MR. KOJO NNAMDIFrom WAMU 88.5 at American University in Washington, welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show," connecting your neighborhood with the world. Later in the broadcast, Fortune's bones, how the skeleton of a former slave inspired historians and poets alike, but first, the anatomy of the upcoming legislative sessions in Maryland and Virginia. Lawmakers are headed back to work in both the Old Line State and the Old Dominion this week.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIIn Virginia, Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is trying to put his stamp on Richmond, moving ahead with plans to create jobs, shore up pension funds and build roads. Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is aiming to promote offshore wind power, boost revenue and move a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage across the goal line. We're going to start today's conversation from ground zero of those debates in Annapolis, where we're joined by Charles Robinson. He's a political correspondent for Maryland Public Television. Charles, thank you very much for joining us.

MR. CHARLES ROBINSONHappy New Year to you, Kojo. Yes, the session has just started. And they're going through the election process of bringing all the leaders back, of course. And everybody here is a little hyped about how these sessions are going to play out. You've already kind of laid out the main issues, being revenue enhancements, i.e. taxes, and the big taxes, whether or not it's going to be a tax on gasoline or actually on what is called the flush tax.

MR. CHARLES ROBINSONThe only one that's probably going to be the biggest issue here is going to be on gay marriage, which kind of affects a lot of folks in and around the Washington, D.C. area. Last time, a number of Prince George's delegates voted to defeat that bill, and, this time, it's going to come back. And we'll have to see how that's going to play out.

NNAMDICharles Robinson reinventing the phrase ready to go.

NNAMDICharles, what's at stake for Martin O'Malley during the course of the next 90 days in Annapolis?

ROBINSONWell, a lot will depend on his power to bring people along on an issue that nobody really wants to deal with, and that is regarding the gasoline tax. It hasn't been raised in a number of years. So people are saying, well, this is the place where we should do it. The bad news is, is that raising the gas tax in this current climate is a nonstarter for a number of people, obviously, when people are trying to pinch pennies.

ROBINSONBut they're going to try and push this bill. One idea that was pushed by the speaker of the House, Michael Busch, was -- is that, well, let's look at the flush tax, and maybe we can increase that tax. So that's the alternative. And speaking of Michael Busch...

NNAMDIYes.

ROBINSON...he now joins Mike Miller now as the longest-serving speaker of the House in Annapolis.

NNAMDIHow do their priorities compare to the priorities of the governor, Mike Miller and Michael Busch?

ROBINSONA lot of the -- it's -- they're kind of opposite in the sense that you don't like a lot of controversy when you begin a session. But there's so much controversy that's going to kind of rise up because we have also this political season where a number of sitting delegates and senators are running for offices on a national stage. So, to give an example, State Sen. Nancy Jacobs is going to be challenging Dutch Ruppersberger for his position in Congress.

ROBINSONConversely, Tony O'Donnell, who's the minority leader in the House, is challenging Steny Hoyer in Congress, and that's not including what's going on in the 6th District, which, you know, could be a bloodbath, where Roscoe Bartlett, who the Democrats went after by basically redrawing his district to include Montgomery County.

NNAMDIAnd, of course, there's all the redistricting stuff going on. In case you're just joining us, we're talking with Charles Robinson. He joins us by phone from Annapolis. He's a political correspondent for Maryland Public Television. We're talking about the session of the Maryland General Assembly just getting underway. Charles, in some ways, last year's legislative session ended on a sour note for Gov. O'Malley, particularly where offshore wind power was concerned.

NNAMDIHe accused the Assembly of choking on that issue. How would you characterize the political capital the governor now has to spend in Annapolis right now? And what do you think his chances of moving ahead in that area is or are?

ROBINSONHis opponents had kind of suggested that, by putting wind power off the shore of Ocean City that is going to cost more to do that. Whereas, you may have heard a term called fracking, where they take shale and basically infuse it with fluids and water, and then they extract natural gas from it. Well, there's almost like a gold rush going on because if the state approves fracking, then we'll see a number of companies move into the state and begin to exploit those resources.

ROBINSONBut the question is, do you give tax credits to that group, or do you give it to the wind power group? And so it's these competing issues of wind power versus fracking.

NNAMDIIf you'd like to join the conversation, you can call us at 800-433-8850. What are your expectations for the prospects of same-sex marriage legislation this year in Maryland? 800-433-8850. Go to our website, kojoshow.org. Join the conversation there. Send us a tweet, @kojoshow, or email to kojo@wamu.org. Charles, O'Malley apparently said that he expects his agenda will force a number of tough votes for lawmakers this year, and you mentioned earlier, particular where taxes and fees are concerned.

NNAMDIIn your conversations with lawmakers, have you talked to any of them yet about the stomach they have for taking those kinds of votes involving tax increases and increased fees?

ROBINSONNo one wants that on their agenda because, you know, it's great to run against someone who's raised taxes. So, of course, you know, the euphemism, don't call them taxes, call them revenue enhancements.

NNAMDIMm hmm.

