This week marked the busiest days of the 2011 session of the Virginia General Assembly.  The breakneck pace that precedes crossover saw the House acting on a great number of bills over the course of just a few days.  Committees met late into the evening and we worked hard to act upon measures which are in the best interest of the people of the Commonwealth.

Spotlight on Rebalancing Federalism: Tenth Amendment Resolution passes the House of Delegates

House Resolution 46 which I patroned passed the House of Delegates 65 - 33 on January 31st. The resolution is frequently referred as the "Tenth Amendment Resolution" which requests that the Congress of the United States be urged to honor state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution and claims sovereignty for the Commonwealth under the Tenth Amendment over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution. Former Del. William Fralin and I first introduced this legislation in 2009 in response to the "stimulus" bill passed by Congress. Since then a number of efforts have been introduced in the Virginia legislature; unfortunately, those efforts have been thwarted by the Senate of Virginia.  This year the House adopts the resolution. 13 states have passed similar measures.

Spotlight on Tort Reform

At the direction of the House Courts of Justice Committee, the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV), the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (VTLA) and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA) organized a working group to solidify and stabilize the medical malpractice cap for the next 20 years.  The results of this effort materialized this session in House Bill 1459 introduced by Del. Dave Albo (R-Springfield). This legislation passed the House 89 - 8 on February 4th.   

House Bill 1459 solidifies Virginia's current $2 million cap for July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2032 with an annual adjustment of $50,000.  While the successful advancement of the malpractice cap legislation is a significant achievement in and of itself, it was accompanied by a second, major legislative breakthrough. After recent days of intense negotiations among the key stakeholders (MSV, VTLA and VHHA), a negotiation was finalized between two competing proposals backed by the hospitals and trial lawyers.

My legislation House Bill 2373 addresses the privilege and discoverability issues that arose from the 2006 Virginia Supreme Court case Johnson v. Riverside.  I, along with MSV, VTLA and VHHA, reached a conclusion that advanced this legislation which was unanimously endorsed by the House Courts of Justice Committee and passed the full House by a vote of 98-0. 

House Bill 2373 will protect peer review and quality assurance documents from discovery in litigation proceedings.  The bill, however, does specify that facts and incident reports that are included in a patient's medical record are discoverable in litigation. This bill establishes needed protections for the peer review and quality assurance processes assuring patient safety and quality controls. 

Visitors

Delegate Peace, Sheriff Howard and representative from the New Kent Sheriff's Office

This week we were visited by many folks from the District.  Kerri Ross of Providence Forge stopped by, Romel Edmonson, Robert Mills, and Michael Funkhouser of Mechanicsville, Todd Vander Pol of Beaverdam, Deborah Febish, a naturopathic practioner from Mechanicsville, David Adams of Providence Forge, Lucy Cantrell, Diane Metheny, Thomas Goodloe, Susan Russell, and Sharon Straws of Hanover ARC, Tim Bowring and Overton McGehee of Hanover Habitat for Humanity, Jaime Kannan of Mechanicsville representing HOME, Hal Dalton, Noel Parish from Mechanicsville, Diane Burus representing the Family Foundation, Cabell Lawton and Stran Trout of New Kent, and members of the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors. 

Contact Me

As always, my staff and I are here in Richmond to serve you. We want to hear what you think about the legislation pending before the House, or if there's anything we can do to help you in dealing with a state government agency. My office can be reached at (804) 698-1097 or via the Internet at Delcpeace@house.virginia.gov. If you are planning to visit Richmond during Session, I encourage you to visit me in Room 527.

Thank you again for allowing me to serve as your Delegate.