THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070479
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARGARET EDDS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Yes, Virginia, there will be a budget.
A stalemate that delayed House and Senate negotiations on the $35 billion, 1996-98 budget for almost a week ended Wednesday with an agreement to include four members from each chamber in the discussions.
The negotiators and their staffs rushed to begin the bargaining that is expected to produce a budget document by Friday.
The delay, which centered on the size of the negotiating team, means that lawmakers probably will have 24 hours or less to review final recommendations before voting on issues ranging from teachers' salaries to economic development incentives to the price for allowing Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield to become a for-profit company.
Despite the importance of the remaining controversies, several longtime budget analysts said the gap between already-approved House and Senate versions of the budget is less than in many previous years. That should compensate in part for the short turn-around time, they said.
``It would be better to have more days,'' said House Minority Leader S. Vance Wilkins Jr., R-Amherst. ``But a week - or even a month - is not enough time to do it.''
The settlement of the controversy came when Senate Finance Committee co-chairman Stanley C. Walker, D-Norfolk, backed away from his insistence on five Senate conferees. Based on a power-sharing agreement when the Senate organized in January, Walker had expected to add one new negotiator to the team, while committee co-chairman John H. Chichester, R-Fredericksburg, would name another. Three negotiators - Walker, Chichester and Sen. Charles J. Colgan, D-Manassas - were returning.
The problem arose when House Speaker Thomas W. Moss Jr. refused to expand the number of House negotiators from four to five. ``Ten is too cumbersome; eight is bad enough,'' explained Moss, who said the integrity of the House would be compromised if the Senate were allowed to dictate the number of conferees.
Chichester, who planned to name Democratic Sen. Virgil H. Goode Jr. of Rocky Mount to the powerful committee as payback for aiding Republicans earlier in the session, agreed to limit the number to four.
That left Walker having to chose between Colgan and Sen. Joseph V. Gartlan Jr., D-Alexandria, for the fourth spot. Walker opted to appoint Colgan, the more senior of the two, to this year's major budget bill. He may alternate, naming Gartlan next year, he said.
Walker said he and his fellow Norfolkian, Moss, remain friends. But he is troubled by Moss's public suggestion that he was having trouble making a decision, Walker said. ``I never have any trouble making up my mind,'' he said. ``He's wrong about that and I wish he hadn't said it.''
``I've still got his (Walker's) bumper sticker on my car,'' replied Moss.
The budget delay postponed a clash in the Senate over issues related to abortion. The chamber adjourned before taking up a bill dealing with ``feticide'' to give the budget negotiators time to meet.
A committee ruling on a bill requiring parental notification when minors have abortions also was delayed. Debate over the issues is expected to be tense, and could begin today.
Virginia Power employees won a commendation Wednesday from the General Assembly for their response to the Feb. 3 ice storm that knocked out electricity to more than 160,000 customers in southeastern Virginia. The legislature unanimously passed a resolution commending the employees ``for their courageous and determined efforts during extreme conditions.'' The resolution's principal sponsor was Del. Bob Purkey, R-Virginia Beach, whose city was one of the hardest hit by power outages. Virginia Power restored service to most customers within four days. ILLUSTRATION: Sen. Stanley C. Walker of Norfolk, left, and Del. V. Earl
Dickenson of Louisa inked the agreement that called for each chamber
to produce four members to a panel that would reach a compromise on
the versions of the state's budget. The document is due Friday and
the General Assembly is to go home Saturday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KEYWORDS: BUDGET GENERAL ASSEMBLY by CNB