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Silly laws and wasted time in Richmond

March 4, 2007 12:36 am

G RAFTON--As the dust from the 2007 session subsides, hopes that the General Assembly would rise above the normal squalor and work for real reform and solutions have again been dashed.

Even with an election looming around the corner, members of both houses failed to muster the courage to make the tough decisions on tax reform, education, and health care, and required a frantic, last minute, Hail Mary-type push to get the controversial transportation compromise through both houses--and it came only after record-length legislative sessions and almost two years of bickering.

Not surprisingly, many Virginians have begun to wonder, "What exactly is going on in Richmond?" The answers may surprise you.

While a small portion of the 3,369 bills filed in the General Assembly this session were the common-sense, forward-thinking solutions that Virginians deserve and elected officials promise, the majority of bills, frankly, were poor excuses for legislation. Some were alarmingly partisan and sought only to injure the other party; others obviously aimed at helping well-financed interest groups; still others defied logic and common sense altogether.

These bills slow the already sloth-like pace of lawmaking and distract legislators from the real issues.

For example, in the House of Delegates, Del. Melanie Rapp (R-Yorktown) proposed two bills to outlaw the use of the leftmost lanes on highways except when passing other vehicles or in emergencies.

Rather than dedicate more money to road construction or enact limits to contain overdevelopment and suburban sprawl, Del. Rapp's bill suggested that our transportation woes can be alleviated if drivers just stick to the right lane.

Fortunately for drivers everywhere, Del. Rapp's "solution" failed to leave committee and was left out of the ultimate transportation compromise bill.

Bills of questionable merit were not limited to the House of Delegates, though, as demonstrated by Sen. Roscoe Reynolds (D-Henry), who sponsored a bill that would increase the penalty for cockfighting to a Class 6 felony.

While most Virginians would be surprised to learn that our beloved commonwealth has become such a mecca of cockfighting that the GA needed to increase the penalties, the Committee on Appropriations did not agree; much like Del. Rapp's legislation, the cockfighting bill failed to fight its way out of committee.

Sen. Reynolds expressed disappointment over the bill's failure, saying, "Sadly, that'll make it very attractive for Virginia to be a destination for chicken fighters." The chicken fighters could not be reached for comment.

The use of time and money on these head-scratching bills (and others like them) should be considered questionable at best--but at least these bills aimed to mitigate some problem or right some wrong, however misguided those aims may be. The same cannot be said for the 172 "commendation" bills that were introduced this session, with all but five passing both chambers.

These bills commemorate such illustrious occasions as the centennial of the United Parcel Service of America, or celebrate the accomplishments of notable Virginians, including major league pitchers Justin Verlander and Billy Wagner.

All totaled, the time, energy, and enthusiasm wasted on bills like these begins to add up, impeding true progress in the commonwealth and reaffirming the electorate's belief that legislators do not have the people's best interest at heart.

Worse yet, these types of bills make the far-reaching, paradigm-shattering solutions that many in the Assembly whimsically discuss an absolute impossibility.

Our state legislators cannot reform Virginia's archaic tax system if they are forced to argue about the definition of adultery (the bill, HB 1661, died in committee), and they surely cannot create a way to cover the thousands of Virginians without health insurance if they spend their time congratulating every Virginian with a decent fastball.

The major issues facing Virginia are far too important to share time with cockfighting and commemorations. Given the limited amount of time and resources the GA has to convene and make decisions, sensible voters need to demand that elected officials forgo these types of bills in the future, and focus on the most pressing issues facing the commonwealth--and, if they do not, to tell them that their time as elected officials will soon be coming to an end.