LAWMAKERS TRYING TO CURB RESOLUTIONS

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

DATE: SATURDAY, January 23, 1993                   TAG: 9301230206
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium
LAWMAKERS TRYING TO CURB RESOLUTIONS
Every year, the General Assembly spends thousands of dollars and untold hours considering resolutions that honor the dead, praise the living and recognize every accomplishment as something grand.
"Resolutions are important," said Bruce Jamerson, clerk of the House of Delegates. "They're important to the people they're about and they're important to whomever puts them in."
But lawmakers may attempt to curb the resolution glut to save money. Special committees of the Senate and House are looking at ways to make the legislative process more efficient, including alternatives to resolutions.
The study was created - you guessed it - by resolution.
Last year, the General Assembly considered 624 resolutions among the 2,348 pieces of legislation it took up. Among them were pieces celebrating victorious high school sports teams and generous local civic groups.
Resolutions empower the legislature to designate such things as Law Enforcement Day, Future Homemakers of America Week and Filipino American History Month.
They also can declare places like Galax "the Old-Time Fiddle and Bluegrass Capital of the World" and are used to embark lawmakers on studies of such things as contagious diseases or whether pregnant women should be given special parking permits.
When a state lawmaker wants to petition Congress, it is the resolution to which he or she turns. Last year, the General Assembly considered measures asking Congress to give more money for public works and to ban flag burning.
"It's relatively impossible to put a price tag on a resolution," said E.M. Miller Jr., director of the Division of Legislative Services.
Resolutions are so prevalent, however, that one Legislative Services staffer, Ken Patterson, is dedicated solely to producing them during the session.
In the House, the delegate is usually required to pay for the framing, about $40 each.
But if a senator wants a resolution framed, the state pays.
Legislators are not likely to do away with resolutions, officials say, but they may find a cheaper alternative for commending resolutions like a standardized, fill-in-the-blank recognition certificate used by some states.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB