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Speaker Howell announces steps to increase transparency in the House of Delegates

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bill howellVirginia House of Delegates Speaker William J. Howell announced this week a series of specific actions to increase transparency in the House of Delegates.

The House will adopt rules changes to increase transparency in the budget process, including a rule to require a 48-hour waiting period prior to voting on the budget conference report. These rules changes codify past practices of the House of Delegates and build on a record of institutional and process reforms made by Republicans over the years. The Speaker is also ending the practice of holding committee meetings at member’s desks in the House chamber.

“These are positive steps to increase transparency for both legislators and the public,” said Speaker Howell (R-Stafford). “Throughout my time as Speaker, I have worked to strengthen the House as an institution by enacting procedural and policy reforms that make our body more open and accessible. Over the years, our Appropriations Committee members developed an open and transparent budget process. Chairman Jones has been instrumental in building on that, working last year to complete the budget conference report ahead of schedule. Because of that, the House adjourned early for the first time in 15 years. The actions we are announcing today reflect the House’s continued commitment to constantly improve the work we do for the Commonwealth of Virginia. I want to thank Majority Leader Cox for his work on this important effort, and I also want to thank Chairman Jones for his continued commitment to transparency as our chief appropriator.”

The House of Delegates will adopt its rules for 2016-2017 on the first day of session. The rules proposed by House Majority Leader Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) will require a 48-hour waiting period before voting on the final conference report and require the public release of a comprehensive list of all (i) non-state agency requests, (ii) new items in the conference report not included in the budget original passed by either chamber and (iii) items similar to legislation that failed in the House. In 2015, Speaker Howell issue a memo directing these changes be implemented for the 2015 session and pledged to incorporate them into the House rules this year. The House previously recognized a 36-hour waiting period before voting on the final conference report.

Commenting on the rules change, Speaker Howell said, “Budgeting taxpayer dollars is one of our most important responsibilities as the people’s house. Our budgeting process is open and accessible to both citizens and legislators. These rules changes, specifically including a 48-hour waiting period prior to voting on the budget conference report, are an effort to maintain and build on our obligation to be transparent throughout the budget process. ”

“Last year, several of our members brought forward good ideas to make the budget process more transparent,” said Majority Leader Cox (R-Colonial Heights). “The Speaker implemented these policies for the 2015 session and asked me to incorporate them into our rules. By incorporating these changes into the rules, the House is reinforcing its longstanding commitment to openness and transparency. I want to thank Delegates Kilgore, Cline and O’Bannon for bringing these concepts forward last year.”

“Since the start of my tenure as Chairman, the Appropriations Committee has taken additional steps to make the budget process more open and transparent for both members and the public” said Chairman S. Chris Jones (R-Suffolk). “Last year, we presented the budget conference report ahead of schedule and gave lawmakers more than 48 hours to review the report before taking a vote. Because of that, we adjourned ahead of schedule for the first time in 15 years. I look forward to continuing to build on our longstanding commitment to transparency in the budget process.”

Speaker Howell also announced Monday that he would no longer permit committee meetings at member’s desks in the House chamber.

“While they are convenient for legislators and often involve only procedural issues, holding committee meetings at member’s desks denies legislators, the media and the public the opportunity to be fully apprised of the committee’s actions,” said Speaker Howell. “I will now ask committee chairs to hold these meetings in House Room 1, a fully equipped committee room where legislators, the media and the public can participate without impediment.”

Since Howell became Speaker in 2003, the House of Delegates has maintained or instituted a number of institutional or process reforms:

  • Maintained proportional party representation on House committees
  • Instituted bill limits for short, 45-day sessions
  • Limited dates available for interim meetings
  • Directed subcommittee actions be displayed on the Legislative Information System
  • Adopted by practice a 36-hour review period for the budget conference report, which will now be codified in the House rules as a 48-hour review period
  • Reverted over $5 million budgetary savings to the state general fund

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