Bill Bolling’s sensible restraint on breaking ties

By Editorial Board,

THE LAST TIME the Virginia Senate was evenly divided between the two parties, in 1996, Democrats and Republicans hammered out a collegial power-sharing arrangement. That sounds quaint in this partisan era — and, unfortunately, it is.

With Republicans and Democrats each holding 20 seats again when the legislative session begins Wednesday, there will be no such civil co-allocation of power. Instead, the Republican lieutenant governor, Bill Bolling, who is also the president of the Senate, has said he will cast the deciding vote on organizational matters, meaning Republicans will control Senate committees, procedures and rules.

However, in a rare act of partisan self-restraint, Mr. Bolling also says he will not cast tie-breaking votes on taxes, spending, constitutional amendments, judicial appointments and certain other critical issues. That’s good government, and it may compel some sensible compromises between the parties. While Republicans will control the Senate — as well as the House of Delegates and the governor’s mansion — they may not be able to enact some of the most divisive items on their agenda.

Mr. Bolling noted, accurately, that his stance may annoy lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Many Republicans had hoped for a full-throated assertion of control. Democrats have argued (including in court, so far unsuccessfully) that Mr. Bolling should refrain from casting any tie-breaking votes.

Mr. Bolling is splitting the difference, basing his position on language in the state Constitution. It says that legislation involving taxes, spending, judicial appointments and some other topics may be enacted only with the votes of “a majority of members elected” to each house of the legislature. Since Mr. Bolling did not run for and was not elected to the Senate, his restraint, outlined in a memorandum issued Jan. 3, is well-founded.

The coming months will tell how much Mr. Bolling has given. There are few instances of tie votes on critical legislation in Virginia Senate history. But such impasses are hardly unthinkable, given the 20-20 split and the partisanship that prevails in Richmond, as in Washington.

Either way, Mr. Bolling’s stance is refreshingly moderate, and rare, in these intemperate times. Should he secure his party’s nomination for governor next year, it may help him make a case for himself as a pragmatist who can work across party lines.