House stands united on
patriotic license plate
The House of Delegates
recently passed legislation to create a Virginia license plate fearing
an American flag and the words "United We Stand" -- a patriotic
retort to the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks. A Senate committee is scheduled
to consider the proposal tomorrow.
>>> Read the full
story in the Richmond Times
Dispatch by Holly Clark, a VCU student
and T-D staff writer.
House panel kills bill
on emergency contraceptive pills
A House committee voted
13-8 yesterday to kill a bill that would have allowed women to get
emergency contraceptive pills without seeing their doctors, The
Virginian-Pilot reported.
But a second bill sponsored
by Delegate Viola O. Baskerville, D-Richmond, is still pending a decision
by the House.
The Senate voted 25-13
to pass the bill would allow physician assistants, nurses and pharmacists
to dispense the morning-after pill to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.
Currently, women must first
obtain a doctor’s prescription and then go to a pharmacy.
The pill prevents pregnancy
and is 95 percent effective if taken within the first 24 hours, proponents
say. However, opponents
said they believe the contraceptive is really a chemical abortion.
Last year, similar legislation
survived through final votes of the House and Senate but died in a
conference committee.
Bill would provide diversity
training for police officers
A bill that would promote
cultural and diversity awareness among law enforcement officers passed
the House General Laws Committee, the Richmond
Times Dispatch reported.
The racial profiling bill
sponsored by Del Kenneth R. Melvin, D-Portsmouth, would give training
to state and local police forces to increase sensitivity to issues
of diversity.
House OK's higher fees
for vehicle inspections
A bill allowing the cost
of auto inspections to be raised from $10 to $15 gained preliminary
approval from the House, The
Washington Post reported.
The bill also would allow
gas stations to raise emission inspections from $20 to $28.
