I was pleased to attend a signing ceremony this past week at the Northern Virginia Community College where Governor McDonnell signed my House Bill 1200 to help law enforcement better fight human trafficking.  Over the past several years, the General Assembly has adopted bills to strengthen penalties against human trafficking.  However, a weakness in our system is how to help victims, or those who think they have witnessed human trafficking, to get in touch with law enforcement so that we can use those tougher penalties.  My HB 1200, modeled after a highly successful program in Texas, seeks to address this problem by requiring any establishment that provides adult oriented live entertainment to post the National Human Trafficking Hotline.  There is a strong link between adult entertainment and human trafficking.  This past December, 20 people were arrested in New York during a sting at strip clubs involving human trafficking.

Virginia, unfortunately, is one of the top ten states where calls to the hotline originate.  Many thanks to the Polaris Project, which advocates for stronger laws on human trafficking, Attorney General Cuccinelli and his staff, and the Virginia Catholic Conference for their help in getting this bill passed.

Now that the 2012 General Assembly session is over, I happy to extend an offer for me to speak at your local organization or community association.  Almost 2,000 bills were introduced this session, ranging from local issues to major initiatives in the areas of transportation, high school graduation requirements, health and human services, criminal justice, and eminent domain – to name just a few.  As a member of the Education Committee and the Housing Subcommittee, I also had an opportunity to work directly on legislation affecting homeowners associations and the education of our children.

A comprehensive overview of all bills introduced and whether they passed or failed can be found by clicking here.  In addition, the Division of Legislative Services publishes a “Session Highlights,” which provides a brief overview of major initiatives and issues.

It is an honor to serve you in the House of Delegates and I look forward to the opportunity to share what happened in Richmond and to hear your feedback.  My Legislative Assistant, Rama Van Pelt, is available during the week to help with scheduling.

I hope that you will be able to join me for one of my Town Hall meetings on Saturday, February 4th.  These are a great opportunity for you to hear about what is going on in Richmond and for me to get your feedback.  The first will be at Fairfax City Hall with Senator Chap Petersen from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. and the second will be at the Fairfax County Government Center with Senator Dave Marsden from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.

Also, please fill out my 2012 Constituent Survey.  Make sure that your voice is heard on some of the issues that will come up before the General Assembly this year.

I am very pleased to present my 2012 legislative agenda.  Below is a summary of just a few of my bills. A full list can be found by clicking here.

HB 423 – Best Practices for HOA Declarations. When I was growing up in Fairfax, HOAs were the exception. Today, almost all new development is governed by an HOA. Because HOAs serve in a quasi-governmental capacity, it is very important that the documents establishing the HOA (usually put together by the developer) are fair and consistent. However, there is no standard to ensure that this is the case. This bill directs the state board responsible for HOAs to identify best practices and to develop a model declaration.

HB 429 – Protection from Fraudulent Billing. Have you ever been “crammed?” Even if you didn’t notice, that doesn’t mean you haven’t been a victim. Cramming is the practice of placing misleading or deceptive charges on your telephone bill without authorization. Often, these are small charges with generic names in the hope that they won’t be noticed. This legislation gives customers the right to permanently block these charges and requires that customers be given notice of this option.

HB 426 – Strengthening Regional Cooperation. There are very few issues in Northern Virginia that respect local government boundaries. Although we have a regional planning organization, Northern Virginia is the only region in the state that is not required to put together a regional strategic plan. This bill removes that exemption. While the bill doesn’t mandate what must be in the plan, it does set up a process for our local governments to think about how to better work together on common interests and concerns.

HB 427 – Transportation Maintenance Funding. This is a bill I’ve been working on for a number of years that makes the distribution of transportation maintenance funds more fair and transparent. The bill requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to consider asset management standards and sound engineering practices when deciding how to distribute funding. As Virginians, we should all enjoy the same standard of maintenance for our roads.

HB 1158 – Water Supply Planning. After the last state-wide drought, Virginia required each locality or region to develop a water supply plan to ensure that there would be adequate water to meet anticipated long-term demand. However, State Code doesn’t require these plans to be considered when permitting a major water withdrawal. This bill simply requires the State Water Control Board to consider these plans, which represent an investment of millions of dollars, when making decisions.

HB 424 and HB 1164 -Education and Transportation Efficiency. These bills are based on recommendations from the Virginia Task Force for Local Government Mandate Review. HB 424 allows our schools to self authenticate records using an affidavit when the records have been requested by a local court. Currently, a school official must take time away from work to present the records in person. No other state or local government agency is required to do this. The goal of HB 1164 is to reduce the bureaucracy associated with VDOT’s review of strictly local roads. Even minor projects must now go through review at the district level and the Richmond level – even though the criteria are identical. HB 1164 directs the Secretary of Transportation to review the process and empower regional managers to make decisions when possible.

HB 1201 – Jury Duty for Overseas Military and Foreign Service Officers. Jury duty is a matter of civic pride. However, Virginia recognizes unique circumstances that make serving difficult. For example, firefighters and police are exempt given the nature of their professions. It came to my attention that Virginia does not provide an exemption for active duty military or the diplomatic corps when they are overseas. While almost any court would provide a deferral of jury duty, it is often very difficult for these individuals to respond in a timely manner – potentially placing them at risk of being in contempt of court. This bill gives these individuals the ability to self-exempt for the time that they are out of the country.

If you would like to receive updates on these and other issues before the General Assembly, please sign up for my Focus on Fairfax newsletter.

Greetings from the 2012 session of the Virginia General Assembly!  One of my goals is to make it as easy as possible for you to participate in the decision-making process in Richmond, where we will literally consider thousands of bills during the next two months.  Please make sure that your voice is heard by completing my 2012 Constituent Survey.

In addition, please save the date for my Town Hall meetings coming up on February 4th. These are a great opportunity to hear about what is going on in Richmond and to ask questions about issues that are important to you. This year I will have two meetings. The first will be at Fairfax City Hall with Senator Chap Petersen from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. and the second will be at the Fairfax County Government Center with Senator Dave Marsden from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.  I hope you will be able to join me.