Over the past few days, Governor McDonnell and the House Republican majority presented their budget proposals, and the news is worse than expected for our community.  Virginia is continually ranked Best State for Business and Best Managed State because we run an efficient operation with no fat to speak of, and we enjoy very low taxes and a strong public education system.  Therefore, having already cut $7 billion over the past four years, we are light years beyond making merely difficult choices about cuts to address the remaining $4 billion Great Recession revenue shortfall, and we are struggling to protect the very core services that allow our society and economy to function.  Unfortunately, by taking the entire revenue side of the state balance sheet off the table, Governor McDonnell and the “no tax pledge” Republican majority controlling the House of Delegates have proposed a budget that will result in fewer jobs now, undermine our economic growth in the future, and do disproportionate harm to our area.

While I have worked successfully with Republicans this year on bipartisan economic development proposals (especially my Renewable Energy Job Creation Tax Credit, which passed the House last week after being co-opted and renamed the Green Jobs Tax Credit) it is generally more efficient to preserve existing jobs than create new ones.  Therefore, I was disappointed to learn that, at the same time we have been working together on proposals we hope will create jobs over the next year to five years, House Republicans have crafted a job-killing budget.  [Read more...]

Richmond – Delegate David Englin (D-45) today issued the following statement in response to House Republican plans to cut $2.2 million from the Virginia Commission for the Arts in fiscal year 2011 and then eliminate the Commission entirely in 2012:

In a year where economic development — and especially job creation — has been a paramount concern in the General Assembly, I believe it is economically shortsighted for the House to pass a budget that will completely eliminate funding for an activity that is currently returning $7 in investment by private citizens, businesses, and local governments for every one dollar of state money invested.  The Virginia Commission for the Arts has a proven track record in economic development and has helped revitalize local economies across the Commonwealth.  In the 45th District, the Torpedo Factory Art Center, the Art League, MetroStage, Signature Theater, Del Ray Artisans, Mount Vernon Community Children’s Theater and numerous other arts organizations and programs supported by the Commission over the years have strengthened our economy and enhanced our community as a tourism destination, creating jobs and contributing to tax revenues that support core services like education, health care, and public safety.  Moreover, House Republicans have found room in their budget for investments of similar scale in movie industry incentives, despite the fact that the conservative Tax Foundation’s recent comprehensive study of these incentives call into question any purported return on that investment.  By eliminating the already modest investment in a proven economic driver in favor of a similar investment whose returns are questionable and speculative, the House Republican budget is advocating a risky fiscal scheme that I oppose.

This is not the only or even the most shortsighted, high-risk scheme contained in the House Republican budget.  For example, massive cuts to public education and health care and raiding the state pension trust fund will result in tens of thousands of lost jobs, hinder our economic recovery, threaten our triple A bond rating, and diminish our coveted rankings by independent groups as best state for business, best state to raise a child, and best managed state.  However, given the importance of the arts to the economy of the 45th District, this is an additional particular concern that I will continue working to address as the budget process moves forward.

Delegate David Englin is Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and is serving his third term in the Virginia House of Delegates, where he represents the 45th District, which includes parts of the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, and Arlington County.  He serves on the Finance Committee, the Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee, and the Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee.

Yesterday on the House floor, David highlighted one of his many concerns about the budget proposal announced Sunday by the House Republican majority, which makes massive cuts to public education.  Embedded in a lottery block grant proposal is a policy change to take money away from the poor and at-risk students the program is designed to help and distribute it among all students, including students who are not poor and would not even qualify for the programs.

Richmond – The General Assembly yesterday passed legislation sponsored by Delegate David Englin (D-45) to protect children during public health emergencies by ensuring they have equal access to life-saving vaccines.  House Bill 270 requires the Virginia Department of Health’s emergency vaccination plans to include procedures to ensure the prompt vaccination of all school-aged children, without preference as to whether they attend private schools, charter schools, traditional public schools, or are home schooled.

“During the H1N1 vaccination emergency last fall, I heard from private school parents concerned that their children didn’t have the same access to the vaccine as students in public schools,” said Englin, who serves on the Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee in the House.  “While it turned out that health departments in Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax actually did a good job coordinating with private and parochial schools, my research turned up cases in Southwest Virginia and elsewhere where non-public school students were refused access to the H1N1 vaccine, including a severely disabled, home schooled child who ended up catching swine flu.  This bill will ensure the appropriate level of statewide planning to so those kids will be protected in the future.”

