The 2011 General Assembly session ended on the 47th day.  Upon adjournment, we entered a special session strictly for the purpose of redrawing legislative districts to reflect the 2010 census.  We will return to Richmond on April 4th to consider new legislative boundaries.  A draft map of the new 43d District will be posted online by late-March for public comment.  I am hopeful that our district will not change drastically because the 43d is only 1,922 people short of the 80,000 target, well within the five percent one-person, one-vote legal requirement.  Nevertheless, the boundaries are likely to change due to electoral considerations.  By the way, Virginia’s 40 State Senate seats will have 200,000, and our 11 U.S. House of Representatives seats will have approximately 717,000 people each. 

On the budget front, amendments to the existing two-year budget were subject to hard fought wrangling between the House and the Senate.  Due to a modest increase in revenues, the resulting compromise restored some of the cuts to K-12, higher education, public safety and health care that were made last year.  We also eliminated some new fees, made up some of the pension deferral, set aside funds for the “rainy day fund,” and eliminated the accelerated sales tax budget gimmick for most businesses.  For the first time in memory, the budget passed unanimously.  Virginia is doing a little better financially, and better than most states, but is still operating at 2006 spending levels.

Other important bills included a higher education initiative, an autism insurance mandate, and a plan to increase the medical malpractice cap over time.  The higher education bill provides a model for stable state funding, creates options for need-based financial aid, and creates a rainy-day fund to buffer against future cuts.  The autism mandate applies to companies with more than 50 employees and to state employees for their children.  It ends at age six and caps the expenditure at $35,000 per child, per year.  The existing medical malpractice cap is allowed to grow by $50,000 per year.  If you would like more details, feel free to contact me at (703) 922-6440 or at DelMSickles@house.virginia.gov,.