ROBINSONYou know, I still don't buy that concept. But, at the end of the day, I think what he's hoping is -- he's hoping he can pick off a couple of people. So to give you an example, Prince George's County hasn't had any major road construction in -- going on 10-plus years, and the county executive, Rushern Baker, has been down here constantly, trying to convince legislators from Prince George's County to vote for it.

ROBINSONThe same can be said of Ike Leggett from Montgomery County, hey, they need more roads because they're looking at that Capital Beltway Corridor and they see the congestion. And they know that most of that money went towards the intercounty connector, so it took money from local road construction. And then the other person that the governor has pulled in is Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore City.

NNAMDIYep.

ROBINSONThese three jurisdictions, the largest jurisdictions in the state -- and if they can get them to come on board, it's easy to get this bill passed.

NNAMDIWhere to from here on the aforementioned same-sex marriage? The governor has now thrown his weight behind the proposal full force this year, something that he did not do last year. Are the politics any different on the issue in 2012 than they were in 2011?

ROBINSONI had an interesting conversation yesterday with Delegate Aisha Braveboy, who was not one of those who supported same-sex marriage. This has really come down to almost a religious issue. And if you think about it, there are a number of black mega-churches in the Prince George's County area...

NNAMDIOh, indeed.

ROBINSON...and some of those congregations called delegates here and told them to vote against that measure. So the question was how -- what's the way out? The way out, as Aisha Braveboy explained to me, is that instead of asking the legislature to take that vote, send it to a statewide referendum and ask them to vote on this issue. But that now becomes the second issue that's going to statewide referendum.

ROBINSONThe DREAM Act, which was passed by this legislature, which allow families who are foreign-born and their kids grew up in the States to take advantage of in-state tuition, it's already going on the ballot. So you would literally have these two fiery issues in ballot initiatives, and nobody wants to find out which way the electorate is going on those issues.

NNAMDIWell, at some level, it seems as if when the delegates says, look, this is in very many respects a religious issue. You mentioned we have all of these mega-churches, let's put it to a statewide referendum. It seems that that's the delegates' way of saying we just don't want to make this decision ourselves because it might hurt politically. Where's the political courage?

ROBINSONWell, let me just tell you a number of -- especially around the Prince George's area, they were told in no uncertain terms -- remember, you're going to have to run, and you're going to need someone to help you run, i.e. money, to pay for an election. Don't do this. That threat is real. You know, I'll give you an example...

NNAMDIYes.

ROBINSON...Delegate Jay Walker who, you know, was a former quarterback at Howard University...

NNAMDIOh, yeah. I know Jay very well.

ROBINSON...he wanted to vote for this bill.

NNAMDIYes.

ROBINSONBut he received phone calls telling him not to, and that he was told that he would have a challenger. And he says, that's why I'm not going to vote for the bill.

NNAMDIWell, you would think that they would say -- they would -- might be able to make the argument that, well, the votes I'm going to pick up for voting for this might make up for the votes I'm likely to lose. But, apparently, having made that calculation in their heads, it comes out I'd lose.

ROBINSONWell, here's another one of the things that happened in the debate last year on this. We had one delegate basically come out on the floor that she was gay, and a lot of -- I mean, this was -- we're talking about tugging on heart strings. Of course, Heather Mizeur, whose wife was married out of state, is now able to get, you know, health care...

NNAMDISure.

ROBINSON...for her and her partner because the state recognizes marriages made out of state. Well, her argument was, why would I have to go out of state to...

NNAMDIYeah.

ROBINSON...to be recognized in the state that I live in. So it was a lot of those kind back and forth. One of the ideas is that, do not make this a religious issue.

NNAMDIYep.

ROBINSONMake it a quality-of-life issue.

NNAMDIYeah.

ROBINSONAnd, of course, there are a number of people who brought their children of same-sex marriage couples to say, what do I say to the children of these same-sex couples? And, of course, it can get very nasty when people began to, you know, demonize the process.

NNAMDIWell, I guess the government has some pressures of his own that he can apply to lawmakers. We'll have to see how that turns out. Charles Robinson, thank you so much for joining us.

ROBINSONAlways great to be with you, Kojo. Have a great show.

NNAMDICharles is a political correspondent for Maryland Public Television. We go now to Virginia, where joining us now by phone is Bob Gibson. He is the executive director of the Thomas C. Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. Bob has covered Virginia politics as a reporter and columnist for the Charlottesville Daily Progress for more than 30 years. Hi, Bob.

MR. BOB GIBSONHi, Kojo. Great to join you.

NNAMDIBob, the other Bob, Bob McDonnell, started this week by apparently asking lawmakers in Virginia to be nice to one another. But the numbers are on his side this year, and he's looking to use the bully pulpit of the governor's mansion to make this a defining session for his priorities. What do you think is at stake for McDonnell and for Virginians during the course of the next 90 days?

GIBSONWell, it remains to be seen how nice they will be as the Senate is 20-20, and the role of the lieutenant governor as a tiebreaker is somewhat in question...

NNAMDIYes.

