Dear Friends:

Welcome to the first edition of my General Assembly Newsletter for the 2007 Session. Between now and our (scheduled) adjournment date of February 24, I’ll try to give you a weekly update on how the session is going and where it may be headed.

I’ve done this every year since 2003 (you can read previous sessions’ letters). This time, I’m posting them as entries on 7 West, so I can include pictures and occasional sound bites and – most important – so you can submit comments, tell me what you think, and we can talk about it. I want your feedback!

So let’s begin where it all began . . .

JOURNEY TO JAMESTOWN

On May 13, 1607, three small ships carrying 104 men and boys arrived at Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. Last Wednesday, five buses, ten police cars and eight motorcycle policemen transported nearly 140 members of the General Assembly and 40 or so guests from Richmond to this historic site to kick off the 2007 Session and launch the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown landing.

The Jamestown settlement’s first governing body was an exercise in privatization: established by the Virginia Company (a “venture capitalist” group selling shares of stock at 10 pounds 8 shillings a share to finance their hunt for gold, a route to the Orient, etc.), a Council headed by John Smith governed from 1607 to 1609. In 1619, the Virginia Company decided to try a new system with the creation of a legislative assembly consisting of “two Burgesses from each Plantation freely to be elected by the inhabitants thereof.” The Governor and the Governor’s council was still appointed by the Virginia Company, who also maintained veto rights… limited, but a first step towards democracy. The newly elected body, believed to be 23 men, met for the first time on July 30, 1619 in the Jamestown Church, as it was the only structure large enough to hold them. The foundations of the original Statehouse lie beneath Jamestown’s Archaearium, the site’s archeological museum.

Through four churches and five fires, today’s church tower is the only 17th century structure that has survived. The current church, now attached to that tower, was built in 1909 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Jamestown, using materials and the foundation of the church destroyed by fire in 1676 as part of Bacon’s Rebellion. It was here that we assembled to hear an address by Vice President Cheney.

The 140 members of our General Assembly did not fit as well as the original 23 council members; however, in the unheated sanctuary we appreciated being packed in tight. The Vice President’s remark that Virginia had an established government before anyone set foot on Plymouth Rock delighted his chauvinist audience.

Following the Vice President’s presentation, members were on their own to explore the archaeological digs, the Archaearium, and the statues of John Smith and Pocahontas. It was very much like a fifth grade field trip, but without the adult leadership.

STATE OF THE COMMONWEALTH

The day in Jamestown concluded with Governor Kaine’s State of the Commonwealth address. He began with a tribute to the 400 year old settlement where the roots of our fundamental principles of governance were established. Over the next thirty minutes, he used various combinations of the words “to work together” twenty-five times. He began by citing the accomplishments of the 2006 Session where cooperation produced meaningful results on many issues, including water quality improvements, expanded access to children’s health services, and investments in job creation. Along with the 800-pound gorilla issue of transportation, he focused on several economic priorities that will demand our attention during the 2007 Session: increasing the minimum wage, protecting families and businesses from dramatic increases in utility bills, and removing thousands of low income Virginians from the state income tax rolls, among others.

MEANWHILE —

For Senator Janet Howell and me, our week began on Monday with a news conference unveiling a bill to help combat the fast-growing crime of identity fraud. It would require companies and state government agencies to notify Virginians if their information has been lost or stolen. This seems like a pretty reasonable proposal to most of us, but the Commonwealth has not followed the lead of 34 other states in requiring this important notification. The people of Virginia deserve protection and notification if the information that they entrust to others is lost or stolen. I’ll let you know how the bill turns out.

On Friday, the most important item of business during our brief floor session was Delegate Ken Plum’s proposed amendment to the Rules of the House which would require recorded votes in subcommittees. Last session the majority changed the rules to give committee chairs virtually unlimited latitude in assigning bills to subcommittees, where they could be disposed of (often in meetings scheduled for way early in the morning or way late at night) by as few as two members — without a recorded vote. Last year, of approximately 2000 bills considered, nearly 1/3 of them met their demise under these shadowy circumstances.

As always, words from home are welcome, so keep in touch using the tried and true methods listed below or through the “Comments” feature below. Until next week —

How to Reach Me:

Voice: 804-698-1048
FAX: 804-643-0976
Session E-Mail: delrbrink@house.state.va.us