The Connection

This General Assembly session will be a tough year to budget, according to two local legislators.

State Senator Janet Howell (D-32) and Del. Ken Plum (D-36) met with local residents Jan. 8 at Reston Community Center - Hunter Mill to talk about the upcoming session and hear what their constituents thought are the issues to focus on.

“We’re going to work on reconciling the budget, which has some work there,” said Howell.

Plum said he and Howell will introduce bills to close loopholes in background checks and gun safety, a measure he hopes will keep guns out of the hands of the unstable.

“I have been very concerned about gun violence in our society,” he said.

He said he supported reinstating a law that only allowed the purchase of one hand gun per month, noting that the state had a reputation in the 1980s as a gun-running state. He hoped that the state would never again have a reputation like that.

He also wanted to expand infant screenings to find out early whether a child had a biotin deficiency, which he said could lead to developmental disabilities.

Stemming from the health aspect, he noted he supports expanding the Affordable Care Act under Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s vision.

Howell said she did not know how the session would play out, but knew that the topic of redistricting may cause issues. Additionally, budget cuts are leading to a “gloomy” outlook, she said.

“In public education, we’re now putting in, on a per-pupil basis, what we did in 2008,” she said. “But we’re still having to make cuts.”

Jane and Bob Anthony focused on issues those with developmental disabilities are facing as they grow older. Jane said because Northern Virginia Training Center is feared to close, the closest training center would be hours away in Lynchburg.

During the McDonnell Administration, she said, training centers across Virginia were slashed out of budgets in order to help integrate the disabled into society, she said.

“I speak for most residents of (Northern Virginia Training center), typically those with profound and severe medical and behavioral problems for whom safety and health are primary considerations,” she said. “People who, for example, function at an intellectual level of a 6-month-old cannot decide where they want to live, how to run a business or even choose a healthy diet.”

She urged the two legislators to work with the current governor to reverse the decision to cut these training centers before they shutter for good.

Howell said all legislators, no matter the area in the state they represent, represent people with disabilities and are feeling the pains from the decision to cut the centers.

“This is not partisan,” she said. “We’re all very touched by the situation. It’s something we all have constituents involved in.”

Reston homeowner Jonathan Damm said his issue involves children - especially those who play sports. The turf fields that use “crumb rubber” he said, that are made from tires are leading to blood poisoning and cancer. He recalled watching an NBC report on the issue and became concerned about his past as a lacrosse player and coach.

“This is potentially a cancer cluster,” he said.

He researched the topic using his background in environmental law, he said, and became very disturbed by his own findings.

“What I have learned since October has convinced my wife and me that we should never let our children play in these types of fields or tire mulch playgrounds,” he said. “They are not safe and present a very real health threat. This is heartbreaking because of my love for lacrosse, which I may no longer be able to pass on.”

He said New York City, Norway, Sweden and Italy have already banned tire rubber on fields and urged the legislators to make sure state schools do the same.

Plum said he is passing Damm’s work and concern to the state Health Department.