01/10/2018 House Proceedings

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Minutes

Called to order at 12 m. by G. Paul Nardo, Clerk

Mace placed on Speaker's table by Sergeant at Arms

Prayer offered by The Reverend Dr. Randall T. Hahn, Pastor, The Heights Baptist Church, Colonial Heights  [at the request of Speaker Cox]

G. Paul Nardo, Clerk, led the House in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America

National Anthem performed by the Richmond Symphony Chorus

Communications received: Department of Elections (Certifications of Members-elect)

Attendance roll call - Quorum present

Leave of Absence granted: Delegate Tyler

Members-elect sworn in

Election
of Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates: M. Kirkland Cox duly elected (Y-98  N-0  A-0)

Message from Senate: Senate duly organized and ready to proceed to business

Election
of Clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates: G. Paul Nardo duly elected (Y-99 N-0  A-0)

Election
of Sergeant at Arms of the Virginia House of Delegates: John L. Pearson, Jr.
duly elected (Y-99  N-0  A-0)

Motion by Delegate Gilbert to recess agreed toHouse recessed at 12:41 p.m. until 1:30  p.m.

House reconvened at 1:30 p.m.

HR
17 (Establishing the 2018-2019 Rules of the House of Delegates) offered by
Delegate Gilbert

Motion by Delegate Gilbert to recess agreed toHouse recessed at 2:12 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.

House reconvened at 2:30 p.m.

HR 17 taken up and agreed to (Y-99  N-0  A-0)

HJR 120 (Notifying Governor of organization)
offered by Delegate Gilbert and agreed to

Message
from Senate: HJR 120 agreed to

Bills and resolutions prefiled, ordered printed, and referred pursuant to Section 30-19.3 of the Code of Virginia

Resolutions prefiled and laid on the Speaker's table pursuant to Section 30-19.3 of the Code of Virginia

Bills and resolutions presented, ordered printed, and referred pursuant to House Rule 37

Resolutions presented and laid on Speaker's table pursuant to House Rule 39(a)

CALENDAR

RESOLUTIONS

HJ 11 - Agreed to
(Y-98 N-0 A-0)HJ 12 - Agreed to
(Y-99 N-0 A-0)

HR 18 (Salaries, contingent and incidental expenses) offered by Delegate Jones of Suffolk and agreed to (Y-99 N-0  A-0)

Message from Senate: HJRs 11 and 12 agreed to

Motion by Delegate Gilbert to recess agreed toHouse recessed at 3:23 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.

House reconvened at 6:30 p.m.

Joint Assembly convened at 6:45 p.m.

Roll call of the Senate - Quorum present

Roll call of the House - Quorum present

Joint Assembly resolution (Notifying Governor of organization) agreed to

Governor Terence R. McAuliffe addressed the Joint Assembly

Motion by Senator McClellan to print 1000 copies of Governor's address as Senate Document No. 1A agreed to

Motion by Senate Peake to adjourn Joint Assembly sine die agreed to

Business of the House resumed

Motion by Delegate Gilbert to adjourn agreed to
House adjourned at 7:58 p.m. to meet Thursday, January 11, 2018, at 12 m.

Transcript

What follows is a transcript of this day’s session that was created as closed-captioning text, written in real time during the session. We have made an effort to automatically clean up the text, but it is far from perfect.

