Southside Virginia was the big loser in committee assignments handed out on the first day of the General Assembly.
The new budget-writing committee in the state Senate won’t include any representatives from Southside for the first time in memory — and there will be just one Southside legislator on the House budget panel, Republican Danny Marshall of Danville.
The biggest, and most significant, changes in committee assignments were on the Senate Finance Committee, where most members had either retired or been defeated, and where not a single Republican member was returning.
As expected, state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, will chair Senate Finance. Frank Ruff of Mecklenburg County had been slated to be the senior Republican on the committee until he unexpectedly resigned due to health reasons. The Senate Finance lineup announced Wednesday doesn’t include any senators from Southside.
Three legislators on Senate Finance with ties to the western part of the state retired, including two from west of the Blue Ridge. Replacing them are two new committee members from the western part of the state: Republican Mark Obenshain of Rockingham County and Todd Pillion of Washington County.
That means the total representation from Southwest and Southside on the 15-member Senate Finance Committee has gone from four to two — or possibly five to two. In the previous legislature, state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, represented a district that stretched to Bath County. Now his district is mostly Charlottesville and Albemarle County and entirely east of the Blue Ridge although it does extend south to Amherst County.
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The committee assignments passed the Senate 38-1, with the lone dissent coming from state Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County, who objected to the lack of proportional representation and the omission of any Southside senators from the budget panel. “It looks like this is the first time in history that Southside hasn’t had representation on the Senate Finance Committee,” he said. He also noted that while both chambers of Congress and the Virginia House of Delegates make committee assignments based on the overall party balance, the state Senate doesn’t. Democrats control the Senate 21-19 but will have a 10-5 majority on Senate Finance.
In the Senate, committee assignments are approved by the chamber, but in practice are made by the majority party. In the House, committee assignments are made by the speaker.
In the House, Del. Luke Torian, D-Prince William County, will chair the Appropriations Committee. The previous Appropriations lineup included three legislators with ties to Southside. Only one of those has returned to the House and the committee: Marshall.
The previous lineup had four legislators from west of the Blue Ridge. The new lineup still has four from that part of the state: Terry Austin, R-Botetourt County; Will Morefield, R-Tazewell County; and Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, return to the committee, and joining the panel will be Ellen Campbell, R-Rockbridge County.
In other notable changes:
- Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County, will become chair of Senate Courts of Justice.
- Deeds, who has previously been co-chair of Senate Courts of Justice, will now chair Senate Commerce and Labor.
- As previously announced, Rasoul will become chair of House Education.