ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 13, 1997 TAG: 9702130024
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Ray L. Garland
SOURCE: RAY L. GARLAND
BY THE time this appears in all papers, the 1997 assembly will be on its last legs, rushing to compose differences between the House and Senate. With cries of too much work and too little time becoming more insistent, let's focus on the structure of the legislature itself rather than measures still up in the air which may never come to earth.
First, there's no way a legislative body will ever present an entirely attractive aspect. Long practice in the political trade produces boredom and cynicism, relieved only by guffaws and pranks outsiders seldom appreciate. Where people - mainly men - are driven to win, what used to be called sophomoric will always be an element strongly present.
Just as the direction of our commerce is toward greater consolidation, so is our politics. Gone are the days when liberal Republicans happily combined with moderate Democrats, and conservative Republicans made common cause with like-minded Democrats. Votes are more cut and dried now, with fewer shades of gray. With the Virginia legislature so evenly divided, the rule becomes: "When in doubt, stick with your party and damn your principles."
Some of this division was brought about by Democrats trying to monopolize committee assignments and other majority perks long after the GOP became a major force in Richmond. In fairness, Republican complaints are less justified now.
But after the '91 election produced 17 Republicans out of 40 in the Senate, the powerful Finance Committee still had 12 Democrats and only three Republicans. And when the '93 election brought 47 Republicans to the House, out of 100, only five seats on the 22-member Appropriations Committee were given to Republicans.
Committee assignments have always been a more sensitive subject in the House because that prerogative resides with the speaker, who is chosen by the majority. It would be wrong to say the speaker has sole discretion, but close to it. You can also make a case that a strong speaker is no bad thing.
While I believe House Speaker Tom Moss has been wrong not to cut Republicans more slack - the shoe, after all, may one day fit the other foot - he has been a good presiding officer. Watching him from the gallery during a recent long and trying day, his stamina and good humor were impressive.
Having stood off Gov. George Allen's strong challenge to their historic majority in 1995 - and recently won two of three special elections, including a former GOP seat - House Democrats apparently believe the worst is over. And if they can hold on until the next reapportionment in 2001, their situation could improve. That's because recent federal court decisions against racial gerrymandering may provide relief for the problem they faced in 1991 of concentrating too many loyal Democrats in too few districts.
We will see how this plays out in the impending struggle to redraw the lines of Virginia's 3rd Congressional District - recently invalidated by a federal court on grounds the racial gerrymander was carried too far.
But the main complaint being heard in Richmond now is insufficient time to deal with the mass of legislation introduced. Among states of similar size, Virginia sets a high standard for requiring the legislature to conduct its business on a very tight schedule. In this "short" session, the assembly will convene for about 36 days to consider some 2,550 measures. That is almost 300 more than were introduced in the '95 short session and about 750 more than would have been normal 15 years ago.
Clearly the workload is growing, though not always in productive ways. Many of these measures are of dubious merit or poorly prepared by their proponents. When the crunch comes, senior lawmakers know how to give these deservedly short shrift.
While the legislative calendar is more rigorous than it used to be, two simple steps could be taken to improve things. First, members should be required to file all bill requests with Legislative Services seven days before the assembly meets. To deal with oversights and emergencies, members could be granted two or three special requests for bills to be drafted after the session begins.
The human tendency to delay being what it is, this simple step would likely reduce the number of bills by a fifth and start the real business of the legislature much sooner.
By allowing bill requests to be received as late as the end of the sixth day, Legislative Services is overwhelmed. This year, it received requests for about 3,500 bills - many at the last minute. Fortunately, not all were introduced.
If most bills were introduced during the assembly's first three days, it would be possible for committee chairmen to do a better job scheduling when bills will be heard - grouping them by subject - and making this available both to members and the public. This would save legislators and citizens alike much time and aggravation.
Having recently sat with legislators during two of their more hectic days, I did not find them especially woebegone. While the level of debate was hardly great, members gave a decent account of themselves. Still, we've reached the point where 60 days every year should be afforded. There are, after all, 2 million more Virginians than there were when the present standard of 60 days and 45 days was adopted in the '70s. Bear in mind, however, if they had 160 days, there would still be logjams.
It also seems time to abandon the fiction of a two-year budget and go to annual budgeting. We're almost there anyway. In preparing the great biennial budget every other autumn, governors must peer more than 30 months into the future to figure all revenues and outlays. That simply isn't practical now.
Ray L. Garland is a Roanoke Times columnist.
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997by CNB