Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 26, 1991                   TAG: 9102260117
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Joan Munford
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

KILLED BILLS WILL BE BACK

Most controversial measures require three to four years of consideration before they are passed. Following are some of the more interesting bills killed during the session:

The Bottle Bill has been introduced in the Senate for more than a decade, and each year it appears to get a little closer to passage.

This year it cleared two committees only to be defeated on the LEGISLATIVE JOURNAL JOAN MUNFORD floor of the Senate. I am confident that the members of the Senate will ultimately embrace the same depth of environmental concern now shown by the public.

Voluntary recycling has been extremely successful, but it only touches on the enormity of the ongoing and prospective problem with solid waste disposal. The Bottle Bill will enhance our work with cleaning up the environment and I am confident that eventually it will pass.

The option to elect school boards is another issue that has drawn substantial public support yet is consistently stalled in the General Assembly.

This year the bill was limited to specific localities that would serve as models for the process of elected school board members. Proponents hoped that by starting small we could later build legislative support. The measure passed the House but met with opposition and defeat in the Senate.

A new bill that arose this year is an example of our attempts to speak to our increasingly technological society. A bill to allow customers to initiate ways to block "junk" phone calls met with considerable opposition in the House and was ultimately defeated in the Senate.

While most legislators were sympathetic with the growing number of telephone solicitations and harassment calls, the opposition was an interesting cross-section of the population from business people to rape crisis centers.

Legislators were hesitant to act on the particular proposal presented. I suspect that the measure will be back next year in a little different form.

Gun legislation has always aroused emotions on each side of the issue. This year there were several "gun control" legislative initiatives, but one bill, which called for a three-day waiting period on gin sales, made it to the floor of the House. It was defeated by a close margin after lengthy and thoughtful debate.

A bill that also created a lot of debate was nicknamed "the Keg Bill." It would have required that the name and address of the purchaser of a keg of beer be put on the keg, and, in the event that minors were served alcohol at a party, that person would be held responsible.

While the legislators were sympathetic to the idea of curtailing drinking by minors, the majority of the House recognized that the measure was fraught with enforcement and legal problems.

What if a fictious name were used? Is the purchaser or the actual server of alcohol to minors the responsible party?

What about huge fund-raisers, or civic and community gatherings? What about large family reunions?

There is no doubt in my mind that the General Assembly will see and discuss many of these bills again . . . and again.

Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY