2:45 -- The Senate has adjourned as well. That's about all the "live" stuff from here, but watch the blog later for some video interviews with valley legislators.

2:18 -- House is out, will be back tomorrow at 11 a.m.

1:51 -- The Senate has taken a break to hear an explanation of three bills Senators have introduced, while the House is making speeches. We'll have highlights in tomorrow's print edition.

1:31 --  And we're out. Not sure what's on the agenda after the applause, but the Governor is done speaking.

1:30 -- Kaine: "Do we want to solve this problem?  I sense that the willingness is there to do it.  We all come here to serve, but the reality is that other concerns begin to intrude--concerns about electoral or caucus politics, concerns that willingness to compromise might be frowned on or interpreted as weakness.  If we let our actions be dictated by the insular concerns of Capitol Square, the problem could well be evaded until infinity.  But, let's fit our actions to the standards that prevail outside Capitol Square--the standards of our citizens who send us here to solve problems and get things done."

1:26 --  Kaine: "So, while we can all agree that a culture of continuous improvement must be the goal, the notion that we can kick VDOT as the all-purpose excuse to do nothing is transparent and irresponsible."

1:23 -- Kaine lays out the plan, defends VDOT, noting that the agency has had eight audits since 2001.

1:16 --  Kaine: "Virginians are responsible people. They don't demand a free lunch. Our constituents are open to a reasonable, moderate plan to raise the revenues we need. They appreciate the economic stimulus that road and rail construction can bring."

1:09 -- More remarks about the maintenance deficit and its impact on commuters, the economy.

1:03 -- Kaine: "Let me tell you something that everyone in the chamber already knows. Citizens and businesses believe that our current transportation network isn't meeting their needs. They are correct. They also expect us to do something about it."

1:02 -- Gov. Kaine has arrived. Speech to follow.

12:53 -- Jim Hoeft and the guys from Bearing Drift are here watching and blogging the legislative frivolity, too. The Senate is headed to the House chamber for Kaine's aforementioned speech.

12:45 -- Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Thornburg , is on the floor of the House exhorting his colleagues to revive  House Bill 3202 of 2007, and oppose a tax increase. "I don't see where things have changed so drastically ... from what we did a year ago to have this 'sky is falling' mentality," he said.

12:38 -- While we're waiting on Kaine, it's worth noting Republican Attorney General Bob McDonnell's call for an independent audit of VDOT here.

12:36 -- Still waiting on Kaine to speak to a joint session, but in the meantime the Senate is passing recognitions for legislative employees. Kaine press secretary Gordon Hickey just dropped off the text of the Kaine's speech. It's embargoed until he delivers it, but I can tell you it's four pages, front and back.

12:14 -- Procedural start-up in both chambers is almost done. Committees from both chambers are off to inform Gov. Kaine that they're in the chamber and ready to work. In the meantime, the legislators are just kind of hanging out and talking.

12:08 -- The Senate is up and running.

12:05 -- And we've got our first procedural dust up. Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, is dueling with Del. Bob Brink, D-Arlington, over a controversial rules change from last session that lets the GOP leadership force controversial measures to the floor for a vote.

12:02 -- We're off and running in the House of Delegates.

Greetings from the press dungeon of the General Assembly Building on Capitol Square. The press corps, legislators, lobbyists and protesters have all arrived and are ready for the session, at least in theory.

There are no committee meetings scheduled for today, and only a handful of bills have made it into the hopper at the base of the marble staircase here at the GAB. Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine will apparently address the legislators at 1 p.m.

Watch this space for updates as the session rolls on!