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The clipping this text was read from
The clipping this text was read from

From Both Barrels——The

State Of The

Commonwealth

By GEORGE BOWLES

The state of the Commonwealth, if I read Gov. Charles Robb’s speech to the General Assembly correctly, could best be described as conservatively audacious. Or perhaps audaciously conservative.

In his message to the lawmakers on their opening night last week, the governor, in measured tones, spelled out his goals for the 1984 legislative session and the fiscal years ahead. With his term half completed, his mid-term address to the lawmakers is generally regarded as the most important he—or any Other governor makes.

This is so for a number of reasons. For the first time, the governor is in control of his own budget. During the preceding two years he has been working with the spending blueprint developed by his predecessor and presented to the legislature a few days before the predecessor’s term expired. Robb will bequeath a similar budget to his successor for the 1986-88 biennium.

But for the 1984-86 spending period, the budget will be entirely Robb’s own. (He presented the fiill

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