The Giesen Perspective

                  

The Unusual Beginnings of the 2007 General Assembly

DATE:           Monday, January 15, 2007

 

THE FIRST DAY OF THE SESSION

 

Like the unusual January weather in Richmond, the opening salvos of the 2007 General Assembly have been unusually quiet.  The first day of the session, Wednesday the tenth, saw some new and unusual happenings. 

 

Normally during the second year of our biennial legislative format there is generally no swearing-in ceremonies.  Due to the death of Delegate Harry Parrish last year there was a special election in November, held in the 50^th Legislative District (The Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park and part of the County of Prince William). The Republican Candidate, Jackson Miller won.  (To have the Republican candidate win a special election for a house seat was an unusual occurrence.  During the last two years the GOP hasn’t done too well in the category of winning special legislative elections.)  So Delegate-elect Jackson Miller became Delegate Miller when he took the oath of office at about 11 am.  

 

This was about an hour and a half earlier than normal.  The General Assembly convened at the unusual hour of 10:30 am instead of the usual time of high noon. You do understand, there was that unusual trip to Jamestown in honor of our celebration year for the 400^th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in America.  The background on this trip entails some backroom negotiations by Delegate Melanie Rapp (Republican Delegate from that area) and Senator Tommy Norment (the Republican Senator from Williamsburg, etc).  Rumor has it that some Republican Leaders in the Assembly did not readily embrace the idea of having part of the opening day ceremonies away from the Capital City.  After all, there was the logistics of arranging the trip and the extra cost, etc.  Nonetheless, the idea of making history and enhancing the publicity for our “400^th birthday celebration” prevailed and another unusual happening was added to the first day of the 2007 General Assembly.

 

Two caravans of chartered buses left the Capitol Area at different times.  The Legislative Caravan left at 12:30 and the Executive Caravan left later in the afternoon.  There just wasn’t enough room in the recreated Jamestown Church for all the members of both branches of Government to attend the unusual presentation by the Vice President of the United States.  (From all reports the Vice President kept his comments strictly on the subject of the occasion, that is, the founding of the first English settlement.  He even chided Massachusetts for trying to claim some distinction in this area!  Oh yes, it was reliably reported by several of the Delegates, who shall remain nameless, that they didn’t even have to duck when the V.P. entered the Church.  You see, he didn’t bring his shotgun!)

 

The final unusual occurrence of the day was the Governor delivering his State of the Commonwealth Address to the Joint Assembly in the newly constructed theater at Jamestown.  As most know, the Governor normally does this in the Chambers of the House of Delegates in the State Capitol, but not always.  In 1996 the House of Delegates had a heated dispute over its organization when the Republicans were about to gain an even split in the membership and couldn’t invite the Governor to address them without a formal organization, so Allen delivered his Commonwealth Address from his Conference Room before the TV Camera and other media.  Then, of course, Mark Warner gave his 2005 Address in the Temporary House Chambers in the Patrick Henry Building.  Oh well, so much for history and tradition.

 

THE GOVERNOR “KEEPS THE PRESSURE ON” FOR TRANSPORTATION REFORM

 

Governor Kaine, in his talks around the state in recent weeks, has continued to stress the need for a solution to the state’s transportation crisis.  He didn’t shy away from this theme in his State of the Commonwealth Address.  In fact, if it was possible, he pushed the issue even further to the front and center.  He devoted over a third of his speech to the transportation.

 

Following the usual greetings and his comments on meeting on Jamestown Island, he stressed, “When we work together, we produce results for all Virginians.”    He then listed a number of accomplishments achieved in the last year introducing each paragraph with “...working together...” or “Together we...” did so and so. He said such things as “together we’ve” reduced taxes, raised teachers pay, made health insurance more available to small businesses, improved the investment in water quality, embraced innovative business practices, changed the way we think about transportation and land use, and “... when we work together, the state of the Commonwealth is strong.”

 

Then he challenged the legislators, stressing, “...we can all agree that our work together isn’t finished.  Let this session be characterized as one in which we work together to put the needs of Virginians first.”  (Shades of the Governor’s father-in-law, Linwood Holton, whose slogan when he ran for Governor in 1969 was, “Let’s Make Virginia First, Again”) Governor Kaine then emphasized his point by introducing the section of his address on transportation with, “We can start by working together to finish the job in transportation.”

