The Second Strangest Day In All My Years At The Capitol

We are at the point in the session when all of our legislative battles are done, and we await word on the budget.  Rumor is that the work on the public education section of the budget is completed, and that we are actually going to be receiving a little more in funding for our schools that was in either the House or Senate budget proposals.  If that is true – that will be a first in my memory.

It was hard not to get engrossed in the ongoing battle over filling the vacancy created on the Supreme Court of Virginia when the GA chose to unseat Governor McAuliffe’s appointed justice, Justice Jane Marum Roush.  The Republican majorities in both the House and Senate tried to elect Court of Appeals Judge Rossie Alston to the high court but fell one vote short on both the House and Senate resolutions.  Senator Glen Sturtevant sided with the Democrats on both votes, so there were only 20 votes to elect Alston, not the required 21.

Following today’s Senate adjournment, the Senate Committee on Courts of Justice met to take up judicial appointments, including HR79 with which the nominated Kenneth T. Cuccinelli for the Supreme Court of Virginia.  The vote was straight party-line with Sturtevant voting with the majority.

This resolution will head to the Senate floor tomorrow.