Virginia Legislature Returns to Work

RICHMOND, Jan. 11 -- Virginia's lawmakers returned to Richmond Wednesday for a legislative session that will usher in the era of Gov.-elect Timothy M. Kaine (D) and launch a clash of ideas about how to relieve traffic congestion.

The gavels fell in the House of Delegates and the Senate at noon, but for the first time in more than 100 years they did not echo in the historic Capitol, which is being renovated. Instead, the 100 delegates and 40 senators crammed into temporary quarters in a nearby state building.

Outgoing Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) is scheduled to give his final speech to the assembly at 7 p.m. Aides say Warner will describe the arc of his administration, from revenue shortfalls and budget cuts to a strong economy and surpluses.

For Warner, the legislative goodbye is also the beginning of a new political narrative as he begins what many expect to be a run for the presidency in 2008.

"He's on an upswing, riding a real political high now," said Emmett W. Hanger Jr. (R-Augusta). "I look for a very positive speech. It's almost like winning a NASCAR race. He'll have a tendency to want to take a little victory lap."

On Saturday, Kaine will be sworn in as Warner's successor and will immediately face an intractable problem: how to find solutions to the state's transportation problem that are acceptable to Republican and Democratic lawmakers in both chambers.

In town hall meetings across the state, Kaine has vowed to tackle what he calls the "most urgent" issue facing the commonwealth. But that generality now comes face-to-face with the reality of hammering out detailed legislation with lawmakers who often have dramatically different political philosophies.

In the Senate, leading Republicans are said to favor tax increases to pay for new road and transit construction. In the House, senior Republicans oppose tax increases and are looking to find money for transportation by trimming other state programs.

The trick for Kaine will be to find a middle path acceptable to both sides.

In addition to transportation, though, the General Assembly will also tackle a myriad of other issues. Lawmakers submitted more than 4,000 requests for bills to be drafted this year, a record number.

They include proposals to tighten criminal sanctions, spend more money on college research and environmental cleanup, eliminate the estate tax and slow the growth of health care costs.

There are also bills to ban in vitro fertilization for unmarried women, prohibit same-sex marriage and set new standards for abortion clinics. Bills to impose a moratorium on the death penalty could get a boost from the attention surrounding recent cases in which new DNA tests cleared people convicted of serious crimes.

Such issues could put Kaine to the test. He campaigned by emphasizing his conservative principles on abortion and he avoided the question of whether he would support a death penalty moratorium.

Staff writer Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.