[Unknown]
[gavel banging] >> Sergeant-at-arms.
[Unknown]
Mr. President, entering from the gallery the first lady of the commonwealth and her party. >> The joint assembly will refer the first lady of the commonwealth and her party. [applause] [cheers and applause] [sustained applause]
[Unknown]
Sergeant-at-arms. >> Mr. President, the governor's cabinet and other executive branch officials.
[Unknown]
The joint assembly will receive the governor's cabinet and the other executive branch officials. [applause]
[Unknown]
Sergeant-of-arms.
[Unknown]
Mr. President, the chairman and commission of the state corporation commission. >> The joint assembly will receive the chairman and the commissioners of the state corporation commission. [applause] >> Sergeant-of-arms.
[Unknown]
Mr. President, the chief justice and justices of the supreme court.
[Unknown]
The joint assembly will receive the chief justice and justices of the supreme court. [applause] >> Sergeant-of-arms.
[Unknown]
Mr. President, the attorney general of Virginia .
[Unknown]
The joint assembly will receive the attorney general of Virginia. [cheers and applause] the joint assembly and guests will please be seated. The joint assembly will be at ease.
[Unknown]
Sergeant-of-arms.
[Unknown]
Mr. President, his excellency, the governor of Virginia .
[Unknown]
Members will receive the governor of Virginia. [cheers and applause] [sustained applause]
[Unknown]
The joint assembly and guests will please be seated. As speaker of the House of delegates and president of the joint assembly, it is my pleasure to present to you his excellency, the governor of the commonwealth of Virginia, the honorable terrence r. Mcauliffe. [cheers and applause]
[Unknown]
Gov. Mcauliffe: ladies and gentlemen, my fellow virginians, good evening.
[Unknown]
All: good evening. >> Gov. Mcauliffe: speaker Cox, Senator Newman, justices of the supreme court, ladies and gentlemen of the Virginia general assembly, I do once again appreciate the opportunity to address you one final time. [cheers and applause]
[Unknown]
Gov. Mcauliffe: tad Gilbert, I 'd be careful. Last year, every republican I gave a shoutout, they're not back this year in the chamber. [applause] and you guys have done just fine. [laughter] before I begin, seriously, I would like to thank speaker bill Howell for his many years of service to this commonwealth and to tell him and his family that we are praying for his speedy recovery. [applause] I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr. Speaker, on your election to this historic office. Congratulations, speaker Cox. [applause] I am so proud to be joined this evening by so many people who have worked tirelessly to help this administration and this commonwealth succeed over the last four years. We have with us my incredible wife and my better half, first lady of the commonwealth of Virginia, dorothy mcauliffe is with us tonight. [cheers and applause] her leadership on childhood nutrition has resulted in more than 12 million more meals being served to our students this year than in my first year in office, and her work on behalf of our military students and their families has ensured that Virginia will remain the number one in the world for our service members and their loved ones to call home. Thank you, dorothy, for your great work. [applause] I would like to take this opportunity and recognize and thank our five children, four who are here with us tonight. I want to thank my daughter dorey, mary, sally, and peter for enduring this governorship and making me a better governor and being a great partner to their dad. Thank you. [cheers and applause] our lieutenant governor, and governor-elect, Dr. Ralph Northam, and our next first lady pam Northam are in the House with us tonight as well. [applause] ralph, let me say this. I have been so fortunate to have you as my lieutenant governor and my friend. I know you will make a great 73rd governor of the commonwealth of Virginia with pam by your side. Congratulations and good luck. [cheers and applause] to our attorney general mark Herring, I want to thank you for your unwavering dedication to upholding the law and protecting the rights of all virginians. [cheers and applause] I have loved every minute, as you know, but I really loved working with ralph and mark, and I know they will continue that great work alongside our next lieutenant governor justin Fairfax over the next four years. Congratulations, justin. [cheers and applause] and to my entire cabinet and team, who has been nothing short of spectacular, I take pride in I believe the greatest cabinet never assembled and their team. I thank them for their tremendous work. I especially want to thank my chief of staff, paul reagan, and suzette denslow, my deputy chief of staff, for the great work they have done. They have never failed to think big and try new things. On behalf of our citizens, thank you for what you have done for this commonwealth. [applause] but there is one cabinet secretary in particular who I think has tremendously helped everybody in this chamber. He has helped us all sleep better at night. Finance secretary ric brown will soon retire after 47 years of dedicated service to this great commonwealth. Ric, thank you for your leadership. [applause] congratulations, buddy. The men and women of my cabinet have done tremendous work over the past four years, but our accomplishments would not be possible without the most talented and dedicated state employee workforce anywhere on the globe. I am so proud that we have been able to work together to get them two well-deserved pay raises and I hope you will accept my proposal for another one. Please join me in recognizing 110,000 state employees who keep this state running. [applause] we are also so fortunate to have the greatest first responders, law enforcement, national guard, active duty military, and veterans in the nation right here in the commonwealth of Virginia. [cheers and applause] we should never forget that these men and women put their lives on the line every day so that we can gather here safely tonight. It is hard to believe that it's been four years since I first stood at this desk and spoke to you about what I hoped to achieve as governor. In that speech, if you remember, I promised you to work with you to build a new Virginia economy, an economy that works for everyone. That was a tall order, if you remember, four years ago. The economic model that had served Virginia well for decades had begun to crumble as our over-reliance on federal spending left us exposed to shutdown, sequestration, and significant defense cuts. Many of the underpinnings of our economy, like our transportation, education, and workforce development systems, were in dire need of reform and investment. Scandal had shaken the faith virginians place in the integrity of their public officials, and years of partisan warfare on divisive social issues had damaged our reputation with employers all over the world. The agenda that I presented to you in this chamber four years ago, and every year after that, was designed to solve those problems and open up a new chapter of growth and opportunity in every single corner of our great commonwealth. Four years later, we can all look back with pride on the record of accomplishment we have by building the new Virginia economic and building it together. We reformed how we make transportation decisions to prioritize their benefit to virginians and our economy over the desires of politicians. If you recall, when I took office, Virginia had just wasted $300 million on route 460, a road that was never going to be built. In contrast, thanks to our reforms, we are transforming the interstate 66 corridor, using no state dollars and saving our taxpayers $2.4 billion. And just this morning, I announced a deal to extend the I -95 hot lanes 10 miles south to Fredericksburg without asking the taxpayers to put up a single dollar for construction. In fact, this project will require the builder to cut virginians a check for more than $277 million when this contract opens up. [applause] that is how you negotiate deals! We took the port of Virginia, which had foolishly been put up for sale, we took it off the market and we invested $670 million in it, turning it around after five straight years of losses before we took office. Today it's profitable for the third straight year and now we attracting some of the biggest container ships in the entire globe are now coming to our great port. We took executive action -- [cheers and applause] we took executive action to make Virginia a leader in reducing carbon and combating climate change, and we built a new clean energy economy from the ground up. In addition to being one of the first states in the nation to announce an offshore utility wind project, I am particularly proud of the progress we have all made working together on solar projects. When we took office, Virginia was home to 17 megawatts of power installed. One of the lowest in the united states of america. Today, four years later, we have installed more than 2,600 megs under development or installed today in our great commonwealth. [cheers and applause] even in times of fiscal difficulty, I 'm proud that we protected k-12 education from budget cuts and we worked together in make the largest investment in education in the history of Virginia. [cheers and applause] we reformed the standards of learning, we eliminated five tests, transformed our workforce training programs, and redesign our high school curriculum to better align it with the needs of a 21st century economy. When draconian regulations threatened to shutter nearly all of Virginia 's women's health clinics, we stood as a brick wall to protect women's access to quality healthcare. [cheers and applause] we reformed our ethics laws to restore the people of Virginia 's trust that we are here working for them, not for ourselves. We passed the first meaningful gun safety law in more than two decades. We expanded access to critical health services for the people who needed it the most in Virginia, and we were the first state in the nation to bring a functional end to veteran homelessness and we connected more than 31,000 veterans with a new job here in Virginia. [cheers and applause] we secured and modernized our elections system. We transformed our criminal justice system, which posted the lowest recidivism rate in the united states of america for the second year in a row. [cheers and applause] now, like any relationship, we have had our rough patches. I, for one, to be honest with you, did not come into this job expecting the republican leadership of the general assembly to sue me for contempt over my restoration of rights effort, but I think the fact that I was the first governor to receive such an honor only underscores what a truly historic four years this has been for Virginia. [cheers and applause] even the justices are chuckling a little bit up front here. But despite a few bumps in the road, our work together has been defined far more by serious policy accomplishments than by partisan warfare, and the people of Virginia