The Virginian-Pilot 
                            THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, January 12, 1995             TAG: 9501120373
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                           LENGTH: Medium:   55 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** The 1995 Virginia General Assembly session is scheduled to meet for 46 days. A front-page story Thursday about a procedural clash had an incorrect length of time for the session. Correction published Friday, January 13, 1995. ***************************************************************** PROCEDURAL CLASH KEEPS ASSEMBLY AT SQUARE ONE

It was the General Assembly at its worst.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers spent the first day of the 1995 session blaming each other for a procedural deadlock that resulted in Gov. George F. Allen delivering the annual State of the Commonwealth message from a cramped conference room on the third floor of the Capitol.

Republicans accused Democrats of snubbing Allen. Democrats - replying that they had been set up as the bad guys - noted that Allen declined a late afternoon invitation to address a quasi-official joint legislative session.

The squabble started moments after lawmakers sat down for the start of the 45-day session.

The first order of business was the ``procedural resolution,'' which sets out dates and rules for conducting the session. It whooshed through the House of Delegates on a 99-0 vote, but ran into a howl of Republican protest in the Senate.

Led by Sen. M.W. ``Bo'' Trumbo of Fincastle, Republicans questioned a rule that would give the House speaker and the Senate president pro tempore the right - traditionally reserved for the governor - to introduce legislation at any time during the session.

It was not surprising that the rule change created a partisan fight. The measure would put House Speaker Thomas W. Moss Jr. and Senate President Pro Tempore Stanley C. Walker - both Norfolk Democrats - on equal footing with Allen. Democrats, tired of getting outfoxed by the Republican governor, wanted an even playing field.

Republicans had enough votes to kill the resolution, which requires a two-thirds vote. So the Democrat-controlled Senate adjourned for the day - leaving in place no technical procedures for Allen to address a joint legislative session.

Republicans said the Democrats trampled on tradition and treated Allen with disrespect. Democrats said the whole thing smacked of a political ambush, citing the fact that senior GOP lawmakers had endorsed the rule change in advance.

KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY by CNB