THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 26, 1995 TAG: 9501260404
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
The sweeping tax and spending cuts proposed by Gov. George F. Allen have put some Republican lawmakers in a quandary.
Do they support their party's governor, or do they heed voters back home who may lose state services?
A look at budget amendments sought by lawmakers show that many Republicans want to reverse some of Allen's spending cuts and even stick in money for other pet projects:
$1.48 million to restore grants for public television (Sen. William C. Wampler Jr. of Bristol).
$30,000 to hire coyote trappers in Highland County (Sen. Malfourd ``Bo'' Trumbo of Fincastle).
$10.4 million to reverse cuts in dropout prevention grants (Sen. John H. Chichester of Fredericksburg).
$300,000 to spiff up the beach at Smith Mountain Lake State Park (Del. Allen Dudley of Rocky Mount).
Democratic lawmakers, of course, have plenty of their own spending requests. But House Majority Leader C. Richard Cranwell, a Democrat from Roanoke County, noted that many GOP lawmakers now espousing spending cuts have a long tradition of looking after their constituents.
Del. Thomas G. Baker, a Republican from Dublin, said obligations to his constituents led him to submit a $3.7 million wish list to the House Appropriations Committee. Most of the money would go to reverse the cuts Allen wants to make at Radford University.
``They are a very large employer in my district,'' Baker said.
Some Republicans balanced their requests for money with offsetting cuts in other parts of the budget.
To pay for an inmate drug counseling program that would be held aboard a seagoing ship, Del. Robert F. McDonnell of Virginia Beach proposed cutting lottery advertising and administrative staff at the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
To restore funds for museums and other cultural organizations in the Roanoke Valley, state Sen. J. Brandon Bell of Roanoke County proposed taking money from museums in nearby Martinsville and Staunton.
Senior lawmakers said it was the first time in memory that a legislator proposed saving his or her own pet projects by stealing from a neighboring legislator.
``I kind of think it's not wise to kick your neighbor in the stomach or somewhere,'' said Sen. Virgil H. Goode Jr., a Democrat who sits on the powerful Senate Finance Committee. ``I don't think it's good for regional cooperation.''
In other business, sheriffs from around the state told a Senate panel that inmate overcrowding has reached ``scary'' proportions.
``There are times when there are only one or two deputies guarding a floor of 200 to 300 inmates,'' Norfolk Sheriff Robert J. McCabe said after the meeting. ``The potential problems are unbelievable. That's scary, isn't it?''
Overburdened local jails are housing about 2,000 inmates who are supposed to be walking the line in state prisons. But the Virginia Department of Corrections has refused to take the prisoners, arguing that they have the same problem - overcrowding.
Several sheriffs have responded by filing suit against Gov. George F. Allen.
Sen. Stanley C. Walker, D-Norfolk, said he was concerned because the state Department of Corrections, gearing up for the litigation, had not publicly released the number of inmates in local jails.
``We need to know what the conditions are in each jail,'' Walker said, adding that he hoped to arrive at an initiative to help solve the problem.
Also Wednesday, the House of Delegates voted 69-29 to approve a bill that would change the way voters elect members to Virginia Beach City Council. The measure - approved by Beach voters last year - now faces an uncertain future in the Senate.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUDGET CUTS by CNB