are a better place for it, and I thank all of you. Every step we took tied back to our mission of building a new Virginia economy, and job creators are taking notice around the globe. As a testament to that, tonight I am proud to announce that service center metals will invest $45.2 million to expand its manufacturing operation in Prince George County. [applause] to the surprise of absolutely no one, we beat out the state of indiana for that great award. [applause] we will create 58 new jobs, and let me tell you why this announcement is so important to me personally. Because of the opportunity it will create for Virginia families, but it also has a much larger significance tonight. With this project and the over 1100 others that we have announced during our four years, Virginia has now attracted more than $20 billion in new capital investment since I took office! [cheers and applause] and not that any of you are counting, but that record exceeds any previous governor by $6.5 billion. [cheers and applause] service center metals' co-founder chip dollins and the chairman of the Prince George County board of supervisors, alan carmichael, are with us this evening. I want to say thank you for the confidence you've had. Stand up and let's give them a great round of applause. [cheers and applause] the investments, policy decisions, and economic development successes of the past four years have contributed to a new chapter of economic growth in our commonwealth. After 35 domestic and international trade missions across five continents, we have seen Virginia 's agriculture exports skyrocket 30% from $70 billion in 2014 to $91 billion last year. [applause] tourism revenues have grown by $2.2 billion since we took office. Personal income is up 12.3%. Our initial unemployment claims have just reached a 43-year low. There are more than 200,000 more jobs in Virginia than when we took office in January of 2014. [applause] I mean, come on, jobs are bipartisan! There are no democrat or republican jobs, a job is a job! In 2017 alone, I 'm proud to say we created 33,700 net new jobs, compared to 1500 that were created in the year before I took office. We've driven unemployment down from 3.7% to 5.4% when I took office, and I 'm proud to say, in every single city and county in Virginia, they have seen their unemployment drop in the last four years. [cheers and applause] folks, these are not just numbers. They are a reflection of the remarkable turnaround we've seen in the Virginia economy over the past four years. They translate to real jobs and real opportunities for thousands of Virginia families. As the most traveled governor in the nation, I can also tell you firsthand that they translate to even more economic activity as we have told this amazing story to job creators all over the globe. Virginia is a different place than it was four years ago, and for that we should all be proud. But there is still more work to do. I May not be here to continue the battle, but the budget proposal that I am leaving behind reflects the enormous progress that we have made and the need to keep moving forward. If you remember, in my first year in office, we were forced to work together to deal with an inherited $2.4 billion shortfall. Since then, our bipartisan cooperation and Virginia 's strong economic growth have improved our financial picture significantly. In fact, I know you will be happy to hear that for the first six months of the current fiscal year, I announce today that revenue collections are up 5.9% over last year, well ahead of our estimate of 3.4%, which we had already revised upward, and you know what that means? That means that we are running nearly a half a billion dollars ahead of our revised forecast heading into the final six months of the year. [cheers and applause] come on! Come on, we're talking money! Virginia's strong revenue picture is a clear sign of a growing economy and the budget I have presented to you builds on that momentum. It invests in the essentials of a modern economy like public education and workforce training. It strengthens our commonwealth's response to our ongoing mental crisis as well as our opiate crisis. It advances the work we have done to diversify our economy so that we no longer rely on one industry for our future economic growth. This is so important today because Virginia is no longer just a defense-industry state. I'm proud to say today, we're a cyber state, we're an advanced manufacturing state, we're a data analytics state, we're a bio-science state, we're a renewable energy state, and we're an unmanned systems state today. By making those right decisions and investments, we have built a new Virginia economy and the budget I leave you with will keep that momentum going. In addition to the budget, this year presents a unique opportunity to move Virginia forward on a number of issues that are important to the health, to the safety and pros prosperity of the families we all serve. Yesterday, governor-elect Northam and I stood together and outlined several pieces of legislation that we hope the new general assembly will pass this year. They include reducing obstacles to voting by doing away with barriers to absentee voting. Building on the executive actions my administration is pursuing to cut carbon and create clean energy jobs by becoming the first southern state to formally join the regional greenhouse gas initiative. [cheers and applause] we need to close a loophole in our ethics laws by prohibiting the personal use of campaign funds. Finally raising the threshold for felony