THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702230245
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Staff writer David Poole and The Associated Press contributed
to this report.
LENGTH: 66 lines
Bolling hopes Allen closes loopholes in campaign reform bill
The Assembly approved a campaign finance reform bill riddled with loopholes.
The original bill would have banned lawmakers and statewide office holders from accepting or soliciting campaign contributions during the Assembly's annual winter sessions.
The version that emerged Saturday contained these exceptions:
Politicians can still hawk tickets to annual party receptions, soliciting lobbyists who appear before their committees. Coincidentally, both party caucuses hold their biggest fund-raisers in winter.
The prohibitions do not apply to politicians facing a ``contested'' election. That exception ensures that the attorney general and lieutenant governor would be able to raise money year-round. Because there is no definition of ``contested,'' lawmakers possibly could raise money even if a challenger has not filed an official declaration of candidacy.
Sen. William T. Bolling, R-Hanover, said he hoped that Gov. George F. Allen could amend the bill to close some of the loopholes.
The bill grew out of a special House subcommittee, which concluded that money should not change hands between lawmakers and lobbyists while the people's business is being conducted.
Trees are given priority over billboards in decision
One late casualty in the session was a bill to allow billboard operators to cut down ``unsightly or diseased'' trees obstructing motorists' view of their signs.
A conference committee was unable to work out a compromise. Environmentalists and garden clubs attacked the bill as a sellout to business and said it would diminish Virginia's scenic beauty.
Budget revisions clear final House, Senate votes
After hearing from hundreds of groups asking for money and then negotiating for weeks over the gritty details, the House of Delegates and Senate took less than five minutes each Saturday to approve revisions to the state budget.
``We debated that hybrid-dog bill longer than we debated the budget,'' said Del. Robert D. Hall, D-Fairfax, referring to a bill on dangerous dogs.
The budget was approved 99-1 by the House and 40-0 by the Senate.
This year's budget amendments will fatten paychecks for state workers, teachers and college and university faculty, put more police on the streets and set up a fund to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay.
Money - in addition to possible earlier appropriations - for various projects in South Hampton Roads includes:
Chrysler Museum - $250,000
Virginia Sports Hall of Fame - $50,000
Virginia Zoo - $550,000
Virginia Marine Science Museum - $100,000
Hampton Roads Sports Authority - $1 million (contingent on Hampton Roads securing an NHL franchise)
Beach Erosion Prevention - Norfolk - $400,000
Norfolk Botanical Garden - $150,000
Norfolk Campus TCC - $2.5 million.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997 VIRGINIA STATE BUDGET
APPROPRIATIONS HAMPTON ROADS