Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 28, 1994 TAG: 9405310178
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The tentative offer, reportedly $340 million, is higher than one tendered last month by Attorney General Jim Gilmore, but still short of the full $468 million owed to the pensioners.
Legislators and the governor's office have agreed not to discuss the deal until Tuesday, when lawmakers and retiree leaders are scheduled to hold a joint news conference.
A participant in a meeting Thursday between senior legislators and Gilmore confirmed the settlement offer is "pretty close" to $340 million.
The state's potential liability, including interest, is more than $700 million. An estimated 180,000 federal and military retirees had their pensions taxed from 1985-88 under a state policy later ruled unconstitutional.
The settlement offer would be structured so that retirees would get their refunds over several years.
The deal would be $100 million higher than an initial plan offered by Gilmore and Gov. George Allen. The General Assembly rejected the Gilmore-Allen plan last month after retirees called the offer an insult.
Oscar J. Honeycutt, immediate past president of the Virginia chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, said he would not comment until the agreement is final.
"If it's favorable in the final version, we'll take action to get our people to support it," he said.
In an effort to encourage pensioners to take the offer, the General Assembly will reserve the right to "walk away" from the deal if enough retirees reject it, according to a participant in the Thursday meeting.
Once a settlement is reached, Democratic leaders of the General Assembly and the Republican administration of Allen and Gilmore are all expected to claim credit.
Honeycutt said House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County, was instrumental in talking with retiree groups behind the scenes to establish a framework for a settlement.
Honeycutt also credited Gilmore and Allen, who campaigned on the promise of settling with pensioners, for bringing the issue to the political forefront.
"What we're after is a bipartisan effort to get this thing settled," Honeycutt said. "If we can get everyone pulling together, we'll let them fight over who gets credit."
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1994
by CNB