Tax repeal, abortion restrictions pass Senate

By GEORGE WHITEHURST
Register & Bee staff writer

RICHMOND, Va. - The state Senate on Tuesday approved a rollback of Virginia's estate tax and a bill restricting the ability of minors to obtain abortions.

Senators also passed legislation banning so-called "partial birth" abortions.

Eliminating the estate tax has become a hot issue in this year's General Assembly.

The House of Delegates on Monday - by a 69-29 margin - approved its own bill to ax the tax during the 2004-06 budget cycle.

The state Senate approved its version by a 33-7 margin during Tuesday's floor session.
Sens. Charles Hawkins, R-Pittsylvania County; Roscoe Reynolds, D-Martinsville, and Frank Ruff, R-Clarksville, all voted for the measure. Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, voted against it.

A lengthy and often emotional debate preceded the vote.

Sen. Leslie Byrne, D-Fairfax County, dismissed the estate tax bill as little more than a windfall for the wealthy, noting that even lottery winners pay income taxes on their winnings.

‘But we've got another lottery here, where the fortunate, who are born to wealth, who have Lady Luck smile on them, or a rich grandma or rich grandpa or rich daddy - if they get covered under this bill, they don't pay taxes,’ she said. ‘It's the lucky few who get out from under the tax burden, not by virtue of their hard work, not by virtue of what they've earned in the commonwealth, but by virtue of being rich. Is this the message that Virginia wants to send?’

Hawkins dismissed Byrne's argument, saying estate tax repeal will benefit the small businessmen and family farmers who drive Virginia's economy, especially in rural areas.

‘This bill is about those individuals who have scratched and struggled to accumulate the American Dream,’ he said. ‘They want to pass on the ability to create a wealth structure that makes us the envy of the world because we understand every generation needs an opportunity to climb the ladder of success and not be held back by the burden of taxes. We're not talking about the super rich. We're talking about the farmer who toils in the soil of the commonwealth, puts food on the table and who wants to keep that farm in the family.’

In the end, the opposition's arguments carried little weight. Ten Democrats joined 23 Republicans in voting to repeal the tax.

Gov. Mark R. Warner has said he won't sign the estate tax repeal, and his press secretary, Ellen Qualls, said he remains firm in his opposition.

‘It's irresponsible to phase out a tax on the super rich when we haven't kept our commitment to end the food tax, the car tax or to fully fund public schools by our own measures,’ she said.

Qualls wouldn't say whether Warner will veto the bill, amend it or allow it to become law without his signature.

With the tax debate out of the way, the Senate moved on to abortion.

Sen. Ken Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, won passage by a 22-11 margin of his measure to require minors to obtain parental consent before undergoing an abortion.

The bill allows a judge to intervene and grant permission for the abortion if the juvenile is trapped in an abusive home.
Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax County, decried Stolle's bill as "government meddling at its very worst."

Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, questioned Stolle at length on the need for parental consent.

Stolle replied that it will foster greater involvement by parents in gut-wrenching decisions being made by teenage girls across Virginia.

Edwards complained that GOP legislators are constantly "chipping away" at a woman's right to a legal abortion.

Reynolds, Ruff and Hawkins voted for the bill, while Edwards voted against it.

Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, won passage by a 27-12 margin of his "infanticide" bill, which bans the practice of partially delivering a fetus for the purpose of aborting it.

Under his proposal, infanticide is committed if the fetus is killed after its head emerges from the birth canal or, in case of a breech delivery, if its trunk has been delivered past the naval.

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax County, made a passionate plea on behalf of the bill, citing Thomas Jefferson's assertion that life and liberty are inalienable rights.

‘I would respectfully request that my colleagues err on the side of life and vote for this bill,’ he said.

Once again, Ruff, Hawkins and Reynolds voted for the abortion bill, while Edwards voted against it. Qualls offered few details about what action Warner will take if the two bills cross his desk.

‘The abortion bills change so much through the process that the governor will reserve his right to comment on them in their final form,’ she said. ‘Generically speaking, we regard the bulk of them as attempts to erode the constitutional rights to abortion in Virginia or to have the practical effect of eliminating access to legal abortions.’

Since both bills passed by 27 votes, the Senate could override a Warner veto.

Last year, Warner vetoed a partial-birth abortion bill. The House voted to override, but the measure fell short in the Senate.