THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 2, 1997 TAG: 9701310029
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: Margaret Edds
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 89 lines
At its midpoint, the 1997 General Assembly remains a party in search of a theme.
As usual, lawmakers race from dawn to midnight. Hundreds of lobbyists ply their wares. And House and Senate calendars sag under the weight of some 3,000 bills introduced this session or carried over from last year.
But as yet, there is no galvanizing force, no issue that outweighs all else, no subject or personality compelling enough to give form to the gelatin. ``Chaos,'' said Del. Glenn Croshaw of Virginia Beach when asked what stood out to him about this year's Assembly.
The session is, in fact, so devoid of direction that the University of Richmond law school gave up trying to find a topic for its annual, high-profile legislative debate. Three years ago the subject for the event, which features Virginia legislators and national experts, was the abolition of parole.
Then came riverboat gambling, followed last year by juvenile-justice reform.
But this year, planners canceled the event. ``There was nothing to draw public attention,'' explained one.
Still, Del. Lacey Putney of Bedford knows that all is not necessarily lost. Putney - the longest-serving member of the Assembly - spoke from that experience last week: ``The session is still in a holding pattern, but it could erupt at any time.''
It's possible that none of the subplots will develop into a full-fledged theme. If so, the session will adjourn as one of the least memorable in years. But here are a few candidates for the memory books:
George Allen's swan song. The Republican governor who cowed legislators for his first 12 months, then provoked Democrats to battle back, and finally lost his bid for control of the legislature in 1995, is limping to the finish line. That's the fourth-year plight of many Virginia governors.
Unable to succeed himself, Allen is far more conciliatory in his last session than in his first. But that is not stopping critics who'd like to permanently retire him from politics.
An assortment of bills, all of which Allen would doubtless veto, propose to undercut the governor's influence over education. They highlight deep philosophical differences between Allen and not only the Democratic majority but some in his own party.
Meanwhile, Democrats are helping keep several embarrassments in the headlines. High-level administration officials turn out to have known earlier than was first reported of a memo proposing a dirty-tricks campaign to discredit a legislative watchdog agency. And the precarious condition of the state employee health insurance fund could pose long-range problems.
Money, money, money. Powerful money committees have not yet signaled how they intend to dispose of a $260 million surplus. When they do, their priorities could define the 1997 Assembly. School computer initiatives, lowered class sizes, and public-employee raises are among the priorities being discussed.
On the other hand, large chunks of the surplus could be gobbled up by ho-hum issues such as revising the pay schedule for state employees or replenishing the health-insurance fund.
The ascent of social conservatives. After years of battle, religious conservatives are poised to gain their most significant victory ever in the Virginia legislature. Legislation requiring parental notification before teen-agers can get an abortion is on track for passage. Legislative shenanigans have derailed past efforts. But this time it probably will happen.
Still, the prognosis for other social-conservative priorities is less rosy. A call for a parental-rights amendment to the state constitution died last week in the Senate. Another suggested amendment, this one limiting the expansion of state-sanctioned gambling, will probably have a similar fate.
The year of education. If number of ideas floated were the measure, this could be the 1997 appellation. But the host of proposals, which range from protecting teachers to offering new incentives for learning, while important, add up to tinkering rather than a ``major initiative.''
A warm-up act for fall elections. Last week's debate over parental rights, for instance, seemed like nothing so much as a carefully choreographed campaign script. Visions of television ads and campaign brochures floated through the chamber as Republicans called for making control of their children's upbringing ``a fundamental right'' of parents, and a dozen Democrats - many of them reading from prepared texts - responded.
Three weeks are left to see if such moments add up to a theme. Whether they do or not, the bustle in Capital Square won't abate until the last page goes home. That guarantees at least one constant for this session, and the next, and the next: chaos. MEMO: Ms. Edds is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot.