Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 22, 1991 TAG: 9102220545
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Landmark News Service and The Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
However, it is believed Wilder's $200 million "rainy day" fund has been preserved, but with conditions attached that may force Wilder to spend it rather than further cut state programs.
Meanwhile, the House weakened and passed a bill making it illegal to recklessly leave a loaded gun within a child's reach was weakened and passed Thursday by the House of Delegates.
The bill will go to conference committee, where a similar measure died on the last day of the 1990 session.
Before voting 70-29 to pass Sen. Moody Stallings' bill, the House approved an amendment allowing prosecution only if an injury occurs. Also, the maximum penalty was reduced from a year in jail to a $500 fine.
Stallings, D-Virginia Beach, told reporters he would oppose the changes.
"We're going to fight this right to the last day of the session," Stallings said. "It's ridiculous to have to have a child injured or killed before a prosecution can occur."
The session is scheduled to end Saturday.
The House also voted 57-40 to pass a bill changing the way highway condemnation cases are decided in Northern Virginia. Juries of landowners chosen at random would determine the value of land seized by the state for road construction. Such juries now are selected from a court-approved list of real estate experts.
Wilder proposed the new method in the belief that it would save the state money. The original bill would have applied to all condemnation cases in Virginia and would have been permanent. The version approved by the House is a two-year experiment.
A House bill that would regulate surrogate motherhood contracts was approved by the Senate 19-18 with Lt. Gov. Don Beyer casting the deciding vote. The Senate had narrowly defeated a nearly identical bill a few weeks ago.
The Senate-House conferees committee charged with developing the General Assembly's final spending plan continued to work sporadically Thursday, fine-tuning agreements reached shortly after midnight. Interviews with legislators and aides indicated the agreement contained the following provisions:
Wilder's plan to furlough all state employees for 15 days has been scrapped, but the agreement may allow individual department heads to place some of their employees on brief unpaid leaves to save money.
Agency spending will be reduced by another $104 million, in addition to the $1 billion in budget cuts imposed largely through executive order by Wilder. The governor's budget proposal had suggested the assembly approve an additional $75 million in agency spending reductions.
The conferees' budget orders the Virginia Retirement System to pay $48 million for 10 million shares of the state's stock in RF&P Corp., a Richmond-Washington railroad. The $48 per share price is almost $14 above the price Wilder suggested in the budget he submitted in January.
The compromise also provides money for outfitting a copy of the Susan Constant, the ship that brought the first settlers to Jamestown in 1607. Money for the Susan Constant is a pet project of Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton, a frequent foe of Wilder's. The governor had threatened to use his line-item veto power to block spending on such projects.
The House and Senate will vote on the budget Saturday. It is almost certain to pass, but Wilder can veto all or part of it or suggest amendments. The legislature will consider gubernatorial actions on the budget in April.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
by CNB