Done for now
Friday, Feb. 29 at 9:30 a.m.
There are few committee meetings scheduled today. Several have been canceled because many of the legislators go home Fridays and like to leave early. Even their daily floor sessions are scheduled to start an hour earlier than usual.
However, because this is the last weekend before the scheduled end of the session, there's a good chance several lawmakers will be here through the weekend working on the competing budgets and subsequent amendments that came from both chambers.
But for this Rblogger, her day at the General Assembly is done for now. On Monday, be sure to check out Richmond.com's 20 Questions as we give you 20 different answers on highlights from this year's session.
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Zooming through the day
Thursday, Feb. 28 at 3:40 p.m.
Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling sounds like an auctioneer as he leads the daily Senate floor session, asking members in rapid-fire succession whether the bill or amendments on hand should pass.
Senators stand and grab their microphones if they wish to stand and briefly explain how the bill has changed since most of the bills are returning after action from the House of Delegates. Some of the bills are also back from the governor with his amendments, and the senators vote whether to approve the amendments.
Though they sometimes vote simply by hollering "aye" or "no," today most of the votes are recorded via the electronic system where they push the red or green button. Their votes are then shown on a large board on the wall.
The pages slip through the aisles delivering paperwork and lunch while reporters are forced to walk the loop around the members to reach the media table located in front of the clerk's rounded desk.
After flying through several pages of bills, Bolling declares the Senate "at ease" as he concurs with some of the top Republican senators on a bill. Moments later, he calls them back to action with a booming voice. The senators vote on bills from further restricting sex offenders in the state to establishing a certification program for certain tax assessors.
A dozen of resolutions memorializing several Virginians who have died in the past year are called by the clerk for approval. To approve these different bills, the senators stand and bow their heads in a moment of silence. Bolling then thwacks his gavel on the table and the senators resume their work.
After nearly two hours, the Senate recesses for the day. Many quickly zoom out of the Capitol building toward the General Assembly building next door. About a half a dozen committees and subcommittees are meeting this afternoon. Though nearly 100 people gathered in a House subcommittee meeting to hear a proposal related to payday loans, they left unsatisfied after learning that the issue wouldn't be taken up until a Monday meeting.
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Something's fishy at the GA
Thursday, Feb. 28 at 1:20 p.m.
They're glanced at briefly as the fast-paced legislators dash by them, but they're also studied, somewhat quizzically and with a head cocked slightly to the right by those who aren't sure what to think.
The channel catfish and hybrid striped bass are quiet guests at the General Assembly building today, set up just outside several busy committee meeting rooms. Their rectangular tank, filled with nothing but water and tiny blue rocks, sits among a display from the Virginia State University Aquaculture Extension program. Behind their tank stands six-foot-tall displays of students learning more about the environment, animals and farming.
But the fish aren't alone. To their left in another, less well-lit tank crawl two, "super-sized" shrimp as a nearby security guard calls them. They're just as active as their scaley counterparts, waving their gray, pointy appendages in several directions at the same time.
On the opposite side of the fish tank, a vine of tomatoes, some a luscious ripe red and others still green, hangs from a pole. They're hydroponic vegetables, an example of food than can be made without dirt. Next to them sits a tank of plants with water rushing through them. They're an example of how people can use plants to clean fish waste water.
The House of Delegates and the Senate have started their daily floor session during which they'll debate several bills and decide whether to send them to the governor for final approval. But both sides also have an even busier afternoon full of committee meetings.
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Another day at the General Assembly
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008 at 10:55 a.m.
Today, RBlog takes you back to the General Assembly as the state's legislature nears the end of its official session.
For weeks legislators have worked hard to move some issues forward and keep others from crossing over into the other chamber, let alone ever seeing the governor’s desk. The daily floor sessions of both the House of Delegates and the Senate are lasting longer and longer as the session nears its end, and the competing budgets from both sides are set to take center stage.
Some of the committee meetings on tap for today include the House transportation committee and the Senate health and education committee, but who knows what else we might discover as we tell you some of what happens during a day at the Capitol.
The mood in two committee meetings this morning was as different as the clichéd night and day.
While the Senate health and education committee was standing-room only and generated some intense partisan debate, the mood in the House of Delegates' transportation committee was more light hearted.
After taking up and approved half a dozen bills that would create even more special license plates, the committee relaxed as first-time committee chairman Joe T. May, R-Leesburg, honored his subcommittee chairmen and thanked the committee for its work.
"I wanted to give out some awards to my valiant subcommittee chairs," May told the committee.
May's assistant then presented subcommittee chairman Delegate Ed Scott, R-Culpeper, with a special license plate certificate because of the large number of special license plate bills his subcommittee dealt with.
"Because he had the most casualties, he gets the Purple Heart," May's assistant announced.
