Hot-button issues will be put off for short session

THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
SECTION: FRONT, Pg. A1

BY WARREN FISKE

RICHMOND -- Bet the house, the retirement fund and the college savings that General Assembly will leave on time this year.

Lawmakers say they have no desire to repeat last year's melt down, when a fight over raising taxes kept them in their seats a record 117 days - almost two months past their scheduled adjournment. They hobbled home still shaking fists after approving a $1.4 billion tax increase .

Tempers have cooled this winter as the Assembly gears to begin a 45-day session on Wednesday. Legislators are preaching unity, efficiency and statesmanship. They're putting off seeking long-term solutions to transportation and low teachers' pay.

"I don't see much animosity," said Del. Robert F. McDonnell, R-Virginia Beach. "I think everyone is looking forward to getting out on time."

But watch out when they leave. It's an election year, and the high-decibel debate over taxes is likely to resume when the lawmakers return home. All 100 seats in the House of Delegates are up for grabs this fall; and Virginians also will choose a new governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

And while the session may appear short and sweet, there will be a lot of political gamesmanship. The winter meeting will provide the last opportunity for candidates to bolster their brochures. "There will be more sound than fury," said Del. Brian J. Moran, D- Fairfax, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

The key issue will be how to spend a $919 million budget surplus. Gov. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, wants to spend the money conservatively. He has proposed paying off debts for some completed road projects, returning money the state took from its surplus and highway construction funds to balance the general budget earlier this decade, and reducing the sales tax on groceries from 4 percent to 2 1/2 percent this year, instead of whittling it down over three years as originally planned.

Many lawmakers are calling for more tax relief. There is bipartisan support for ending early sales tax collections from large businesses, a tactic approved during the economic slowdown several years ago to generate a $220 million windfall.

There also is strong sentiment to repeal the so-called "death tax" on estates worth more than $1 million. Warner vetoed the bill last year, saying the state could not afford the $140 million price tag. He remains skeptical. "I think it's going to be tough sledding," he said in an interview.

Warner said he would be open to ending the early sales tax collections if the Assembly comes up with a plan that doesn't cut spending on education or health care.

Many hard-line House Republicans want to go a step further and repeal the major parts of last year's tax package: increasing the general sales tax to 5 percent from 4.5 percent and capping the once-promised car tax phase-out at $950 million a year, roughly the level it has now reached.

House leaders plan to introduce and support a repeal bill, but they say they won't spend a lot of emotion because the legislation has no chance of passing the state Senate. "We want to make a statement that the tax increases were not necessary, as proven by the surplus this year," said House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. "We're not putting our war paint on this session, but the battle will be taken up in the future."

Supporters of last year's tax increase have no patience for Griffith's logic. They note that most of the surplus is being spent to repay special accounts Virginia raided to balance the budget during the recession. They point to reports saying that inflationary increases in health care and education mean that the state will have to generate at least $2.5 million in new revenues just to keep pace during the two-year budget cycle starting July 1, 2006.

"I wouldn't say we even have a surplus," said Senate Majority Leader Walter A. Stosch, R-Henrico. "Just because someone has money in the bank doesn't mean there aren't unpaid bills in the drawer. And Virginia is facing some very large bills."

Debate over last year's tax increase is expected to dominate this fall's gubernatorial race between Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore. Kaine, a Democrat, supported the increases. Kilgore, a Republican, opposed them. Both candidates say the issue underscores their philosophical differences.

Kaine said the increases bolstered core services and protected the state's top-notch credit rating. "The issue is fiscal responsibility versus just say no," Kaine said. "I'm not going to be a one-man bond-wrecking crew as governor. You have to have someone who's willing to make hard decisions. To me, it's leadership versus trying to duck responsibility."

Kilgore, without offering specifics, says state government needs to improve efficiency and frets that the tax increases will hurt Virginia's competitiveness in attracting jobs. "I supported lower tax burdens on our citizens, and my opponent did not," Kilgore said. "Virginians will have a choice."

Another key political issue this year will be the death penalty. Virginia has executed 94 people since 1976, trailing only Texas. During that time, no candidate who supports capital punishment has been elected governor.

Kaine, a devout Catholic, personally opposes the death penalty although he promises to carry out the law if elected. Kilgore questions his opponent's resolve and will keep the issue alive this winter by seeking to expand capital punishment.

In most cases now, the death penalty in Virginia can be applied only to the actual person who committed a murder. In the wake of a pair of snipers who terrorized Virginia in 2003, Kilgore wants a law that would make people who abet murders eligible for executions.

Currently, judges impose life sentences when juries deadlock over the death penalty. Kilgore is backing legislation that would allow judges to replace stalemated juries with a new panel that would solely consider whether to impose a capital sentence.

"The death penalty will be one of many issues we talk about this year," Kilgore said. "The Virginia view has always been that we support the death penalty."

Kaine opposes Kilgore's effort and says it may be unconstitutional. "We already rank second in the United States in the number of people we execute and I'm not convinced the system here is broken and needs to be expanded," he said. "I'm more focused on preventing crime, in robust economic development, quality schools and affordable health care."

Kaine is backing legislation that would give judges wider discretion in jailing juveniles who illegally carry guns. He's supporting tax breaks for small businesses that provide health insurance to employees, annual evaluations for teachers and a resolution committing the state to gradually raising teachers' salaries to the national average.

Kilgore is backing legislation that would allow neighborhoods to invoke nuisance laws against gangs. He wants to increase penalties for manufacturing methamphetamine and create economic development incentives for rural and urban Virginia.

Kaine and Kilgore are in firm agreement on one thing: The Assembly will not tarry past its Feb. 26 adjournment date.

"No one wants to stay any longer," Kaine said.

"It's just not as confrontational as it was last year," Kilgore said.

Reach Warren Fiske at (804) 697-1565 or warren.fiske @pilotonline.com.

LOAD-DATE: January 12, 2005