THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, July 16, 1994                TAG: 9407160247
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Short :   35 lines

LEGISLATORS FROM SOUTHERN STATES BEGIN 4-DAY MEETING IN NORFOLK THEY WILL ATTEND SEMINARS AND VISIT TOURIST ATTRACTIONS.

Several hundred legislators from across the South will arrive today for a four-day gathering at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott.

The politicians attending the Southern Legislative Conference annual meeting will attend seminars on topics like ``Refining Legislative Bill Drafting Techniques'' and ``Fort Leavenworth: A Role Model for its State and Federal Counterparts.''

There also will be receptions and junkets to local tourist attractions.

More than 2,000 lawmakers, legislative staffers and family members from 16 states are expected to attend.

The event - last held in Hampton Roads in 1984 - is expected to stuff about $1.5 million into the cash registers of hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops.

The gathering is a chance for lawmakers to swap stories, trade budget tricks and share strategies on issues particular to the South.

This year's event also will feature a diplomatic summit of Virginia and North Carolina officials over the Lake Gaston pipeline.

Virginia state Sen. John H. Chichester, a Republican of Fredericksburg, will be installed as chairman of the Southern Legislative Conference for the next year.

KEYWORDS: CONVENTION by CNB