Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-14
Byrd Tax Credit Issue
Delays Adjournment
OF Virginia Assembly
By Alex R. Preston
Stov Staff corr~anondar4

RISHMOND. Mar. IA (Sun-
day).-The Virginia General As
sembly had to stop the clocks
last night In order to continue
It's session into Sunday on a
stalemate between the House and
Senate.
The issue was whether the
Byrd automatic tax credit law
would be suspended tin order to
make available for state use
about 81 million in a surplus
which would be credited to tax
payers in December.
Senate vs.. House.
Saturday was the deadline for
ending the 60day session. A grim
battle Of attrition developed be-
tween the Senate, which wants
the tax credits to apply, and the
House of Delegates, which is
making an about fight to ire
capture" the money to spend for
mental hospitals. education and
other needs.
After 10, pm, the House was
debating a motion to instruct
its second set Of conferees to hold
out for the 81 million. The in
struction would give negotiators
some leeway in revising a
formula for distributing school
funds to localities.
At tbs pm. the House had
voted So to 56 to reject the re-
port Of the first conference COM
mittee which had recommended
deletion Of the Boothe amend
ment. Twenty minutes earlier,
the Senate voted % to II, to
adopt the conference report. -
Recess Move Fails.
A move to recess the House at
6 pm. failed when Delegate
Amristead Boothe, of Alexandria,
chief patron of the disputed
amendment, won enough support
to forestall efforts by admin
stration forces.
One hundred hungry delegates
were kept in their seats for go
minutes longer until the vote
was taken and then a recess was
declared until $50 pm.
The fundamental issue of the
Byrd tax credit act has made
the session a tense one. Spec
tators were crowded into and be-
meath the galleries of both the
House and Senate to listen to
the debate.
Gov. Stanley has expressed
satisfaction with the Byrd law
as it is.
Surplus Revenues.
Another development high
lighted the day when the legis-
lature revised the tax reduction
law by guaranteeing the State a
portion of any surplus revenues
that may accumulate in future
years.
This occurred when the SEN
ate. by a vote of So to 2. ap-
proved the so-called Pendleton
Bill.
Until now taxpayers get all
OF the excess when revenues
exceed the Governors estimate
by five per cent or more. The
new law of Delegate Nat Pen
dleton. of Wythe, says there
shall be no reduction on income
tax bills until the surplus
amounts to 10 per cent.
Even then the State would
retain five per cent.
Senator Harry F. Byrd IT..
of Winchester. said he had no
objection to the bill after the
House had passed it by a sub
stantial majority.
Right-tO-WOrk Law.
The upper chamber completed
action on the administrations
bill to put more teeth into the
1947 right-to-work law by ac-
cepting amendments adopted by
the House. The amendments
toned down the original version
of the bill which drew the wrath
of organized labor.
The Senate's action sent the
bill on to Gov. Stanley for his
signature. 1t was Gov. Stanley
who proposed the measure, a fact
that caused some southwest law
makers to accuse him of reneging
on promise not to seek any new
labor LEGISLATION