THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 14, 1997 TAG: 9701140224
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 75 lines
Gov. George F. Allen is proposing to divert thousands of dollars from the sale of special Chesapeake Bay license plates to help finance his own environmental initiative.
The proposal, contained in the fine print of a measure Allen announced last month, surprised and angered several state lawmakers, who vowed Monday to block any shifting of money derived from the popular plates.
More than 21,000 motorists in Virginia pay $25 a year to display a ``Friend of the Chesapeake Bay'' license plate, which depicts a blue crab, an oyster and a wiggly strand of sea grass against a white backdrop.
``To take this money and dump it into his fund . . . really breaks with what we told people we would do,'' said Sen. Frederick M. Quayle, R-Chesapeake, who co-sponsored legislation in 1992 that created the plates as a cash source for education, research and other activities aimed at preserving the Bay.
``I think this would take away from the whole personality of the license plates. And I would venture to say that fewer people would buy them,'' Quayle added, noting that he found out about the diversion proposal from a colleague who pointed it out to him.
Most recently, Bay plate money paid for construction of fish passages across blocked streams, oyster restoration, shoreline protection and public access to state parks.
The governor's office responded late Monday that Allen, already under fire for his environmental policies, might drop the idea if enough opposition surfaces.
``We're not going to get hung up or split hairs,'' said Julie Overy, an Allen spokeswoman. ``He remains flexible on this issue.''
The governor would use the money, estimated at more than $300,000 a year, to help create a Chesapeake Bay Tributaries Restoration Trust Fund, which would provide grants for combating nutrient pollution and upgrading sewage plants.
He announced his intention to start the trust fund at a Dec. 16 press conference. The governor said he would ask the legislature to appropriate $11 million toward the effort and to approve a tax check-off on state tax forms as another revenue source.
There was no mention of license plate dollars, however, and most lawmakers were not aware that a shifting was included in the governor's plans.
Overy said Allen felt a shift was appropriate because the plate money still would be going toward the Bay's restoration. He did not point out his proposed move because, Overy added, the amount of money was so small compared to the overall initiative.
But Quayle said the shift would do away with a special commission, which he helped create in 1995, that decides where license plate money goes. Composed of citizens, environmentalists and lawmakers, the commission distributed $325,000 in October to various environmental projects.
Quayle helped establish the commission in part because the Allen administration failed to spend any of the license plate money generated since 1992. More than $385,000 was sitting idle in a bank account at the time Quayle's measure passed.
Overy said the commission would not be disbanded under the governor's initiative; however, it would have no money to distribute, rendering it useless, Quayle complained.
``We have a nice situation now,'' Quayle said, ``and I'm afraid we're going to go back to where bureaucrats and government officials are deciding what to do with this money. We've seen that hasn't worked.''
Quayle said he supports the governor's overall environmental initiative, which seeks to improve water quality throughout the Bay watershed, especially in the Potomac River basin.
But he said he would amend the initiative, if necessary, to stop what he sees as a serious blow to the popular license plate program. ILLUSTRATION: Color STAFF/File photo
Some 21,000 motorists pay $25 a year to display a ``Friend of the
Chesapeake Bay'' plate.
KEYWORDS: LICENSE PLATES CHESAPEAKE BAY