Va Free Questionnaire

2009 Virginia Free Candidate Questionnaire Virginia Free, P.O. Box 8650, Richmond, VA 23226 (804) 285-6555 FAX (804) 285-7212 E-Mail: [email protected] I.

CANDIDATE INFORMATION

Name: Shannon Valentine Political Party:

Democrat

Legislative District: Twenty-Third

Campaign Name:

Friends of Shannon Valentine

Address:

1125 Main Street, Lynchburg, VA 24504

Phone:

(434) 528-6090

Web Address:

FAX: (434) 528-6093 Email: [email protected]

www.shannonvalentine.net

Date and Place of Birth: January 31, 1959, Delaware Occupation: Delegate Employed By: Commonwealth of Virginia Education:

See Biography attached hereto

Professional and Civic Affiliations, Military Service, Honors and Activities: See Biography attached hereto II.

VIRGINIA’S PRIORITIES

1)

Why are you running for public office? We are living in very serious times. Our Commonwealth is facing significant challenges that

I believe will be addressed most effectively if all of us are willing to work together – Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and Independents – for the purpose of serving our citizens and our communities. Since being elected in 2006, I have been committed to being the kind of leader who puts people first. At this particular time in our history, I believe it vital we continue on this path. 1

2)

What do you believe are the three most important issues facing the Commonwealth? According to a survey I sent to my constituents a few months ago, the economy, our energy

crisis, and health care were the three most important issues. We are unarguably facing an economic crisis in our country that is going to take smart, decisive measures to resolve. In everything I have done, whether through legislation or initiatives, I have focused on economic opportunity, job creation, and long-term economic growth. As a member of Governor Kaine’s legislative team for Renew Virginia, one of my priorities has been the increased production of clean energy in Virginia, including solar, wind, water, biomass and nuclear energy. Through education, research, and recruitment and expansion of energy companies and we are creating economic opportunities, as we develop strategies for greater efficiency in the use of oil and natural gas. Health care is a major concern for our nation. I support reducing costs and improving the quality of care, and have demonstrated this commitment through efforts that include: protecting the medical malpractice cap; physician immunity legislation; and preventative measures – such as the Clean Air Act. I testified before the SCC on behalf of the MSV regarding Wellpoint, and have worked with the Governor’s office on key issues within the Health Care Reform Commission – Workforce, Long Term Car, Quality and Access. In addition, I worked with leaders in Lynchburg and the Governor’s Office to secure seed funding for PACE. I also introduced nursing workforce legislation and an autism study that is predicted to change children’s lives while providing greater efficiency and saving millions of dollars.

2

3) From your perspective, what is the number one unmet budget need for the Commonwealth and how would you propose to meet this need? I believe Transportation is our number one unmet budget need. The Commonwealth has no increased funding to the Transportation Trust Fund since 1986. It is imperative for leaders to have an honest and frank debate on developing long-term sustainable funds for Transportation.

3

III.

EDUCATION

4) A high quality educational system is essential to Virginia’s business community and skilled workforce. This includes having excellent facilities as well as the best possible professional staff in K-12 and higher education, including community colleges and four-year institutions. Do you support efforts to adequately fund this priority even if that means increasing general fund appropriations and issuing education bonds? Strongly Support 5) Virginia’s educational system is intrinsically linked to workforce development. Realizing that not all youth will seek a college degree, do you agree that general fund revenues should be used for programs that provide career, technical, vocational and certified skills training? Strongly Agree

IV.

TRANSPORTATION

6) Given the magnitude and regional diversity of the Commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure requirements, do you agree that Virginia needs additional long term sustainable transportation financing of at least $1 billion per year for the next two decades?” Strongly Agree

7) What revenue sources do you think are most appropriate to dedicate to transportation funding and to service transportation bonds?            

Per gallon fuel taxes General sales taxes food tax) Sales tax on auto repair services Sales tax on gasoline Sales tax on vehicle sales Drivers license fee and motor vehicle license fees Local tolls Auto insurance premium taxes Local commercial real estate tax Grantor’s tax Recordation tax Local transient occupancy tax 4

Yes Yes: (if less that 1% and eliminate Yes Yes No Yes Yes (See Addendum) No No No No No

 

Local tax on sale of residential properties Local tax on rental cars

No No

8) Transportation policy gives direction to the transportation investments the Commonwealth makes and helps make the transportation system function in a coordinated manner. What changes in transportation policy do you see as priorities for the General Assembly?           

