Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 27, 1992 TAG: 9202270237
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BONNIE V. WINSTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
CLASH BUILDS ON BILLS HOSTILITY GREETING WILDER MEASURES
Gov. Douglas Wilder said Wednesday that he will submit three new borrow-and-build plans for state facilities to the General Assembly, proposals virtually unchanged from those already rejected by the House of Delegates.But the bills, which would use long-term debt to finance $600 million in state college, mental health and parks building projects, offer nothing for transportation or to boost state aid to poor school districts.
Wilder's announcement capped two days of meetings with legislative leaders and an apparent attempt by the governor to use Republicans and black Democrats to pressure House Democratic leaders into supporting the program.
A mid-afternoon Wilder press release suggesting that Republicans and the legislative black caucus were backing the governor outraged House Speaker Thomas Moss, D-Norfolk, and prompted denials by GOP lawmakers.
"I could [not] care less what he says, and you can quote me," Moss fumed, waving a copy of the Wilder release and dismissing it as "vintage Wilder." He added that it would have "no effect" on House Democrats.
"It's unfortunate he chooses to do things like this. Having been tweaked on one bill, he doesn't want to lose another," Moss continued. "Why does he do things like this? Why does he come out with a [health] provider tax and not tell anybody he's going to do it, and then call you a traitor if you vote against it? He operates differently from other governors I've worked under."
Told later of Moss' comments, Wilder said only: "No response here."
Wilder lost what is perceived as his major battle of the assembly session when the House and Senate defeated his plan to tax the health-care industry to help pay for the state's Medicaid program.
While details of the new bond package will not be released until today, Wilder claimed to have "more than enough" support for it in the House. Delegates twice dumped his original bond plan because it lacked money for roads and school aid.
The governor said he would consider a separate transportation construction bill "to the extent that it has bipartisan support." A proposal being discussed by some lawmakers would increase the gasoline tax by 2 cents per gallon - to 19.5 cents - to provide more money for road building.
The assembly was left with no bond package Monday when the House and Senate deadlocked over disparate plans.
The Senate backed Wilder's plan, while the House favored a $1 billion alternative offered by Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton. It included around $500 million for transportation projects and more than $100 million annually for poor school districts. The bond debt and school aid would have been paid for by a half-cent increase in the state sales tax.
Despite the governor's claim of support, the future of the recycled bond bills appeared uncertain. Leading Republicans, who stood by as Wilder announced his proposal from the Capitol's south portico in time for television's 6 p.m. news reports, said they were not with him.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY