Assembly Takes On Kaine's Vetoes
Death Penalty, Smoking Are Newly Contentious in Va.

By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 2, 2007

RICHMOND -- Virginia legislators will meet for a one-day session this week to settle two contentious issues that could alter the state's reputation for swift justice for killers and determine how much the tobacco industry still influences state politics.

At noon Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House and Senate will convene to consider dozens of bills Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) amended or vetoed.

Although it appeared for most of the spring that transportation would be the hot issue, Kaine says he has forged a compromise with Republicans that should avert a partisan fight.

Instead, much of the debate will probably center on Kaine's decisions to seek a restaurant smoking ban and to veto three proposals to expand the use of the death penalty to include accomplices and the killers of judges and witnesses. The House and Senate would have to approve the smoking ban and could vote to override Kaine's vetoes of the death penalty bills.

Legislators say the outcome of both actions is uncertain and could be decided by one or two votes. Some independent observers say the focus on the two issues is another indication that traditionally conservative Virginia is changing.

"It is a quite a transformation over the past generation of Virginia politics," said Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University. "If somebody had told me when I moved here in the early 1980s that we would be having a debate about a ban on some forms of the death penalty and a ban on smoking in public places, I would say, 'Not in my lifetime.' "

The outcome of the debate will probably reverberate into the fall, when all 140 legislators are up for reelection. The debate is being watched closely by advocates across the country, who say the General Assembly's decisions could serve as a model for other Southern states.

"I think it would be huge for the movement if a Southern tobacco-growing state and the home of a major U.S. tobacco-producing company were to take restaurants smoke-free," said Cathleen Smith Grzesiek, director of public advocacy for the American Heart Association, who was referring to the fact that Phillip Morris USA is based in Richmond.

Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said opponents of capital punishment are also paying close attention to Virginia. Virginia has executed more inmates than any other state except Texas since capital punishment was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976.

The vote in the General Assembly occurs as other states are also considering expanding the death penalty -- including a proposal in Texas that would make repeat child sex offenders eligible even if they do not kill anyone.

"Virginia might send a message that a state that is clearly committed to the death penalty is not jumping into an expansion and is taking some caution," Dieter said

But Republican leaders, who say they believe they can use Kaine's vetoes against Democrats this fall, promise to get enough votes to override the governor. Two-thirds of each chamber must agree before a veto can be overridden, meaning the Democratic minority will play a big role in the outcome.

"I think [Kaine] certainly put some rural Democrats in a very difficult position," said House Majority Whip M. Kirkland Cox (R-Colonial Heights). "I can't imagine a majority of their constituents are supportive of the governor on these vetoes. It is very easy to understand: Judges and witnesses are as fundamental as you get to the criminal justice system."

Many observers expect that the House will easily reject Kaine's vetoes. House Republicans have 57 of the 67 votes needed for an override.

In the Senate, however, it is far less certain that Republicans will have the 27 votes they need for an override.

Kaine, who has said he is morally opposed to the death penalty but will enforce existing capital punishment laws, has allowed four executions since he came to office last year. He stopped one to seek more information.

The governor said he will try to persuade legislators who supported the measures, particularly Democrats, to switch their votes. If four do, the attempt to override all three of Kaine's vetoes would be unsuccessful. Only one legislator needs to switch to uphold the veto dealing with accomplices.

"We are a state that executes a very high number of people, and I don't think we need to expand the death penalty to promote public safety," Kaine said.

But Democrats are nervous, saying they aren't sure how Kaine's decision will play with voters. Polls show Virginia residents overwhelmingly support the death penalty. "I think most Democrats want to do things to help the governor, and I think the governor wants to do things to help most Democrats, but there are occasions where those two things don't work well together," said Sen. William Roscoe Reynolds (D-Franklin), who said he doubts he will switch his vote to support Kaine.

Sens. Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax), Phillip P. Puckett (D-Russell) and R. Edward Houck (D-Spotsylvania) said last week they are also unlikely to be swayed by Kaine. But Sens. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath) and John S. Edwards (D-Roanoke) said they will consider switching their votes to help Kaine.

"I like the governor, and I want him to be successful," said Deeds, who has been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for governor in 2009.

Merle Black, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta and an expert on Southern politics, said Kaine's veto could haunt Senate Democrats in the southern part of the state.

"Support for the death penalty remains very high across the South, especially in rural and small town areas," Black said. "How would you explain your vote to the Rotary Club if it is an issue of the killing of judges and witnesses?"

Peter Brodnitz, a Democratic pollster who works for Kaine and U.S. Sen. James Webb (D), disagrees.

"The Republicans haven't made a compelling case these laws are needed," Brodnitz said. "There is a big difference between supporting the current system and expanding the number of crimes the death penalty applies to."

Republicans, meanwhile, face their own political dilemma over Kaine's proposed restaurant smoking ban, which was attached to a bill that would require restaurants to post a sign at the front door if they allow smoking.

If approved, Virginia would join the District and 21 states that have smoking bans in restaurants, according to the group Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. The Maryland legislature seems to be on the verge of passing one as well.

Kaine's amendment is expected to pass the Senate, which already has supported a ban. But legislators say the vote is too close to call in the House, where some Republican leaders are vowing to defeat it.

Grzesiek, the heart association official, cited a recent poll that shows that 71 percent of Virginia voters support the ban and said health advocates will be heavily involved in this fall's elections if Republicans block it from taking effect in July.

"We think this could be an election issue in more than just a few districts," Grzesiek said.