House panel rejects seat-belt,
open-container bills
A House committee last
night killed bills to make not wearing a seat belt a primary offense
and to ban open containers of alcohol in vehicles, The
News & Advance of Lynchburg reported.
The House Militia and Police
Committee voted to "pass by indefinitely" the bills - meaning
they likely are dead for this session.
One of the bills would
make driving without a seat belt a primary offense, meaning police
could pull someone over for not wearing the proper restraint.
The committee also killed
a measure that would ban open alcoholic containers in vehicles. "It's
not illegal to drink a beer in Virginia," said Delegate Tom Jackson,
D-Hillsville. "It shouldn't be illegal to drink a beer in the back
seat."
Virginia considers issuing
an apology for eugenics
What remains of the Virginia
Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded in Lynchburg stands as a reminder
of the state's bigoted past.
The colony was a place
where doctors forcefully sterilized patients until the late '70s.
The legal practice, called eugenics, was a way for the upper crust
of Virginia's society to weed out the physically and mentally disadvantaged
so they would not reproduce.
Virginia lawmakers are
considering formally apologizing for the state's practice of eugenics.
Yesterday, a House committee approved, 6-4, a resolution calling for
such an apology, according to an Associated Press story in the Richmond
Times-Dispatch.
Legislator moves to kill
his own bill
Disenchanted with the direction
his own legislation had taken, Delegate Jay Katzen, R-Warrenton, yesterday
moved to kill a bill that would provide financial assistance to families
of privately or home-schooled children, the Roanoke
Times reported.
Fellow lawmakers amended
the bill to the point that it was not the original bill that Katzen
had envisioned. "I will be back next year, hopefully on the Senate
side," said Katzen, who plans to run for lieutenant governor.
Farmers fight to preserve
lands from development
Two state lawmakers in
Richmond are drafting measures that would help farmers compete with
developers for open space, according to The
News & Advance of Lynchburg.
Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount
Solon, and Delegate Preston Bryant, R-Lynchburg, want to build on
2000's Agriculture Vitality Act by establishing an office of farmland
preservation and a system to hook up older farmers with younger ones.
Bills would help felons
regain voting rights
A group of Democrats from the House and Senate
has announced the introduction of four bills aimed at restoring voting
rights to convicted felons.
[Full story by Robb Crocker]
