McEachin opposes bill allowing car dealers to conceal damage

Perhaps unfortunately and unfairly, car dealers have a rather poor reputation. This year, however, the General Assembly seems determined to assist in that sordid endeavor. Legislation is pending that would allow car dealers to not disclose up to $5000 worth of water or flood damage repair that a car has incurred. Presently, dealers are required to disclose any amounts above $1000, but this bill would raise that amount to $5000.

If this law passes, Virginia will be unique, and not in a good way, with the highest amount of damage that doesn’t have to be disclosed. Most states require that ANY previous water damage to the vehicle be revealed, with a few states allowing our present amount, $1000, to be shielded.

Ironically, in these perilous economic times, we propose to punish those who are willing and able to purchase a vehicle by creating a situation where they may not even know if their car has experienced significant flood damage. The average sales price of a used car (according to DMV) is about $6200, meaning that if a car has experienced $4999 worth of damage (just under the proposed $5000 disclosure), then that is over 80% of the car’s value that has been damaged, but not disclosed.

But, perhaps more important than the specific numbers, is the human cost of this legislation. Vehicles that have experienced substantial water damage have electrical components that may well corrode, impacting steering, engine, brakes and air bags, all very critical parts of cars and car safety. Moreover, they can have damage that appears cosmetic but actually leaves mold and mildew, dangerous for those with asthma and weak immune systems. How can we, as the Commonwealth of Virginia, ask our citizens to incur such risks?

Isn’t it our responsibility as legislators to ensure that Virginians have access to the most information so they can make informed decisions and be knowledgeable, cautious and wise consumers. We should be improving our consumer standards, providing more information in the name of transparency, education and safety, not, in the 21st century, moving backwards to putting consumers at greater risk. Buyers should be able to decide based on ALL available information and vehicle history.

Surely, the recent automobile recalls have taught us that we need to approach vehicles with caution and knowledge. I will continue to advocate for more consumer protections, more consumer information and greater transparency in all transactions.

Please feel free to contact me for more information on this or any other legislation. I can be reached at district09@senate.virginia.gov or 804.698.7509. Additional information about the legislative session can be found on my website at www.donaldmceachin.com. And, once again, let me thank you for the honor and privilege of serving you.

Senator McEachin on the importance of mental health legislation

As Americans, we have a basic responsibility to our children - to do everything we can to help them become productive, constructive citizens. This starts with a healthy family life, shelter, and adequate and nutritious food. Then we need to provide a strong solid education that gives them the skills to achieve in our complicated twenty-first century workplace. If we were succeeding at these imperatives, our prison population would be considerably less because our citizenry would be prepared to meet the opportunities in this nation. However, sometimes, unfortunately, even that is not sufficient. Mental illness and addiction rob even those with education and job skills of the possibility of being successful. Those individuals, one way or the other, frequently become society’s responsibility, both to provide their basic needs and to try to find ways to improve their health situation. When we fail, which all too often do, these people are not only unable to be productive, but fall on the wrong side of the law.

While close to one out of every five inmates in jails nationally suffers from some form of mental illness, unfortunately, in Richmond, that number is closer to one out of every four. Moreover, over two-thirds of prisoners have a history of alcohol and drug abuse. With these frightening statistics in mind, I introduced legislation for a pilot mental health court in Richmond. This kind of program assists in placing non-violent mentally ill offenders into monitored inpatient and outpatient treatment programs. The court provides supervision and review to ensure compliance with the prescribed treatment. The court also provides incentives for inmates to successfully complete treatment, including possible reduction in sentence or even dismissal of charges.

This type of program would be extremely useful in attempting to reduce our extremely high inmate population as well as providing treatment for the mentally ill. Individuals with these kinds of disorders have an incredibly high rate of recidivism, with over three quarters of mentally ill inmates having had a previous jail sentence. Without help, these prisoners, at best, will be in a revolving door, going in and out of the corrections system and, at worst, languishing in prisons for very lengthy or even for life.

Continually incarcerating individuals without providing any treatment or recourse also has a tremendous financial cost to society. At a rate of $41.86 per day or $405,623.00 per month, we pay a tremendous amount both financially and in human costs instead of finding recourse. Certainly, in these economic times, with no resources for basic services like education and health care, our money would be better spent helping these individuals get better rather than keeping them in jail.

My legislation, to provide a pilot mental health court system in Richmond, has been combined with a bill introduced by Senator Edwards (D-Roanoke) which sets up a pilot program in several areas of the state. Should this bill pass, we will have the opportunity to have this important program and to apply for resources and funding to help ensure its success.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank you again for the great privilege of serving you in the Virginia State Senate. I take my responsibility very seriously and I am here to make Virginia an even better place for our families. If you have any questions about this bill or any other legislation, please feel free to get contact me. I can be reached at district09@senate.virginia.gov or by telephone at (804) 698.7509.

