Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 29, 1994 TAG: 9409290077
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK and LAURA LAFAY STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: RICHMOND NOTE: BELOW LENGTH: Medium
House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County, and Allen's top policy adviser, Frank Atkinson, were among a half-dozen delegates and Allen administration officials who met privately to come up with the plan.
The compromise keeps most of Proposal X intact, but reduces the number of new prisons needed by diverting at least 25 percent of the state's nonviolent offenders into alternative punishment programs such as house arrest, community service and work camps.
Keeping nonviolent offenders out of prison will enable the state to punish the violent ones for longer than Allen had proposed, negotiators said.
But the new plan retains Allen's definition of burglary and drug offenses as violent, they said.
The compromise could be approved by the end of the week, lawmakers on both sides of the issue said.
"Parole is abolished, truth in sentencing is established, and enhancements for violent crimes are maintained," said Del. Glenn Croshaw, D-Virginia Beach, one of the sponsors of Allen's original bill.
"I would say it's 90 percent of what the governor's commission recommended."
Jerry Kilgore, Allen's secretary of public safety, put the figure at closer to 100 percent. "That's exactly where we were headed," he said of the plan to keep some nonviolent offenders out of prisons, "and now we're all headed there together.
"The governor is very pleased that his goals are being accomplished through this bill."
This week's movement toward compromise came after more than a week of partisan plotting and scheming by the state's lawmakers.
"I've been here for 23 years, and this is the most highly politicized issue I've ever seen," Cranwell said.
Armed with estimates that Proposal X could cost taxpayers up to $2.2 billion in the next decade - more than twice what Allen initially estimated - Democrats were able to persuade the GOP to bargain.
While exact figures were not made available, Cranwell speculated that the deal could save between $26 and $45 million a year in prison operating costs and $50 million to $70 million in construction costs by eliminating the need for up to five new prisons.
The new bill, which could reach the floor of the House of Delegates today, calls for $35 million worth of immediate prison construction to stanch jail overcrowding. Long-term financing, which Allen had suggested be covered by bonds, will be taken up at next year's regular session.
Although most lawmakers approved of the compromise negotiations, members of the Legislative Black Caucus expressed anger early Wednesday that no black lawmakers had been included in the deal-making.
"More than anything, it was insensitivity," said Del. Kenneth Melvin, D-Portsmouth. "Two-thirds of the prison population is African-American."
Del. Jerrauld Jones, D-Norfolk, was hurriedly appointed to the negotiating team Wednesday morning. Jones, the chairman of the Black Caucus, has scheduled a press conference at the capital this morning.
The Democrats were reluctant to help Allen achieve glory by passing Proposal X untouched. But they were equally concerned about being labeled soft on crime during next year's elections if they voted against it. The compromise bill allows them to claim credit for being both fiscally responsible and tough on crime.
But some GOP lawmakers said the compromise was merely a way for the Democratic majority to save face.
"The only changes they made were around the edges," said Del. Clinton Miller, R-Woodstock. "I think [the Democrats] are afraid of the people of Virginia. The Democratic Party has been out of touch for a long time."
In addition to raising concerns about the general cost of Proposal X, Democrats also have spent the session speculating that the money Allen wanted for prisons would drain money away from the state's colleges and universities.
On Wednesday, Sen. Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton, called university heads before the Senate Finance Committee to talk about each institution's projected financial needs for the next decade.
The expected increase of college-age youths also translates into an expected increase of crime-prone youths, which Allen often cites in support of Proposal X.
"Apparently, this upcoming generation is going one place or the other," said Del. Clifton ``Chip'' Woodrum, D-Roanoke. "They're either going to college, or they're going to prison."
by CNB