Senate Power Battle Heads to Court

By Peter J. Smith, Virginia Statehouse News Sunday, December 11, 2011

ALEXANDRIA - Republicans’ agenda in the General Assembly may hit a roadblock if Senate Democrats force a win in uncharted legal territory of the Virginia Constitution.

Senate Democrats, led by Caucus Chairman Sen. Donald McEachin of Henrico, have sued to block Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling from using his tie-breaking vote to hand the GOP majority control of the state Senate.

The outcome of the lawsuit could alter the 2012 session, which begins Jan. 11. The Senate is divided 20-20 between the two political parties.

“The most important issue at stake is how power is shared in the Senate, who controls committees and what kind of legislation makes it to the floor,” Dan Palazzolo, a University of Richmond political science professor, said.

If the Senate is deadlocked 20-20, Bolling can cast the deciding floor vote, but he will have no say in the committees, which decide what legislation lives or dies.

Republicans have a majority of the House of Delegates, as well as the governorship. A Senate majority would allow Gov. Bob McDonnell to push through not only his budget, but a number of hot-button social issues and reforms he could not guide through the General Assembly in 2011.

“Democrats want roughly equal membership on Senate committees, because they are concerned about a range of issues from gun control measures to spending to abortion legislation,” said Karen Hult, director of Virginia Tech’s Political Science Graduate Studies Program.

Committee dominance was key to the Democratic strategy in the 2011 session. Their 22-18 majority allowed the Democrats to kill or stall in committee McDonnell's liquor store privatization plan and pension reform.

“If Democrats win (the lawsuit), then we expect they’ll have some potential to slow down Gov. McDonnell and the Republican Party’s agenda,” Hult said. “If Republicans do win, that means in the short run good news for the party’s position in the Legislature.”

Hult and Palazzolo agree that the Virginia Constitution does not specify whether Bolling can cast the deciding vote on the Senate’s organization. This question will have to be resolved either in court or by constitutional amendment.

In 1995, the Democrats in a 20-20 split Senate moved to capture a majority with Lt. Gov. Don Beyer's vote. However, state Sen. Virgil Goode, D-Rocky Mount, broke ranks and threatened to leave the caucus, resulting in a brokered power-sharing solution with Republicans.

McEachin filed the case Monday in Richmond Circuit Court. The case may have to be expedited all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court because the session is less than a month away.

“When we see the Legislature is divided, then we believe that is the appropriate time for power-sharing,” McEachin said. “If the Republicans had even whispered power-sharing to us, then we would not have filed the lawsuit.”

McEachin said Democrats would prefer to resolve the dispute with Republicans in the Senate, rather than the courts.

Bolling would not comment on the case, but in a statement from his spokeswoman he accused the Senate Democrats of trying to steal the GOP’s mandate from the November election.

“Unfortunately, the Democrats are trying to achieve in court what they could not achieve at the ballot box,” Bolling spokeswoman Ibbie Hendricks said. “We strongly believe the Lieutenant Governor has the authority to cast votes on organizational and procedural matters, but we will not comment any further on pending litigation.”

Calls to McEachin’s legal representatives with the law firm Blankingship and Keith were not immediately returned. The law firm has offices in Fairfax and Manassas.