Sunday, March 02, 2008
Boss of the budget
Del. Lacey Putney has devoted much of his career to guiding Virginia's budget.
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From The Roanoke Times
RICHMOND -- When Del. Lacey Putney was assigned to the House Appropriations Committee in 1966, Virginia's budget was drafted in a locked room by an "executive committee" of five senior legislators and the state budget director.
"The other members of the committee had absolutely no role, no input in putting the budget together," Putney said. "In fact, those of us not on that executive committee were not even permitted to be in the room when the executive committee and the budget director were constructing the budget."
More than four decades later, the General Assembly's budget process has been overhauled. And Putney, I-Bedford, is anything but an outsider as lawmakers develop a spending plan for the next two years.
Putney took over this year as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the most prized committee post in the House of Delegates. He is the chief sponsor of the House version of the budget and a central figure in reconciling differences between House and Senate spending plans in the closing days of the legislative session.
Putney's influence in the Capitol may be greater now than at any point since he entered the House as a freshman in 1962. In an interview last week, the 79-year-old lawyer acknowledged that no previous assignment has involved "as much stress or heavy lifting."
State budget writers must balance demands for new spending against a slowdown in revenue growth that left a $980 million shortfall in the budget that expires June 30. Revenues for the following two years will fall about $1 billion short of what Gov. Tim Kaine expected when he delivered a $78 billion spending plan to lawmakers in December.
"When we were elected, they never told us this was going to be easy," Putney said. "You're always faced with tough decisions, regardless of the economic conditions or the availability of funds. But you've got to make a lot more, a lot tougher ones, when the revenue situation is what you're faced with in this session."
The House and Senate began negotiations late last week with differences on school spending, the use of "rainy day" reserve funds, and funding for Kaine's pre-kindergarten initiative, among other things. A new political alignment also could complicate talks. Democrats have a fragile majority in the Senate, while Republicans control the House.
Putney characterized the House spending plan as "a good, responsible, balanced budget" and described Kaine's proposal as "maybe the most aggressive I've seen in light of the revenue picture that was on the horizon at the time."
Putney let others defend the House budget last week when Democrats took to the House floor and attacked a proposed change in calculating the state's share of teachers' salaries. But Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, who took the lead in countering the Democrats, described Putney as "an anchor for the philosophy that went into the development of the House budget."
"He's a steadying influence," said Hamilton, the vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee. "He doesn't ebb and flow. He's steady. You can't get wrapped up in emotion ... and I think that's what he brings to the process."
Putney was first elected as a conservative Democrat and left the party in 1967. He has remained an independent, but joined the House Republican caucus for organizational purposes in 1998. The move created an even partisan split that enabled the GOP to demand parity on House committees. Two years later, when Republicans gained control of the House, Putney was added to the House budget-negotiating team.
House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said Putney's experience and philosophy are valued in the caucus.
"It's both the institutional knowledge and the fact that he's a fiscal conservative," Griffith said. "I don't think people understand how much he brings to the process on that."
Putney does not go out of his way to call attention to himself, but colleagues say his effectiveness is evident behind the scenes. Del Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, said Putney quietly helped him navigate the budget process after Ware was appointed to the Appropriations Committee in 2006.
"He's sort of taken me under his wing," Ware said. "Any time I asked him a question about the budget, he's taken the time to sit me down and answer my question."
In addition to leading the House budget team, Putney is sponsoring legislation that would authorize $1.2 billion in borrowing for building projects at state colleges and mental health facilities. The package includes $59 million for a Roanoke medical school and research institute planned by Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic.
Putney introduced his bill after declining to sponsor Kaine's $1.6 billion bond proposal. Most of Kaine's plan called for general obligation bonds, which would have required approval from voters in a November referendum. Neither the House nor Senate favored a referendum on financing such projects.
Putney said he discussed the bond proposal with Kaine and told the governor he remained concerned about cost overruns on college building projects that voters approved in 2002. Putney's bill would create a six-year program that would improve planning and cost projections on state projects.
Kaine said he understood Putney's reluctance to sponsor his bond proposal, a chore typically handled by the leaders of the legislature's money committees.
"But what he has done is he has been the promoter of a significant package of construction for higher ed," Kaine said. "I don't care about the formatting of it. I want to make it reliable and significant."
The House also must reconcile differences over bond packages with the Senate, which passed a $2.6 billion building program.
Putney's appointment to the committee chairmanship was announced in December, capping a momentous year for Virginia's longest-serving legislator. A more significant event took place in June, when Putney married longtime House information officer Carmela Bills in a ceremony in the newly restored House chamber. Bills, who has a radiant personality, had been the primary contact person for visitors to the Capitol. Both had been widowed when their courtship began.
Putney lights up when he talks about their wedding, their spring and summer travel plans, and even their pet pugs, Darwin and Chandler. House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County, noted Putney's "renewed vitality" when the legislative session began. Putney doesn't dispute the characterization, describing his life as "too good to be true."
Putney said he is undecided about running for re-election in 2009. Serving another term would give him the distinction of serving 50 years in the House of Delegates. When asked about that prospect, Putney said only: "An incumbent is a candidate to seek re-election until it is announced to the contrary."
