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By recommending that HB 2324 not become law
until “reenacted” by the legislature during the
longer year 2000 session, Gov. Jim Gilmore has hopefully gotten the political process back on track.
This legislation was aimed at eliminating the special exception process in certain residential rezonings, one of the tools used by jurisdictions, including neighboring Fauquier County, to manage growth.
By essentially sending HB 2324 back to the legislature with what is known as a “soft veto,” he is allowing more time for study and debate — something that was sorely lacking in this year’s “short session.” There were just too many bills, and too much lobbying going on.
On a theoretical level, Gov. Gilmore has also demonstrated the importance of the separation of power and the system of checks and balances. That’s especially important when dealing with controversial legislation like HB 2324. In a session where many pieces of legislation aimed at preserving or advancing the authority of local jurisdictions were knocked down — including community input on the location of communications towers and several growth management initiatives for Northern Virginia — it was good to see the executive branch stand up for the people.
Of course, taking the argument all the way to the top and convincing the governor to put the brakes on already-passed legislation was not easy. It never is. But in this case, issues of fairness and responsibility have prevailed, at least for now.
Proponents of the bill are no doubt disappointed with the “reenactment.” But they will have several months to prepare. So will the opposition. We hope they’ll use this time wisely.
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