GIBSON...because he can vote on some matters, but he can't vote on other matters. The governor's interest is very much in pursuing his candidacy, as it were, for vice president because he is one of a short list of candidates who any Republican nominee, and especially Mitt Romney, would consider as a running mate for vice president. So he wants the Republicans, who now control things in Richmond, to play nice.

NNAMDIBrian Moran, the chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party, was quoted in The Washington Post this week as saying that he expected what he called a bolder vision from McDonnell, that his agenda doesn't seem to be too aggressive. To what degree do you think McDonnell is trying, as you point out because of his national aspirations, to manage expectations?

GIBSONThe governor doesn't want the divisions in his own party, the Republican Party of Virginia, to be showing during this session. The Republicans have extraordinary control of the House with 68 members. They've never had as large a majority in the House of delegates. They have a 20-20 split, with the lieutenant governor able to break some ties in their favor in the Virginia Senate. They have a modest agenda that basically puts a little bit more money into transportation by increasing slightly every year for eight years the percentage of sales tax that would go into transportation.

GIBSONAnd that's where the Democrats kind of disagree because that takes money out of the general fund that funds education and all other state projects, to sneak that money into the transportation fund. So there'll be some fight over that. But, generally, it's a very modest tweak in budget that puts a little bit more money into education, especially higher education, and try to repair some of the hole that was made in the Virginia retirement assistant fund.

NNAMDIGiven the modesty, when it comes to meat and potato stuff like the budget and transportation, how much help is McDonnell going to need, if any, from Democrats in Richmond?

GIBSONWell, it remains to be seen how the Senate will organize itself today and how much cooperation the Democrats in the Senate, where they have 20 and 40 members, will provide. That's the big question. In the House, the Democrats are less relevant because there are only about 30 of them, and -- 31 -- and that's not a large enough number to block much. So the Republicans will listen to the Democrats in the House, perhaps. It's the Democrats in the Senate who wield a little bit of power, and we'll see how much power they are afforded and allowed to wield by the Republicans who have that 20, plus one.

NNAMDIOK. Put on your legal hat for a second for me, Bob, and say what you expect is going to be the final result of the dispute over the 20-20 split in the Senate.

GIBSONWell, I -- there is enough precedent to allow them to share power, but I don't think the Republicans are of the mind to do that. So I think, instead, they will try to control the committee structures and keep the chairmanships themselves. They will throw some sort of bone to the Democrats, but maintain power in the Republican Party using the limited power that the lieutenant governor has to break some ties. I don't see power sharing as -- that appeared in the mid-'90s re-emerging, and I think the Democrats may try parliamentary tactics to block that.

GIBSONThey may go back to court to try to block that, but it's very difficult for a judge to overturn what the general assembly is doing. So I think the Republicans will end up controlling both chambers, and it will not be a very pleasant session for the Democrats.

NNAMDISpeaking of the lieutenant governor, how do you think Bill Bolling is going to look coming out of the legislative session? We had Ken Cuccinelli, his primary opponent, the attorney general in next year's gubernatorial election -- Ken Cuccinelli was on the show last week. He told us that Bolling is not even speaking to him.

GIBSONThe two of them are not close. They've never been close. And it's quite clear that, although Bolling and McDonnell have an agreement for Bolling to run for governor next time, Ken Cuccinelli is no part of that and wants no part of that and wants to challenge the lieutenant governor for the nomination for governor. And many pundits and those who know Virginia politics will give Cuccinelli a very good shot at overturning Bolling and taking that nomination for governor in 2013.

GIBSONBut the lieutenant governor will be put on the spot a number of times this year as he is the tiebreaker, and he has to be put on the spot probably by both sides. The Democrats will try to get 20-20 ties to make him look bad from their perspective, and some conservatives Cuccinelli-supporting Republicans will probably get 20-20 ties for Bolling to try to break ties and look back to the conservatives in his own party. So as long as the press spells his name right, he's going to be in the catbird seat a lot more.

NNAMDIAny personalities that you're looking at who you expect to rise up, maybe become more prominent in this session, people you've got your eye on?

GIBSONWell, David Toscano, who is the delegate from Charlottesville who was just elected the minority leader in the House, will be an active spokesman for the Democrats. There are a number of Democrats in Northern Virginia who, I think, will shine in the general assembly, from Mark Keam to Sen. Barker from Alexandria, Adam Ebbin, the new senator from Arlington and Alexandria. I think these folks are going to make some eloquent pleas for things that the Republicans wouldn't want on their agenda, and we'll see how far compromise can go in Richmond.

GIBSONI'm not very optimistic that compromise is going to be the name of the game down there every day, but it can be on some days because our system in Virginia isn't quite as broken as it is in the Capitol in Washington.

NNAMDIBob Gibson is the executive director of the Thomas C. Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. Bob, thank you for joining us. Please convey my Happy New Year regards to your family.

GIBSONThank you, Kojo. Thank you very much. Always great to join you.

NNAMDIWe're going to be taking a short break. When we come back, Fortune's bones, how the skeleton of a former slave inspired historians and poets alike. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.