Switching gears
Kaine plans to push improvements in health care and education during his second legislative session

by Paula C. Squires
for Virginia Business
January 2007

After weathering his first year - otherwise known as the legislature's "hazing ritual" for a new governor - Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is gearing up for his second go round with a revamped legislative wish list.
When the General Assembly convenes Jan. 10, Kaine plans to push initiatives aimed at bolstering the state's competitiveness: health care, improvements in education and tweaks to the tax code to maintain Virginia's national ranking as a business-friendly state.

Unlike last year, this is a short session (30 to 45 days), and it comes during an election year. Consequently, major players don't expect fireworks on funding for transportation, a key issue that eluded compromise during the 2006 session and again during a special session in September. "You don't always get what you ask for the first time, but I started early so that we can keep the pressure on, and I think we'll get there," Kaine told Virginia Business editors during a recent interview.

Transportation could be left on the back burner this year unless House Republican leaders budge from what has been an intractable refusal to raise taxes. In the meantime, Kaine plans to throw his weight behind a major health-care program. Health care is one of the few areas in which Virginia didn't score high during a recent survey by Forbes.com, which, nevertheless, ranked the state as the best in the country for doing business. "As you look at the competitiveness of American businesses, one of the main challenges that we have are rising health-care costs," says Kaine.

Driving home that point was Ford Motor Co.'s announcement last year that it will shutter its Norfolk truck assembly plant in September. The plant is one of 14 closings nationwide as the country's second largest automaker restructures in an effort to stanch multibillion dollar losses. Ford spends more money on health care than it does on steel, notes the governor.

To compete in a global economy, businesses need help with health care, and Kaine says he had this in mind when he appointed Marilyn Tavenner (formerly with HCA Inc.) as secretary of Health and Human Services. "I went out and got a great private-sector health-care professional, because I knew I was going to try and lead a heath-care transformation effort." Kaine says his plan will expand access to health care for businesses and improve long-term care services for the state's elderly, while emphasizing a healthy lifestyle for all Virginians - a move that hopefully will drive down growing Medicaid costs.

On the education front, Kaine wants to strengthen "everything from pre-K to post-graduate research," building on the momentum of last year when the legislature passed annual teacher evaluations.

One message that Kaine hears around the state is that a smooth-running transportation network is crucial to the state's economy. "A friend of mine used to run Cox Cable in Northern Virginia. They would have crews go out to fix or install cable. Ten years ago, a crew could do nine visits a day. With traffic so bad, it's four visits a day now. … It affects productivity in so many different ways."

Despite the stalemate on new funding for transportation, Kaine puts a positive spin on his first year in office. "We did a lot of things last year," he says. Specifically, he cites repeal of the estate tax, more money for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, and an annual three-day sales-tax holiday for purchasing school supplies as measures helpful to residents and business.

Looking ahead, he says Virginia's biggest challenges are work-force development "with the search for talent now the precious commodity in the world" and putting in place a 21st-century infrastructure. The state's two largest connectors to the global economy - the Port of Virginia in Hampton Roads and Washington Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia - can't grow without road, rail and public transit, he says.

-------------------------------------------------

Edited excerpts from the interview follow.

Now that you've finished your first year, were there any surprises? What kind of report card would you give yourself?

Kaine: No real surprises. I had the benefit of being able to be part of the cabinet for four years [as lieutenant governor under Gov. Mark R. Warner] so I understand the dynamic of the relationship between the legislature and the governor in the first year … There is a natural hazing ritual that you go through, and that is very understood. Nothing personal. It's kind of the way things happen.

It's an election year and a short session, so a comprehensive package on transportation isn't something that is likely. But are there transportation initiatives that you can see happening this year?

Kaine: On the dollar side, … you'll see at least the $340 million [set aside in the surplus monies to deal with transportation] and maybe even a little bit more, if we can figure out a way to do it, to advance some key priorities. I think we will be able to make some advances on key projects that otherwise might take years and years.

Besides transportation, what are some other issues that you expect to work on during this year's General Assembly?

Kaine: We're going to have a full series of issues related to health care … What you will see us promoting is a health-care initiative that will revolve around five basic principles. One, improving access to care in a variety of different ways. Second, strengthening the quality and safety of health care. Third, improving long-term care, how we care for our parents and grandparents in their later days in life. Fourth, we've got to strengthen the health-care work force. Shortages of nurses, shortages of medical professionals in key parts of the state, that's something we need to [address]. And the fifth - and maybe this is the most important - doing all we can to promote health … This is an enormous issue to business. I did get a bill passed last year to make it easier for businesses to band together in purchasing pools to buy health insurance. That was the start of some of my health-care initiatives.

What happened to the art of political compromise in Virginia? The 2006 session ran into overtime to pass a budget, and a special session didn't produce remedies for transportation funding. As governor, how do you plan to move the dialogue forward?

Kaine: I think there is great compromise. We did a lot of things last year. We got rid of the estate tax …We did a sales tax holiday [on certain back-to-school supplies]. We made some advances on property tax relief … So I don't think the problem is compromise or cooperation. On the transportation issue, on the accountability issues, we were together; on the land-use issues we were together. On the funding issue, we weren't … At some point the magnitude of the problem will be significant enough that the issue itself and the struggles that everyday Virginians are dealing with in undergoing challenges in either getting to work or having their businesses be successful will create consensus even on the funding issue.