THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 14, 1995 TAG: 9501140210
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Legislators compromised on a rules change that had threatened to shorten the 1995 General Assembly, then headed home for the weekend to recover from the 46-day session's extraordinarily rocky start.
Friday's agreement provided at least temporary relief from the partisan tensions that dominated the assembly's first three days.
``I love them all,'' Senate Majority Leader Hunter B. Andrews of Hampton gushed when asked about his level of bitterness toward his Republican colleagues.
But that doesn't mean the lawmakers won't spend the weekend recharging their batteries for more bickering Monday.
``The election is just as close today as it ever was,'' said House Minority Leader S. Vance Wilkins Jr. of Amherst County. ``Those issues that are perceived as partisan will be wrangled over with the same intensity as we go along.''
All 140 General Assembly seats are up for election in November, and the GOP believes it can wrest control from Democrats for the first time ever.
The opening-week discord was caused by a proposal to allow Democratic leaders of the Senate and the House of Delegates to introduce bills after the deadline. The governor is the only person who has had that right.
Republicans characterized the move as a Democratic power grab.
Democrats said it was just an effort to balance the power between the legislative and executive branches.
A party-line vote in the Senate failed to muster the two-thirds vote needed to pass the resolution, which also spelled out procedures for a joint session to hear Republican Gov. George Allen's State of the Commonwealth speech. Allen had to give the televised speech from his office.
The resolution also extended the session from the 30 days specified in the Virginia Constitution to 46 days.
Without approval of the resolution, the session would have been cut by about one-third.
Lawmakers amended the resolution Friday to allow any legislators to introduce legislation after the cutoff date if two-thirds of the members of each chamber agree.
In the past, unanimous consent was required to submit a bill late.
Because Democrats hold only a slim majority in each house, neither party can now ram a bill down the other's throat.
But the rules have been loosened so ``one renegade can't stop important business of the state,'' Wilkins said.
``I think this is a fair and amicable and cooperative compromise,'' Andrews said.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY by CNB