Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 19, 1991 TAG: 9102190346
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DONALD P. BAKER THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Senate Minority Leader William Truban, R-Woodstock, said he is "not qualified" to vote on some of the bills that are "one-half-inch thick" that he reads at 10 p.m. in his hotel room.
"We have been blowing smoke," agreed Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton. The public is "entitled to legislative efficiency and deliberation" but instead, he said, it is offered "a railroad train" that goes so fast that "people don't have an opportunity to express their views."
Such rare bipartisan confessions came during a debate last week about a proposed constitutional amendment that would permit lawmakers in future years to take one or more midsession breaks of up to 10 days.
The amendment's sponsor, Del. Clinton Miller, R-Woodstock, said the need for closer examination of the budget was the driving force behind his idea. But he said the recesses also could provide more time for public hearings on issues such as abortion, elected school boards and transferrable development rights.
Under the present timetable, even the most controversial subjects seldom get more than a one-hour hearing.
"It's exasperating for people to drive to Richmond from all over the state for a hearing, and then be told they only have one minute to present their view," Miller said.
Sprinting frantically toward a Saturday adjournment, the 140 legislators, who represent 6.1 million Virginians, will have dispensed with about 2,000 bills and resolutions.
They dealt with them sometimes with wisdom, occasionally by mistake and almost always in haste.
To get their work done, the lawmakers hold hearings as early as 7:30 a.m., eat lunch during floor debates and often are still at work late into the night and on weekends.
That is not to say the legislators don't take time out for nightly receptions given by lobbyists, but even their sharpest critics concede that they are hard workers.
By comparison, Maryland, with 188 legislators for about 4.8 million residents, has a comparatively relaxed schedule that usually runs from Monday night to Friday afternoon.
The difference is that Virginia's legislature meets for 60 days in even-numbered years and 30 in odd-numbered ones (extended to 45 or 46 days in recent years), while Maryland's assembly meets for 90 days every year.
One of the most hectic dates on the assembly's calendar is crossover day, the deadline for each House to act on its bills. C. Flippo Hicks, who has been patrolling the halls of the Capitol as a lobbyist since 1953, calls it "passover," because it's so easy for legislation to win approval on that day without close examination.
"I've just come through my worst week in 20 years," said Hicks, who works for the Virginia Association of Counties.
Hicks missed a provision in a House-passed bill that attempts to fill a gap in the enforcement provisions of the Indoor Clean Air Act by requiring county attorneys to handle violations. The problem with that, Hicks said, is that many smaller counties have no such office and would have to hire a lawyer every time there was a complaint.
Hicks caught up with the measure before the Senate Education Committee. He persuaded the Senate panel to make enforcement the responsibility of the commonwealth's attorney, which every county has.
"I never thought I'd say it," said Hicks, who was around when biennial sessions were replaced with yearly meetings in 1973, "but it's time for a change again."
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
by CNB