Republican leaders in the House of Delegates have an overwhelming majority — about two thirds of the members. But as Michael Pope reports from the Capitol, that doesn’t always mean that they get their way.
Before the General Assembly session began, House Republican leaders announced a series of priorities for the coming session. Most of that list passed. But two significant priorities flamed out — setting up a “red-tape reduction commission” and reducing welfare benefits for people who live in areas with high unemployment. Majority Leader Kirk Cox.
“Any time you are going to be aggressive with your agenda, you are going to get some things that don’t pass. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not good to get the concept out there, have that one vetted, go back next year and try to improve on that.”
Quentin Kidd at Christopher Newport University says sometimes legislative priorities aren’t really intended to make their way out of the General Assembly to begin with.
“Many of them are shots across the bow — political messages to allies, political messages to enemies, political messages to the governor or to the Senate. There are lots of reasons why this stuff goes on.”
Kidd says the leadership agenda may have been aimed at voters. This year, every member of the House of Delegates will be up for reelection.