The General Assembly

The state’s lawmakers are now in Richmond for their long legislative session. Long sessions, which are 60 days long, occur in even-numbered years. Short sessions of 45 days occur in odd-numbered years.
In theory short sessions are meant for making adjustments to the state's two-year budget. In practice both short and long sessions deal not only with the budget but with a host of other matters of greater or lesser import. Here are some of the issues that will, or should, draw scrutiny this year.
Uranium mining. Whole battalions of lobbyists and activists have engaged from both sides of this issue, which pits money and jobs against the environment and health — at least in the public mind. A recent report from the National Academies of Science has done little to assuage concerns and may give lawmakers on the fence a justification for putting the issue off until next year.
The budget. Gov. Bob McDonnell's signature budget is several billion dollars bigger than the one he inherited, and he has devoted much of it to core state functions. Nevertheless, state Democrats already are playing political games. For instance: Dick Saslaw, the leader of what used to be a Democratic majority in the state Senate, recently hissed that McDonnell is "the most anti-public education governor of the 10 that I have served under in the last 36 years." McDonnell is increasing K-12 spending by nearly a half-billion dollars.
Guns. From the left, look for an attempt to close the so-called gun-show loophole, an intrusive step that would have a statistically unmeasurable effect on crime. From the right, look for a bill to prohibit local gun-buyback programs (SB22), as well as an effort to repeal Virginia's one-gun-a-month law. That law's defenders ask why anyone needs to buy more than one handgun a month. As one Virginia paper put it not long ago, "Gun proponents will say that the Second Amendment offers the right to buy as many guns as you want, but that ignores the question of need."
Gun-rights enthusiasts might retort: "Why does anyone need to publish a newspaper every day? The First Amendment offers the right to print as many editions as you want, but that also ignores the question of need." The rejoinder clarifies the defining characteristic of rights, which is that the holders of rights can exercise them at will — without having to tender justifications for others to approve or reject.
Unions. Two Republican delegates have filed legislation (HB33) that would prevent state agencies and other entities receiving state funds from either requiring or prohibiting project labor agreements, or PLAs. PLAs establish union rules and give unions bargaining power for specific projects, such as new roads, just as union contracts govern terms and conditions at factories and other permanent worksites.
Abortion. It wouldn't be a legislative session without a fight over procreation. Del. Bob Marshall already has introduced HB1, a personhood amendment similar to the one shot down by Mississippi voters on Nov. 8. Dick Black, a former delegate known for his strident social conservatism, won election to the state Senate the same day and may have a thing or two to say about abortion himself. For their part, Democrats may try to undo some of the recent regulations imposed on abortion clinics.
Microtopics. Lawmakers will file a couple thousand bills this session, many of them tailored to narrow interests. Localities will seek permission for charter changes; commending resolutions will honor high-school sports teams and upstanding citizens. Tree-lovers are hoping to get enough signatures for a "Virginia Loves Trees" vanity license plate. There is even a proposal in the works to create a state-owned bank (Del. Bob Marshall again — his proposal last year for a state currency didn't float). By the time they are all dealt with, the session will seem far longer than the 60 days that will have elapsed.