| Watching the Mind Work |
| Watching the state legislature at work is like watching the human brain function
at a very slow, easy-to-follow pace. |
| Everything starts with an idea, then moves in a variety of directions from
there, and eventually stops because there is nothing more to do or because the
task has been completed. |
| That's what Bill Wohlfeld, of Reston, and I got to see first-hand last week
when we traveled to Richmond to testify before the state House of Delegates' Health
and Education Committee. |
| Bill, who writes a column on issues for senior citizens in The Observer, wrote
a column last July illustrating that many colleges haven't been following the
provisions of the Senior Citizens Higher Education Act, which enables seniors
to occupy empty seats in college classrooms at no cost. |
| That was where the idea started. Then Bill, being an ambitious guy and a hard-working
advocate for seniors, thought it would be a good idea to get state lawmakers and
education officials involved to try to solve the problem. |
| We sent copies of his column along with a letter to all our local state delegates
and senators, and to the officials in charge of higher education in Virginia.
In return, we received many letters offering support. |
| However, one state senator, Janet D. Howell (D-32nd), actually proposed a
solution to the problem, and it was because of her that Bill and I traveled to
Richmond to testify. |
| Sen. Howell sponsored an amendment to bring the Senior Citizens Higher Education
Act up to date by raising the income limit for seniors who participate in the
program from $10,000 to $35,000, and by making it clear that no extra fees are
to be charged by schools. |
| Since Bill had worked hard to bring this issues into the public domain, he
and I felt it was only appropriate that he testify before the Health and Education
Committee as it considered the proposed legislation, so we hit the road. |
| When we arrived in Richmond, the committee was engaged in an interesting discussion
about a bill that would make children stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance
each morning at school. |
| The attorney general was there, the senator sponsoring the bill gave a dramatic
presentation, and at least one representative of public groups spoke out in opposition
of the bill. |
| Bill and I checked in with Sen. Howell, who was most gracious to step down
from the dais during the Pledge of Allegiance debate to greet us and tell us about
the bill she'd proposed. She warned us that we could be in for a long wait, but
that she'd try to get our bill heard quickly because we were there. |
| The senator was true to her word. No sooner had the Pledge of Allegiance debate
ended than several other bills were passed over and the Senior Citizens Higher
Education Act was called. |
| Sen. Howell presented the bill to her colleagues on the committee, then invited
Bill up and stood by his side as he outlined for the lawmakers how the amendment
would benefit seniors while having a minimal effect on the state budget. |
| Actually, Bill and I reasoned that the effect on the state budget should be
pretty much nothing, despite the estimate that it could cost the state up to $1.5
million, and even if there is an effect it wouldn't be more than was anticipated
in the original law. |
| But the panel didn't see things our way. The senators voted to send the amendment
to the Finance Committee for further review, and the prognosis is not good, particularly
because the chairman of the Finance Committee is also on the Health and Education
Committee and he voted against the proposal. |
| Howell explained to us that sometimes it takes several tries to get legislation
passed, and we explained that we didn't think it should in this case. She explained
that she may have to make concessions in the bill in order to get it passed, and
we said we could understand that. That's how the system works. |
| Despite our efforts, there is nothing new to report on the Senior Citizens
Higher Education Act, but at least the public has two advocates, Bill Wohlfeld
and Sen. Janet Howell, to continue to campaign for its amendment. |
| The system has started with an idea. Whether it follows through with progressive
changes is up to the public, which gives the legislature all of its ideas to begin
with. |
