Richmond - With a final unanimous vote by the Virginia Senate, the General Assembly on Friday took the first step toward amending the Virginia Constitution to give the General Assembly a modicum of flexibility over its own calendar. Despite a litany of proposed constitutional amendments this year — many of which have been Tea Party-backed measures targeting federal power — the Reconvene Session Amendment, sponsored by Delegate David Englin (D-45), is on track to be the only constitutional amendment to move forward.
“When the Reconvene Session fell on the first night of the Jewish holiday Passover during my first term in office, I asked if we had any flexibility to move it by a day or two,” said Englin, who is Jewish. “That’s when I discovered it would take changing the Virginia Constitution.”
After each General Assembly session adjourns for the year, the Virginia Constitution requires a “Reconvene Session” six weeks later to vote on amendments proposed by the governor. House Joint Resolution 679, Englin’s Reconvene Session Amendment, will give the General Assembly the power to delay that session by up to seven days to avoid various conflicts.
“This is about as close as it gets to a ‘minor technical amendment’ to the constitution,” quipped Englin, using General Assembly parlance for the smallest of legislative changes. “James Madison said that the constitution should only be amendment ‘for great and extraordinary occasions,’ so it’s hardly surprising that it has taken three years for such a minor change to move forward. This isn’t an earth-shattering change, but to those of us to care about trying to accommodate the religious diversity of our Commonwealth, it’s a small step in the right direction.”
Englin noted, however, that the delay of no more than seven days could be for any purpose, and not just to due to religious observances.
The Virginia Constitution is absolute regarding the date of the Reconvene Session, regardless of what other conflicts or scheduling issues may arise. Article IV, Section 6 states that, “The General Assembly shall reconvene on the sixth Wednesday after adjournment of each regular or special session.” Englin’s amendment would add that, “The General Assembly may provide, by a joint resolution approved during a regular or special session by the vote of the majority of the members elected to each house, that it shall reconvene on a date after the sixth Wednesday after adjournment of the regular or special session but no later than the seventh Wednesday after adjournment.”
While the measure has failed in past years, Englin this year lined up support from the senior leaders of both political parties in the House and the Senate. Delegate Mark L. Cole (R-88), chairman of the House Committee on Privileges and Elections, agreed to be Englin’s chief co-patron, and other co-patrons included Speaker William J. Howell (R-28), House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-10), Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-35), and Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mary Margaret Whipple (D-31).
Friday’s passage of House Joint Resolution 679 is the first step in a lengthy process to amend the Virginia Constitution. The General Assembly must pass an identical resolution next year — after all 140 members of the General Assembly stand for re-election — and then voters must approve the change by referendum.
“This is just the first step, but historically it has been the most difficult part of amending the constitution,” said Englin. “I’m hopeful that, with this major hurdle cleared, the other steps are but a matter of time.”
Delegate David Englin is Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and is serving his third term in the Virginia House of Delegates, where he represents the 45th District, which includes parts of the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, and Arlington County. An Air Force veteran, Englin is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He serves on the Finance Committee, the Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee, and the Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee. For more information, visit http://www.davidenglin.org.