Senator McEachin on job creation

If we are to improve the economic health of Virginia and Virginia families, we must create jobs and economic development, and decrease family utility bills. If we can do this and, in the process, reduce pollution and help improve the environment, we will have made an ever greater contribution for Virginia’s future. To accomplish all these critical goals, I have introduced Energy Efficiency legislation. This bill mandates that Virginia utilities reduce energy consumption by 12% by 2022, accomplishing this by investing in easily and readily available energy efficiency improvements. These investments would create businesses, and produce jobs, both extremely critical in these perilous economic times.

Increased demand for weatherization products and energy efficient construction and construction materials for homes, commercial buildings and schools would create jobs right here in the Commonwealth and allow green businesses to grow and prosper. The jobs created by these businesses would be well paying, skilled jobs that would engage our workforce and help many Virginians make a better living to support their families.

Nothing is more significant right now than job creation. As we all know, many traditional manufacturing jobs are gone and probably gone forever. We must be creating new jobs, in new industries and looking at job creation in new ways. This bill achieves those goals. As a matter of fact, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy estimates that this legislation, with its 12% mandate, will create almost 10,000 jobs right here in Virginia.

Moreover, the numerous jobs created and the industries that are founded will help improve the environment and reduce pollution, As we create these industries and increase our energy efficiency, we would no longer need new expensive power plants that contribute to pollution and global warming. The proposed Old Dominion Electrical Cooperative coal plant would potentially release almost 15 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, augmenting atmospheric warming. Our shorelines and population centers, right here in Virginia, are vulnerable to rising ocean levels, and more powerful storms, both of which result from global warming.

Unfortunately, this legislation failed in the State Senate. I am very disappointed because it would have created jobs, grown industries AND helped protect our environment. I will continue to work to accomplish these imperative goals for our future.

Please remember if you have any questions or suggestions, I can always be contacted at my General Assembly office at (804) 698.7509 or at district09@senate.virginia.gov. My website www.donaldmceachin.com offers more information about my legislative activities. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you.

McEachin comments on voter rights legislation

The right and privilege of voting is the core of our democracy. Certainly it is important to us, as Americans, to ensure that those persons who vote are “stakeholders” in our great nation; that is, they are not citizens of another country or visitors. This is why we have voter registration – to ensure that those who vote are citizens of the United States. However, and perhaps even more critical, for our democracy to remain strong, we need citizens to vote. Participation in elections has fallen drastically over the past years. Even in an historical election like 2008, only around half of all eligible registered voters participated. Historically, we have not seen rampant fraud or attempts by foreign nationals or visitors to vote in our elections. The more pressing problem clearly is getting our own citizens, our own properly registered voters, to participate.

Under these circumstances, I am particularly dismayed by proposed legislation introduced by Senator Martin and Delegate Lingamfelter. They have a cadre of bills that increase identification requirements to supposedly reduce “fraud.” No longer will the voter registration card, issued by the registrar, be sufficient proof of identity to vote. Moreover, a voter will no longer be allowed to sign an affidavit stating his identity, but rather will need to produce a picture ID at the registrar’s office. This will make it even more difficult for some legally qualified and eligible citizens to register to vote. Almost 50% of African-Americans over 65 do not have drivers’ licenses so they don’t have the most common form of picture ID. Many times those who are poor or disabled also do not have drivers’ license; they may not be able to drive or not have the resources to obtain a license. To produce a picture ID to vote, those without licenses will need to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and pay $10 for an identity card. But, this doesn’t just cost $10. They may need to take time off from work, or hire someone to watch their children, or take a taxi. And we all know DMV – this could be a long expedition, waiting in line, filling out papers, waiting in line again. It’s no exaggeration to say this could easily be a two hour activity, two hours of lost wages, two hours of paying a sitter and possibly paying for transportation to get there or taking someone else away from work to get a ride. The very individuals who can least afford to take the time or can least handle the physical stress will now have to put in the most effort, just to obtain a picture ID to be allowed to vote.

Some have called this a new version of a poll tax. While I hesitate to use such inflammatory language, I have serious concerns that these bills target those who are minorities and/or have fewest resources. I can’t help but wonder why these Republican legislators seem to want to discourage these people from voting, why they want to make it harder for these people to participate. They don’t seem to be introducing bills that would crack down on potential fraud in upper class communities or fraud perpetrated by CEO’s pressuring their employees to vote (or not vote) a certain way. Is there a reason these legislators are particularly concerned about the votes cast by minorities and the indigent? Could it be that these bills are really directed at reducing Democratic votes?

