment ideas in the U.S. Constitution. More recently, Virginia’s definition of marriage amendment in 2006 is another example of an issue upon which American public opinion quickly changed and which has been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

While Howard thinks the effect of the property tax amendment is inconsequential, he says, “In principle, that should not be in the constitution. Don’t use the constitution to rewrite the tax code.”

He calls the right-to-work amendment “highly controversial,” and notes there is no constitutional challenge to the statute. “It’s a non-issue,” he says. “Some are arguing the attorney general of Virginia, Mark Herring, is not to be trusted to enforce the statute. I think that’s a chimerical concern.” Some Republicans voiced concerns after Herring refused to defend the state’s same-sex marriage ban, which was being challenged as unconstitutional.

Delegate David Toscano (D-57) says there’s no indication the attorney general will not enforce the statute. “That’s a red herring,” he puns. The amendment “is a clear case of trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist” for a statute that has never been challenged in a state with few unions. Its main purpose, he says, seems to be “to get people to the polls.”

However, Delegate Rob Bell (R-58), who is running for attorney general next year, says right-to-work is “fundamental” to Virginia’s business competitiveness, and by putting it into the constitution, “it’s less subject to change by subsequent legislatures.”

Bell says he’s “puzzled and concerned” by people who don’t think right-to-work is an issue, and that the constitutional amendment is like seat belts in cars: “We want to have protections in place.”

The property tax break for surviving spouses of first responders has a much smaller impact, says Bell, but without the constitutional amendment, localities can’t offer that break if they choose to do so.

To get an amendment on the ballot, the General Assembly must pass it two consecutive years with a House of Delegates election in between.

Recent amendments have tended to give property tax breaks to veterans or the elderly with disabilities. Bell carried an eminent domain amendment that passed in 2012. As for cleaning up now-unconstitutional amendments like definition of marriage, says Bell, “I’m not on that committee.”

For Howard, amendments typically are “good examples of how people misuse the constitution.” He mentions the right to hunt and fish amendment. “If ever there was a practice in no danger,” he says. “A lot of these are feel-good issues.”

And they almost always pass, he says.

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Winners and losers: The General Assembly is adjourned

Delegates Steve Landes and David Toscano applaud increased spending for education, but disagree on how Medicaid should be used to provide health care. COURTESY SUBJECTS

Legislators in Richmond ended the General Assembly session one day early after passing a record $105 billion biennial budget March 11 and sending it to Governor Terry McAuliffe. Both sides of the aisle praise its passage, while regretting the what-might-have-beens.

McAuliffe didn’t get the Medicaid expansion he wanted—again—but he commends the oft-contentious legislature for investing an additional $1 billion in education at all levels, including workforce training.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the session was McAuliffe making a deal on guns, agreeing to recognize concealed carry permits from other states, a pet project for state Senator Bryce Reeves, who just announced a run for the 2017 Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.

In return, those who are the subject of protective orders can’t possess guns, and dealers can voluntarily do background checks at gun shows, measures rejected in the past. “On firearms, we had the courage to set aside many years of heated debate and reach a consensus that protects families from gun violence and increases access to background checks at gun shows while respecting the rights of law-abiding citizens,” says McAuliffe. “The resulting state laws will save lives.”

Delegate Steve Landes’ budget amendments were aided by his position as vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee. They include $250,000 for the formation of the Virginia International Trade Corporation to “keep Virginia’s economy moving forward,” he says in a release.

The Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton pulls in $300,000 in additional funding for staff, which Landes says is also important for economic development.

The Focused Ultrasound Center at UVA is a big winner in the budget sweepstakes, with an additional $4 million for research.

And while Landes is against Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, he did nab $5.2 million a year with matching Medicaid funding to expand the number of slots on the intellectual or developmental disabilities waiting list.

“It is ironic that despite [Republicans’] negative rhetoric, our budget does expand some Medicaid services, but in the most inefficient way possible,” says Delegate David Toscano in his own release.

Toscano also praises the increased education funding that includes a 2 percent raise for teachers and increased funding for students to receive free and reduced-cost breakfasts and lunches.

He got $1.9 million in state funding plus another $3.9 million from federal and other sources for a program to help 18-year-olds who age out of foster care transition to adulthood. The Independence Resource Center in Charlottesville also picked up additional funding.

Court-appointed lawyers for indigent clients will get more money for complicated cases, as will court-appointed mediators.

Mental health funding has been a bipartisan concern for state Senator Creigh Deeds and Delegate Rob Bell since Gus Deeds stabbed his father and killed himself during a psychiatric crisis in 2013. The new budget adds $76.2 million for mental health services, according to Toscano.

Bell is disappointed his charter school constitutional amendment failed by a few votes, but says he’s pleased that it will be easier for someone being stalked to bring charges. And now, if a person violates a protective order by stalking or assault, he will be looking at a felony charge.