larceny from $200 to $1,000 so that one mistake does not ruin a person's entire life. [cheers and applause] giving virginians the tools to manage student debt and hold predatory lenders accountable by passing a borrower's bill of rights and creating a state ombudsman for student debt. And keeping families safe from gun violence by requiring background checks for guns purchased here in the commonwealth of Virginia. [applause] none of these items are inherently political. They are proposed solutions to real policy problems. It could well be the case that there are better ideas to solve these problems and make life better for our virginians. Those are the questions we were all elected to consider. We were not, however, elected to ignore problems like these or allow real solutions to become bogged down in the mud of partisan politics and special interests. As I look across this room, I see many new faces. The people of Virginia, in their wisdom, have made significant changes to the composition of this general assembly with a simple message in mind: work together and get things done. [cheers and applause] this is the opportunity that the voters have give you, to do things differently than they've been done in the past and to finally break the gridlock on issues where we haven't made as much progress as we should have. The chief issue that demands your attention is making a clear statement that in a new Virginia economy, health care is not a privilege for the few, it is a right for all. [cheers and applause] you can make progress on that goal by bringing our tax dollars back home to provide healthcare for nearly 400,000 virginians who desperately need it. The plan I have submitted would create 30,000 jobs and free up $422 million in our budget to invest in priorities like a state employee pay increase and a $427 million investment to put in our cash reserve fund, all without putting up a single dollar of Virginia taxpayer money. As some of you May recall, expanding medicaid to cover working virginians who lack access to health care is an issue that I have felt very passionate about for the last four years. I will tell you this. I am passionate. I'm passionate because I know, as many of you do, the benefit it would bring to our economy and to our budget. I am passionate because I have met hospital administrators in rural communities who say they need to it survive. Above all, I 'm passionate because I have looked mothers and fathers and sons and daughters in the eye and heard how they cannot work, they cannot care for their families, they cannot live the lives that they deserve because they cannot get the healthcare that they need. You can end the waiting, you can end the hurt, the worry for so many virginians and put them on a path to greater opportunity and greater productivity. You are shore up rural hospitals that are struggling to stay open, because they still care for these virginians, but they're not being reimbursed for their expenses. Listen to the clear message that the people of Virginia sent on election day. Put the politics aside. It is time to expand medicaid in the commonwealth of Virginia. [cheers and applause] as you prepare to write the next chapter of our commonwealth's history, I hope you will remember several principles that have guided our work over the past four years. While other states have grappled with discriminatory and socially divisive legislation and the damage it has done to their economy, Virginia has capitalized on their misfortune. As you know, I absolutely hated having to veto the 120 bills that were sent to my office. [laughter] but let me be clear. Those bills took Virginia in the wrong direction. They attacked women's rights, equality for lgbt people, and access to the voting booth. They hurt our environment and they made Virginia less safe. I honestly wish they'd never made it to my desk. Because the passage hurt us, hurt our reputation. I vetoed those bills because, in a new Virginia economy, we are about the business of bringing people together and lifting everyone up, not tearing them apart or dragging them down. [cheers and applause] in the coming years, I hope you will build on that foundation by using your voices and your votes to make Virginia more equal, to make Virginia more just and more prosperous for all people, no matter who they are, where they live, or whom they love. [cheers and applause] another guiding principle that has served this administration well is the incredible importance of second chances. Nobody, no one lives a perfect life. We all do things that we've regretted. We've all made mistakes. Personally, the next time someone offers me a ride on a horse in africa, I 'll take a seat at the bar instead. [laughter] for most of us, what defines our lives is how we learn from those mistakes and how we move forward. I believe that that should apply to everyone, even to men and women who have committed a crime. Over the past four years, we have worked, often hand-in-hand with the general assembly, to reshape our criminal justice system to reflect the principle that no person is beyond redemption or unworthy of a second chance. That approach guided the transformation of our commonwealth's juvenile justice system as we reduced the population by nearly two-thirds and began to close our two huge adult-style youth prisons. This session, I hope you will authorize the construction of the first of two facilities to replace them and advance the reforms that will prepare these young people to lead more productive lives, and at the same time, saving