Albo's Rules: Former Virginia Delegate Dave Albo distills almost a quarter century of legislative life into 11 rules you can use to make your state the best place in America!(TOOLBOX)

After 24 years of service as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, I decided it was time to retire. During the comments about my retirement on the House floor, I heard people refer again and aga in to "Albo's Rules." I didn't realize I had more rules than Major League Baseball. But I guess I did!

After serving on the House Courts of Justice Committee (the judiciary committee in most other legislatures) for two decades, and serving as its chairman for the past 12 yea rs, perhaps it was inevitable that I developed these " rules," though I like the term " best practices" more.

1

There are no special people.

Never start down the path of passing laws that treat one group of people better (or worse) than others. If the law is a good law, then it should apply equally to everyone or apply to no one. Every time you pass a law making a classification of people special, you are demeaning everyone else in the state who is not in that group. Also, as soon as you make one class of people special, then everyone else wants the special status. Over and over you will hear, "Why does group X get it and we don't? Are we second-class citizens?" One of the best examples is enhanced penalties for assault and battery. We, the Virginia Legislature, mandated extra punishments for the crime of assault and battery when the victim is a police officer. First, the judges wanted this special status, then the correctional officers wanted it, then the firefighters, then the volunteer firefighters. ("We are volunteers, why is it a more serious crime to assault a paid firefighter than a volunteer firefighter? We do exactly the same thing--but for free! ") Every year there was a new group fee ling snubbed by their exclusion from the law: The EMTs were next, then the teachers wanted it, then the bus drivers, then the referees... you get my point. If the penalty for assault and battery is too weak for police, it is too weak for everyone.

2

If you don't understand it, it's likely some other legislator doesn't either.

I have always been willing to raise my hand and admit that I don't understand what people are talking about. It is not embarrassing when you realize that if you don't get it, there's probably another legislator who doesn't get it either but is afraid to admit it! Citizens and lobbyists making presentations to legislators assume we know everything. We don't! They are experts on their one issue. We deal with thousands of issues and need to be educated. I have...

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