THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 15, 1994 TAG: 9411150317
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Gov. George Allen took aim at the federal bureaucracy Monday, vowing to lead a national fight to bolster state self-determinism.
In a news conference at the state Capitol, Allen announced he had signed an executive order affirming the principles of federalism and creating a committee to advise him on state-federal relations. Federalism is the distribution of power between a central government and the states.
While blasting the federal government for using increasingly intrusive legislation to stifle local initiatives, Allen alluded to recent conflicts between Virginia and the federal bureaucracy.
``Our administration has already crossed swords with the federal government on school discipline, on reasonable car exhaust inspections, on access to our state park,'' Allen said. ``That is why. . . leaders are rising up in a chorus of outrage and a clamor for change: for a reinvigoration of federalism.''
Allen's executive order proposes several reforms, including the passage of a national constitutional amendment allowing states to initiate constitutional amendments without waiting for action by the U.S. Congress.
Under the proposed States' Initiative, if three-quarters of states approve a proposed amendment, the action would become part of the constitution barring a congressional veto.
Allen said the proposed initiatives matched the feelings of voters nationwide, who in last week's midterm elections swept Republicans into power in Congress.
``The dramatic changes in Congress give us a historic opportunity to enact these reforms into law,'' Allen said. ``Finally, the ears up in Washington will be interested in what we say.''
Allen said he would encourage leaders of other states to adopt similar resolutions at an upcoming meeting of the Republican Governors Association. The national group plans to convene for three days, beginning Saturday, in Williamsburg.
Allen said members of his new Governor's Advisory Council on Self-Determination and Federalism will help him fight for the principles of federalism.
``They share not only an uncommon expertise, but a common vision of a dynamic federal system in which the states and the people again fulfill their role as laboratories of democracy,'' he said.
Several high-profile Republicans have been tapped to serve on the council. Attorney General James S. Gilmore III will serve as honorary chairman and Charles Cooper, a former assistant U.S. attorney general and chairman of President Reagan's Working Group on Federalism, will serve as co-chair.
Also serving as council co-chair is Secretary of Natural Resources Becky Norton Dunlop - recently at the center of a very public battle with a federal agency.
Dunlop has fought the Environmental Protection Agency for months over the issue of car emissions testing in Northern Virginia. She opposed the EPA's call for central testing sites, arguing Virginians should be able to have their cars tested at local repair shops.
In September, the EPA threatened to withhold federal road funds until Virginia adopts an acceptable emissions testing program. Dunlop said she was ``appalled by (the) rejection of state flexibility.''
The EPA is reviewing the state's latest proposal. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
ALLEN'S CONCERNS
A Clinton administration policy involving educational services
for disabled students.
Federal restrictions on access to False Cape State Park in
Virginia Beach, which would force all public access into the park to
a difficult five-mile hike.
Unfunded federal mandates.
by CNB