Delegate Bob Brink - Arlington, Virginia

February 19, 2006

Dear Friends:

Valentine's and Crossover --

While we joined the rest of the world (or at least the part of the world where Hallmark has market penetration) in celebrating Valentine's Day Tuesday, the General Assembly performed its own special ritual: Crossover, when the House completed its transmittal of 933 bills and resolutions to the Senate and the Senate returned the favor to the tune of 603 pieces of legislation. The Senate is fond of complaining about the House's profligacy in the volume of bills it passes. But since there are 100 Delegates and 40 Senators, the Crossover figures reveal that the Senate's per capita output is actually higher than ours.

With Crossover back of us, the main action for the remainder of the week was completion of the House and Senate budgets. The two Appropriations subcommittees I sit on - Capital Outlay and Health and Human Resources) met several times during the week to finalize their subcommittee reports, but the pace wasn't at all as strenuous as I heard it had been in previous years. The reason, I suspect, is this: the House leadership has given the command that the subcommittees should scrape together every available penny and direct it toward a one-time expenditure on transportation. That way, the House majority will be able to assemble a respectable-looking transportation package without having to confront the underlying issue of the need for sustainable long-term funding. That means there's less cash on the table for the subcommittees to consider for allocation to programs and functions within their jurisdiction, and thus a lighter workload for them. That's my guess - we'll know for sure when the budgets roll out next week.

Making the Trains Run on Time --

The Saturday before Crossover had always been a busy day for the House as we waded through a backlog of bills. That was not the case this Session. The Majority Leader, the chair of the majority caucus, and I (representing the Loyal Opposition) held a two-minute Saturday session to advance about 100 bills that had come out of committees on Friday. This action took those bills in a "first reading" block. The Majority Leader said that the House didn't need a full-day session because they "have made things more efficient." That efficiency came at a price, though: the new rules adopted this year give subcommittees the power to hear and kill bills, thus lightening the loads of full committees that had always heard all bills and voted them up or down, usually following the subcommittees' recommendations. It certainly saved time to turn the subcommittees into mini-killing fields, but many have complained that their bills were dispatched by as few as two members, without a full hearing and often at inconveniently scheduled meeting times. A quick tally of my hall mates listed but a few of the bills killed in sub-committees on unrecorded votes:

A proposal to raise the minimum wage in Virginia for the first time in eight years
An important environmental measure that would have allowed localities to exchange development rights between two areas
A bill to formulate a policy on high-speed pursuits by the police, which often end up in collisions involving innocent bystanders
Legislation allowing use of cameras to catch red-light runners

While efficiency in the legislative process is an admirable goal, it's not the be-all-and-end-all. The process should be structured to advance other values as well - including a full airing of the issues embodied in the legislation, a chance for all interested parties to have their views heard, and accountability for the votes of both supporters and opponents. I'm afraid that the new system sacrifices those values on the altar of efficiency.

There She Is --

In keeping with the surreal appearance of the halls of the General Assembly Building due to Valentine's Day decorations, last week we were visited by two beauty queens in full regalia. Ms. Chardonnay (a blond) and Ms. Merlot (a red head) lobbied for a bill authorizing zoning changes that would allow licensed farm wineries to host activities such as lunches, dinners, and musical productions on the grounds of the farm winery for the purpose of promoting the sale of Virginia wines and similar agritourism activities. The bill passed 75-25.

Down in the Old Belt --

On Wednesday evening the Library of Virginia, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, and the Virginia Tobacco Commission premiered a film made primarily in Southside documenting the growth and decline of the tobacco farmers and industry called "Down in the Old Belt: Voices from the Tobacco South." Beginning in Jamestown with the tobacco seeds brought by John Rolfe from Trinidad in 1612, through the accidentally fire that produced the famous Virginia "bright leaf" to the auction and processing buildings that put Danville on the map in 1730, the film traces the history of the cash crop that financed the American Revolution and brought prosperity to the Commonwealth. Senator Charles R. Hawkins, Chair of the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, introduced the film and was featured prominently in its production. The conclusion shows the dwindling importance of tobacco and the impact of that decline on the lives of people of the Old Belt.

Wedding Bells and Other Grace Notes --

The social highlight of this Session was last week's wedding of Delegate Vince Callahan to Ms. Yvonne Weight. Over 150 guests gathered in the main chamber of the Supreme Court of Virginia where Chief Justice Leroy R. Hassell officiated over the wedding ceremony. Governor Kaine and Ms. Holton, former Governor and Mrs. Holton led a bipartisan guest list; seating was quite ecumenical... no division by party or chamber.

The next day, the new groom received a standing ovation on the floor of the House, setting the tone for a convivial session.

One of the hoary traditions of the House involves animal noises. Every time a bill involving a certain animal comes to the floor, there is an undertone of barks, whinnies, quacking, etc. , from various members. Juvenile, yes, but harmless. Last week, during consideration of a series of tax exemption bills, one measure dealt with an exemption for medicines for farm animals, with predictable sound effects. The next bill exempted equipment used in the manufacture of computer chips. After it was approved in silence, the Speaker observed, "I guess nobody knows what a semiconductor sounds like."

Next week: The Budget. We're halfway home.

Bob Brink signature

Bob Brink