ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603110054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
MEMO: NOTE: Different version ran in Metro edition.
A stalemate delayed the closing of the 1996 General Assembly on Saturday, the result of a 20-20 partisan split in the state Senate and a power vacuum left by the departure of a legendary Hampton finance czar.
Most of the 140 lawmakers spent Saturday milling around the state Capitol awaiting word from eight negotiators assigned to hash out differences between the House and Senate versions of the $35 billion state budget.
"We don't have a pope yet," House Speaker Thomas Moss, D-Norfolk, quipped late in the afternoon - a time when he would have been on his way home in many previous years.
The budget and proposals for reform of the juvenile justice system were the only marquee items left hanging late Saturday when weary lawmakers voted to officially extend the legislative session until at least midnight tonight.
As the clock wound down, negotiators began striking long-awaited agreements on key budget issues. Del. Earl Dickinson, D-Louisa County, said the panel had agreed to give teachers raises totaling 3.75 percent over the next two years and a 6.35 percent increase to state employees over the same span.
The panel recommended giving Gov. George Allen $30 million for a deal-closing fund to help recruit industries to Virginia. That's $8 million less than the governor wanted.
Also, they recommended a one-year delay in deciding how to spend up to $175 million the state would realize from the conversion of Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield to a for-profit stock company.
But with a number of key budget issues still unresolved, chagrined legislators rearranged their personal schedules to stay on, and started considering the public fallout if they appear gridlocked.
"I think there's a real sensitivity to any public perception that we're beginning to look like Congress," said Del. Tom Jackson, D-Hillsville. "I think we run a greater chance losing elections when we appear gridlocked than we do when we've merely voted on the wrong side of an issue."
Lawmakers were quick to promise that the lengthened session will not cost the public a cent. They agreed not to accept $92 in per-diem expenses from the state after Saturday, and will have to pay for extra nights in hotels and meals out of their own pockets.
More importantly, they say the infighting will not compromise the budget or lead to poor decisions about how state money is spent for the next two years. Part of the delay, they say, is caused by the negotiators' genuine differences on spending priorities. And part, they say, is caused by a power fight that may seem odd to most people, but means the world to legislative insiders.
For more than a century, both houses of the General Assembly were controlled by Democrats, who single-handedly determined how to spend state money. That changed in last fall's elections when the 40 Senate seats were evenly split between the two major parties. Among the defeated Democrats was Sen. Hunter Andrews of Hampton, the imperious chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees the budget.
This winter, Democrats and Republicans signed an agreement to share power in the Senate. That meant Andrews would be replaced on the Finance Committee by two co-chairmen: Democrat Stanley Walker of Norfolk and Republican John Chichester of Fredericksburg.
Key to the peacemaking arrangement was an agreement to expand the number of budget negotiators from eight to 10. The trouble began last month when Moss refused to agree to the expansion, saying he didn't want the all-important budget negotiations between the House and Senate to become mired by too many participants.
That meant the Senate was entitled to appoint only four negotiators. Chichester claimed the right to appoint two and named himself and Sen. Virgil Goode, D-Rocky Mount, who had helped Republicans reach the power-sharing agreement.
But Walker, a mild-mannered, 72-year-old lawmaker who disdains confrontation, was left in a bind. He had to choose between two colleagues expecting to be negotiators.
Walker at first refused to make that choice. He insisted that Goode be passed over for the two more senior lawmakers he wanted. Chichester refused.
It took eight days for Walker to bend. That meant the conference committee, which was scheduled to conclude its work Thursday night, didn't even start meeting until Wednesday night.
Once behind the closed doors, the negotiations immediately bogged down. Both sides acknowledged that the absence of the once-dominating Andrews was a key factor. "Hunter just knew everything about the budget and people listened to him," said Sen. Charles Colgan, D-Manassas. "His presence is missed."
Andrews' departure also opened a new competition between the House and Senate negotiators for the upper hand in budget talks. Seizing the dominant role this year, lawmakers said, was Dickinson, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Senate negotiators complained that their House colleagues were so intent on winning the competition that they refused to compromise for several days. "Talking to Earl is like talking to a big oak tree," complained Colgan.
House members laughed at the complaint. "That's the oldest trick in negotiations, to claim the other side won't give an inch," said Del. Alan Diamonstein, D-Newport News.
Many lawmakers not assigned to the negotiating teams watched the competition this past week with keen interest, hoping their side would prevail. Others dismissed it as mere chest thumping.
"We take ourselves too seriously, and I don't think the public gives a damn," said Del. Andy Guest, R-Front Royal.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB