THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, September 17, 1994           TAG: 9409170311
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JEAN McNAIR, ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                           LENGTH: Medium:   61 lines

ALLEN WANTS TO BORROW $367 MILLION FOR PRISONS THE BOND ISSUE WOULD COVER A THIRD OF HIS PAROLE PLAN.

Gov. George F. Allen will ask legislators next week to approve a $367 million bond issue to pay a third of the $1 billion cost of his plan to abolish parole and lengthen sentences for violent criminals.

The remaining two-thirds of the financing will be decided later, administration officials said Friday, with much of it likely coming from another bond issue that would have to be approved by voters.

The speaker of the House of Delegates, Thomas W. Moss Jr., said lawmakers need to see the entire financing package before they can decide whether to approve the plan - the biggest overhaul of the state's criminal justice system in years.

``The public deserves a chance to comment on how it will be financed before we act on it,'' Moss, a Norfolk Democrat, said in a letter to Allen.

In a briefing for reporters, administration officials emphasized the importance of approving the initial bond issue quickly so prison construction can proceed.

``We believe that it is extremely urgent,'' Finance Secretary Paul W. Timmreck said. ``It relates to the backlog in local jails.''

If the $367 million Virginia Public Building Authority bond bill is approved in the special General Assembly session that begins Monday, Allen could sign the bill in October and get construction started, Timmreck said. Waiting until the Assembly's regular session in January would mean a six-month delay, he said.

The building authority's bond bill does not require a referendum, but a general obligation bond bill that could be financed at lower interest rates would need voter approval. Allen has said he would like to put that before the voters in November 1995.

Timmreck said he did not think all of the remaining $739 million in costs would have to be financed through borrowing. Other financing options would include federal money, proceeds from the sale of state property and cuts in other state programs.

Allen created a commission Friday to look into selling state land and report back to him by Jan. 1. A legislative report on Monday said the state has about $26 million in surplus land, but Secretary of Administration Michael Thomas said he planned to look into selling more that just that property.

Timmreck said the federal crime bill recently signed by President Clinton could bring Virginia as much as $91 million over five years for prison construction.

Allen wants to abolish parole for those convicted of crimes committed after Jan. 1. He also wants to lengthen sentences for violent offenders and expand the use of alternative punishments for nonviolent offenders.

He has given legislators a deadline of Sept. 30 for acting on his plan. Two Senate committees have set public hearings that would continue through Sept. 26. They will be held Sept. 21 in Wytheville and Chantilly, Sept. 22 in Norfolk and Sept. 26 in Richmond.

KEYWORDS: BOND PRISON VIRGINIA by CNB