Evening star., 1950-03-13
Most Of Battle
Bi||sApproved
ByLegis|ature
Administration Wins
Final Virginia Fight
Over Teacher Pay
By the Associated Press

RICHMOND. Va. Mar. 13.-|
Members of the General Assembly
were enroute to their homes today
after passing most of the legis-
lative program to which Gov,
Battle committed himself IN last
summers Democratic suberna-
torial primary.
Adjournment came at $40 am.
yesterday after a three-hour battle
over teachers salaries brought
first defeat and then victory for
administration forces.
It was a tense and dramatic
finale, the like of which, legisla-
tive oldtimers said, has not been
staged since 1880.
The battle-ground was the House
Of Delegates. where coalition of
assorted political hues fought
stubbornly for a 81 million teach
er-raise amendment to the 1950-52
budget bill--an amendment op-
posed consistently and with ulti-
mate success by administration
leaders. /,
Their victory came the hard
way.
Loses in First Test.
On the first rollcall test, whether
TO accept a conference committee
report to reconcile House and
Senate differences over the $500
million budget bill, the admin
istration lost by one vote. The
lineup was At for and 48 against
the conferees' recommendation to
cut out the 81 million.
On the next showdown, the ad-
ministration won-48 to A. Ad-
journment came quickly there
after.
One final act by both houses
was to set April l as the date for
this years constructive session"
Members will assemble for an
hour or so that day to witness
signing of many bills enacted in
the closing week.
Officers Must Sign Bills.
All bills must be signed by the
presiding officers in the presence
of their respective bodies. No
bills may be passed, and usually
not even a quorum shows up for
the ceremony.
It was Delegate Robert White
head of Nelson County. generally
the Houses most articulate and
effective political opponent of the
dominant, conservative Demo-
cratic organization, who spear
headed the drive for retention of
the 81 million. h
But the lines were not drawn
on pro and anti organization
bases. Many Delegates normally
accounted good organization men
stood firmly for the amendment
to add $500.00o yearly in general
fund appropriations designed to
afford small pay increases for ex-
perienced teachers who, they said,
otherwise would get virtually no
benefits from the administra-
tion's plan for a minimum $4,000
salary level.
Before the budget report was
taken UP. another financial meas
ure barely cleared the House. The
division on it was pretty much
the same as that on the appro-
priations measure. A vote of so
to ~ clinched passage of the Byrd
bill to provide provisional income
tax reductions. roughly in pro-
portion to the amount general
fund revenues exceed 500 million
annually-if the total is $100 mil
lion or more.
Conference Report Upheld.
On the Byrd bill, House action
sustained conference report to
reject the Houses earlier amend
ment making the bill expire auto
matically on July /. 1852.
There was some skirmishing. but
the Assembly pushed through Gov.
Battles plan for $45 million in
grants to counties and cities for
the building of schools. The Gov
ernor is committed to another $50
million in grants during his term
of Office.
Major fireworks of the session
came during the head-on collision
of the Governors program with
that of the Gray Tax Study Com
mission. The Assembly killed most
of the commissions proposals,
particularly in the field of giving
the localities more revenue sources.
Considerable opposition was
aroused by the Governors pro-
posal to transfer $11 million from
the sinking fund to the literary
fund. where it will be available to
localities for loans for school con-
struction. But the recommenda-
ton finally went through.
Two of the Governors other ma
5or recommendations also were
given overwhelmingly jury
service for women and authority
to seize coal mines during crippl-
ing strikes.