Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 26, 1991 TAG: 9103260374
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: BILL BYRD LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Wilder asked the General Assembly to back away from an attempt to use the 1991 budget bill to limit his authority to reorganize state agencies.
He also rejected provisions that would require him to get approval from House and Senate money committees before transferring revenue among agencies.
Wilder's aides insisted that using the budget bill to restrict his authority would be unconstitutional.
"It's fairly clear that a number of the measures proposed [in the assembly's budget] would violate the principle of the separation of powers," said Laura Dillard, Wilder's spokeswoman.
Wilder was criticized by some legislators earlier this year for overstepping his authority in dealing with the state's $2.2 billion revenue shortfall. The assembly added language to the budget to restrict Wilder's ability to make unilateral spending decisions.
Neither of the assembly's two principal budget-writers - Sen. Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton, and Del. Robert Ball, D-Richmond - could be reached for comment Monday on Wilder's new proposals.
The governor's plans were contained in a package of amendments to the $26.2 billion budget, adopted Feb. 23. The legislature will vote on Wilder's amendments next week.
If approved by the assembly, the amendments also would:
Add $15 million to state aid to local school districts during fiscal 1991, which begins July 1.
Reduce appropriations to other state agencies by slightly more than $15 million. Included in this reduction is a $415,000 cut in the proposed budget for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. The money would have been used to outfit a replica of the Susan Constant, one of the three ships that brought the first English settlers to Jamestown in 1607. The Susan Constant is a pet project of Andrews, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and a frequent Wilder rival.
Restore $41.3 million in state support for the state employees' pension fund, the Virginia Retirement System. The assembly's budget assumed the fund would earn a return of 8.3 percent on its investments during the next year, reducing its need for contributions from the state. The proposed rate was about 0.3 percent higher than the rate assumed by the VRS board. Wilder's a mendment would strip that language from the budget.
Require the assembly to take up all proposed gubernatorial budget amendments in a bloc. Legislators wanted to vote on each amendment individually, a move which would make it easier to override Wilder on particular appropriations.
Senior lawmakers met privately Monday with Wilder to discuss his recommendations. Sen. Howard Anderson, D-Halifax, said later that the legislature should not back down on considering Wilder's recommendations individually. But Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, said "the governor will probably prevail" on the issue.
The governor worked late to meet a midnight deadline for action on 742 pieces of legislation passed by the assembly.
by CNB