The first order of business in the Senate was dispatching with some formalities, including the appointment of Senate pages and messengers, who were assembled around the ornate chamber in their navy blue blazers and gray slacks. The first two votes were unanimous ones - both related to a matter that was easy to find agreement on: getting their staffs paid. The Senate voted 40-0 on a resolution directing the comptroller to cut checks to session employees, as well as on a procedural vote that allowed them to take up that resolution on the first day. With control of the Senate in flux and the House of Delegates still dominated by Republicans, McAuliffe will have to continue wooing the GOP if he wants to get his priorities through the Assembly. In the House on Wednesday, Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) was reelected unanimously and quickly, with the whoops and cheers traditional in the lower chamber. "You all obviously haven't heard committee assignments yet," he joked. To applause from some delegates, Howell used his remarks to warn against expanding Medicaid in the state, underscoring the challenge McAuliffe will face in pursuing his top goal. But the speaker also called for bipartisan cooperation, particularly in crafting a budget for the next two years, and said he would "look forward to working with Gov.-elect Mcauliffe whenever possible." "We should work extraordinarily hard to avoid the partisan gridlock that has distracted our neighbors across the Potomac," he cautioned. Other issues on Howell's agenda were K-12 education, ethics reform and the disbursement of funds from last year's landmark transportation deal. McDonnell's legal and political woes are sure to loom on opening day, which the onetime Republican rising star launched with a prayer breakfast and will cap in the evening with his final State of the Commonwealth address. Also tempering the festive atmosphere that usually animates the start of the session was the reemergence of Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath), who suffered a personal tragedy in November. Deeds walked into the Senate chamber about half an hour before his colleagues, skipping a caucus meeting. He sat quietly at his Senate desk, looking intently at some papers, a scar visible on his left cheek. Deeds's presence was expected to be emotionally wrenching for colleagues, who have signaled their desire to reform the mental health system in response to the incident. Many stopped by Deeds's desk to shake hands and express their sympathies as they filed into the chamber. On Wednesday, more than 100 antiabortion activists gathered in the bitter cold outside of the Capitol on to demonstrate their support for an issue that some GOP leaders have tried to downplay in recent years. "We have had enough of the killing of the unborn child in our nation," said Lila Rose, the founder of the antiabortion group Live Action and keynote speaker for the Virginia Stands for Life rally, which was organized by several national and state groups. "First day of session - good message to send," said Chris Freund, spokesman for the Family Foundation of Virginia. The other would ban so-called sex-selective abortions, imposing criminal penalties on doctors who perform abortions based on the fetus's sex.But Marshall said Tuesday that he is working on other bills concerning abortion.