Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 14, 1995 TAG: 9501160057
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Legislators compromised Friday on a rules change that had threatened to shorten the 1995 General Assembly, then headed home for the weekend to recover from the 46-day session's extraordinarily rocky start.
The agreement provided at least temporary relief from the partisan tensions that dominated the assembly's first three days.
``I love them all,'' Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton, gushed when asked about his level of bitterness toward his Republican colleagues.
But that doesn't mean the lawmakers won't spend the weekend recharging their batteries for more bickering come Monday.
``The election is just as close today as it ever was,'' said House Minority Leader Vance Wilkins, R-Amherst. ``Those issues that are perceived as partisan will be wrangled over with the same intensity as we go along.''
All 140 General Assembly seats are up for election in November, and the GOP believes it can wrest control from Democrats for the first time ever.
The opening-week discord was caused by a proposal to allow Democratic leaders of the Senate and the House of Delegates to introduce bills after the deadline. Only the governor has had that right.
Republicans characterized the move as a Democratic power grab.
Democrats said it was just an effort to balance the power between the legislative and executive branches.
A party-line vote in the Senate failed to muster the two-thirds needed to pass the resolution, which also spelled out procedures for a joint session to hear Republican Gov. George Allen's State of the Commonwealth speech. Allen ended up giving the televised speech from his office.
The resolution also extended the session from the 30 days specified in the Virginia Constitution to 46 days. Without approval of the resolution, the session would have been cut by about one-third.
Lawmakers amended the resolution Friday to allow any legislator to introduce bills after the cutoff date if two-thirds of the members of each chamber agree. In the past, unanimous consent was required to submit a bill late.
Because Democrats hold only a slim majority in each house, neither party can ram a bill down the other's throat. But the rules have been loosened so ``one renegade can't stop important business of the state,'' Wilkins said.
``I think this is a fair and amicable and cooperative compromise,'' Andrews said.
Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, said the GOP's refusal to cave in is significant.
``I think it shows that Virginia has, for the first time, a viable two-party system,'' he said. ``I think this is fair and everyone's happy about it.''
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1995
by CNB