DATE: Friday, May 30, 1997                  TAG: 9705300722

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B12  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   31 lines

DEMOCRAT PAYNE ASKS GILMORE TO ENTER TOBACCO NEGOTIATIONS

L.F. Payne, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, on Thursday urged Attorney General James S. Gilmore III, the Republican nominee for governor, to join the tobacco lawsuit negotiations.

Thirty states have filed lawsuits seeking to recover smoking-related health-care costs from the nation's tobacco companies. Settlement talks are under way.

Virginia is not among the states suing, but Payne said the state should have a seat at the negotiating table to make sure its interests are protected.

``I believe the Attorney General's Office should fulfill this obligation to help ensure that the outcome of any settlement is in the best interest of the entire commonwealth,'' the former congressman said in a letter to Gilmore.

Payne spokesman Todd Haymore said the secrecy of the talks makes it impossible to say exactly how Gilmore's office could protect the state's interests.

Gilmore sent a letter back, saying attorneys general from states not suing the tobacco companies have had representation at the negotiations.

``My office is closely monitoring developments and maintains contact with other non-suing attorneys general,'' he wrote.

Payne, whose congressional district included much of Southside Virginia's tobacco-growing region, supported Gilmore's decision not to join in the lawsuits.

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