The final week of every General Assembly session is different from the weeks that precede it.  The halls of the General Assembly Building are rarely teeming with visitors.  With most of the bills having either already passed or failed, citizens who were advocating for the passage or defeat of legislation are no longer clamoring to contact legislators.

The warm temperatures of this final week added to the feeling of transition.  The change can be seen in the grounds immediately surrounding the Capitol.  When session began, only a few weeks had passed since Stephen Spielberg and his film crew had left the Capitol grounds, where they had been filming "Lincoln."

The presence of Spielberg's production company took its toll on the grounds, which looked rather unsightly when we arrived for session.  To rectify this situaiton, the lawn areas surrounding the Capitol received fresh top soil and grass seed during the first two weeks of session.  Now, in the final week, that seed has turned into new grass that is a very deep green.  Spring is nearly here.

The effort to enact a new budget showed some encouraging signs as well.  Local governments, business leaders, and public safety officials all weighed in to urge the General Assembly -- and the Senate, specifically -- to enact a budget.  Early in the week, the Democratic Senators appeared resolute in their refusal to enact any budget unless their demands for a reorganization of the Senate were met.  By week's end, however, prospects appeared more promising. 

Although Democratic Senators are still refusing to approve any budget, progress -- though slow -- is being made.  A group of negotiators from the House and Senate began to meet to discuss the differences between the House's approved plan and the plan killed by the Democrats.  Encouragingly, two Democratic Senators were among those participating in negotiations.

On Wednesday, the Democrats changed tactics and assembled a list of items they want included in the budget.  The list, however, totaled $450 million and did not indicate how the items would be funded.  Then, on Thursday, Senator Colgan, a Democrat from Prince William who is the longest-serving Senator in Virginia history, delivered a speech to the Senate indicating that he does not want to see the budget process drag into April.  His remarks were the first indication that any Democratic Senator might be willing to break from his caucus and vote to enact a budget.

While individually none of these events might be seen as a breakthrough, collectively they were the first signs that the budget standoff might occur sooner rather than later.  Of course, that progress will have to occur after the adjournment of the regular session.

The budget impasse notwithstanding, the General Assembly had a remarkably productive session in terms of the number of bills enacted.  More than 800 bills have already been approved and sent to Governor McDonnell for his consideration.  By the last week of the session, the Governor had already signed 166 bills.

During this session, I introduced a total of twenty bills and resolutions.  Of that number, seven were commending resolutions that honored an individual or organization. 

Additionally, Senate Resolution 1 was a procedural resolution that simply established the Rules of the Senate, the guidelines by which the Senate operates.

Of the remaining twelve bills, eight were passed by both the House and the Senate.  Two have already been signed by the Governor.

Among the bills that successfully passed both the House and the Senate was Senate Bill 413, legislation that authorizes tax credits for investment in renewable energy research.  As I mentioned last week, different versions of this bill were passed by the House and Senate.  For this reason, the bill was sent to a committee of conference, where three members of the House of Delegates and three members of the Senate worked to negotiate the differences.  A compromise was successfully developed, and I am pleased that this bill has now been passed by both the House and Senate.

At this point, many members of the General Assembly still have legislation that is being negotiated within committees of conference.  Because the General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn sine die tomorrow, all work on those bills must be quickly completed.

Although relatively few visitors stopped by the office this week, we were pleased to welcome Alan Graham, the father of one of our pages, Meg.  And earlier today, I had the privilege of recognizing Beth Graham, Meg's mother, in the Senate gallery. 

Also in Richmond this week was Robert Horvath, a teacher from Jamestown High School, as well as a group of his students.

With the end of the regular session, my Capitol office will now be returning home to the 3rd District.  Although I will be returning to the Capitol frequently as we work to resolve the budget impasse, my office will be operating in the district, not in the General Assembly Building.

This also marks my last regular newsletter for 2012.  Thank you for taking the time to read my updates.