SENATOR STUART’S REPORT FROM THE CAPITOL

The 2011 General Assembly session has entered the home stretch.  With just one full week remaining before the scheduled adjournment on February 26, legislative workdays are getting longer as lawmakers work to finish the process of hearing the hundreds of bills still under consideration this session.

This year, the final legislative week begins with a holiday.  As I have noted before however, holidays during a General Assembly session are marked by speeches and not days off.

February 21 is Washington’s Birthday.  While this federal holiday has been marketed by retailers as “President’s Day” for as long as anyone can remember, the official name for the day still honors only one of the 43 men who have served in that high office.

Even though our nation’s first President was born in Virginia, was a resident of Virginia throughout his entire life, served in the Virginia House of Burgesses (the predecessor of the House of Delegates), and represented Virginia in the First and Second Continental Congresses, the Virginia General Assembly will have a normal workday on the federal holiday honoring him.  Considering that the man known as the “Father of his Country” spent most of his adult life in public service, it may be entirely appropriate that we acknowledge his countless contributions and world-changing accomplishments by working on the holiday commemorating the 279th anniversary of his birth.

BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS

This week, the Senate and House began negotiations to reach agreement on their two different packages of amendments to Virginia’s 2010-2012 Budget.  Those negotiations are conducted by lawmakers who serve on the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees.

These lawmakers, commonly referred to “conferees”, are charged with the responsibility of meeting during the remaining days of the session and hammering out an agreement on changes to our two-year spending plan.  While this may sound simple, it is not.  The process can be grueling, as legislators have to spend long hours poring over spreadsheets detailing the differences between the two competing proposals.  Adding to that challenge, the tight schedule of the final days means most of those meetings will take place late in the evening.

While a lot of news is generated by the activities of the budget conferees, they are not the only legislators who have to hold negotiations to reach agreement on bills.  In the process of approving legislation, the Senate and House often produce different versions of the same bill.  When hearing a House bill, the Senate may want to make a change, and the House may make changes to a Senate bill.  But, only one version of the bill can be sent to the Governor.

Hammering out differences in legislation is the responsibility of conference committees.  These committees usually consist of six legislators, three senators and three delegates.  When the two houses pass different versions of the same bill, both bodies appoint three legislators to meet and resolve the differences.  When the conference committee reaches an agreement creating a single version of the legislation, the bill is returned to the Senate and the House for final approval.  Only after that approval is given can a bill be sent to Governor McDonnell for his consideration.

LEGISLATION

Quite a few of my bills are still in between committee and the floor and I am waiting for final passage this week.  As those bills make it through the House, I will update you in future weeks.

One of the most important bills that I have worked on this session, Senate Bill 1055, has passed the House.  This is the legislation which creates a restriction on phosphorous in lawn maintenance fertilizer and is probably the most significant bill for restoration of the Chesapeake Bay that we have seen in many years.  I will tell you that there were many of us who worked hard on this bill and it has taken an entire session to work it.  The bill restricts phosphorous inclusion in lawn maintenance fertilizer.  As many of you are aware, you simply don’t need it.  It gives reporting requirements for contractor applicators and others on how much they aggregately put down so that we can get credits towards meeting our TMDL’s.  The bill has many other positive attributes that will help the Chesapeake Bay.  The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, who is a staunch supporter of this bill, estimates that we will be able to reduce nearly 400,000 pounds of phosphorous in the Chesapeake Bay, which equates to around 36% of our goals under the TMDL’s.  Needless to say, I am very proud of this bill and I have worked very hard on it.  The bill means a great deal to our district which is so dependent upon the Bay and its tributaries.

CLOSING

The last week of session is always a hectic one, with long days and lots of final action on bills.  I’ll give you a full update on the progress of our closing days in this same column next week.  Until then, enjoy the warming weather outside.

As always, if you hear about an issue that you’d like to weigh in on with your opinion, please drop me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call me at 804-698-7528.

Thank you for allowing me to serve in the State Senate.