ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 7, 1997 TAG: 9702070063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: General Assembly Notebook
DATELINE: RICHMOND
Virginia's state lawmakers proved Thursday that nothing saves the government's time like a little cooperation between Democrats and Republicans.
In the Senate, where they had some of that cooperation, legislators spent an hour discussing hundreds of amendments to the state budget, ultimately agreeing on every one.
In the House of Delegates, where they had none of that cooperation, members dragged out the debate for almost five hours. They locked party horns over spending for politically charged items like the environment, gambling and military education.
And by the end of the day, both chambers had achieved the same thing: Each had approved its own set of revisions to Virginia's $35billion spending plan, which will now be ironed out by an eight-man conference of senators and delegates.
The Senate passed its plan with congratulatory pride, ending with a standing ovation for everyone involved.
They debated a community college scholarship program proposed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Don Beyer, but approved it without even taking a recorded vote. Ditto for a brief disagreement over $100,000 to defend capital crime defendants.
The House, conversely, hashed out 24 separate disagreements, casting an armload of recorded votes that mostly split on party lines. The Democrats control the committee that proposed the amendments and they control the full chamber. None of the Republican challenges succeeded.
Each seat in the House is up for election this year, and the topics debated Thursday sounded familiar partisan tones. Among the proposals:
* Establish a public defender office in Charlottesville.
* Eliminate $600,000 budgeted by Gov. George Allen to pay for liability insurance for teachers.
* Phase out a military training program for women at Mary Baldwin College.
* Cut a $200,000 program to encourage responsible fatherhood.
* Reduce eight management positions in the Department of Environmental Quality.
* Allow welfare recipients attending school to seek exemptions from the program's new work requirement.
* Fund a study of welfare reform by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee.
* Use lottery revenues to study the viability of a major-league baseball stadium in Northern Virginia.
After Thursday's debate, members voted 99-0 to approve its budget changes. The Senate voted 39-1, with one member voting no only to take advantage of a Senate rule allowing opponents a say in the budget's final outcome.
Also Thursday
* Billboard owners got closer to their goal of being able to chop down trees blocking motorists' view of their advertisements.
A Senate committee approved legislation to allow billboard owners to cut down ``diseased or unsightly'' trees up to 4 inches in diameter on public land if the trees block the view of the billboard. The bill was passed last week by the House.
* A Senate committee approved a bill that would increase fines for drivers who speed in school zones.
Status report
The status of some major initiatives in the 1997 General Assembly:
* Unemployment tax cut. Gov. George Allen's proposal passed the Senate but was significantly revised in the House to include higher jobless benefits.
* Government ethics. Modest adjustments in lobbyists' and state officials' financial disclosure requirements are still alive, along with restrictions on officials' ability to raise campaign funds during legislative sessions.
* Education. The budget includes increased funding for class-size reduction, remedial first-grade reading and new instructional materials.
Staff writers Robert Little and Laura LaFay, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997by CNB