THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601280199
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Week in review
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
After last Monday's 6 p.m. deadline for filing bills, the real work of the General Assembly began: referring to committees, considering, discussing, studying and, eventually, voting on ideas that may become laws for Virginians.
The flow of work increased last week, although bills of great substance or controversy probably won't make it to the floor until near the Feb. 13 deadline for each chamber to act on its own legislation.
The work is in committees and subcommittees, where bills get their first hearings. The pace should pick up this week. Some notes from last week:
Softening tobacco lobby?
Might the time be right to make it tougher for the young to buy cigarettes? Some lawmakers think so, and they think Virginia's vigorous tobacco lobby may be mellowing. Legislators say they expect less resistance from tobacco interests to proposed laws to ban kids from using cigarette vending machines, require clerks to see a photo ID before selling to a youngster and devise better ways to enforce laws limiting youth access to tobacco.
Del. James Almand, D-Arlington, said Wednesday he's optimistic the tobacco industry will support the measures. ``A lot of people are skeptical, but I believe them to be committed to working with us.''
Anthony F. Troy, a lobbyist for the Tobacco Institute, said his industry generally supports ``responsible restrictions'' on youth access to tobacco.
Under federal pressure, the industry is doing more to discourage teen smoking.
Last year, tobacco interests helped kill a bill to ban vending machine cigarette sales. Vending machines are a concern because purchasers include the state's youngest smokers - middle-school or even elementary school kids who don't have older friends who can buy smokes for them over the counter.
A simple act with significance
Senators made history Thursday when they reappointed judges, unanimously and without discussion. That wouldn't normally be noteworthy. Previously, Democrats controlled the appointment process. But this year, Republicans have more say. In the 20-20 split Senate, it takes 21 votes to seat a judge, so neither party can act alone. That means Republicans could have kicked some Democratic judges from the bench. But they didn't.
``It is a historic moment to see bipartisan cooperation on an issue that had been so political in the past,'' said Sen. Joseph V. Gartlan Jr., a Fairfax Democrat.
March 8 brings the real test of the new bipartisan design: Then, members fill judicial vacancies. Republicans who negotiated their new sway say they never intended to meddle with the sitting judges - only to help choose new ones.
Power players positioning themselves:
The state's largest public utility faces opposition from some of its biggest customers over its desire to deregulate. The General Assembly is considering measures to give power companies more regulatory freedom as the industry prepares for competition.
Virginia Power already has hired 10 lobbyists to press its legislative case. On the other side: big industrial customers and more lobbyists.
The industries joined Tuesday in a coalition with consumer advocates, private power producers and small energy contractors to oppose seven bills introduced for the utility. The Virginia Committee for Fair Utility Rates, represents 20 of the state's biggest industries and employers and has four lobbyists registered for the session. In addition, the committee's members have their own lobbyists working against the bills.
Critics say Virginia Power is a monopoly, protected by state law from competition for retail customers.
``The worst thing we can end up with is a monopoly that's unregulated,'' said R. Allen Cunningham, manager of energy procurement for DuPont Co., which operates three factories in Virginia.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY by CNB