by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB
Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: SUNDAY, February 9, 1992 TAG: 9202090192 SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
RADAR DETECTORS: The House gave preliminary approval to a bill prohibiting the Department of Motor Vehicles from giving demerit points to people convicted of possessing radar detectors.\ CREDIT CARDS: The House gave preliminary approval to a bill eliminating the 25-day grace period in which credit card customers can pay the balance of their bill without paying finance charges.\ POEMS AND SONGS: The House General Laws Committee killed three bills offering alternatives to "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" as the official state song. The committee also carried over to the 1993 session a bill naming Edgar Allan Poe the state's official poet.\ ABC LICENSES: The General Laws Committee voted to send to the House floor a bill lowering from 45 percent to 35 percent the revenue that restaurants with mixed-drink licenses must achieve in food sales.\ DEATH PENALTY: The House Courts of Justice Committee voted 12-7 to kill a bill allowing lethal injection as an alternative to electrocution in death-penalty cases.\ DUI LIMITS: The Courts of Justice Committee by voice vote killed a bill to lower from .10 percent to .08 percent the blood-alcohol level at which a person is considered too intoxicated to drive. STALKING The Courts of Justice Committee by voice vote endorsed a bill to make "stalking" another person a misdemeanor.\ CRIME AND PUNISHMENT: The Courts of Justice Committee voted 12-8 to kill a bill increasing the penalties for using a firearm in a felony. The committee also killed a bill to provide for separate jury hearings in the sentencing phase of felony cases and voted 11-9 to kill a bill to prohibit individuals from buying more than two handguns a month.\ SMOKERS AT HOME: The Courts of Justice Committee voted 16-4 to kill a bill to prohibit employers from refusing to hire applicants who use tobacco products away from the job.