 

He later gave some credence to the House of Delegates Republican Leadership’s position by endorsing the linking of transportation and land use planning, and the need to make additional steps toward “smart growth management.”  He noted, “The state should not automatically pick up the maintenance costs for new roads unless roads are designed to move traffic efficiently.” 

 

His Excellency did weave into these comments his belief about needing new funding for transportation.  His statement, “A funding system designed 21 years ago is no longer suitable for our 21^st century needs.  We must find a new source of long-term, sustainable revenue if we are to solve our problems...” must have given some heart to the Senate Republican Leadership which has been promoting the need for new funds to solve the transportation issue.

 

So, the transportation issue is again “front and center.”  Remember this topic was not on the agenda at either the House Appropriation Committee or the Senate Finance Committee agendas at their fall retreats.  Many of the political pundits have said nothing is going to happen in 2007 on the transportation issue.  It may not, but the Governor is certainly trying to force the legislature into taking some action THIS SESSION.   You might have noticed the media is helping him.  All of the various media seem to be keeping the issue in the headlines and in the lead stories.  In fact, one radio commentator claimed, “Transportation is the only major issue at this session of the General Assembly!” 

 

Whether it’s the Governor’s actions, the media’s attention, or what the legislators heard from the voters back home, there are indications some progress is being made on “an acceptable solution” in behind the scenes discussions.  The concerns about these negotiations by a few were aptly stated by a state senator, who is a major figure in the transportation deliberations in the Senate but is not in the group now having the backdoor discussions, “We’ve heard before that an agreement was close, but for the last year the dominoes have always come tumbling down.”  He may be right, but at least some talks are happening.

 

TRANSPORTATION THE ONLY ISSUE?  LOOK AGAIN …

 

You will recall some people in the late fall were suggesting that this could really be a “short session” for the General Assembly.  Most of us who have observed the legislature for a few years (how about 48 plus for yours truly!) dismissed this as a pipe dream. A check of the bills that have been requested for drafting by this conservative legislature on Friday afternoon (the deadline for requests was still two hours away) had topped 4300! 

 

Legislative Services indicated there were 3173 requests for legislation for the legislators to “prefile.”  I wasn’t able to determine the exact number of these requests that were actually introduced by the 10am Wednesday deadline since the clerks offices haven’t finished processing all of them.

 

The second wave of bills are those that legislators have requested for regular introduction.  The request deadline for those, as noted, was 5 pm Friday. So there are probably 1200 to 1500 additional “requests” which might become actual bills or resolutions for the lawmakers to consider.  One notable statement from a Legislative Services’ professional, “The greatest service we’ve done this year for the citizens of the Commonwealth is that with various arguments we have achieved 398 cancellations of requests!”

 

There are a lot of very important issues being considered by this Session of Your General Assembly.  The budget amendments are of course paramount for many people in the Commonwealth.  The base adequacy funding for higher education as well as the restructuring efforts for all of the universities, come to mind immediately.  The Governor’s initiative for more funding for pre-school reading efforts in the Commonwealth, “we must also make smart educational investments in tested strategies to help our youngest learners succeed throughout life...” is how he put it in his address to the legislators.

 

The list goes on and on.  In fact, a number of bills sound very familiar, although they are now being pushed by the opposite party than when I was in the legislature.

 

HOW TIME CHANGES WHOSE OX IS BEING GORED

 

 

 

Links to Previous Giesen Perspectives:

Dec. 18, 2006 Nov. 22, 2006 Nov. 10, 2006 Sept. 7, 2006 August 23, 2006 June 30, 2006 June 1, 2006 May 24, 2006 April 10, 2006 March 30, 2006 March 20, 2006 March 6, 2006 Feb. 27, 2006 Feb. 17 and 19 2006 Feb. 10, 2006 Feb. 3, 2006 Jan. 27, 2006 Jan. 23, 2006 Jan. 16, 2006 Dec. 21, 2005 Nov. 9, 2005 Oct. 21, 2005 Sept. 16, 2005 Aug. 26, 2005 Aug. 19, 2005 July 7, 2005 June 8, 2005 May 27, 2005 April 7, 2005 March 10, 2005 February 21, 2005 February 14, 2005 February 8, 2005 January 31, 2005 January 15, 2005 December 23, 2004 November 19, 2004