the taxpayers of Virginia millions of dollars. The power of second chances also defined my proudest moment as governor. Many of you have heard me tell the story of standing on the steps of this building and ending more than 100 years of disenfranchisement and racial discrimination. Since then, my team has worked with all three branches of government to finalize a process that we have used to restore the rights of more than 173,000 virginians, more than any governor in the history of the united states of america. [applause] over the years, I have met hundreds of men and women whose rights were restored during my term. I've even introduced you to some from this desk. Every one of those virginians represents the same story of hope for a better life that we saw play out just this past election day, as these men and women went to the polls, many of them for the first time in their lives. If you want to see the power of second chances, watch the videos that were posted on social media as grown men and women broke down in tears of joy after doing something that most people take for granted, voting in an election. That is what citizenship looks like at its very best, and we should do everything we can to work together to encourage more of it, not less. [cheers and applause] so as you begin your work together this session, I hope you will continue to reshape Virginia into a commonwealth of second chances, where people who make mistakes can live among us again as redeemed human beings, not lifelong outcasts. And my final request I would like to leave you with this evening is to please do everything that you possibly can to make Virginia a beacon of hope, even in times of fear and hatred. If restoring virginians' civil rights was my proudest moment as governor, witnessing the bigotry and the violence we saw last August in Charlottesville was clearly the lowest. That day was full of hatred, cowardice, and unspeakable loss. But even in that dark moment, the character that makes this commonwealth great came through. We saw it in the three virginians who were taken from us on that terrible day. Heather heyer was 32 years old. She was a passionate 32-year-old who was on the downtown mall on August 12th fighting for the values that make our commonwealth and our country so great. She died. She died fighting for what she believed in and against hatred and bigotry. When neo-nazis and white supremacists invaded our community, she stood up and met their hatred with love. [applause] state trooper-pilots jay cullen and berke bates were standing watch that day from above in the helicopter, protecting the people who participated in the day's events, and they were protecting all of them. They made the ultimate sacrifice doing what so many of their brothers and sisters in law enforcement continue to do each and every day. Upholding the belief that every person should be protected by the law no matter whom they are. Nothing, nothing will bring these brave virginians back, but as as we continue to mourn their loss, I hope we will honor their legacy by finding the good in each other and in our commonwealth, even in times of great challenge. Tonight we are joined by several people who loved these fine virginians and miss them every single day as we do. Won't you please join me in welcoming heather heyer's mother susan, her stepfather kim, berke bates' wife amanda, and jay cullen's wife karen and son ryan. Let's give them a great -- [applause] [sustained applause] thank you for joining us here tonight. Before I move on, I do want to say a brief word about jay, berke, and many men and women like them. Until you become governor, it can be difficult to fathom how many people work day and night to facilitate your daily movements and keep you safe. From the moment I took office, countless public officials have gone above and beyond to ensure that my family and I can perform our duties and live our lives in safety and comfort. They include the capitol police, the pilots at the Virginia state police and the department of aviation, and the staffs at the executive mansion and on capitol square. This evening I 'm proud to have someone with us tonight. We are joined by one man who has given more than 32 years of faithful service of this commonwealth. You all know him. I'm honored to have with us tonight Martin "tutti" townes, the Head butler of the Virginia executive mansion. [cheers and applause] and to think he has served nine governors, his father, his step mother, and two brothers. We thank you for your tremendous service. Despite those decades of service, tutti had told me that this is the first time he has ever attended a state of the commonwealth address. Which I think is fitting because I have no doubt now who his favorite governor is. [applause] thank you, tutti, and your family for everything you have done. We are so proud of you, and for all the people of this great commonwealth, I want to say thank you. There is one group of public servants who draw a particularly difficult assignment, the men and women of the executive protection unit of the Virginia state police. These brave souls are assigned to spend every mom of their waking hours with the governor, the first lady, and our family, protecting us and helping us get from place to place. Before berke bates became a trooper pilot, he spent nearly three years as a member of my epu detail. He and his colleagues worked around the clock -- and I mean literally around the clock -- to keep us safe during our official activities and in the process, also joined us for our family