Va. House rule change could signal speaker nearing retirement
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Version 0 of 1. RICHMOND — The House of Delegates on Wednesday quietly clarified the rules of succession for the speaker — a move some read as a sign that Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) is thinking about retiring. Howell is approaching three decades in the General Assembly and last summer decisively bat down a primary challenge from the right from a former protege. But the 72-year-old lawyer has also taken steps to cement his legacy. As head of an overwhelming GOP majority, Howell has wrangled a caucus split between the business-centric establishment set and tea party members with a light touch. On the first day of the legislative session Wednesday, Howell was unanimously elected to serve as speaker for the 14th straight time. “It really is a distinct honor to be able to serve in this body,” he said, ticking off the names of James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry who once served in the chamber. Under the new rule, when there’s a vacancy in the spot during session, members must elect a new speaker within three days. If the House is out of session, the privileges and elections committee chooses a speaker to serve until the full House meets again and can hold an election. A spokesman for the speaker said the rule change has been in the works for several years. “The speaker isn’t a big fan of reading tea leaves. He’s just getting started. There have been no conversations about that topic, and any speculation about that is beyond premature,” Matt Moran said. [Virginia’s top Republican holds off tea-party challenger in primary] Even as a matter of housekeeping, the change caused some to consider career highlights for Howell, who practices law in a log cabin on the banks of the Rappahannock River. Late last year he announced plans to create a commission to study public employee benefits in the hopes of adding the commonwealth to the short list of states with zero pension-plan debt. Howell presided over the passage of former governor Robert F. McDonnell’s 2013 transportation funding overhaul, despite criticism that the tax-laden bill would cost the commonwealth in the long run. And, in a move that made him a hero to the right, Howell has consistently blocked Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s repeated and varied attempts to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Some conservative detractors still accused him of hatching a secret plan to cover 400,000 uninsured Virginians, a theory he has called “ridiculous.” |