"The issue of consolidation has been debated for years," Kaine said in a written statement. "While a consensus exists on consolidation at Staunton, there is disagreement on the appropriate approach going forward for the Hampton property."

Kaine, nonetheless, held out the possibility of a merger. He pledged to "work with the patrons and all shareholders to craft a consensus," perhaps during continuing negotiations over the two-year, $74 billion budget.

The latest vetoes bring Kaine's first-year total to 15. Vetoes to seven bills sent him earlier by the General Assembly survived the Republican-controlled legislature in April.

The new batch includes bills passed this winter to which Kaine sought changes during the so-called reconvened session last month. The changes were rejected by the House of Delegates or the state Senate, giving Kaine the option to veto.

As a freshman governor, Kaine wielded the veto pen more aggressively than did his predecessor, fellow Democrat Mark R. Warner. Warner rejected only one bill during his opening year and 18 over his four-year term.

Republicans Jim Gilmore and George Allen vetoed 37 and 32 bills, respectively, during their first years as governor. Gilmore issued 91 vetoes during his term; Allen, 84.

Kaine also said yesterday that he had signed into law a measure, hastily rewritten in April by the administration, energy firms and lawmakers, beefing up state energy policy and potentially opening coastal waters to natural gas exploration.

Other vetoes by Kaine:

- A bill, backed by the Voter Registration Association of Virginia, that would have stripped the governor of his power to appoint the state's top election official. Proponents said the measure would take politics out of the selection by turning it over to an expanded board of elections. The board, however, would be named by the governor.

- A measure shrinking the membership of the Virginia Work Force Council as well as the governor's appointments to the board, which monitors employment and job training.

- Legislation controlling local government's power to tax tools and machinery used in manufacturing. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican and likely candidate for governor in 2009, in April cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate killing Kaine's proposed revisions to the bill, which would have reduced to three months from a year the time the equipment must be idle to be exempt from taxation. Kaine yesterday said his administration would study the issue.

-A bill that would have scuttled the authority of counties and cities to control hunting along highways.

- Legislation potentially weakening riparian rights for those downstream by making it easier for farmers to draw water for their crops and livestock.

Source: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&%09s=1045855935258&c=MGArticle&cid=1137836204692&path=!news!education