Del. Anderson reports from Richmond

As I type these words in my office on Capitol Square in Richmond, the air has the feel that the annual General Assembly session, like the crisp January air in central Virginia, will be a vigorous event with a robust agenda and breathtaking tempo.  All around me is the hustle and bustle of delegates and senators filing bills, attending meetings, and rolling up their sleeves in what has been a recurring event for Virginia’s citizen legislature for more than 400 years.

The first indicator of what lies ahead took form in mid-December at Gov. Bob McDonnell’s annual budget presentation at the Virginia state capitol to the House and Senate money committees.  His focus was on the two-year, $85 billion Virginia biennial budget, a challenging task because Virginia, unlike Washington, must balance its books and has realized three straight years of revenue surpluses.

Penning much of the below paragraphs while sitting 20 feet from the Governor, it’s apparent that it will be a sprint from January 9th when the session opens to February 23rd when we adjourn and return home. 

The governor’s full budget presentation can be seen at http://www.governor.virginia.gov but i,t’s clear that our major budgetary focus will be on investment and reform in the areas of transportation and K-12 education. 

The governor’s proposed budget amendments rest on a cautious outlook driven by unprecedented fiscal uncertainty, the sluggish and fragile nature of our national economy, the potential for severe cuts to the federal budget from already-planned reductions, and widely-expected increases in federal taxes.  If the fiscal picture changes, state officials will adjust the budget up or down to meet available resources. 

Last year, Virginia balanced its budget, enjoyed a budget surplus, and invested in the core services of government.  We reduced unfunded liabilities for the state pension plan by $9 billion, added $500 million in new funding for K-12 education, invested $100 million to moderate higher education tuition costs, and invested $44 million for the health care safety net. We must continue this trend.

Transportation is one of our toughest challenges. As a career military officer who slugged for eight years from eastern Prince William commuter lots to the Pentagon, I experienced first-hand the I-95 corridor on a daily basis. Our challenge is how to stop the movement of $500 million each year from Virginia’s road construction account to the road maintenance account. 

By FY 2017, nearly 100% of construction monies will be redirected to maintenance needs, and we must find a reliable source of funds so that our construction and maintenance accounts are both robust.  The governor and several legislators have proposed varying fixes, and the debate will be intense.  All agree that we must identify reliable funding sources for transportation; the disagreement lies in what those sources should be.  The solution lies in a bipartisan, bicameral approach across party lines and across both legislative houses.

K-12 education reform will be front and center in Richmond in January and February.  Without question, great teachers in great schools produce great students and great citizens.  The governor has proposed a state-supported pay raise of 2% for teachers and educators, not a significant amount but the first in five years. The budget also helps schools to develop local incentives for teachers who help students make significant academic progress. 

These education proposals fund programs that recruit and retain high-quality teachers in STEM subjects.  They also include creation of a Governor’s Center for Excellence in Teaching, which will conduct teaching academies during the summer months for the professional development of our best teachers. 

The 2013 legislative session will be brisk and will focus on a multitude of issues.  Investment and reforms in the areas of transportation and K-12 programs will consume much of our attention.  But we are Virginians, and there is nothing that we can’t solve if we put our heads together and work across the aisle to achieve common-sense solutions.

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Del. Rich Anderson, a retired 30-year Air Force colonel, represents Prince William County’s 51st House District in the Virginia General Assembly.  The district runs from Occoquan in the east to Nokesville in the west.  He sits on four standing House committees:  Finance, Transportation, General Laws, and Science and Technology. He also chairs the General Assembly Military and Veterans Caucus and the Virginia Commission on Civics Education.