McDonnell's 'legacy' session starts today

RICHMOND

The General Assembly session that starts today is a pivotal one for Gov. Bob McDonnell.

It arrives at the midpoint of his term, when a Republican-controlled legislature takes up his policy requests and his two-year spending blueprint - the only one of his tenure he'll solely write.

And it comes as speculation mounts about him as a potential Republican presidential running mate. How he fares this year could influence how strongly he'll be considered.

"This session is McDonnell's legacy session, if he's going to have one," predicted University of Virginia political science Professor Larry Sabato.

McDonnell is popular among a wide range of voters even in a polarizing time, Sabato added, but he lacks a signature policy achievement.

"This is his opportunity to change that."

The 60-day session is expected to begin with fireworks over control of the Senate - split 20-20 between Republicans who say they have a majority, thanks to the tie-breaking vote of Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, and Democrats who want a power-sharing deal.

When that subsides, McDonnell wants lawmakers to boost college spending by more than $200 million, revamp public education, strengthen the state's underfunded pension system, and shift some tax dollars to road maintenance.

He's proposed an $85 billion budget balanced with a mix of growth in state revenues - but no new taxes - and about $900 million in spending cuts.

McDonnell also seeks an additional $37 million in economic development funding to continue his jobs initiative. He's already been given about $100 million for those efforts.

On the policy front, McDonnell has proposed several education changes.

He wants to scrap a law that keeps schools from opening before Labor Day without state permission; give teachers annual contracts rather than open-ended ones; and provide tax credits to companies that invest in private-school scholarships for poor children.

Those efforts are likely to face opposition from the tourism industry and teachers associations.

Other pressure will come over whether to lift a 30-year-old moratorium on uranium mining, which would set in motion a process to allow extraction of a rich deposit of the radioactive ore from a Pittsylvania County property.

Fearful that mining byproducts could contaminate local drinking water, leaders in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake want to keep the ban in place, at least for another year.

Environmentalists also oppose lifting the moratorium.

McDonnell

will make the case for his agenda tonight in the annual State of the Commonwealth address to the legislature, where the numbers now favor him.

In November, voters gave Republicans a tighter grip on the House of Delegates and enough seats to run the evenly divided Senate.

Bolling can cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate on many legislative measures, though not on fiscal items such as the budget.

That could give Senate Democrats leverage in budget deliberations. Some oppose McDonnell's plan to take $110 million in sales-tax revenue from the general fund over the next two years for road maintenance.

McDonnell has proposed that shift to backfill the maintenance account, which he says drains $400 million annually from the construction budget.

But Democrats including House Minority Leader David Toscano of Charlottesville argue that such a move would divert funds from services such as public education, public safety and mental health.

They would prefer new, dedicated sources of transportation funding.

McDonnell also favors proposals to shrink government; limit public use of eminent domain to take land; and enshrine in the state Constitution a ban on compulsory union membership.

Flanked by GOP lawmakers, the governor highlighted the Republican legislative agenda during a news conference Tuesday at the State Capitol.

Speaking to reporters afterward, he repeated his appeal for bipartisan cooperation, asking Republicans to avoid arrogance and Democrats to set aside anger and pettiness.

"Our goal is to work together this session in a cooperative way to solve problems, get things done, not shrink away from the big challenges, the big problems that face Virginia," he said.

"That's what citizens want."

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com