Subcommittee chairman Delegate Charles Carrico, R- Independence, received a toy tow truck because of the number of truck bills his committee considered. Subcommittee chairman Thomas Rust, R-Herndon, was given a certificate of a dollar bill with his picture on it as well as coin images representing state and local revenue because of the amount of revenue-sharing bills his committee discussed.
Delegate Chris Saxman, R-Saxman, was given a flashlight with a flashing strobe light because of the number of bills his committee took up that dealt with lights on vehicles.
"I'd like to give awards to the staff as well, but we ran out of funds," May joked, resulting in laughs from the committee.
Thursday's meeting was the last for the House transportation committee.
More to come later today…
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Farewell for today
Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 4:30 p.m.
After an emotional vote in a tense and crowded Senate courts of justice committee meeting this afternoon, a lot of people spilled out of the General Assembly building.
A few committee members stepped outside to be interviewed by reporters while supporters and opponents of the gun show loophole bill also took their turn answering question.
On the General Assembly calendar for the rest of the day are nearly all subcommittee meetings, going all the way until 7 p.m., when a joint subcommittee of the Senate courts of justice and education and health committees will hold a public hearing on the proposed mental health legislation.
After that, legislators will resume their work again tomorrow in caucuses and subcommittees starting at 7 a.m.
I think I'll leave them to that while I sleep in until at least 8 a.m. …
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Gun bill draws another large crowd
Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 3:30 p.m.
Fifteen minutes before the Senate courts of justice committee is scheduled to meet, the small, first floor committee room fills up fast. There are more than half a dozen TV cameras and reporters lining the front of the room. Several photographers are also crouching on the floor in front of the committee. The 16 rows of seats are already full, forcing law enforcement officials and people for and against the gun bill to line the wall.
By 2 p.m., the crowds are flowing out into the hallway.
Senate bill 109 is the big one most people have come to hear. The bill, introduced by Sen. Henry Marsh, D-Richmond, would close a provision in state law that allows private sellers to sell guns at gun shows without running a background check on the buyer. A similar bill was defeated in a House of Delegates committee Friday.
Supporters, including police and Virginia Tech parents and students, want the law changed so that convicted felons and the mentally unstable would be unable to buy guns they normally would not be allowed to purchase anywhere else. Critics of the bill said it would do little to curb crime as there are few statistics showing that criminals bought their guns at gun shows. The only study mentioned showed that 0.7 percent of guns used in crimes could be traced back to gun show sales.
Opponents also want college faculty and students to be able to bring their legally owned firearms on campus for self protection.
The committee heard from dozens of supporters and opponents during another committee meeting Monday, but delayed voting until today to give the public more time to comment. Hundreds of people descended on the Capitol on Monday to make their voices heard and though there were fewer today, there numbers were obvious.
The committee members debated about how much time to give themselves and the public a chance to read and digest a substitute bill that Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, submitted based on comments he heard Monday.
The three basic changes in his bill, he said were to allow people who have a valid concealed permit to not subject to the background check at a gun show; ensure that antique firearms are not subject to a background check; and confine this bill's effect to the leased premises of a gun show.
"I've never voted for legislation like this," he said, "but think we need to respond to the tragedy at Virginia Tech in some fashion, even though everyone acknowledged that the guns used weren't purchased at a gun show."
After a brief recess to review the new bill, one speaker from each side of the issue was allowed to speak. Josh Horwitz with the Virginia Center for Public Safety spoke on behalf of his organization and the Virginia Tech victims.
"We believe that though it's not perfect ... I think this is a major step for public safety," he said.
Joel Partridge with the National Rifle Association said he appreciated Deeds trying to find a compromise on such a highly charged issue, but that he didn't think the changes moved toward a middle ground. Partridge said he was concerned about the liability on a private seller at a gun show trying to determine if such a permit was valid or with the rightful permit owner.
The bill was defeated 9-6. The senators then debated whether to refer the issue to the State Crime Commission to study the issue. Marsh opposed the move, saying he sees that as a "burial ground" for his bill, and adding that the commission usually takes years to make a recommendation based on his experience.
Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach and member of the commission, said the commission usually makes a recommendation by the next session of the General Assembly.
The committee then voted 14-1 to send the issue to the crime commission. Marsh was the only one to vote against it.
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Ballet dancers and stew
Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m.
At noon every day, both the House of Delegates and the Senate meet as a whole in the Capitol building. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling smacks the gavel on his raised wooden desk to bring the daily session to order.
Senators and delegates were also greeted today as they walked into their chambers by a pair of young ballet dancers dressed as actors who resemble fairies from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" who are here to promote the Richmond Ballet. They are here to support Arts Advocacy Day.
It's during this time, which can initially be as short as 25 minutes or as long as hours, that the bodies vote on bills that have made it through committee. After a prayer, the members have a "morning hour" during which they recognize people who are visiting for the day and are sitting either in the upstairs gallery or in adjacent rooms watching.
