Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 9, 1994 TAG: 9401090017
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
\ THE STATE BUDGET: Departing Gov. Douglas Wilder has proposed a two-year spending package totaling $32.1 billion. Legislators and Gov.-elect George Allen will make adjustments, but look for most of the Wilder plan to survive, in part because Allen is retaining Wilder's budget guru, Finance Secretary Paul Timmreck. College presidents will make a big push to get more money directed to their schools, but some will be under pressure to justify the light teaching loads of much of their faculty.
\ TAXES: A post-election push to raise gasoline and other taxes to build and improve highways fizzled when the governor-elect promised to veto any general tax increase.
\ FEDERAL PENSIONERS: Wilder's outgoing state budget includes no provision for refunding taxes illegally collected from federal retirees in the mid-1980s. Allen wants to settle a lawsuit seeking refunds, but hasn't said where he'll find the $450 million or more that could be needed.
\ SCHOOLS: Legislators from rural areas are expected to push for redistribution of state school aid to pump more money into their school districts, where spending per pupil lags behind levels in many suburbs. But money is tight and the arithmetic of politics is working against the rural forces in the assembly, where they're a shrinking minority. Also look for renewed efforts to give local schools more control over "family life" education.
\ PAROLE REFORM: Abolishing parole was the centerpiece of Allen's campaign platform, but don't expect immediate action in the legislature. All proposals probably will be deferred to a special legislative session on parole in the spring.
\ CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: Expect the usual run of bills to add to the list of crimes carrying the death penalty. Virginia already is among the top three states for executions. Look for renewed efforts to add lethal injection as an alternative to the electric chair.
\ RIVERBOAT GAMBLING: Tourism entrepreneurs want to operate gaming boats in Hampton Roads, on the James River in Richmond and on the Potomac near Washington. Del. Jerrauld Jones, D-Norfolk, is pushing for a statewide referendum to permit riverboat gambling. Horse racing backers, trying to get pari-mutuel betting started in the state, are unhappy about potential riverboat competition.
\ CAMPAIGN FINANCE: When Wilder proposed a package of reforms in 1993, including limits on donations to legislative and statewide candidates, the assembly said no. But legislators who have been studying the issue say some reforms will pass this year. Virginia has some of the nation's loosest campaign finance laws.
\ SEXUAL ASSAULT: A commission headed by Lt. Gov. Donald Beyer is pushing an $8 million package of legislation, including a state registry of sex offenders, mandatory sentences for repeat misdemeanor offenders and improved training requirements for Child Protective Services workers.
\ WELFARE REFORM: Expect legislation for pilot programs embracing a number of reforms being pushed by President Clinton and endorsed by Allen, including a cutoff of aid after two years for recipients who refuse to work or for single mothers who have repeated pregnancies while receiving aid. Another Beyer-led commission is pushing those experiments as well as a plan to crack down on doctors, lawyers and other professionals who fail to make court-ordered child-support payments; the proposal would deny a professional license to those who get too far in arrears.
\ GUNS: The burning issue of 1993 probably will fade a bit in 1994. Allen is a strong opponent of further gun laws. Serious efforts to ban or restrict sales of "assault" weapons, a project in the past year of the Wilder administration, probably will die when Wilder leaves office Saturday.
\ BREAST CANCER: A group of cancer survivors and the relatives of some who haven't survived will push for legislation requiring insurers to cover the cost of a controversial bone-marrow treatment.
\ TERM LIMITS: A group of Republicans will push for a constitutional amendment to limit the length of service of state legislators and congressmen.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1994
by CNB