This year’s General Assembly session is a short one, scheduled for 45 days. Local legislators like Republicans Chris Head and Greg Habeeb, and Democratic delegate Sam Rasoul are in Richmond, introducing their own bills and debating the merits of others. Soon comes crossover day where the House of Delegates and the State Senate swap bills they are working on; local State Senators Ralph Smith (R) and John Edwards (D) are also in the capitol.
This is also an election year for all legislators. Salem-based delegate Greg Habeeb (8th District) jokes that the so-called short sessions “seem like they never end …but everyone’s ready to go.” This is not a biennial budget year but Habeeb notes that since the General Assembly revisited the budget late last year any adjustments during this session should hopefully be minimal. “We’ve done a lot of the necessary tweaks.”
Habeeb says every year before he goes to Richmond constituents tell him, via town hall meetings and other forms of communication, that the economy, jobs and education are at the top of their priority list. He brought several bills on job creation with him to the session and backs several bills related to SOL reform.
At press time a bill championed by State Senator John Miller, that would drastically reduce the number of Standards of Learning tests for 3rd-8th grade students, had made it through a subcommittee and was moving forward. One of Habeeb’s SOL bills would allow for expedited retakes if a student doesn’t pass the first time. Another would allow for more creative assessment techniques.
In the wake of Governor Bob McDonnell’s conviction on corruption charges (now being appealed) Habeeb supports further tightening of ethics guidelines when it comes to lawmakers. He says legislators acknowledged that reforms passed during the 2014 session were just a “first step.” He sits on an ethics committee and helped draft the bill last year.
“What the public demands is accountability and transparency. The more of that we can give [the better].” Look for tighter controls on certain activities. “I think we’re going to be able to restore the public trust.” Watch for stricter gift caps with the public frowning on the whole idea of lavish gifts. “I think they (Virginia citizens) are right,” Habeeb noted a day before the 2015 session got underway. He also looked for a more transparent reporting system to be voted into law.
Habeeb will consider a bill by Franklin County delegate Bill Stanley that would lock in the costs of college freshmen, so it’s not a moving target. Habeeb called that a “common sense idea,” but wants to make sure it doesn’t mean that the costs will just be shifted elsewhere. “The devil may be in the details,” but it’s an issue he hears plenty about.
Edwards has proposed several bills regarding voting issues; Habeeb says ballot access is “very important” to him and he will consider those proposals. He would like to see felons who have served their time automatically have voting rights restored – returning them to the mainstream of society.
As for any more attempts at Medicaid expansion by the Democrats, now a minority in both chambers, Habeeb said it was the GOP who have led the way on innovative proposals to expand health care coverage to more low income Virginians during recent sessions. “I’m proud to be part of the party to be putting the creative ideas out there.”
According to Habeeb, Governor McAuliffe has been a “one trick pony” who is focused strictly on expanding Medicaid – something that is extremely unlikely to happen with the Republicans in charge.
He would like to think that with a year under his belt the Democratic governor has learned the ropes in dealing with the opposition party in Richmond – but Habeeb said he will reserve judgment on that for now. “I very much hope the governor actually invests in the legislative process this year. Last year he was sort of absentee on every issue except Medicaid. I hope he joins us … I hope the Governor learned a lot.”
By Gene Marrano