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Governor McDonnell released his proposed budget cuts this week, including $731 million in cuts to public education and $300 million in cuts to health care services for the poor.  He proposed cutting $6 million from homeless services and shutting out 28,566 poor children and pregnant women from access to health care.  David’s colleague, Delegate Charniele Herring (D-46) yesterday gave this amazing speech bringing home the human cost of these decisions:

Tuesday was the deadline by which a bill must have passed the House of Delegates and crossed over to the Senate (or visa-versa) to remain alive.  The vast majority of bills that passed the House were bipartisan and without controversy, including a number of important economic development initiatives. However, during several extended floor sessions, the House debated and voted on many controversial bills, including several throwback “states’ rights” bills, bills to expand access to guns, and a bill that will threaten our right to breathe clean air.  After the dust settled, I am pleased to report that several of my own bills moved forward.

Spurred on by the Tea Party movement, Republicans in Richmond this year are pushing a slate of bills intended to assert Virginia’s independence from the U.S. Government.  These bills range from the patently unconstitutional (House Bill 10 violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution) to the outright dangerous (guns manufactured under House Bill 69 could be exempt from Federal domestic violence laws.)  Of course, I opposed these measures.

One bill intended merely as a symbolic restatement of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution could have unintentionally threatened tens of thousands of jobs by denying the U.S. Government’s purview over Federal and Federal contractor jobs located in Virginia.  [Read more...]

Richmond – The General Assembly today passed House Bill 267, sponsored by Delegate David Englin (D-45), that will enable the Virginia Department of Health to launch a statewide Advanced Health Care Directives Registry in April.

Today’s bill begins the final phase of a two-year effort that started with 2008 legislation sponsored by Englin and Senator George Barker (D-39) to establish Virginia’s Advanced Health Care Directives Registry as a statewide registry for living wills and advanced medical directives so medical professionals and emergency responders can access these documents when they are needed most.

The General Assembly today amended that law to remove the requirement that directives be notarized before being entered into the registry. This conforms the law with private sector best practices and enables the Department of Health to move forward with a public-private partnership to deliver the registry at no cost to taxpayers or users. By adding an emergency clause to the legislation, the General Assembly ensured that the law will go into effect as soon as Governor Robert F. McDonnell signs it, so that the Department of Health may launch the registry before April 16, which is Advanced Directives Day. Without the emergency clause, the bill would have gone into effect July 1.

Englin noted that this bipartisan effort, which began under the Kaine Administration and has enjoyed the continued support of the McDonnell Administration, brings together sometimes divergent interests.

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Many thanks to all of the state and local government employees, plow crews, public safety workers, and utilities crews for their Herculean efforts in response to the overwhelming snow emergency.  Our area has already received more than four times our usual annual snowfall, with more snow on the way.  In addition to the personal challenges this has created for us all, this is putting tremendous strain on already scarce resources, and it should serve as a reminder to the General Assembly that we need a sustained, dedicated funding mechanism for transportation sooner rather than later.  While Governor McDonnell appears for now to be punting on any serious transportation funding ideas, transportation issues — from transit resources to HOT Lanes — have continued to occupy my time, and I continue pushing for progressive tax reform to help the middle class and small businesses while protecting money for education and infrastructure.

My new position on the House Finance Committee has given me the opportunity to support and advocate for responsible transportation funding solutions and other revenue and tax reform proposals.  For example, last week, I was one of a small handful of votes in favor of a bipartisan, comprehensive, sustainable transportation funding package.  The proposal had the strong support of virtually the entire Northern Virginia business community — including businesses whose taxes would increase — because they understand that investing in our transportation infrastructure is necessary for job creation and economic growth.  [Read more...]

Richmond – Delegate David Englin (D-45) announced today that the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has reversed its prohibition on hotel manager’s receptions that include complimentary wine and beer for guests and their visitors. This is the result of Englin’s efforts with the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce on behalf of Alexandria hotels that have been at a competitive disadvantage with hotels in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, where such receptions are permitted.

“We are very pleased to have worked with Delegate Englin to effect positive change not only for Alexandria hotels but for all ABC licensed hotels in Virginia,” said Tina Leone, president and chief executive officer of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. “With this revision, Alexandria will be more competitive in attracting additional business and leisure travelers. This change is a real victory for the hotel and tourism industry in Virginia.”

[Read more...]

Thursday was ALS Awareness Day at the General Assembly, and David met with constituents working to raise awareness of what is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. 

“The moving personal stories of these advocates help all of us better understand the challenges these families face as they try to be voices for their loved ones who can’t speak for themselves,” said David.

ALS attacks and kills the nerve cells which control muscle movement, causing people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease to lose the ability to move, to speak, to swallow and finally to breathe.  While there is no known cause or cure, as many as 30,000 Americans have Lou Gehrig’s Disease at any given time, and recent studies have shown that military veterans are more likely to develop Lou Gehrig’s Disease, although the reasons for this are not yet known.  For more information, visit www.ALSinfo.org.