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By GEORGE BOWLES
Democrat Special Writer
The internal political maneuverings of power brokers in the General Assembly can be pretty arcane stuff. As a general rule it is little noted nor long remembered by the public at large.
For the most part, the power brokers involved like it that way.
This is unfortunate, because every now and again things occur which hardly create a blip in the flow of more eye-catching news events, yet they have the potential of a profound impact on the way the public's business is transacted in Mr. Jefferson’s Capitol.
Such was the case last week when Sen. Edward E. Willey of Richmond, president pro-tem of the Senate and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, unveiled a "simple little change” in the role the Senate will play henceforth in the state's budgetmaking process.
Since the memory of man runneth not to the contrary, the initial introduction of appropriations legislation has been the exclusive preserve of the House of Delegate^. Briefly described, the budget building procedure goes something like this:
Money Committee*
In the months before an assembly session, administration representatives and members of the legislative money committees meet to weigh the fiscal needs of the Commonwealth against the revenue available to meet those needs.
The money committees are the House Appropriations Committee, which determines the spending requirements of the state, the House Finance Committee which writes the tax laws necessary to raise the money to be spent, and, on the Senate side, the Senate Finance Committee which has both responsibilities.
Once the basic budget document is agreed upon, it is introduced in the form of the Appropriations Bill in the House of Delegates. This occurs during the first few days of the session.
The bill is then referred to the House Appropriations Committee which spends the next few weeks conducting hearings, making adjustments and finally reporting the measure out to the House floor about two weeks before the end of the session. The bill is routinely passed and sent to the Senate, where it is referred to the Finance Committee. With only days to go until adjournment, the Senate attaches any amendments it deems necessary, passes the amended bill and returns it to the House which, again routinely, rejects the Senate
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