Also during this period, the senators enjoy a brief lunch, usually brought to them by the teenage pages who, dressed in navy blue jackets, ties for the boys and matching grey skirts or slacks for the girls, scurry around the outer perimeter of the half-moon shaped room.
Today is Brunswick Stew Day. That means free Styrofoam cups of warm, thick stew with a side of crackers for all who desire it. Many employees, legislators and their assistants are seen carrying bowls four and eight-high from the tent back into the General Assembly building.
On the Senate floor, the cups are almost every senator's desk and most are quickly scooping up the brownish-colored stew with vegetables.
"It's always one of our favorite days," Bolling said as he thanked the Brunswick Stew crew who appeared in the gallery.
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An attention grabber
Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 11:40 a.m.
The screech owl shakes its feathers and robotically cocks his head to the side as people walk by. His vision is limited by his one eye, but he still sits quietly on a handheld perch of Terry "Rock" Moeslein.
Moeslein, of the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, has set up a table for the museum just outside of Senate room C on the first floor of the General Assembly. He and his colleagues have created an informational table adorned with a bison skull, a black bear skull and gall bladder and a baby alligator that's been killed and made into a purse.
The exhibits are part of the museum's way of getting legislators' attention about how they educate the state's children and why it's important to protect the state's natural resources, including animals, plants and nature.
"Everything is interconnected," said Moeslein, the museum's assistant education director and interpretive naturalist.
"You've got to take care of the pieces because if something's missing, something else will suffer and eventually it will be people."
Because it's not a state agency, it doesn't continually receive state funds, Moeslein said, though they have received grants and other assistance throughout the years. They're hoping to raise attention for both their causes and the museum and receive financial support to continue their work. They have visited and taught more than 213,000 children and adults, he said.
The museum teaches children about nature and the environment by taking children on canoe and caving trips, Moeslein said. The museum also uses live animals for education purposes.
"Live animals are really exciting. They just attract people," Moeslein explains. As he speaks, a woman walks up and looks at the kitten-size screech owl seated on Moeslein's handheld perch.
"Oh, it's a baby," she said.
"No, he's full grown," Moeslein said. "You can touch him with the back of your finger."
Museum employees try to be ambassadors of the state's natural wildlife, Moeslein said.
He points out the various animals, both dead and alive, on his table, and explains how they have been or could be endangered because of pollution, poaching and the destruction of the animals' homes.
For more information on the museum, visit www.thevlm.org.
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Parking issues, a herd of cattle and reporters
Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 10:45 a.m.
Though representatives are given a plum parking space in a gravel lot at the corner of Ninth and West Broad streets, regular Joes who want to visit their state Capitol must take the downtown tour to try to find a place to park.
Given the state of construction, the number of one-way streets and the lack of parking spots, a person can literally drive in square circles for at least 10 minutes just trying to find a place to park. And when you finally find a spot, six miles from the Capitol, then you get to enjoy a brisk 10-minute hike back to the building you've just been driving around.
Inside the nine floors of the General Assembly building is where all the committee and subcommittee meetings take place. The two entrances are also separated by legislators and non-legislators. After making it through the metal detectors, many people wind their way around to the six elevators. There the scene is like a herd of cattle. Every time an elevator dings, signaling its arrival, the herd crushes toward the doors, barely allowing those inside to escape. Despite the number of elevators, each one is always packed, and stops on every floor.
Shortly after 9 a.m., senators gather in Senate room B on the first floor as the finance committee hears from people advocating for and against a homestead amendment that some say would tell localities what to do and would be similar to the widely unpopular abusive driver fees. The senators sit at a raised, curved table that spans the whole front part of the room, with their backs to the curtained-windows facing West Broad Street.
Many of the reporters from Roanoke, Fredericksburg and the Associated Press often sit together. This morning they're in a cluster of row seats on the right hand side of the room. They type and write quickly on legal pads and laptops.
People waiting to hear and speak about different proposed bills ring the room and alternate their time clicking on their Blackberry and glancing up at those speaking.
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General Assembly blogging
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008
Today I will spend the day at the Capitol and General Assembly building to update you with some of the things that go on there.
I've covered our legislators before, scrambling to find a place to park, running to multiple committee meetings and just trying to understand what the heck is going on.
Wednesday's meetings start at 7:30 a.m. and don't end until 7 p.m. The meetings are on issues as varied as proposed mental health laws to agriculture. There are committees, subcommittees and caucuses, oh my! I'm hoping to give you a glimpse of some of the things that go on that you might not read about anywhere else or in an average news story.
I hope you enjoy it. And if not, or there's something else you want to learn more about, drop me an email at dionne.waugh@corp.richmond.com.