Senate Democrats have decided they really don’t like the idea of ceding power in the Senate and are considering taking the question of whether they actually have to give up anything to court:
“We’re going to see if we can’t have… an outside authority, i.e. the courts, determine who can cast a vote during reorganization,” Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax, told reporters this morning. “The constitution is very unclear on that. It mentions that the lieutenant governor can break ties in the event of division but it’s always been on general legislative matters. It’s never been settled on something like this.”
“It’s not just a matter of this year,” he said, “it ought to get settled for all time and that’s the purpose behind this.”
This is the sort of political arcana that enriches lawyers and bewilders constituents. Not that each side won’t have a great deal of fun with it. The RPV has a press release out with a statement from Pat Mullins. It says, in part:
“The election is over. The Democrats lost. Democrats need to join the Republican majority and start the work their constituents are sending them to Richmond to do.”
The Attorney General’s office has received a request for an advisory opinion on this matter, and its decision should be coming soon.
