OWN INTERESTS PROVE STRONGER THAN PARTY TIES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 9, 1992                   TAG: 9201090476
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: ROB EURE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium
OWN INTERESTS PROVE STRONGER THAN PARTY TIES
It didn't take long for the new, smaller, Senate Democratic majority to make a few friends Wednesday among Republicans and to demonstrate that individual interests are still stronger than political parties in the Senate.
The much-anticipated solidarity of the Senate's 18-member Republican caucus evaporated when it tried to challenge the 22 Democrats on committee assignments. Three GOP members who won spots from Democrats on the coveted Senate Finance Committee deserted their party.
By a 25-14 vote, the Democrats won approval of their plan for committee appointments, including shorting the GOP on the Finance Committee, the panel that considers all taxing and spending bills in the Senate.
Democrats also beat back, 27-11, a Republican effort to amend the Senate rules to guarantee more committee representation for minority parties.
Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton, stopped that effort by arguing that because the Senate had just covened, no rules were in place to be changed.
A rules resolution then was passed, without the Republican language; and GOP leader Joseph B. Benedetti of Richmond conceded later, "I guess I got outsmarted."
Later, during a brief caucus, Republicans were unable to agree on a substitute plan to place more of their members on the Finance Committee.
Instead, Sen. Mark Earley, R-Chesapeake, simply challenged the committee assignments as a violation of a Senate rule guaranteeing that committees would have proportional party representation "wherever practicable."
Earley warned that with increased Republican numbers, the Senate "is a new ball game." The legislature faces a difficult year dealing with a recession-plagued budget and Democrats should look for help from Republicans, he said. "We are willing to take some bullets, to take some heat," Earley said.
Sen. Kevin Miller, R-Harrisonburg, angry at being passed over for the Finance Committee even though he ranks second in seniority among Republicans, called the Democratic committee plan "pure, political arrogance."
Lt. Gov. Donald Beyer, the Senate's presiding officer, ruled that the committee assignments - agreed to by an all-Democratic steering committee - were fair. Republicans, while nearly doubling their Senate numbers, tripled their representation on the Finance Committee from one to three, he said.
On the vote, Republicans lost their new Finance Committee members, Sens. John Chichester of Fredericksburg, Robert Russell of Chesterfield and William Wampler Jr. of Bristol. They also lost Sen. Charles Hawkins of Chatham, who was happy enough with his four committees even without Finance. Hawkins was one of six Republicans given a seat on the Privileges and Elections Committee, another plum assignment.
Andrews, who is chairman of the finance panel as well as majority leader, noted that not all Democrats were happy with their assignments. With their increased numbers Republicans may "find out they'll have some of the same problems we have," he said.
"Finance is a very choice assignment and those that got it wanted to keep it," said Minority Leader Benedetti. "I think maybe they didn't want to anger the majority leader."
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB