By Ray Reed
Published: March 13, 2008
A bill that named a highway for Jerry Falwell and a vote that killed a uranium mining study were the most-visible activities of the Lynchburg region’s six legislators this year.
The Lynchburg delegation was above average in getting its bills passed by the General Assembly.
Of the 3,319 bills and resolutions considered by the assembly, half were approved by both the House and Senate. But for the Lynchburg delegation, the approval rate was 54 percent.
Sen. Steve Newman’s bill designating a section of U.S. 460 the Jerry Falwell Parkway drew more public attention than any of the delegation’s 33 successful bills, measured by online viewings and e-mails.
Equally notable was a bill that didn’t pass.
The uranium study bill, to examine whether a $10 billion deposit in Pittsylvania County could be mined safely, had cruised through the Senate with only three opposing votes.
The uranium bill hit a wall in the House Rules Committee, with Del. Watkins Abbitt, I-Appomattox, leading the opposition. Senate bill 525, sponsored by Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, had been among the 10 most-viewed bills online.
The House Rules Committee’s overwhelming voice vote left the uranium bill’s backers saying they’d be back next year with a new proposal.
Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell County, saw 10 of her 15 bills passed and three others held over for 2009 study.
Del. Lacey Putney, I-Bedford County, sponsored less legislation than some delegates, but his measures carried heavy impact. Two were state-budget bills, another was a construction-bond package for colleges, and a fourth overhauled the state’s magistrate
system.
(Italics mine--Smidgen)
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