ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 6, 1996 TAG: 9602060073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
A bill that would give Virginians the right to propose and adopt laws through initiative and referendum fueled debate in the state Senate on Monday over whether Lt. Gov. Don Beyer can vote on constitutional matters in the deadlocked chamber.
Beyer, a Democrat, broke his first tie vote of the session by voting against the initiative and referendum measure backed by Republican Gov. George Allen. But although the Senate's 20-20 vote was not entirely on party lines, Republicans immediately questioned Beyer's right to break a tie on the issue and asked that the entire vote be withdrawn for the day.
``My guess is they backed down today only to come back tomorrow,'' Beyer said of the GOP move. He predicted someone from either party might change a vote today so the issue would not come to a tie.
Beyer's vote is essentially meaningless for the initiative and referendum measure: Even if he couldn't vote, it would have failed 20-20. Also, the initiative and referendum measure already has died in a House committee.
But Beyer's vote on this matter would set a precedent in which he could vote on virtually any deadlocked issue. That includes judgeships, which the GOP argues Beyer has no right to take part in.
``There's more at stake here than initiative and referendum,'' said GOP legislative caucus chairman Scott Leake.
The Beyer question has loomed since the November elections that left the Senate split 20-20 after a century of Democratic rule.
Beyer, who serves as president of the Senate, contends that the state constitution gives him the right to break ties on all matters that come before the chamber. But some Republicans interpret the constitution as specifying that Beyer cannot break ties on constitutional issues or judgeships.
Sen. Malfourd ``Bo'' Trumbo, R-Fincastle, said allowing Beyer an unlimited tiebreaking vote would hurt the stability of the Senate. He said his opinion would not be different if a Republican were lieutenant governor. Beyer's term expires in 1998.
``The way I look at this is not a partisan issue,'' he said. ``We have to maintain the institutional history of the Senate and the integrity of the Virginia constitution.''
According to University of Virginia law professor A.E. Dick Howard, principal author of the modern Virginia constitution, the lieutenant governor can vote to break virtually any tie. But Howard told a legislative panel recently that court opinions have been split in states where the issue has been challenged.
The tussle overshadowed the initiative and referendum bill, which finally got to the floor after years of being bottled up in committee.
The bill would allow proposed laws to be put to a public vote if 10 percent of the voters of each locality - a total of 300,000 Virginians - sign petitions for the proposal. For constitutional issues, the bill would require 15 percent of the voters of each locality - 450,000 people - to sign petitions.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB