The charter initiative received another push forward Tuesday after a meeting of the Virginia General Assembly finance committee, chaired by Speaker of the House William Howell, R-Stafford. The committee discussed the necessity of providing a more stable source of funding for public universities as well as allowing them more financial independence.
The charter proposal is a move by the University, Virginia Tech and William & Mary to gain more financial autonomy from the Commonwealth.
"Right now, funding for state schools is really subject to the ups and downs of the economy," said Danita Bowman, legislative aide to committee member Sen. Thomas K. Norment, R-Williamsburg. "They were looking to provide universities with a better opportunity to manage their own finance."
As a result of this meeting, Howell asked that a bill be drafted for introduction tomorrow, the last day to introduce bills for debate during this session of the General Assembly.
If a bill is not ready to be presented tomorrow, it will go back into committee to possibly await reintroduction during the next session of the assembly.
If this happens, Bowman said she does not think it will be a major blow for the bill because it will allow politicians more time to think about the initiative.
"I don't think that anyone is prepared to go plunging into something that they have not considered," Bowman said.
Gov. Mark R. Warner is carefully watching the development of the charter. According to Warner spokesperson Ellen Qualls, it is and area of great interest to him.
"The governor is interested in something that would provide some more operational autonomy for colleges and universities in Virginia, but tie to it specific expectations from the state level," Qualls said.
University Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato also is looking at the development of the charter.
"It looks like it's moving in the right direction for passage," he said. "It does not appear to be engendering any major splits of any kind"
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