Delegate Abbott’s Weekly Legislative Update — 1.21.11

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It’s been another exciting and busy week in Richmond at the General Assembly and there were several developments with regards to the legislation I have submitted along with that of my colleagues.

On Monday the 17^th, two of my bills, HB 1920 and HB 1921, both of which would require recordation of assignments of underlying loans secured by a mortgage, were taken up in the #2 Civil Subcommittee-of the Courts and Justice Committee-where the decision was made to merge those bills with HB 1506, a bill that has been introduced by Delegate Bob Marshall (R) of Manassas.  HB 1506 is a comprehensive piece of legislation that will finally address and prohibit the fraudulent practices that continue to plague our Commonwealth’s foreclosure process. Its passage will be instrumental in preventing fraud and abuse in the foreclosure and mortgage industry.  HB 1506 is scheduled to come up again before the #2 Civil Subcommittee for further review on Monday, January 24^th, a half hour following the session.

Another piece of legislation I introduced this session, HB 1919, which would have created the Virginia Defective Drywall Correction and Restoration Assistance Fund, failed in the Commerce and Labor Committee.  This fund would have provided financial assistance to Virginia homeowners who have been unknowingly victimized by the defective and dangerous Chinese drywall that has been imported and installed in thousands of homes across the Commonwealth.

HB 1924, another bill that I introduced this session, which requires that insurance companies report to DMV when they pay claims of $3,500 or more for water damage to a vehicle was merged with HB 1412, which was introduced by Delegate Timothy Hugo (R) of Centreville. HB 1412 was passed by the Transportation Committee and went through a first reading on the floor of the house on Friday the 21^st.  As most of you recall this was a hotly debated bill in the 2010 session. While last year’s bill raised serious concerns that water damage under $5k would have to be disclosed to a consumer, this year’s bill allows for branding of the title at $3500, and requires all water damage of any value be disclosed.

On Friday the 21^st, HB 1923, which provides that criminal history record information shall be supplied at no charge to a person who has applied to be a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America, Girls Scouts of the United States of America and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Inc. was heard in the #1 Criminal Subcommittee of the Committee on Courts and Justice.  Representatives from the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula testified before the subcommittee to discuss the soaring costs their non-profit organizations bear to perform background checks on thousands of potential volunteers, and the need for assistance from the state government and state police to ensure that those entrusted with caring for Virginia children taking part in these programs are eligible to do so, with no past criminal or sexual offenses.  Despite objection from Delegate Vivian Watts (D), who serves on the #1 Criminal Subcommittee and was in support of the legislation, HB 1923 was temporarily tabled for further review by the committee chairman.  I will continue to push for the bills review and passage in committee so that all of my colleagues will have the opportunity to vote on this important piece of legislation.

A few other important and contentious pieces of legislation were also heard and voted on over the last week, including HJ 500, HB 1416 and HB 1419.

After debating HJ 500 on the floor, the House of Delegates approved a resolution that would enshrine Virginia’s “right-to-work” law in its constitution, thereby making permanent the state’s traditional wariness toward the influence of labor unions.  I opposed this legislation as I believe it puts thousands of working class Virginian’s at a disadvantage in exercising their right to fight for safe working conditions, fair wages, competitive benefits and additional job security in difficult economic times. More importantly, there has not been one legal challenge in any court in Virginia, or legislation introduced to the General Assembly in the last 300 years that would challenge the right to work of all Virginian’s.

HB 1416, which requires that each local school board to allocate 65 percent of its operating budget to instructional spending and that local school boards must report annually to the Board of Education the percentage of their operating budgets allocated to instructional spending also passed in the house by a margin of 48-46. I opposed the bill because I found the legislation to be unnecessary as the Virginia Department of Education already collects and publishes the same data and doing so again would only be duplicative, creating more bureaucratic red tape, constricting school boards ability to prepare their budgets in a timely manner. Furthermore, the bill was unclear in its definition in what would be included in the cost of classroom education.

HB 1419, which eliminates the requirement for vaccination against the human papillomavirus for female children, also passed in the house this week by a margin of 61-33.  I did not support this legislation as I am concerned that children with parents who are less informed about the dangers surrounding the HPV virus would be at far greater risk to go without a vaccination, thereby significantly increasing their risk of contacting cancer later in life.  Because the current legislation has an opt out provision, parents would still have had the option not to have their child vaccinated.

As always, should you find yourself in Richmond during the session, please feel free to stop by my office at the General Assembly Building, Rm. 508.  If you would like to contact me with any questions, concerns or comments please contact me anytime at Delrabbott@house.virginia.gov, or by phone at (804) 698-1093.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and your family.

Robin Abbott