difference and holidays and count -- family dinners and our holidays and countless sporting and school events. They became a part of our family, often at the expense of time spent with their own. I can still remember the day on one of our many car rides I had with berke, when berke told me that finally, he said I didn't vote for you, but he said I had finally decided I was glad that you had won. That was the greatest honor I could have got, so thank you, amanda. Dorothy and I and -- [applause] you know, I told the story at berke's funeral. I had spoken to berke just a couple days before, and he since told me he would send a care package to our son who is marine overseas, and I said, well thank you for that, berke. That's the last time I spoke to berke. He said I put some cigars in, I put a couple books, and he said I put some irish whiskey in there, too. I said, berke, you can't send whis can I to someone in the u.S. Military, let alone in a muslim country. He said don't worry about it, it's a listerine bottle, they'll never know. [laughter] [applause] well, jack got his package and there was no listerine bottle in the package. Dorothy and I, our children, and my entire team cannot say thank you enough to the men and women of the Virginia state police executive protection unit for all they do and all they do for this commonwealth. [applause] as this chapter in my life and the history of our commonwealth comes to a close, I want to say how truly grateful I am to the people of Virginia for the honor of serving as your governor. I often make a joke about how unlikely it is that I would serve as a successor to Patrick Henry and thomas jefferson. The joke is funny because it's true. Not many middle-class kids from syracuse, new York, find themselves speaking behind this desk. But at the heart of that joke is a statement about the singular privilege it is to be the chief executive of a commonwealth with the people, the resources, the history, and the potential that ours has. As you all know, I have loved every second that I have spent in this job because it's one of the greatest jobs on earth where you literally get to get up every single morning and make an immediate positive impact on the people with whom you serve. That wouldn't be possible without the men and women who serve in the Virginia general assembly. We run separate branches of government, but we serve the same cause, the good of the people of the commonwealth of Virginia. We've had our disagreements, but even at difficult moments, I have never lost sight of the tremendous honor it is to work with you and the incredible dedication and the professionalism that you bring to the task of representing your constituents. So I want to thank you as well, for your leadership, your dedication, and the many ways that you helped make this administration a success. Thank you. [applause] four years ago, at my inauguration, I promised you that when this day came, the next governor would inherit a Virginia that has created more economic opportunity and grown our 21st century businesses. I promised to transform pre-k and k-12, workforce development, and higher education to prepare our students for a new economy. I promised to maintain our reputation for strong fiscal management. I promised to make Virginia the greatest place in the world for our veterans and military service members and their families to call home. I promised to make Virginia a leader in the clean energy economy and do our part to fight climate change. I promised to be a brick wall to protect the rights of women and lgbt virginians from any discrimination. Four years later, we have kept those promises, and we are a commonwealth of greater equality, justice, and opportunity for all people as a result. This is a legacy that we can all be proud of. Thank you. God bless you and God bless this great commonwealth of Virginia. [cheers and applause] [sustained applause] [gavel banging]
[Unknown]
The joint assembly will come to order. The junior Senator from Richmond city, Senator McClellan .
[Unknown]
I move that [inaudible]. >> Hear hear.
[Unknown]
As many as favor that motion will say aye. [ayes expressed]
[Unknown]
Those opposed will say no. [nos expressed]
[Unknown]
The motion is agreed to. The Senator from Lynchburg, Senator peake.
[Unknown]
I move that the joint assembly adjourn sign die. >> As -- sine die.
[Unknown]
As many as favor the motion will say aye. [ayes expressed]
[Unknown]
Those opposed will say no. [nos expressed]
[Unknown]
The motion is agreed to. The joint assembly will adjourn sine die. We thank the Senate for attending. I would ask all the House members and guests to remain seated as the Senate exits the chamber. [gavel banging] again, House members, please remain seated, as I requested, as our distinguished guests on the floor and the gallery now depart the chamber. [applause] [gavel banging] the House will come to order. The Delegate from Shenandoah na, Delegate Gilbert. >> Mr. Speaker, I move that when the House adjourn, we adjourn to reconvene tomorrow at 12:00 noon.
[Unknown]
The Delegate from Shenandoah, daegt Gilbert, moves that when the House adjourn today, it adjourn to reconvene tomorrow at 12:00 noon. As many as favor that motion will say aye. [ayes expressed] those opposed no. The motion is agreed tos the Delegate from Shenandoah, Delegate Gilbert .
[Unknown]
I move that the House do now adjourn.
[Unknown]
The Delegate from Shenandoah, Delegate Gilbert, moves the House do now adjourn. As many as favor that motion will say aye. [ayes expressed] those opposed no.