Walk into the GAB on most Valentine’s Days and you will think you’ve entered a parallel universe. Democrats and Republicans deck themselves out in red and pink. Normally serious aides decorate desks with all the red hearts available at the local CVS Drug Store.

Think of the Valentine box that won the fourth grade decorating contest and you’ll get an idea of what the GAB usually looks like.

This year, things were more subdued.

Valentine’s Day came on a Saturday, which left people confused about which day was the appropriate substitute. The economy and the budget are in the tank, so spending money on red tchochkes just didn’t seem as fun as it might have in the past.

Still, people came up with ways to celebrate. My secretary, Donna Knicely, asked for donations to the food bank in lieu of flowers and chocolate. Since she has an artistic bent, she arranged the cans of tuna and the boxes of cereal as artfully as any still life.

Staffers on the 8th floor put their recycling skills to work. They even crafted a rocking chair out of milk cartons. And there was more than enough chocolate to give everyone a sugar high.

Back to serious business on Monday. Meanwhile, Happy Valentine’s.

We had a lot of talk about autism this week. Delegates Bob Marshall and David Poisson had worked on a bill that would have expanded insurance coverage to mandate coverage for autism. It died in committee.

However, through a rarely-used parliamentary move, Delegate Marshall moved to discharge the committee (essentially forcing a floor vote). That motion also was defeated.

Later, we voted–twice–on a voucher bill that had been rewriten to focus on services for children with autism.

For a growing number of Virginia families, these are not academic conversations. Their children have been diagnosed with autism and they are struggling to find effective treatments.

No one knows what is causing the rise in autism in young children. But one thing we learned this week: the fear that vaccines might cause autism has been laid to rest.

Turns out the doctor who made those charges simply made up his data. So many parents mistakenly withheld life-saving vaccinations from their children.

The doctor will face professional disgrace and perhaps even criminal charges. But how can he ever make amends to parents who have spent years worrying that they may have somehow been responsible for their child’s disability?

Sometimes, you go to a movie even though you know how it’s going to end. Meg Ryan will live Happily Ever After. The Caped Crusader will win in the end.

There are some subcommittees here in the General Assembly that are like that. Once your bill is sent there, the outcome is a foregone conclusion. 

That was my sense when my Primary Seat Belt law was sent to a committee not known to be friendly to such legislation.

 

The outcome? No surprise. But the Senate still has a primary seat belt bill, so the issue is not over.

 

 

One of the supreme ironies of the legislative session is that while there’s lots of STUFF to post about, there isn’t any TIME. So here is my list of the best and worst things that happened this week.

The best thing was actually two best things–two significant rules changes that will open up what we do in Richmond for the public were passed. House Democrats had argued that allowing live streaming of sessions (the Senate has had this practice for years) and recording votes in subcommittee would be a common-sense, good government issue. This week, after huge pressure from groups across the political spectrum, the Other Side agreed with us.

And the worst? In a blatantly partisan power move, the Republican leadership refused Charniele Herring a seat in the House. She was duly elected and had a Certificate of Election, but was nonetheless denied the opportunity to serve the people of her district.

Today is the 74th anniversary of Elvis’ birth. If he were in Virginia, he might have a few comments on our upcoming General Assembly session:

Way Down – Revenues continue to decline as the recession continues.

Doing the Best I Can – The attitude we all need when looking at the budget. Our goal should be to ensure that the budget protects classrooms, nursing homes, and people who need our help most.

Any Day Now – When the Free Lunch crowd will figure out that you can’t build roads without sustainable revenue. (Northern Virginia businesses would probably sing, “It’s Now or Never.”)

I Just Can’t Help Believing -That Virginia voters will watch carefully what happens this year. This is not a year for rigid ideology. It’s a year for finding solutions.

Richmond’s new Mayor–our former colleague Dwight Jones–has announced that Suzette Denslow, formerly Governor Kaine’s Legislative Director, will be his chief of staff.

He couldn’t have made a better choice. We have worked together on many legislative issues. She’s smart, she works hard, and she really masters the details.

She pointed out to me that her new office in City Hall will actually be CLOSER to the General Assembly Building than her former office.

It didn’t work. We’re still going to miss her, even while we wish her (and our friend the new Mayor) all the best.

The folks over at Blue Commonwealth have come up with a nifty new tool. It’s an interactive House of Delegates map. With a quick click, you can get basic information about the district.

Currently, the map tells viewers where the district is located, who represents it, and 2008 voting data. But Blue Commonwealth plans to update it by linking to blog posts about that district or the person who represents it.

Might as well just bookmark this right now.

Let’s face it (and present company absolutely included), most of us in this line of work don’t even pretend to be rocket scientists.

But boy, isn’t it nice to know that the person overseeing the response to the energy crisis and global warming actually IS? And a Nobel prize winner to boot.

That Americans for Prosperity and I agree. But today the group (usually known for its strong position against any taxes) has taken on the practice of killing bills in subcommittee without a recorded vote.

“Open government is good no matter what party you’re in,” said Ben Marchi, the group’s state director.

The issue became important only when subcommittees were given the right to kill legislation. That has meant that as few as three legislators (subcommittees can be as small as five) can kill a bill.

AFP joins good government advocates (such as the League of Women Voters), the business community, and House Democrats in advocating for this rules change.

As I have noted earlier, I have come (quite) late to Facebook. But today I began to see some of the benefits.

It is, ahem, a date of some significance in my life – the 30th anniversary of my 29th birthday. And largely because of Facebook, it’s been memorable – I heard from friends all over the country.

Not sure I’m going to become an obsessive Facebook reader. But this was pretty great.

UPDATE: All this and a 35-point Carolina win? What a gift!