MONEY WOES GET LOOK ASSEMBLY MUST DEAL WITH CASH CRUNCH

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 5, 1992                   TAG: 9201050212
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: THOMAS BOYER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium
MONEY WOES GET LOOK ASSEMBLY MUST DEAL WITH CASH CRUNCH
Virginia's worst recession in half a century comes knocking on the door of the General Assembly this week. Lawmakers and Gov. Douglas Wilder face a $1 billion cash crunch, angry teachers, worried lobbyists and - judging by last November's election - impatient voters back home.
Tax receipts, slow in a weak economy, are projected to be $1 billion to $1.5 billion short of what's needed to continue existing state services. So bud-get writers are considering raising taxes, laying off civil servants, and mass- ive borrowing for construction projects.
"We've got more money problems in this upcoming session than we've ever had," said Sen. Stanley Walker, D-Norfolk, a 28-year assembly veteran. "It's a bad situation, worse than we ever dreamed a year or so ago."
Wilder, who is touting his tightfisted management as he campaigns for president, will deliver his budget proposals during a televised address to the General Assembly on Wednesday night. Lawmakers already are working on their own plans.
No one expects changes in the state income or sales tax rates, but proposals have been floated for new or higher levies on everything from tobacco to hospital beds. At the same time, state employees may face their first large-scale layoffs, and local governments and schools could see state subsidies cut sharply.
"It's going to be a stressful session," said Del. Bob Purkey, R-Virginia Beach. "Municipalities . . . are going to be asking for more money, and invariably the money's not going to be there."
Partisan wrangling, and Wilder's national ambitions, could add to the stress. The governor is promising to spend as much time as necessary on legislative business, but his campaign already has sparked complaints from legislators that he is playing national politics with Virginia's problems.
In addition, Republican gains in recent years mean the most evenly divided General Assembly this century. GOP legislators, wanting to lay the groundwork for recapturing the governor's mansion next year, expect to confront the Democrats, and particularly Wilder, more than ever.
The 1992 session could also see action on:
Elected school boards. Supporters say they've got the votes to end Virginia's distinction as the only state with an appointed-only system of picking school board members.
Abortion. With Republican gains in the state Senate, chances have improved for legislation that would require parents to be notified before their unmarried daughter under 18 can have an abortion. Opposition will be much heavier, however, for proposals to restrict adult women's abortion rights.
School finance. Lawmakers are under pressure to head off the refiling of a lawsuit from rural schools challenging Virginia's method of subsidizing public education. With rural schools spending in some cases about a third of what wealthy cities spend per student, the assembly may act to promise more money for low-income, rural areas.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB