A Virginia gubernatorial panel that’s been working to streamline state government says it is targeting more than the low-hanging fruit in its latest efforts.  Last year, its legislative achievements included consolidating or getting rid of 49 boards and commissions … and creating one-stop portals for business start-ups.  And this year’s goals could result in real restructuring within agencies and programs, with many proposed reforms on the table.

Many proposed reforms are on the table.  Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel said as a federal mandate requires states to expand Medicaid coverage, Virginia must change how it handles 1.1 million applications per year.

“We have about a 16%  error rate on Medicaid applications.  Unacceptable.  Some people get Medicaid that shouldn’t, others don’t get it who should.  But we have this error rate.”

Other plans include consolidating social services data across agencies to coordinate the flood of new requests.  The panel is still pursuing goals of 4-day work weeks for some state employees to save costs.  But Human Resource Management Director Sarah Wilson told the members that funding the unused leave of state workers is problematic:

“This is an unfunded liability for the agencies.  And if everyone in my agency that’s eligible to retire today retired, I don’t have the money to cover it,” she said.

Also under discussion is an inventory of surplus state property and buildings to gauge if they should be used or sold.

–Anne Marie Morgan

Although state Democratic leaders disagree …Virginia Senate Republicans believe the dynamics of state politics are about to change dramatically for the first time since 2007.  They believe they have the candidates in place to retake the state Senate and control both chambers.

But Lt. Governor Bill Bolling says the GOP has the numbers to propel the Republicans in the Senate to a minimum of 21.

“I can’t ever remember a year where we have fielded 36 Republican candidates out of 40 districts. That is an amazing accomplishment—and good candidates. You know candidates as Ryan said who are business leaders, some who have had prior political experience, either on the local level or the state level. It’s not just the number of candidates that we’re fielding–it’s the quality of the candidates that we’re fielding.”
 
Democrats are fielding nominees in only 28 of 40 Senate districts.  Bolling says some races will be challenging, but he believes this year, Democrats will be on the defensive.  The GOP senators also think they have more diverse candidates—from moderate to conservative—but that they’re more united on issues than their Democratic counterparts.

— Tommie McNeil

The sound of chain saws and generators still pierced are piercing the air in many parts of Virginia as residents dig out from under the debris that remains in the wake of Hurricane Irene.

Power outages continued to affect hundreds of thousands of customers, while crews worked to clear the remaining impassable roads– both private and public-sector officials say conditions statewide are improving.

Most of the 218 road closures were caused by downed power lines and trees.  Dominion Virginia Power said initial outages to more than 1.2 million customers were the second-largest ever—behind Hurricane Isabel.  6000 personnel from eight states have been working to restore power …and the company says 75% of customers should have service by Wednesday and 90 – 95% by Friday.  Governor McDonnell has been touring impacted areas and briefed reporters on a telephone conference call from Tidewater.  He cautioned Virginians to be careful even though the hurricane is gone.

“One of the lessons of Isabel was that half of the people who died related to that storm died after the storm had passed in doing recovery and clean-up operations –from either hitting standing water on roads, touching live wires, having heart attacks from overexertion, or related activities. So it is still a time to be vigilant, ” he said.

Officials are now assessing damage statewide to determine Virginia’s eligibility for state and federal aid. 

–Anne Marie Morgan

Job creation has been the focus of some political back-and-forth in Virginia over the past couple of weeks.  So Virginia Public Radio’s Fred Echols called on PolitiFactVirginia.com to put things in perspective.

State agencies are closed, many coastal localities have ordered mandatory evacuations, and emergency service personnel have been mobilized—all in preparation for Hurricane Irene.  And as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, Governor McDonnell anticipates that Irene could be as bad—if not worse—than Hurricane Isabel eight years ago.

In a week that saw fires in the Great Dismal Swamp, an earthquake originating in Mineral, Virginia, and now an upcoming hurricane which could hit the Commonwealth over the weekend, Governor McDonnell is talking about disasters.

He says in terms of Hurricane Irene, state emergency operations officials will prepare for a worst-case scenario, meaning the storm’s path could track some of the state’s major interstates and significantly damage coastal and low-lying areas.  But he says residents, too, need to be prepared.

“Know where the shelters are, look out for their neighbor, have a plan for their pets, stock up on food and batteries and water now, have a generator if they have a significantly electrical… all those common sense things, today, tomorrow, Friday, that’s the time to be doing these things. We’ll do our part. We’ll put out the appropriate but prudent warnings that are necessary depending on the storm track,”  he said.

Additionally, the Governor is announcing major donations to the Virginia Disaster Relief Fund, which he established in April to encourage private companies and citizens to give to communities impacted by tornadoes. He also ordered that the fund be made a permanent part of Virginia’s disaster relief tools.

For the first time ever, the largest source of debt for Americans last year was not credit cards, but student loans.

Now a state advisory committee formed by the Governor is working on proposals to make higher education less costly for Virginia students.  One method is through student aid and similar programs, which officials worry could be more complicated  than it sounds.

The law now requires plans for need-based financial aid for low- and middle-income students.  Federal poverty measures define low-income.  But the panel said middle class is harder to define—and it plans to propose models that go beyond income to show actual need.  They also use factors such as the number of college students or disabled siblings in the family, or whether parents are older.  Work-study programs are another form of aid.

Secretary of Education Laura Fornash said research shows these students earn higher grades–but they’re underfunded. “The federal government provides a work-study program and each institution has a certain allocation of those resources.  And I think what you heard today was interest from the presidents of the public institutions, and I think the privates would agree, that more resources in that area really is a more meaningful way to help students with their need,” she says.

Some colleges use tuition to fund aid.  But lawmakers say their constituents object to that while they struggle to pay tuition—only to see their dollars given to others.

— by Anne Marie Morgan

They may not be at the top of everyone’s to-do list for summer activities, but Virginia primaries for a number of General Assembly and local offices are taking place Tuesday, August 23. This year’s primaries were scheduled later than normal due to redistricting, and as Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, many voters may find they need to familiarize themselves with their new district boundaries.

The cash-strapped federal government had loaned money to the states to help pay for long extensions in unemployment benefits.  But it will not waive the interest that states owe … and expects to collect $20 million  in interest payments from the Commonwealth.  And as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie

Bond rating agencies are considering reducing Virginia’s AAA status because of its close ties to the U. S. government.  Governor McDonnell has proposed creating a Federal Action Contingency Trust fund to help offset some of the potential federal spending cuts to the Commonwealth. The Governor also announced a $544 million budget surplus.  And as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, he wants to deposit $30 million of that into the new fund.

It has been nearly three decades since the Virginia General Assembly made major changes to state laws governing timeshares. But in those decades, reports of problems with timeshare arrangements have accumulated. As Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, state lawmakers say it may be time for an overhaul.

Some Virginia lawmakers are poised to introduce legislation that would lift a 30 year ban on uranium mining.  But a coalition of anti-uranium mining groups says the risks associated with the practice far outweigh the potential benefits.  And as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, the coalition has launched a campaign to educate residents of the potential dangers.

State legislators say technological advances and the ways that people use them are developing so rapidly that the laws can’t always keep up. The latest example is how people deploy GPS systems to track other people– frequently without their knowledge. And as Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, the General Assembly’s technology experts are considering a new law that would shorten the list of those who many legally do so.

Former Virginia Delegate Phil Hamilton has been sentenced to nine and a half years in federal prison on extortion and bribery convictions—for his role in securing a job at Old Dominion University in exchange for state funding. But during the sentencing, the judge presiding over the case said it’s the most difficult decision he’s ever made. Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil provides insight on the courtroom proceedings.

The State Corporation Commission is using the date 8-11 to urge residents to dial 811 to contact the state’s “Miss Utility” line before performing ANY digging—as required by state law.  As Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, the SCC says too many incidents arise where an activity as simple as gardening in the backyard has caused major problems within a region.

Soon an influx of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans will return home…and many of them will head to Virginia, with medical injuries and job placement needs.  But already bogged down with requests for assistance from vets of wars past, a state Board of Veterans Services is asking the Governor to help beef up staffing and funding to accommodate the new requests.  Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil has more from the State Capitol.

A Newsweek survey earlier this year was merely the latest in a long line of studies indicating that knowledge of U.S. history and government is on the decline among Americans.  Here in the Commonwealth, the General Assembly has revived a legislative commission to recommend ways to bolster civics education in the public schools … and as Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, the panel’s goal is to galvanize Social Studies.

Many Virginians may be surprised to learn that it’s not illegal in the Commonwealth for someone to try to lure or entice a minor child to enter a car.  State lawmakers are weighing the idea of making it a crime … but as Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, they also want to make sure there are no unintended consequences.

Publicly, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinnelli has been busy with two high-profile federal cases:  lawsuits over the healthcare mandate and greenhouse gas emissions.  His critics charge that he’s pursing a personal agenda.  But as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, the Attorney General maintains that the litigation is in the public interest … and many of his other projects do not get enough attention.   

A new coalition of business leaders, educators, and health care providers is calling on the McDonnell administration and the General Assembly to take a different approach to balancing the budget.  And as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, that includes allocating revenues to ensure that essential services receive the funding they need.

Although proper disposal of mobile devices is an example of good environmental stewardship, one communications giant says that for more than 10 years, the revenue generated from recycling these devices has been a funding source for domestic violence prevention initiatives.  Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports from the Capitol.

With millions, even billions, of dollars in Medicaid and Medicare fraud committed each year, state and federal officials have set ambitious goals to find and prosecute more financial crimes.  But investigators say they need tougher law enforcement tools to effectively and safely do their job.

Randall Clouse, Section Chief for the Attorney General, says perpetrators are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous. “Last year, we convicted a nontypical organized crime ring which was Russians that came over to this country and set up an in-home health care company—and fraudulently billed to the tune of about $7-million. We convicted them in federal court.”

The  medical fraud control unit must ask law enforcement officers to serve subpoenas and warrents, and seize evidence, but Clouse says investigators are seeking law enforcement authority, which would include carrying arms and badges, because suspects may have drugs or guns.

The Virginia Crime Commission will make a recommendation to lawmakers later this year.

Consumers, companies, healthcare providers, and governments are increasingly conducting business and exchanging information on-line instead of face-to-face.  That’s why many of them have begun using digital credentials to guard against fraud and identity thieves.  But as Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Morgan reports, a state panel is grappling with the question of who should be liable for costs or damages if those credentials fall into the wrong hands—or are misused.