The issue of picking judges was controversial on the state Supreme Court level (see this week’s Odd Dominion, p. 12), but good news locally: The budget includes money to fund a new general district court judge.

The Focused Ultrasound Center at UVA is a big winner in the budget sweepstakes, with an additional $4 million for research.

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Make the General Assembly great again

Delegate David Toscano is house minority leader. Photo by Delegate Mark Levine

February 16 marked crossover, when each house in the General Assembly sends its bills to the other body.

From the House of Delegates floor last week, House Minority Leader David Toscano chastised legislators who continue to try to curtail gay and transgender rights, saying such moves are bad for business, according to radio station WINA.

Meanwhile, the Senate passed 20-19 its “Kim Davis” bill February 12, which allows religious organizations and affiliated businesses to refuse to marry same-sex couples or provide them a wedding cake if doing so would violate a “sincerely held religious belief.”

The House of Delegates passed a bill that would prohibit state agencies from punishing discrimination against same-sex couples or those who are transgender, and a last-minute addition made it okay to discriminate against those who are having affairs, the Washington Post reports. Supporters say the bills protect religious freedom; critics say they protect discrimination.

One way the General Assembly escapes public scrutiny is the committee and subcommittee unrecorded voice vote, which kills legislation without anyone’s fingerprints—or name—attached. Delegate Ben Cline’s bill to change that, not surprisingly, died in committee with no documentation on how members voted.

UVA faculty salaries, an annual Cavalier Daily feature, may be in danger, thanks to a Senate bill that would remove the names of public employees—and the fun—from salary database requests. Area state senators Creigh Deeds and Bryce Reeves voted for the measure.

Delegate Rob Bell’s charter school constitutional amendment, which must pass both houses, passed the House 50-48 on February 15, but likely will be torpedoed by the Senate, which killed its version of the amendment.

And a bright note for leadfoots: The Senate passed a bill that ups the speed at which reckless driving charges kick in from 81mph to 85mph, giving a little more leeway to speeders in a 70mph zone.

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Toscano resigns, reconsiders House minority leader position

Delegate David Toscano will stick around as House minority leader for at least one more session. Submitted photo

Delegate David Toscano made two surprise announcements within two days. On November 12, he sent an e-mail to the Democratic caucus in the House of Delegates saying he was stepping down as minority leader. One day later, he says he changed his mind “when my cell phone blew up with caucus members and federal and state officials” urging him to stay on.

In the first announcement, Toscano, 65, a family law attorney who was elected minority leader in 2011, said he “no longer has the time and energy to commit to the job in a way necessary to perform it. My family and my work have often been forced to take a backseat over the last four years…”

Former mayor Kay Slaughter, who served with Toscano on City Council, says before the election, she and Toscano were “decrying how hard it is for a Democrat to win a seat because the districts are so gerrymandered. He said, ‘Maybe I should resign,’ and I said, ‘No, no, no, you do such a good job.’”    

When Toscano said he was stepping aside, says Slaughter, “I was surprised. I didn’t think he was serious.”

One day later, Toscano changed his mind “after considerable discussion” with his family, he says. “I was unprepared for the extent to which people wanted me to stay on.” His family, too, “was stunned like I was by the degree of support,” he says. 

A big factor was caucus members stepping up and saying, “We’ll help so you don’t have to take so much time from your family and work,” says Toscano. “I’ve been leader for four years. That’s when the time commitment ratcheted up. Now I don’t have to drive up to Northern Virginia or Hampton Roads. I’m energized I have all this support and people willing to work.”

He was elected minority leader at the November 14 Democratic caucus. Dems are vastly outnumbered by Republicans in the House, although they did gain two seats in November, which are enough to keep the Republicans from a veto-proof majority, and eight new members with “new energy,” says Toscano.

“I think he’s the right person in the leadership role,” says Slaughter. “I’m glad he’s staying in place.”

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UPDATED- Mass murder in America: What General Assembly candidates say

Mourning outside Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in 2007. Photo Tobias Beard

The slaughter of unarmed people has become a regular feature of American life. Relatively unknown Umpqua Community College in Oregon joined the body count list with nine gunned down in the October 1 rampage. President Barack Obama made his 15th speech on mass shootings since he took office, according to CNN. “We’ve become numb to this,” he said.

Obama called for politicization of the issue of gun safety: “This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months in America.”

Virginia itself tops the list of massacres with Virginia Tech, where 32 people died April 16, 2007. Two months ago, the state was stunned when WDBJ’s Alison Parker and Adam Ward were gunned down during a live broadcast at Smith Mountain Lake.

Last week, Governor Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order he says is designed to keep guns away from people who would use them for harm. The order includes forfeiture of guns for those convicted of domestic violence and a ban on firearms in state government buildings.

