Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 29, 1992 TAG: 9202290314
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BONNIE V. WINSTON
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
BOND PROPOSAL CLEARED
Virginians were all but assured Friday of the chance to vote on a $614 million borrowing and building plan to boost construction for colleges and universities, mental health facilities and state parks.Virginia Tech would get a new engineering and architecture building, and renovations would be made to Preston Library and barracks at Virginia Military Institute.
The package approved by the House and Senate will be submitted to voters for approval in November.
The action came on a last-ditch effort by Gov. Douglas Wilder and lawmakers to break a House-Senate stalemate that last week killed two competing bond packages.
While the measure still has some procedural hurdles to jump, House Speaker Thomas Moss pronounced it "a done deal" after Friday's votes.
All three bond issues in the package were comfortably approved. The closest vote was for park bonds, which passed the House 58-41, but got only one negative vote in the Senate.
Lawmakers seemed relieved at the outcome, which capped more than a week of wrangling over money matters. Major state construction projects have been on hold for several years, as lottery profits intended to finance them were diverted to the state's operating budget.
At one point in the Senate on Friday, attempts to pepper the bond bills with amendments were thwarted in a hostage tactic employed by the package's patron, Majority Leader Hunter Andrews of Hampton.
Andrews threatened to block consideration of a separate $485 million transportation bond bill introduced by Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-Springfield. Because it is so late in the session, Saslaw needed unanimous consent to introduce the bill.
Andrews' threat prompted Sen. Robert Calhoun, R-Alexandria, to shelve proposed amendments to the school, park and mental health bond package. Andrews, in turn, backed off and promised to consider the transportation plan in the Senate Finance Committee next week.
The road bill is the only hope lawmakers have this session of getting additional road-building help. It includes more than $80 million in projects for Western Virginia.
If voters give the go-ahead in the referendum in November, the projects in the Wilder package approved Friday will be financed over 20 years using state general funds.
Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton - who saw his more ambitious $1 billion bond package killed in a deadlock with the Senate - did not appear happy. He voted against each of the governor's measures while keeping his word to Wilder that he would not actively oppose them on the floor.
"It's an important thing to see when the governor provided vigorous support" to get the bond bills through the legislature, Cranwell said. "I wish the same dedication had been brought to bear on disparity [in state aid to schools] and transportation."
Cranwell's plan would have provided an additional $500 million for transportation projects and at least $100 million annually to aid poor school districts. It would have relied on voter approval of a half-cent increase in the state's sales tax to pay for the bonds and the school aid.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY