Crossover of the 2010 General Assembly session is just a few days away, and many difficult issues are still under consideration. The House and the Senate must complete work on bills that originated in each respective house by Tuesday, February 16. From that point forward, each legislative body may only consider bills that were passed by the other chamber. In other words, beginning Wednesday the Senate will only consider House bills.

Every day I receive hundreds of emails and letters about legislation. Many of those messages pertain to bills pitting dentists against insurance companies, mandating coverage for children with autism, and dealing with guns. The Senate has already passed or killed bills relating to those issues. The autism mandate bill is due for consideration Monday. Transportation is becoming an even more pressing issue because the Virginia Department of Transportation has already outspent its snow removal budget, which creates more pressure on limited highway maintenance dollars. With record amounts of snowfall around Virginia, we are reminded of our responsibility to maintain a vibrant transportation system.

Nonetheless, the issue which continues to overwhelm the work this session is the budget. Unfortunately, we do not appear to be any closer to coming up with a compromise. Various legislators, committees and caucuses have put forward multiple proposals, but all must deal with the stark reality that we will cut billions of dollars out of state services this year and thousands of state workers could lose their jobs.

Many of the proposals include revisions to one controversial component of the Governor's introduced budget - the delay of the implementation of updated local composite index (LCI) numbers. The LCI is the funding formula that computes state aid to localities for public education. The Governor's proposal ultimately reduced funding for certain Northern Virginia jurisdictions where property values are high. The adjustment would have reflected the significant decline in property values between 2005 and 2007. The precipitous drop in the housing market yielded more state funding for Northern Virginia and some other localities, including Alleghany, Bath, and Covington. The new governor has already said he opposes the delay and, therefore, will shift millions of dollars to Northern Virginia, further reducing state funding for education in 97 other jurisdictions throughout the Commonwealth. For example, the policy change would shift over $5 million in state aid for education away from Albemarle County. Because of the differential impact on localities, even within my own district, the issue has caused a great deal of consternation and discord among legislators.

Amidst the heated debates, my colleagues and I on the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee found common ground and passed my bill on non-partisan redistricting this week on a unanimous vote. I am convinced we can do a better job of drawing district lines so people are fairly represented in the General Assembly and in the United States Congress. For a number of years I have submitted legislation to create a non-partisan redistricting commission to draw district lines every ten years. This session John Miller, a member of the state Senate from Newport News and Jill Vogel, the Senator from Fauquier, introduced similar bills. The Committee incorporated their bills into my bill, which will be voted on by the full Senate in the next few days.

It continues to be a high honor for me to represent you in the state Senate. If I can be of service or if you would like to visit the General Assembly while it is in action, please let us know. You can track legislation at http://leg1.state.va.us and view the floor sessions at http://legis.virginia.gov. We can be reached at P.O. Box 396, Richmond, Virginia 23218, (804) 698-7525 or by email at district25@senate.virginia.gov. I look forward to your input.

(Electronic mail, February 12, 2010)