Legislators discuss Gov.
Gilmore's ideas
Gov.
Jim Gilmore's State of the Commonwealth speech to the General Assembly
may have lasted only 43 minutes, but its implications for the future
of the Virginia are abundant and far-reaching. [Full
story by Elana Simms]
Senate passes voter identification
bill
A bill to require Virginia
voters to present identification at the polls passed the Senate on
Tuesday, according to the Richmond
Times-Dispatch. The bill passed 21-17 along party lines. Two Democrats
– Sens. Richard J. Holland of Isle of Wight and Louise Lucas of Portsmouth
– were absent due to illness. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Kevin G. Miller,
R-Harrisonburg, said it "will inhibit certain voters, but it
would be the illegal voters." Salim Khalfani, executive director of
the Virginia chapter of the NAACP, said the group probably will challenge
the bill in court if it becomes law. Opponents liken the bill to the
poll tax, saying it will discourage minorities from voting.
Proposal would conserve
farmland
The Virginia Agriculture
Vitality Program, proposed by Sen. R. Edward Houck, R-Spotsylvania,
and Delegate L. Preston Bryant Jr., R-Lynchburg, is a plan to seek
$40 million in state funds over two years to encourage farmers to
preserve their land for agriculture, rather than sell it to developers.
According to The Daily Press
of Newport News, developers are offering farmers up to $12,000 an
acre, far more than they would earn from growing crops. The U.S. Department
of Agriculture says Virginia lost an average of 45,000 acres of farmland
a year in the 1990.
Republicans seek African-American
vote
Republicans are making
overtures to African American voters, according to The
Washington Post. For example, reporter Justin Blum noted that:
-
Gov. Jim Gilmore has
asked for a separate Martin Luther King holiday.
-
Gilmore also would
like to see more black history included in the Standard of Learning
tests and is seeking more funding for a national slavery museum
at Jamestown.
- The governor is seeking
$26 million for two historically black universities, Norfolk State
and Virginia State University.
Blacks make up 15 percent
of the state's nearly 3.7 million voters. Polls have found that no
Republican candidate in Virginia has received more than 20 percent
of the black vote. African Americans have historically voted for Democrats.
An avalanche of bills
filed at deadline
Legislators have submitted
2,903 bills and resolutions for consideration during the General Assembly's
60-day session. The Richmond
Times-Dispatch reported that half of the items were filed on Monday,
the deadline for submission. Legislators have 45 days to consider
and act upon the bills.