Instead of focusing on so-called fraud, I would ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join together to find ways to increase participation, to ensure that every American citizen has an easy and convenient way to exercise their right to participate in this democracy.

If you have questions about these or any other bills, please contact me at district09@senate.virginia.gov or at (804) 698.7509. Additional information can be found at www.donaldmceachin.com.

Virginia Senate passes McEachin-sponsored bill to end sexual orientation discrimination

The Virginia Senate has passed an important piece of legislation sponsored by State Senator Donald McEachin:

The Virginia state Senate passed a bill to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for state workers and in hiring for government jobs Monday. The bill passed on a 23 to 17 vote, but is expected to see opposition in the majority Republican state House. The proposed legislation defines sexual orientation as "a person's actual or perceived heterosexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality, or gender identity or expression."

State Senator Donald McEachin (D), the bill's sponsor, told the Washington Examiner "the time has come, it is the right thing to do, and this is the right time to do it." According to the The Washington Post reports that this provision already exists in 30 other states.

Read the entire article here.

Senator McEachin supports Health Care Reform

As you all are well aware, this year the United States Congress has spent considerable time debating health care. I would like to believe that, no matter what you think of the proposed health care solutions in Congress, we all agree that we have a crisis in this country providing affordable accessible health care to all Americans. However, Delegate Marshall has introduced a bill, House Bill 10, that basically allows any individual to opt out of any health care legislation passed by Congress. I could certainly elucidate the merits of the health care legislation both in the Congress and in the Senate. But, I believe, Delegate Marshall’s bill has an even more fundamental problem. His legislation implies that, when we don’t agree with or like federal law, we as a state can simply legislate to opt our citizens out.

This is not only illegal but goes to the very heart of the principles of our nation. The ability of a state to opt out – or declare federal law void – was initially addressed in the 1790’s with Nullification and Secession Acts and was thought to be finally determined by the Civil War in the 1860s. The Virginia General Assembly simply does not have the right to pass a law that supersedes a national law. This bill, if passed is illegal and/or meaningless.

If the Health Care legislation that is finally passed by the Congress is upheld by the Supreme Court then it is the law of the land and no state can unilaterally decide to ignore it. On the other hand, if the legislation is challenged in the Supreme Court and does not, according to the justices, pass constitutional muster, then it is illegal and will be unenforceable on any level. This determination is made, however, by the Supreme Court and is not within the power of our General Assembly.

Supporters of Delegate Marshall’s bill point to the Tenth Amendment which says that rights not given to the national government are reserved for the state government. This is why we have a patchwork of driving laws across this country, marriage rules, and even state taxes and revenue sources. These are rights held by the states and as citizens of different states we will be subjected to different rights, rules and responsibilities. The Tenth Amendment is why we are in Session each and every year, trying to make the best determinations for Virginians. I am a strong believer in the Tenth Amendment because states are different and the best regulations for one state may not be adequate for another. We, as Virginians, have many values and issues in common, and we legislate those, coming together, working through our differences in the General Assembly. But, when the federal government, performing the same exercise – arguing through wide-ranging opinions, finding the best compromises and trying to incorporate many viewpoints makes law and that law is upheld by the Supreme Court, that is the law of the land. Without this basic premise, we could not hold together as a nation nor would our democracy be as strong and vital.

More information about my legislation and this General Assembly Session can be found on my website at www.donaldmceachin.com, or I can be contacted at district09@senate.virginia.gov or at (804) 698.7509.

McEachin opposes predatory lending

State Senator Donald McEachin is fighting to clamp down on predatory lending.

Families are struggling more than ever to pay their bills during the current economic crisis. So payday lenders have sprouted up to serve people who want quick loans and checks cashed. But what do these lenders really cost people and society?

A lot, say legislators and advocates for lower-income Virginians.

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"The notion of predatory lending, the fact that we allow it to exist, speaks to our moral values. It speaks to who we are as Virginians," McEachin said. "This plague on our society, this plague on us as Virginians, needs to be eradicated."

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Critics call payday lenders modern-day loan sharks. They typically loan money until the customer's next paycheck - and used to charge almost 400 percent annual interest in Virginia. Two years ago, the General Assembly capped the interest rate at 36 percent. But some lawmakers say the lenders are evading the limit by offering different kinds of loans, such as car-title loans.

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After the press conference, Squires attended a discussion at the University of Richmond's downtown branch. It was sponsored by the Consumer Alliance of Virginia and the Virginia Partnership to Encourage Responsible Lending.

Dana Wiggins, the partnership's coordinator, said, "Communities do end up paying the cost for the predatory lenders that operate in their neighborhoods."

Wiggins said she hopes Oder's legislation and Squire's presentation "will educate people about the impact these types of establishments have on not only the people that take out these loans but also on those that live in the areas that surround these shops."

Read the entire article here.