Members of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia from Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax visited David today during their trip to the General Assembly today as a part of Pro-Choice Lobby Day.  David is a co-patron of the Birth Control Protection Act and has been fighting against a wave of anti-choice legislation this session.

RICHMOND – The House of Delegates today voted 93 to 5 to approve House Bill 2729, sponsored by Del. David Englin (D-Alexandria), to require the government to notify property owners when the Federal Emergency Management Agency changes floodplain maps in ways that affect their property, empowering those property owners to make informed decisions about flood insurance.

Englin represents the Huntington neighborhood in Fairfax County where flooding June 25 and June 26 seriously damaged more than half of the neighborhood’s 311 homes.

“In the aftermath of the June flood, we found there were homeowners who did not have required flood insurance because, when they bought their homes years before, they were not in the FEMA-designated floodplain,” said Englin. “FEMA subsequently changed the floodplain boundaries to include these homes, but nobody notified these homeowners. When Cameron Run flooded and destroyed their property, their insurance companies denied coverage because they did not have had the required flood policies.”

The legislation requires local governments to notify property owners and send them information about the National Flood Insurance Program whenever a change to the FEMA floodplain affects their area.

“This will give homeowners and others a heads up to make sure they have the proper flood insurance to protect them in the future,” said Englin.

Now that the House has approved the bill, the Virginia Senate must also approve the measure before it goes to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to sign into law.

Doctors from the Arlington Medical Society met with David today to discuss health care issues and to lend their support to legislation to create smoke-free restaurants and workplaces throughout Virginia. Citing studies that show the average Virginia restaurant and bar has air 30 times worse than found on a clogged I-95, the Medical Society argues that such legislation will reduce the number of tobacco related deaths in Virginia each year. David is the chief sponsor of HB 288, which would empower localities to create smoke-free restaurants ordinances, and he is cosponsoring the state-wide smoke-free restaurants bill.

In an act of unbridled partisan heavy-handedness, last week the House Republican majority manipulated the rules to force a bill to the House floor despite the sponsor’s desire to pull the bill – a standard request heretofore granted nearly universally as a matter of courtesy. House Democrats objected to this disgraceful treatment of one our members and refused to vote on the measure, so House Republicans used an obscure rule to cast a negative vote on our behalf. Despite this unfavorable environment, I was able to work through the gridlock and move forward on several of my legislative efforts, including my bill to allow military and overseas voters to receive absentee balloting materials electronically, which passed the House unanimously and even picked up several Republican co-sponsors along the way.
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A steady stream of pro-equality advocates stopped by to visit David during Equality Virginia’s lobby day today to thank David for his strong support of equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Virginians.

David took the opportunity to sign Equality Virginia’s employment non-discrimination pledge, which has done every year since he was first a candidate for elected office.

“I’m proud to stand with Equality Virginia for the basic American value that every human being is equal in freedom and has the right to be treated with equal dignity and respect,” said David.

Leaders from the Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce dropped by this morning to discuss with David development along the Route 1 corridor in Fairfax County. The Chamber is working to improve visibility of commercial zones along Route 1 to help increase commerce in the area. The program will lead motorists to attractions and shopping centers from the highway once approved by VDOT.

Virginians Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence visited to discuss their efforts to enhance protective orders and keep individuals under these directives from buying guns. The group is also working to help law enforcement officers draft written policies on responding to sexual violence in Virginia, helping these agencies be better prepared to assist victims and catch criminals.

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Assembly Access has video from today’s House of Delegates floor session of David’s speech against House Bill 894, which would severely limit reproductive freedom by shutting down women’s health clinics around Virginia.

Today members of the Alexandria chapter of the Garden Club of Virginia visited David to discuss environmental legislation, including efforts to defeat legislation that would dismantle Virginia’s citizen environmental boards, which would set back our community’s fight against the Mirant Plant. The group also discussed concerns about Uranium Mining legislation, and efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay through runoff reduction programs.

David also met recently with the Retired Educators of Fairfax County and the Fairfax Education Association. Their legislative package aims to ensure that teachers are paid a fair and reasonable wage both during their service and upon retirement.

With the first full week of this year’s General Assembly session behind us, the pace is starting to pick up in Richmond. Once again, I have been assigned to the Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee and the Privileges and Elections Committee, which will allow me to continue weighing in on health care, human services, and social justice issues and to continue working to open the elections process and make government more transparent and accountable.

The bills I am sponsoring this year are starting to be heard in various committees and subcommittees, and things are going quite well so far.
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This year’s legislative session was in full swing by Tuesday.  House Bill 806, which requires residential facilities to report infectious disease outbreaks to the Department of Mental Health, passed unanimously during the first full meeting of the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee.  This is the first of David’s bills to come up in committee, and it now heads to the House floor.

David also had meetings with Tenants and Workers United and the Virginia Organizing Project. Both groups have an impressive legislative agenda relating to immigrants and first generation Americans, including support for affordable housing along the Route 1 corridor in Fairfax, ensuring children the right to educational opportunities and parental involvement, and strengthening Virginia’s minimum wage laws. [Read more...]