9)

Establish tolls on existing interstate and primary highways Establish and fund a separate maintenance fund for roads Increase multi-modal connections (VA ports, airports, roads, transit, rail) Expand local government responsibilities for secondary and urban roads Increase percentage of state transportation funds dedicated to rail Increase percentage of state transportation funds dedicated to transit Require regional transportation impact studies for major developments Restrict development where transportations impact cannot be met Continue to reform the Virginia Department of Transportation Addedum) Increase reliance on General Funds for transportation Attract more private funds to transportation through the Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA)

Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No (See No Yes

Should the Commonwealth Transportation Board be reformed? Please explain.

I believe it is vitally important for the CTV to serve the interests of our entire Commonwealth. While it seems to me the current structure of the Board reflect this intention, I am open to learning whether there are better ways achieve this goal. 10)

Should the transportation funding formula be changed? Please explain.

If the formula is ever changed, it must be done in an open, transparent manner, so that all jurisdictions have a voice and understand the impact of the changes. 11) Would you support legislative action to protect Transportation Trust Fund monies from being diverted to nontransportation purposes? Strongly Support See Addendum

5

V.

GOVERNMENT

12) The Dillon Rule is a legislative concept that allows localities only those powers expressly granted to them by the Virginia Constitution or state legislature. Some advocate its abolition in favor of “home rule,” which would permit local government to enact whatever local ordinances they wish. Do you support retention of the Dillon Rule in order to maintain a degree of uniformity in matters of taxation, business and environmental regulation, public sector labor policy, and broad land-use policy? Support 13) Do you support legislation that would amend Virginia's Constitution to establish a procedure for initiative and referendum? Strongly Oppose 14) Historically, the Virginia General Assembly has been comprised of part-time citizen legislators who earn their primary living from an occupation other than full-time government service; however, the demands and constituent expectations of a part-time citizen legislature have increased over time. Would you support legislation to provide for either longer annual sessions or a transition to a full-time legislature similar to those in some other states? Oppose 15)

Would you support a policy to require that all contested legislative votes be recorded?

Strongly Support (I co-patroned rule change in 2007 and 2008 on this issue) 16)

Would you support allowing Virginia governors to serve two consecutive four-year terms?

Strongly Support 17) Would you support efforts to allow an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission to propose new legislative and congressional district boundaries following the census in 2010? Strongly Support See Addendum 6

VI.

WORKPLACE ISSUES

18) Would you support legislation to grant public employee associations the right to binding arbitration, “meet and confer,” and collective bargaining? Oppose 19)

Do you agree that legislation should be adopted to grant public employees the right to strike?

Strongly Disagree 20) Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statement: “I support Virginia's Right to Work law that ensures that no Virginian must join or pay dues to a union to get or keep a job, and I will oppose legislation to weaken or modify that law.” Strongly Agree 21) The principle of "employment at will" allows an employer to terminate a non-contracted or public-sector employee for any reason not specifically prohibited by law, and allows non-contracted or public employees to terminate their own employment at any time. Do you support retention of the principle of "employment at will"? Strongly Support 22) Virginia Law requires all employers with three or more employees to carry workers' compensation insurance to cover workplace injuries. To help control medical costs associated with these claims and to ensure that injured employees are returned to work as soon as medically possible, Virginia law allows an employer to establish a panel of at least three physicians from which the injured employee chooses a treating physician. The physicians are often trained in the specific work conditions of the employer and are required to render timely medical care to an injured worker. A panel of three physicians provides a meaningful choice for the injured worker. A panel of three physicians is also important because it would be difficult to formulate a more expansive panel in many areas of the Commonwealth due to the fact that each physician must come from a different practice group. Would you support legislation to expand the panel to five or more physicians? Strongly Oppose

7

23) Workers' compensation coverage has never been intended to supplant general health insurance, and thus physical maladies which have been "gradually incurred" over a prolonged period of time are generally considered part of the aging process, and are not compensable as an injury by accident under Virginia law. Only injuries that are caused by work and that can be traced to a specific incident at work, with rare exceptions are currently compensable under workers’ compensation. Would you support legislation to make gradually incurred physical maladies compensable as an injury by accident under Virginia law? Strongly Oppose 24) Unemployment compensation is paid out of a state trust fund that gets 100 percent of its money from payroll taxes on employers. Do you agree that the state's maximum weekly unemployment benefit should be indexed to inflation or some other benchmark so that it increases automatically without legislative approval? Strongly Disagree 25) The federal “American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009” (the stimulus bill) contains unemployment insurance “incentive payments” for states that relax their work search requirements and/or extend unemployment benefits to workers who seek part time work, quit their job for a “compelling family reason”, enroll in an approved job training program, or pay higher benefits to workers who have dependents. Virginia law currently provides none of these expanded offerings. Would you oppose expanding Virginia law in order to receive these temporary “federal” benefits, knowing that when the federal money is depleted, Virginia employers will be asked to foot the continuing bill? Support 26) Virginia law currently disallows unemployment insurance benefits to employees who voluntarily quit their job to follow a spouse to his/her new job in a different locality. Would you support efforts to change this law to permit benefits in these cases? Strongly Oppose (except for Military Families) 27) Would you oppose state efforts to further regulate immigration in the workplace, favoring instead a workable federal approach? Oppose

8

VII.

Health Care

28) Health care spending in Virginia has increased in recent years for many businesses, and often at rates higher than the rate of inflation. What do you believe are the major drivers of these increases and what would you propose to better control health care costs for businesses? There are many drivers including: a system that is based on volume of services and not quality of care; defensive medicine; lack of personal responsibility; lack of tort reform; and lack of insurance competition. In addition, tax payers are left with the costs of covering too many uninsured patients who are treated in hospitals because doctors are required to deliver care. 29) Do you agree that government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which provide health care for a significant number of Virginians, are funded adequately? Strongly Disagree 30) Do you agree that the combination of inadequate Medicaid reimbursements and the costs of treating the uninsured are significant factors contributing to the rising health insurance costs borne by businesses and individuals? Strongly Agree 31) Would you support legislation to mandate that insurance products include particular benefits and dictate what options are available for those who purchase health insurance?

Oppose

VIII. ENVIRONMENT 32) Do you agree that environmental permit fees should supplement general funding of state environmental programs and services, rather than provide the sole source of funds for such environmental programs and agencies? Strongly Agree 9

33) Do you agree that Virginia's environmental requirements should not be stricter than applicable federal requirements? Agree 34) Do you support environmental policies that streamline regulatory and permitting processes to allow greater operating flexibility and timely construction of environmentally sensitive facilities, such as manufacturing operations and utility and transportation infrastructure? Strongly Support IX.

TAXES

35.

Do you agree that major structural changes need to be made to Virginia’s current tax system?

Yes. The need for transportation funding is a major need for our Commonwealth. Therefore a major structural change is needed to provide more money for transportation needs across Virginia. Transportation is a core government need, and the problem is only going to worsen without comprehensive changes. 36) Do you agree that, as a matter of policy, user fees, permit fees and other dedicated sources of revenue and accumulated balances from those sources, should not be diverted to the general fund? Strongly Agree 37) Would you support legislation allowing localities to establish different tax rates for residential and commercial/industrial real estate? Strongly Oppose 38) Would you support legislation allowing localities to enact a “homestead” provision (i.e., exempt or defer taxes on residential real property) if it resulted in higher taxes on businesses? Oppose 39) BPOL, Machinery & Tools, and Merchants Capital taxes are levied on many businesses whether they make money or not. Do you support offsetting gross receipts and asset-based taxes for businesses with no net income Strongly Support

10

40) The Commonwealth does not generally levy a sales tax on services. Examples include fees or commissions charged by doctors, lawyers, architects, realtors, hairdressers, dry cleaners and repair services, although the recipients of these fees and commissions pay income taxes on their profits. Would you support extending the existing Virginia sales and use tax to currently exempt services? No X.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

41) Do you support increased funding for the Governor's Opportunity Fund to attract prospective companies to the Commonwealth? Strongly Support 42) Do you support the use of performance-based fiscal incentives, such as performance grants, that increase Virginia’s ability to compete for new business opportunities from both existing and prospective companies? Strongly Support XI.

GROWTH

43) Do you support giving local governments authority to impose, in addition to all other proffers, local taxes and fees, an impact fee on the sale of only new homes to defray the cost of local infrastructure? Oppose 44) Local governments currently can control the density of residential and commercial development through comprehensive planning and zoning ordinances. Some have proposed expanding local authority to contravene development decisions made by owners of zoned property by allowing local governments to control the pace of development by selectively limiting the number of new home building permits issued annually. Do you support such an expansion of local government authority? Support

45) Some have called for the reform of the cash proffer system in Virginia, suggesting the system is now affecting the ability of the housing industry to provide affordable new homes in Virginia. Do you support reform of the cash proffer system? Strongly Support 11

46) Would you support giving local governments the ability to arbitrarily deny zoning cases for no other reason than that in their sole view there is not adequate infrastructure to support the proposed use (i.e., adequate public facilities or APF legislation)? Oppose XII.

CIVIL JUSTICE

47) Virginia follows the doctrine of "contributory negligence." Under this doctrine, if an injured person contributes to his own injury, he cannot collect any damages from the other party. Would you support legislation to change Virginia law to allow "comparative fault," under which an injured party could recover damages, even if he contributes to his own injury? Strongly Oppose 48) Under Virginia law, there is a total limit on damages that can be awarded against health care providers in medical malpractice cases. Legislation passed in 1999 provided for ten years of annual increases and the last increase brought the cap up to $2.0 million in July 2008. Do you favor preserving the limit at $2.0 million without further annual increases? Strongly Support 49) Punitive damages are awarded for the purpose of punishing, deterring and making an example for others of the consequences of intentional misconduct, or when there is wanton or reckless disregard for the consequences of a person’s conduct, or conscious indifference to the consequences. Virginia is in a small minority of states that require an automobile insurer to provide coverage for punitive damages. Most states do not prohibit auto insurers from excluding coverage for punitive damages. Would you support legislation to amend current Virginia law to allow auto insurers to exclude coverage for punitive damages? Support 50) Do you support the current "joint and several liability" law that forces a responsible party who is only marginally at fault for an injury to pay 100% of the damages awarded by a court, just because those substantially at fault are unable to pay? Strongly Oppose

12

51) Virginia is the only state in the country that does not allow the use of deposition testimony in motions for summary judgment. This causes lawsuits to be tried before juries even where plaintiffs make sworn statements proving that the defendant is not responsible for the alleged injury to the plaintiff. Would you support legislation to allow the use of depositions in motions for summary judgment? Strongly Support

XIII. ENERGY 52) The Minerals Management Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior has included Virginia in its 5-year offshore leasing plan for 2007-2012. Leases for offshore exploration and recovery are scheduled to be sold in 2011. Do you agree with maintaining the current schedule of awarding leases in 2011? I support exploration, but would need more information to support recovery. 53) Do you agree that the Commonwealth of Virginia should retain its commitment to setting energy conservation goals through a voluntary Renewable Portfolio Standard rather than legislating a mandatory standard? Agree 54) Do you agree that the Commonwealth of Virginia should provide tax incentives for the development of renewable energy technologies? Strongly Agree 55) Do you agree that the Commonwealth of Virginia should adopt and implement a comprehensive energy policy that provides for the continued affordability of energy through a balanced strategy that includes coal and nuclear energy? Strongly Agree 56) Do you agree that the Commonwealth should pursue a climate change strategy rather than having climate policy set at the federal level? This is an example of an issue that requires coordination between the state and federal government.

13

Addendum to the Questionnaire During the course of my interview with business leaders who are member of Virginia FREE I was able to correct some of the responses to this Questionnaire. They are reflected below.

Question 7: All toll should adhere to federal guidelines which include new capacity, renovation of bridged greater than 50%, and a free alternative

Question 8: I would continue to reform VDOT

Question 11: I co-patroned the Constitutional Amendment to protect the Transportation Trust Fund

Question 17: I patroned the creation of a Bipartisan Redistricting Commission in the House of Delegates

14