University of Virginia Library

Special Assembly Convened
To Hear Proposed Changes

By Pete Shea
Cavalier Daily Staff writer

Virginia's State senators and
delegates will convene in Richmond
today for the special session of the
General Assembly to consider
proposed changes to the constitution,
including a strong stand on
demonstrations.

The start of the 30-day session
will be at 12:30 p.m. when the
representatives meet to hear the
opening message from Governor
Mills E. Godwin. The session has
been called to consider the
recommendations of the
Commission on Constitutional
Review. This marks the sixth major
revision in Virginia's 190 year old
constitution and only the second to
be approved by legislative action
and referendum.

The Harrison Commission will
place many items before the body
for debate, however an early,
Godwin-backed resolution, if
passed, would permit the session to
consider only three types of
legislation: proposed constitutional
changes, measures admitted
unanimously by both houses, and
those submitted by the Governor.

It is expected that the Assembly
will spend most of its time on
about seven major questions. One
of those which will cause the most
debate will be the matter of
whether the General Assembly
should meet each year or every
other year, as is currently the
custom.

Three Local Legislators

The three local legislators,
Senator J.H. Michael and Delegates
Daniel Van Clef and C. Armonde
Paxson, all disagree with the
Harrison Commission, which
advocates the biennial session. Mr.
Van Clef said he favors the regular
60-day session and a 30-day session
for "off-years." "The governor
could extend it to 45 days if work
had to be done." Mr. Michael, who
agrees with Mr. Van Clef, warned,
"I don't believe that the majority
will favor the annual session."

The legislators will also consider
two bills that could have a drastic
effect on University students. One
would lower the voting age to 18.
All three found merit in the
proposal but agreed to wait until
"more information could be
secured" before making a decision
on it. The commission has
suggested that the voting age
remain the same.

Second Item

The second item would effect
all University students, not just the
state residents. This is the
controversial Mann proposal which
would call for the immediate
dismissal of students and faculty
members who participate in
demonstrations and other such
"breeches of peace." It is not
known what the response to this
bill will be state-wide, however, Mr.
Micheal did not seem in favor of
the proposal when questioned
yesterday afternoon.

"I am not sure what the thrust
of Mr. Mann's legislation is," Mr.
Michael said, "but there are
Constitutional safeguards for
freedom of speech which must be
observed. Peaceful assembly,
protected by this right, is
inherently not a disorder. I believe
we have at present adequate tools
to handle riots and burnings, so I
think that the institutional
safeguards we have right now are
probably enough."

Mr. Michael stressed that "this is
an oversimplification because I
speak strictly from news accounts."
He added that he would have to see
the actual proposal before deciding
on his final position.

The senator did take difference
with Mr. Mann on question of
faculty participation in the
demonstrations. The proposed bill
would provide for the automatic
dismissal of any members of the
faculty who did take part. Mr.
Michael said that he did not "see
any reason" for that aspect for "the
institution is the agency which
should determine" the penalty.

Many other major decisions face
the representatives of the special
session including the question of
whether there should be a set limit
on the state's bonded indebtedness,
what that limit should be and if the
legislature should be permitted to
issue bonds without the approval of
a referendum.

Harrison Commission

The Harrison Commission has
recommended the abolition of the
"pay-as-you-go" policy. However,
Mr. Paxson said, "I shy away from
establishing state debt bonds
without referenda." Mr. Michael
agreed with Mr. Paxson by saying,
"In an area where there is a need
for a bond issue, I want to see the
need brought home to the
electorate as fully as possible."

Another proposal that will
probably cause great debate would
give the governor the right to
succeed himself. Mr. Michael stated
that he expects more opposition
than support for the bill.

Mr. Van Clef illustrated the
type of opposition the issue will
encounter when he gave his own
opinion on the matter. "It has
worked pretty well over the years.
Why change it?"

Other issues which will be
discussed are: should the State
Education Board have the right to
force the consolidation of school
divisions; should the population
requirements for towns seeking city
status be raised from 5,000 to
25,000; and should cities and
counties of more than 25,000
people be allowed to adopt and
amend their own charters by
referendum rather than by
Assembly action.

In the 30-day session, the first
two days will be devoted to the
necessary preliminary organization
and the introduction of the
proposed legislation. The Assembly
will probably recess for the
weekend on Thursday afternoon, to
allow for the printing of the bills
and resolutions.

According to Mr. Van Clef, if
passed, the provisions would go
through this procedure: Following
a report to the legislators, the
people would act on the revisions in
a November referendum. If
approved, the revisions would then
have to be ratified by the General
Assembly in the 1970 session. Once
ratified, the revised constitution
would become law on July 1, 1970.