Organizations and agencies in Virginia know that if they need more money in their budgets, western Prince William Sen. Chuck Colgan (D-29th) is the man to convince.

A member of the Senate since 1976, Colgan is now dean of the upper chamber, and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and a budget conferee.

That makes him the state's most highly-placed legislator when it comes to finances.

But all of that may change soon. Colgan has indicated that he will finish out his term but won't run for re-election and that leaves his western Prince William district open to Republican poaching.

If Colgan retires after this term, his seat would be open for the first time in 36 years. Deputy clerk of the Circuit Court, Bob FitzSimmonds (R), has already announced his intention to run.

FitzSimmonds has lost to Colgan before but with the conservative Democrat out of the picture, the district is likely to fall to Republicans.

But FitzSimmonds, a conservative Republican, may have a challenger in Manassas Del. Jackson Miller (R-50th), who hails from the more moderate branch of the GOP.

Miller would not say on record that he is running as well, though he did say he'll likely make an announcement about his future plans some time in June.

Various conservative blogs have been abuzz for months that Miller will challenge FitzSimmonds in a Republican primary.

A delegate since 2006, Miller has been making a name for himself as a staunch supporter of public safety.

Miller's proposed HB682, which was signed by the governor to take effect next month, is the legislation he prizes most from this year's General Assembly session.

It expands the definition of "gang-free zones" to include public community and recreational centers. Locally, Miller said his law affects the Freedom Aquatic and Fitness Center at George Mason University in western Manassas.

It is one of the laws slated to go into effect July 1 and provides increased penalties for anyone convicted of gang activity near schools and rec centers.

Miller's original draft of the bill called for it to also include public libraries, bus stops and public parks, but "because of how much it costs to create new felonies, we had to pare that bill back," he said.

"Kids go to these (recreation) centers to stay off the street," said Miller. "Now we can reassure some parents and the community that if gang activity goes on there, there will be enhanced punishment."

That law was one of eight proposed by Miller and signed by the governor this year. In a first for Miller in his four full years as a delegate, the governor signed a plurality of his bills into law this year.

Politically, that means Miller has gained clout in the House that he could lose with a Senate bid. However, he could potentially use that to his advantage in a campaign; getting most of his bills approved means he is an effective legislator.

Of the 18 legislative bills filed by Miller during 2010, eight became law, seven died and three are slated for debate next year.

But his efforts to enact new laws were only part of his focus this year.

Miller described the battle over the state's school funding formula as one of the most important accomplishments for Northern Virginia lawmakers.

"All of the Northern Virginia legislators working together were able to convince the governor to unfreeze it," said Miller.

Just before leaving office, Gov. Tim Kaine (D) froze the Local Composite Index, a complicated formula that determines how much funding each school district will get from the state.

That formula has always been updated every two years by the Department of Education and when the latest LCI came out, it showed that Prince William should be getting more state money -- about $22 million more.

Kaine recommended that the state delay implementing those new numbers for a year and incoming Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) initially agreed.

After intense pressure from Northern Virginia officials, however, McDonnell relented.

That means Prince William County schools will get that extra $22 million after all.

Miller explained that the reason for the increased funding is that the county's overall wealth has dropped.

While home values have fallen throughout Virginia during the recession, the sheer amount of money lost on homes in Northern Virginia proved to be particularly dramatic, compared to the rest of the state.

The value of homes is one of the factors that determines a locality's wealth -- it's "ability-to-pay" for its own school system.

Other factors include total citizen income, retail sales, and total population.

Prince William ranked in the top five among Virginia localities in each of those categories.

The higher the LCI score, the wealthier the locality and therefore, the less state funding it will receive.

Prince William currently has an LCI of .4036. That is less than Fairfax County (.7126) but higher than the City of Manassas (.4005).

The county's LCI has dropped since the last two-year cycle, when it scored .4437. That drop accounts for the extra state funding the county will receive.

Northern Virginia is traditionally a ?donor region,? meaning Prince William, Fairfax, Loudoun and Arlington send more tax money to Richmond than they receive back.

Miller reasoned that his time around, with local finances less sound than usual, more money should be returned.

"People all around the state were fighting," Miller said of the LCI change. "But it came down to a fairness issue ... We'd be losing money when we were supposed to be gaining it. It was just completely unfair, completely wrong."

The delegate from Manassas recalled putting in a bill in a prior session to change the LCI. That idea received a cold shoulder even from lawmakers who supported it because "the formula is like a sacred cow," he said.

Though he described McDonnell as willing to listen, Miller said the Northern Virginia lawmakers sent him a signal that "If you want us to ever play fair again, you can't screw us" when the region is having problems.

In the end, McDonnell agreed.

"Thank goodness," said Miller. "Thank goodness."

Financial problems from across the commonwealth meant that the budget in Richmond required more restrained spending. Miller mentioned that a unique instance this year came from special interest groups lobbying more to prevent cuts to their programs, instead of asking for more money.

Regarding his colleagues, Miller said, "There wasn't a lot of jockeying to be had because it was all about cuts. As far as I'm concerned, there was an atmosphere of 'There's not a lot of legislation that's going to happen.'"