By Olympia Meola

Much of this year’s General Assembly session dealt with complex legislation about electricity deregulation and utility restructuring, and Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-Williamsburg, generated several of the key proposals.

The four bills he sponsored would make life easier for Dominion Virginia Power. And, some may say, the company showed its gratitude to the Senate majority leader with a hunting trip to Gillionville, Ga., valued at $1,722.72. The electric utility also gave Norment an $82.17 gift that the senator identified as an event and the company declined to comment on.

"There’s no correlation between the folks that I’ve done these things with and the votes that I’ve cast," Norment said. "If you take a trip with someone, the assumption is you’ve been bought."

During the year 2000, the senator received $7,681.96 in gifts. By that yardstick, he ranked second among the 140 state legislators; only Sen. William C. Wampler Jr., R-Bristol, got more in gifts.

Most of Norment’s total came from three trips – to Georgia, Canada and Texas. On his Statement of Economic Interests, the senator listed each trip simply as an "event."

The Virginia Sheriffs’ Association sent Norment on a caribou hunting trip in the Arctic Circle in Canada, according to John W. Jones, the association’s executive director. That trip cost more than $3,600.

Norment also took a $1,677 hunting trip to Texas, courtesy of Brown & Root, a Texas-based engineering company that has proposed building the Coalfields Expressway through Southwest Virginia.

Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, also went on the trips to Georgia, Canada and Texas.

Norment said he does not worry about voter perception in the case of taking gifts and trips from corporations.

"In my 10 years up here, my credibility is very high," he said.

The senator said voters’ perception comes from the media’s interpretation and reporting of any gifts given to him.

As for why the gifts included big-ticket hunting trips, Norment said, "I just happen to be an outdoorsy guy."