Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 2, 1992 TAG: 9203020145
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A4 EDITION: STATE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SOURCE: JEAN McNAIR ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Six senior Democratic lawmakers will meet secretly until as late as midnight Tuesday to hammer out a final version of the $28 billion state budget for 1992-94.
The closed meetings have been a tradition for years despite protests from the news media. Sen. Charles Colgan, D-Prince William, one of the budget negotiators, said he expected the same practice to continue this session.
"We'll probably be meeting until midnight," he said. "It's going to be tough."
The budget will be the most important - but far from the only - bill decided in the assembly's final hours before adjournment Saturday.
Legislators also must decide whether they want to raise the gasoline tax to finance $485 million in bonds for long-stalled transportation projects.
The House of Delegates and Senate still have to work out their differences on dozens of other bills dealing with everything from drunken driving to guns on school property.
The House and Senate approved their own versions of the budget and appointed six negotiators to reach a compromise. Colgan is the only new member of the negotiating team this year. The others are Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hunter Andrews of Hampton; Norfolk Sen. Stanley Walker; House Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Ball of Henrico; Louisa Del. Earl Dickinson; and Newport News Del. Alan Diamonstein.
The Senate and House budgets both give state workers and college faculty a 2 percent raise and restore some of the unpopular funding cuts Gov. Douglas Wilder had proposed for agriculture extension services, libraries and public broadcasting.
The Senate spending plan includes $115.6 million in new money for schools while the House budget would add $35 million.
The Senate increase would have been funded by an income tax increase for the wealthy that was killed by a House committee. The House and the Senate have agreed to raise $20 million by imposing a 4.5 percent sales tax on liquor sold in state-owned stores.
Other differences include a $44 million cut in lottery advertising funds in the House budget and an amendment restricting use of state aircraft in the Senate plan. The House rejected a similar amendment, which was aimed at Wilder's use of state aircraft for personal trips.
Several crime bills remain to be decided in the session's final days. They include:
Administrative license revocation for drunken drivers. The House and Senate passed vastly different versions of this bill pushed by Attorney General Mary Sue Terry. The Senate would suspend the driver's license for 90 days after a two-week waiting period while the House called for an immediate seven-day suspension.
Guns on school property. The House and Senate passed bills increasing penalties for possessing, brandishing or firing guns around schools. But the House wants the bill to go into effect before the school year ends while the Senate prefers waiting until July 1.
Abuse of incapacitated adults. The Senate agreed to make it a felony to abuse or neglect an adult who is incapacitated because of age or mental or physical disabilities. A House committee reduced the crime to a misdemeanor and added provisions that would make the offense harder to prosecute.
by CNB