Spirit of George Allen in Richmond

By: Eric
Published On: 1/28/2007 11:52:29 PM

Do y'all remember George Allen trying to steal Senator Durbin's amendment to the defense appropriations bill last September? He cut in line and changed one word from Durbin's version to claim credit for the bill. Sure made for good laughs once the late night comedians got hold of it.

Well, it looks like the Republicans in Richmond have stolen the page on bill stealing right out of Allen's playbook.

Our story starts with a bill to make driving with a wireless communication device (i.e. cell phone) illegal for teenage drivers. Actually, there were a number of bills introduced in the House and in the Senate by both Democrats and Republicans that covered this same topic. It's a good idea with bi-partisan support. Nothing underhanded, yet.

So let the fun begin...
Del. Chuck Caputo (D) introduced his version on Jan 4 as HB1876. The bill made it's way from the Transportation Committee to the Science and Technology Committee where it passed with very strong bi-partisan vote (19-3) on Jan 22. But a few days later, on Jan 26, the full House killed the bill on a very partisan vote (56-41).

The table below shows the votes of the S&T committee members while the bill was in committee and in the full house. The yellow highlights show the flip-flop votes. You'll note that all the "I was for it before I was against it" votes are Republican.

Members Committee House
Del. Kris Amundson (D-44) Yes Yes
Del. Kathy Byron (R-22) No No
Del. John Cosgrove (R-78) Yes No
Del. Anne Crockett-Stark (R-6) Yes No
Del. Al Eisenberg (D-47) Yes Yes
Del. Algie Howell (D-90) Yes Yes
De. Tim Hugo (R-40) Yes No
Del. Bob Marshall (R-13) Yes No
Del. Joe May (R-33) Yes No
Del. Michele McQuigg (R-51) No No
Del. Paula Miller (D-87) Yes Yes
Del. Sam Nixon (R-27) Yes No
Del. Dave Nutter (R-7) Yes No
Del. John O'Bannon (R-73) Yes No
Del. Chris Peace (R-97) Yes No
Del. Ken Plum (D-36) Yes Yes
Del. Harry Purkey (R-82) Yes No
Del. Tom Rust (R-86) Yes No
Del. Ed Scott (R-30) No No
Del. David Toscano (D-57) Yes Yes
Del. Shannon Valentine (D-23) Yes Yes
Del. Vivian Watts (D-39) Yes Yes

Why the change of heart?

Could it have anything to do with SB1039? Introduced on Jan 9 by Senator Jay O'Brien (R), and passed out of committee on Jan 25 (the day before the House killed HB1876), SB1039 sounds remarkably similar to HB1876.

HB1876

Except in an emergency, when the vehicle is parked, or when the vehicle is stationary on that portion of a highway improved, designed, and ordinarily used for vehicular travel, the holder of a provisional driver's license shall not operate a motor vehicle on the highways of the Commonwealth while using any cellular telephone or any other wireless telecommunications device, regardless of whether such device is or is not hand-held.
SB1039
Except in an emergency when the vehicle is either parked or stationary off that portion of a highway improved, designed, and ordinarily used for vehicular travel, the holder of a provisional driver's license shall not operate a motor vehicle on the highways of the Commonwealth while using any cellular telephone or any other wireless telecommunication device, regardless of whether such device requires the use of either hand for the operation thereof.
Is there anything wrong with HB1876? The one that 11 out of 14 Republicans voted for in committee?

Sure, it's chief patron was a Democrat and this is an election year. Given all the general support, there's a very good chance that some sort of teenage driver cellphone legislation is going to pass this year. So why would the Republicans allow the Democrats to get credit for it if they could pull a G. Allen?

At least when George Allen tried to get credit for someone else's bill he did the dirty work himself. This one took a genuine team effort by the Republicans in the House and Senate.

We'll all know for certain when we see how the House votes on SB1039. Especially those tell-tale 11 Republican House delegates: for it, against it, and for it again. Keep an eye on SB1039.

Comments



I barely remember the media (Chris Guy - 1/29/2007 12:05:19 AM)
picking up that story about George Allen last year. That really pissed me off. I mean the whole thing was captured on C-SPAN for god's sake!

I'm gonna try and do what I can to make sure this time is different.



Absolutely true. There was almost no mention at all about it (Catzmaw - 1/29/2007 12:30:10 AM)
and meanwhile the pundits tsked-tsked at Webb for his supposedly unfair campaigning.  Really got me mad.


Allen's idiocy (cvllelaw - 1/29/2007 1:10:51 AM)
I remember Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert taking off after Allen on that one, and it got some play on local TV, but I can't remember the MSM doing anything with it -- largely because it was too much "inside baseball" for most viewers.  People in Colorado or Texas wouldn't care about it at all.


I'm not so sure... (Kathy Gerber - 1/29/2007 1:22:53 AM)
It is such a childish practice, that it was nearly too embarassing to watch.  Like stealing a pack of gum and saying he forgot to pay for it.

Now we see that our Virginia Republicans are apparently doing this as a group. Maybe this is a common practice, but it doesn't serve the people and it needs to stop.

Very good catch, Eric :)

Also, your table is very nice and I can't wait to try one.



a similar situation (martha - 1/29/2007 6:51:30 AM)
I was told by a reliable source that the bill Del. Valentine was working on which would allow nurses to continue to collect retirement but go back to work in the nursing field and receive a pay-check was passed along to a fellow Delegate to look at and then that Delegate "hijacked" the bill.
I don't know if the Delegate took credit for it or what but Valentine worked very hard on that bill over the summer.
Does anyone know anything about this?


The GOP Bill Makes No Sense With Its Minor Change (PM - 1/29/2007 9:47:51 AM)
See the phrase: "parked or stationary" -- isn't that redundant?

But the real problem is this -- by omitting the commas, SB1039 literally (and clumsily) says that there must be an emergency AND the vehicle must be "parked or stationary" off the road.

So a teen driving down a highway who has just seen an accident or an elderly person trying to fix a flat tire by the side of the road must PULL OFF THE HIGHWAY AND PARK to make the call.  We've all read about good Samaritans who get killed while trying to help on the side of a roadway.  Depending on the road, using a shoulder can be dangerous (e.g., I-66).  The shoulder might also be non-existent (again, I-66 at rush hours.)  And re-entering the highway can be dangerous.  Ever try to get back on a highway in busy traffic?

Or, how about this one.  Your kid brother just injured himself at home and you're driving to the hospital to save time.  You want to call your parents?  You'll have to stop.

Or, you are a victim of road rage and some cretin is making dangerous maneuvers around your car.  The teen will have to stop to call police.

Chuck's bill is much more flexible.  The policeman can assess the circumstances and determine whether a true emergency existed.

BTW, I saw a woman driving a Lexus SUV the other day, going under the speed limit.  When I passed her I saw she had her cell in one hand, gabbing away, and a cigarette in the other (temporarily on the steering wheel -- but eventually . . .).

 



Here's George Allen at work (Chris Guy - 1/29/2007 10:02:07 AM)
In case anyone missed it last year.

http://www.youtube.c...