Newsletter

January 25, 2004

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the 2004 Session of the Virginia General Assembly! As I have done in previous years, I'll send out a weekly e-mail newsletter through the end of the session on March 13. I look forward to sharing some thoughts and information with you, and I hope to get some feedback from you as well.

(A little housekeeping note to begin with: my e-mail address book isn't as tidy as it should be - so if you receive multiple copies of this message, let me know.)

Opening Day:

On Wednesday, January 14, the first day of the Session, the Chamber was packed with families and friends as one hundred members of the House of Delegates raised their right hands and swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of Virginia (in that order). This year 12 new Delegates joined our body, including Arlington's Al Eisenberg and Adam Ebbin. The business of the day was to elect a Speaker and adopt the rules by which we will operate. It was also a time to remember our history; we are privileged to be members of a nearly 400-year old institution that lists among our predecessors some of the most illustrious names of our democracy.

While we began the session in good spirits, several discordant partisan notes were heard. One was a resolution accusing the Governor of submitting a budget that relied on taxes that had not yet been passed, thus "creating unnecessary delays and conflicts." (No matter that for nearly three decades it has been standard practice for governors to include in their budgets revenues that were contingent on legislative approval.) An effort to consider this resolution immediately failed on a 63-36 vote (67 were required), but the resolution is likely to be back soon. Another partisan shot was fired at Delegate Frank Hall, the House Democratic Leader who was removed from the important budget-writing Appropriations Committee. As Delegate Eisenberg said, "They are opening up the wounds before the battle has even begun." Even though Frank was gracious as ever at the loss of his Appropriations seat, because of his institutional knowledge and experience on that panel the real loser will be the General Assembly.

That evening Governor Warner addressed a joint session of the Legislature and framed the issue for this session exactly as he should. Holding up five tax studies that have been done in about as many years, he admonished the Assembly to refrain from giving him another study. He asked if this legislative body was going to continue muddling along with broken budgets and inadequately-funded public services, or if were we going to pass a budget and tax reform plan that will achieve fairness in the tax structure, ensure that we meet our core commitments in education, public safety, and vital human services, and safeguard the fiscal integrity of the Commonwealth. As the Governor said, "The people of Virginia did not elect us to take the easy way out." We'll soon see whether the Members agree.

The final order of business Wednesday was the announcement of committee assignments. In addition to retaining my seats on the Committees on Science and Technology, and Privileges and Elections, I was appointed to the Courts of Justice Committee where former Delegate Jim Almand served so long and so well.

Week Two:

The week began with the celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday and proceeded with House Committees churning through some of the thousands of bills that have been introduced so far.

To begin at the beginning...

Monday was the most active "drop-in" day this office has experienced in my memory. My staff and I talked with at least 23 groups that spent time in and about our offices. Groups for the Mentally Disabled, Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Virginia Bicycling Federation, Litter Control Council, Arlington Community Service Board, Virginia Dietetic Association, Virginia Prostate Cancer Coalition, Virginia Conservation Network, and dozens of Young Dems, to name but a few, dropped off their legislative wish lists and discussed their concerns with us.

Others just wanted to check out our new offices. After six years on the eighth floor of the General Assembly Building, I moved one floor down to an office with a view of the Library of Virginia and the John Marshall House, the 214 year old abode of the Chief Justice of the United States whose leadership shaped our national government. (Before making a name for himself on the Supreme Court, Marshall served as a Delegate from Richmond.)

Courts Committee - We Never Sleep

My new appointment to the Courts of Justice Committee has brought many changes to my daily schedule, as this committee meets frequently and long. Courts receives 20% of all the bills introduced in the House, dealing with all aspects of our civil and criminal justice systems, and each one of them has to be considered and disposed of in one way or another. So we meet three days a week, for hours at a stretch.

The Committee has a long and illustrious history. It was created on May 9, 1777, with the charge to "take into consideration all matters relating to courts of justice, and such other matters as shall, from time to time, be referred to them, and report their proceedings, with their opinions thereupon to the House." Over the years, its activities have ranged across the judicial system. In 1882, it considered the question of devising more effective legislation for the suppression of dueling. In that same year it "reported adversely" on a proposal for the abolition of chain gangs and the whipping post for the punishment for crime. In 1924 the committee removed a clerk of court who was serving time for murder. Their task was complicated by the fact that the clerk was controlling all of the records needed to remove him from office. In 1945 the committee removed a judge who was sending monthly payments to his predecessor, in gratitude for his vacating the position.

The committee's work also reflected many of the less proud moments in Virginia's history. In 1948 it voted to kill five bills to wipe out racial segregation on public carriers, even though the proposals were supported by a coalition of white and black leaders. In 1950 the committee voted in secret to kill all of Northern Virginia Delegate Armistead Boothe's legislation to abolish segregation and establish a race relations board.

Triple-A - What's the Fuss?

One of the main goals of the Governor's proposed budget and tax reform plan is to protect the fiscal integrity of the state, which is reflected in the AAA rating from the three major Wall Street rating agencies. Virginia has held its Triple-A for 65 years, longer than any other state. We are among only seven states that have a AAA rating from all three rating agencies.

Because of the fiscal management practices of the previous administration (at one point a staff member for the former Governor praised his "creative accounting methods") and a cloudy fiscal future without major reform such as the governor is proposing, one of those agencies is re-examining our stellar rating. It may be only a matter of time before others follow suit.

Why is this important? The AAA bond rating is a lot more than a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval from the green-eyeshade types. It is achieved only after the most rigorous examination of a state's fiscal management over a significant period of time. The ratings determine the value of state and local bonds to investors. To put it very simply, a lower bond rating means a higher cost to the state of borrowing money. A lower rating can mean millions of dollars of extra cost to states. Millions of extra dollars that will be taken out of programs already starved for cash.

This filters down to the local level, too, since a high state rating also enhances local ratings and thus lowers their cost of borrowing money.

This is just one of the reasons I support the governor's budget and tax reform program.

That's it for the opening days. As always, we hope you'll be able to make it down to Richmond between now and March 13. If you do, be sure to drop by our office at a new location, Room 712.

Sincerely,

Bob Brink

HOW TO REACH ME:

VOICE: 804-698-1048

FAX: 804-643-0976

E-mail: rbrink@erols.com

A toll-free PUBLIC OPINION HOTLINE if you wish to send a message to any legislator or the governor: 1-800-889-0229.

HOUSE FAX: 804-786-6310

SENATE FAX: 804-698-7651

The Virginia Online Legislature (http//:legis.state.va.us) provides information on legislators.

The Legislative Information System (http//leg1.state.va.us) provides status information on bills and resolutions

TO WRITE A LETTER:

House of Delegates, P.O. Box 406, Richmond, VA 23218

Senate of Virginia, P.O. Box 396, Richmond, VA 23218