The 2005 Virginia General Assembly adjourned with much less fanfare than the winter storm that arrived the same day. In looking back there is little of great accomplishment to note, and perhaps the best assessment acknowledges what we didn’t do may have been our most successful victory. First, we held in place the provisions of the landmark budget passed amid so much strife and rancor last spring. That historic budget provided a long overdue infusion of money for K-12 education, supported advances in higher education, bolstered health care and perhaps most important, began the process of putting the Commonwealth’s fiscal house back on track. There were veiled threats that some members were ready to retract those gains and reopen the extended acrimony from the past. Thankfully, the majority was able to go forward without being stalled by old arguments.

Second, in the end the General Assembly made few substantive changes in the initial budget recommendations of the Governor, thus keeping the state pointed toward sound and positive future choices. In the face of good economic news when temptations are high to spend money, the legislature accepted the Governor’s request to boost the rainy day fund by $400 million, preserving our commitment to our Triple A bond rating.

I was disappointed the General Assembly did not fully fund the Governor’s “Virginia Works” program, which would have brought economic life into hard hit areas of Southwest and Southside Virginia, including the Virginia Highlands. In what I suspect was primarily political posturing in this election year, members of the majority party in the House were reluctant to give a popular governor any more achievements. The choice is short sighted because it delays the work necessary to boost resources for the state’s more rural areas—and the price tag will not go down as the situation worsens. It is reassuring the House did support funding for Dabney Lancaster Community College’s unique advanced manufacturing program addressing the burgeoning packaging industry. Also, the community bank—a non-competitive resource for job creation and initially part of the “Virginia Works” proposal, received funding.

After years of ignoring cultural programs throughout Virginia, the General Assembly began to rebuild support for programs that suffuse hundreds of millions of dollars into local and regional areas. With new money, the historic Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg can begin work on the building façade, the Christiansburg Institute can continue renovation and education work, the art and science museums in Roanoke will have additional funds to attract visitors—all of which enrich our experiences as community residents.

Teachers and state employees will receive 3% raises and in an effort to alleviate some of the compression problems for long-term employees, most state employees will receive an additional $50 for every full year of service. Faculty at Community Colleges will see an average salary increase of over 5% and faculty at Virginia’s four-year institutions will receive average pay hikes between 4-4.6%.

It’s usually easy to highlight the winners in a budget, and with creative financing and clever worksmithing you can make any budget look rosy, but I can’t help but wonder at the rhetoric touting this year’s budget support for transportation and the environment. We did put money into continued clean-up for the Chesapeake Bay, but it does not adequately address the need or recognize the vast significance of the Bay in terms of tourism, a healthy food industry, fishing and ecosystems. Praise for transportation funding is even more problematic. We provided less than a billion dollars for a statewide problem that experts tell us needs $40 billion. For every road problem we ignore, for every alternative method we overlook, for every planning approach we refuse to address we actually raise the future cost and mount the responsibility for finding solutions. Next year’s General Assembly session must bring with it some responses to the increasing neglect and gridlock facing drivers.

The budget is the last task of the General Assembly before adjournment and it usually overshadows everything else during the final hours. From this point the Governor’s office is now back-checking and evaluating all the legislation sent to him for final approval. We will meet again in April for a one-day reconvened session to consider any amendments or vetoes he may recommend. Following the debate and votes from that session, we adjourn Sine Die, thus officially closing the 2005 General Assembly session. If you wish a free copy of a quick summary reference of the some of the non-fiscal measures we considered while in Richmond you may contact me at any of the following addresses. I am back in my local office and look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions in the year ahead.

Jim