Senator Whipple's Richmond Report

In the legislative calendar, this week marks the calm before the storm. It’s been quiet in my office, with few phone calls and only an ordinary amount of mail.

Next week, however, we’ll be getting in high gear for the General Assembly session that always begins the second Wednesday in January. The Arlington delegation will be holding its public hearing on January 4th at 7:30 pm in the County Board room, 3rd floor, 2100 Clarendon Blvd. The Fairfax delegation will have a public hearing on Saturday, January 8th, at the Fairfax Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, beginning at 9:00 am.

Delegate Jim Scott and I will have a town meeting in Falls Church on Saturday, January 15th from 1 to 2:30 pm in the Community Center. We’ll give you an update on the Governor’s State of the Commonwealth address and some of the legislation that has been introduced followed by questions and comments from those attending. We hope you’ll be there.

The Senate Finance and House Appropriations committees will be holding regional public hearings on the Governor’s proposed budget. The one for Northern Virginia will be held on January 6th beginning at noon at the Alexandria/Arlington campus of Northern Virginia Community College in the Schlesinger Center, 3001 North Beauregard St., Alexandria.

In my office, drafts of bills are arriving from Legislative Services and must be proofed carefully before submission to the Clerk of the Senate. The small number of attorneys in the legislative services division do an excellent job and redrafts are seldom required.

The General Assembly has been encouraging members to prefile bills in order to expedite committee work and by and large this effort has been succeeding. Once the prefiling deadline has passed, there is a strict limit on the number of bills each Senator or Delegate can introduce.

Next week my aide, Janie Burton, and I will get out the cardboard boxes and pack up the files we will need in Richmond. Along with my own bills and their related materials, we take copies of legislative programs, issue files, and budget materials. Of course, we also take the coffee pot and tea bags, perhaps a flowering plant or two, and other items to make our home away from home a little more comfortable.

Visitors are always welcome in the Richmond office. We’re always pleased to see a friendly face from home. Of course, I’m often in a committee meeting and we meet in regular Session each day at noon, so I can’t guarantee that I’ll be around. Nevertheless, people always enjoy a trip to the State Capitol and I do recommend it.

Tours of the Capitol are continuing this year, even though it is being renovated. Outside there is a lot of scaffolding , but inside you can still see the historic House and Senate chambers, the famous statue of George Washington in the Rotunda, and visit the House and Senate galleries to listen to the debate and voting on bills.

Beginning January 12th, I can be reached in Richmond at 804-698-7531 or by email at district31@sov.state.va.us. Senator Mary Margaret Whipple may be emailed at mmwhipple@erols.com