C-VILLE asked the candidates for General Assembly what they would do to stop the carnage.

State Senator Creigh Deeds, D-25th District

This is a very complicated issue and a simple answer is not easily found. We have to adequately fund and staff our law enforcement agencies and give them the tools they need to combat crime. We need to improve services for those with mental illness, who are more likely to be the victim of a crime than the perpetrator, but some of these horribly tragic cases have involved someone who has struggled with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. We need to make certain that someone who is not legally able to possess firearms does not have access to them. And we need to remember the importance of early intervention programs and services to at-risk youth.

State Senator Bryce Reeves,
R-17th District

All life has a purpose. The indiscriminate slaughter of any individual is a tragedy. I believe that the General Assembly has a responsibility to do everything within its power to promote, protect and secure life at every stage.

Ned Gallaway, D-17th District

This is a very complex question to answer in a few sentences. First, we need to address interconnected issues including education, access to health care and intervention support services, especially for individuals with mental health concerns, access to social services and responsible gun laws. Prevention of mass murder will not be solved by addressing one single issue alone.

Delegate Steve Landes,
R-25th District

We need to make sure the resources for treatment of those afflicted with behavioral health issues and mental illness are available and accessible at the community level.

Angela Lynn, D-25th District

We need to make sure we focus on public safety.

Delegate David Toscano,

D-57th District

Common sense gun safety measures coupled with initiatives in mental health.

Delegate Rob Bell,

R-58th District

Virginia’s crime rate is the lowest it has been in decades, and the violent crime rate is among the lowest in the country. We should continue to support laws like truth-in-sentencing that keep our most violent offenders in prison, and also continue ongoing efforts to address those with serious mental health issues.

Delegate Matt Fariss,

R-59th District

I believe that someone who would do harm to another person, who is not a threat,
has a mental illness. And until we get a better handle on the stigma around mental illnesses and start treating them like a disease with better treatments, programs and facilities, these horrible acts will unfortunately continue. Our mental health system, statewide and nationally, needs improvement.

Updated October 21

Original story

The slaughter of unarmed people has become a regular feature of American life. Relatively unknown Umpqua Community College in Oregon joins the body count list with 10 dead from yesterday’s rampage. President Barack Obama made his 15th speech on mass shootings since he took office, according to CNN. “We’ve become numb to this,” he said.

“As I said just a few months ago, and I said a few months before that, and I said each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough,” he said. “It’s not enough.”

Obama called for politicization of the issue of gun safety: “This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months in America.”

Virginia itself tops the list of massacres with Virginia Tech, where 32 people died April 16, 2007. Little more than a month ago, the state was stunned when WDBJ’s Alison Parker and Adam Ward were gunned down during a live broadcast at Smith Mountain Lake.

C-VILLE asked the candidates for General Assembly what they would do to stop the carnage.

State Senator Creigh Deeds, D-25th District
This is a very complicated issue and a simple answer is not easily found. We have to adequately fund and staff our law enforcement agencies and give them the tools they need to combat crime. We need to improve services for those with mental illness, who are more likely to be the victim of a crime than the perpetrator, but some of these horribly tragic cases have involved someone who has struggled with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. We need to make certain that someone who is not legally able to possess firearms does not have access to them. And we need to remember the importance of early intervention programs and services to at risk youth.

State Senator Bryce Reeves, R-17th District
All life has a purpose. The indiscriminate slaughter of any individual is a tragedy. I believe that the General Assembly has a responsibility to do everything within its power to promote, protect and secure life at every stage.

Ned Gallaway, D-17th District
This is a very complex question to answer in a few sentences. First, we need to address interconnected issues including education, access to health care and intervention support services, especially for individuals with mental health concerns, access to social services and responsible gun laws. Prevention of mass murder will not be solved by addressing one single issue alone.

Delegate Steve Landes, R-25th District
We need to make sure the resources for treatment of those afflicted with behavioral health issues and mental illness are available and accessible at the community level.

Angela Lynn, D-25th District
We need to make sure we focus on public safety.

Delegate David Toscano, D-57th District
Common sense gun safety measures coupled with initiatives in mental health.

Delegate Rob Bell, R-58th District
Virginia’s crime rate is the lowest it has been in decades, and the violent crime rate is among the lowest in the country. We should continue to support laws like truth-in-sentencing that keep our most violent offenders in prison, and also continue ongoing efforts to address those with serious mental health issues.

Delegate Matt Fariss, R-59th District
I believe that someone who would do harm to another person, who is not a threat, has a mental illness. And until we get a better handle on the stigma around mental illnesses and start treating them like a disease with better treatments, programs and facilities, these horrible acts will unfortunately continue. Our mental health system, statewide and nationally, needs improvement.

Read more candidate responses to issues in this week’s C-VILLE Weekly on stands October 7.