iiy georgk lion i.ks

iiy georgk lion i.ks

The 1!»S5 < it *! i< * 1:11 A.. • ■ 11. i:1 was the last to ho hoM .Itiritu_>' Gov. (.'Hack Rohh's admn Ira tion. The next governor .a' 1 i■.Commonwealth will ho swier m three days alter tlio lhsf, session convenes. Robb will deliver Mu State of the Commonweal: h ai dress on the opening day. hut after that it will he his.successor's ballgame.

When the captains and tickings of the legislature departed Richmond earlier this .month, they left Robb an nnpfe.-sn farewell gift. They had enacted almost all of the legiMair.r pro gram which he had out bind for them when the set- -ion pan and in several cases 1::, e\ .-n gone beyond bis proposals.

It was, by an\ nu ... a— 1 Inmost successful session for Robb of any of the four which have been held since he tookofl'ii < .

The litany of gubernatorial programs which met with approval is much too lengthy for a full listing here,,, but mentioning a few will serve to make the point:

• Education support will be raised nearly $;{()() to $l.‘tol per pupil, and the teacher to pupil ratio will be raised from f>f> teachers to 57 per loon students. Hus was a centerpiece of the Robb program.

• State employees will receive a 6 percent pay ran,.. In addition, ;m annual 4.5 percent ''mop" hike will be reinstated for those who are not at the top of tin ir pay grade.

• Prison guards pay will be raised one full grade plus M • b percent authorized for all state employees.

• The state's personnel procedure will be changed to permit the governor to hire ami fu e certain top agency officials at w ill.

• Penalties will be increased for prisoners w ho escape

• Aid to d(;pendeiit ■ ■ iiii.4>a -1 will be increased by S percent

• A f percent pay raise wagiven to judges. ■ oi:>! it u’ a and officers and state agency head.-.

• An additional $4.:t nulli-c. was appropriated for the fund for the cleanup of the Chesapeake Ray.

• A $ti7 million coiitingeui > reserve was established to softthe blow of any cuts in federal ml which might he forlhcouiiuL’'.

In spite of all tin-. Km,! lost a couple:

• The legislature u nun - ;>v half his plan that sotm ulty and st aff pi -a i..i. - from state institm ions o| me:1 learning.

• The law makers 1 unit d - low n his proposal that these mmitutions he allowed to set up eark retirement plans for 111 \members.

\\ hile Robb and Ids atlio.ni ■> tration lobbyists had some no'a ble successes during the session, it must also be said M,,it Mew carefully avoided being drawn into some of the bitterest an! most passionate controvei sie.-.