Ken Plum: Repeating Virginia’s history
This week I complete teaching a six-week course for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at George Mason University on “highlights of Virginia’s history.”
I have been meeting with more than 80 students at the JoAnne Rose Gallery in Reston. All are retired and enjoy learning for the sake of learning. Only a few were born in Virginia, but most have lived here for a very long time. They want to know more about how the way things are in Virginia got to be that way, especially in instances where Virginia is so different from other states. Read more
Ken Plum: All aboard!
The buzzards are circling again! They see a struggling Phase II of the Dulles Metrorail Silver Line and are ready to swoop in to clean the bones of the project. They will only go away when a contract is signed for the completion of the rail line past the Dulles Terminal to two stops in Loudoun County.
As one who has been involved with the rail to Dulles project for more than 25 years, I have read the frequent newspaper headlines that the project was dead. Obituaries have appeared more than once. Yet, in little more than a year Phase I will be completed on time and on budget. For every person who has committed to make the project happen there has been a chorus of people saying why the project could not or should not be built. At the same time I have found nothing but overwhelming support from the general public. Read more
Ken Plum: Higher education funding squeeze
A favorite target for budget cutters in Virginia and other states during the economic recession has been higher education.
While public institutions of higher education rely on state funding, there are other sources of funds available to them, the most obvious being tuition and fees. As the number of wealthy alumni grows, there is the potential for increased endowments.
Fundraising campaigns at the University of Virginia, for example, have goals in the billions of dollars and exceed many private institutions. Contracts with the private sector and government agencies help to grow university research budgets. Read more
Ken Plum: Reversing bad fortune
The Virginia General Assembly is not having a very good year. After making the national evening news shows and late-night comedy programs for weeks about which ultrasound to require of women, the Assembly joined many other states in passing voter suppression bills that might affect the outcome of the presidential election. Read more
Ken Plum: Balancing the state budget
Adjourning a 60-day legislative session without approving a biennial budget may seem like Washington-style failure to some, but to those who work closely with the process taking more time to balance the budget reflects the realities and limitations of the tremendous task involved. Contrasted to federal budget-making, there are no continuing resolutions or the ability to print or borrow money.
Budget-making reform a couple of decades ago requires the Governor to present his budget in mid-December before the holidays; but with the General Assembly meeting in early January, the amount of time to balance the budget is less than three months for two very different legislative bodies and the governor to agree. The state Constitution requires that the budget must be balanced. The amount of money we are talking about is nearly $85 billion for a two-year spending plan. Read more
Ken Plum: Overreach
If a single word or phrase can describe a General Assembly session, the 2012 meeting of the state legislature would be known for “overreach.” Governor McDonnell and Lieutenant Governor Bolling warned the Republican majority before the session got underway that there was a need for legislators to be careful to not overreach with their new-found power. Few paid attention to this good advice until the legislature was caught in the mire of overreaching. Read more
Ken Plum: General Assembly goes off a cliff
Posted by afp on May 23, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Pre-session survey and hearing results suggested that the session would be about traffic congestion relief, expanding job opportunities, and strengthening the economy. Instead, the expanded Republican majority in the House, a slim Republican majority in the Senate by virtue of the Lieutenant Governor being able to cast votes to break ties, and a Republican Governor set about a broad social agenda that consumed the time of the legislature that finally ended past midnight last Tuesday with the rejection of a judicial candidate because of his sexual orientation. I had to leave the session early because of illness and could not vote on any of the judges. As I had the Clerk record in the House Journal, I would have voted for Tracy Thorne-Begland had I been present. Read more
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