ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 13, 1996 TAG: 9601160014
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA legislators increased their influence over budgeting with new committee assignments.
Democratic lawmakers from Southwest Virginia enhanced their budget clout under General Assembly committee assignments released Friday.
There is a possibility that the region could place two Democrats - Del. Vic Thomas of Roanoke and state Sen. Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount - on a powerful budget panel that reconciles differences in Senate-House of Delegates spending plans.
Goode secured himself a position on an expanded budget conference committee under an unprecedented power-sharing agreement he helped broker between Senate Democrats and Republicans. If the House goes along with expanding the conference committee, Thomas would be next in line.
In another move, Del. Clifton ``Chip'' Woodrum, D-Roanoke - one of the most outspoken critics of Republican Gov. George Allen - was rewarded with a seat on the House Appropriations Committee.
Under the new committee arrangements, the Roanoke Valley's influence in shaping state spending would far exceed the region's size.
Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, already exerts indirect control over the budget as chairman of the House Finance Committee, which considers changes to tax laws.
House committee assignments, controlled by Speaker Thomas Moss, D-Norfolk, were released Friday. Senate committee chairmen also were announced Friday, with full committee rosters to be named next week.
Here are some new or changed committee assignments of Western Virginia lawmakers:
Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville, gave up his chairmanship of the General Laws Committee to take over the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources. The Montgomery County farmer will preside over any bills that affect farming, the environment, wildlife management, parks and recreation and other issues.
In exchange for a budget conferee position, Goode gave up his chairmanship of the Senate Local Government Committee.
Freshman Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, was given three assignments: Courts of Justice; Commerce and Labor; and Education and Health.
Del. Creigh Deeds, D-Warm Springs, who has been touted by some Democrats as a potential candidate for attorney general, gained a seat on the House Courts of Justice Committee, which oversees laws dealing with civil procedure, criminal laws and other court-related matters. Deeds lost his seat on the Privileges and Elections Committee.
Thomas remains chairman of the House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, and Woodrum remains chairman of the House Claims Committee.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB