Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 11, 1994 TAG: 9403110172
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
"The people of Virginia want parental notification. Indeed, a majority of members of the Virginia Senate want parental notification," Allen said.
Allen urged Senate Education and Health Committee members "to consult with their constituents and their consciences" and send the bill to the Senate, where approval is likely. The committee has twice killed notification bills this session.
"Our system of representative government is ill-served when a stubborn minority can repeatedly and arrogantly thwart the will of the people for such a long period of time," Allen said.
The committee's chairman, Sen. Elliot Schewel, D-Lynchburg, said later that he offered to get the bill through the committee if Allen would agree to amendments. But Schewel said Allen refused the deal and that the bill likely will die in committee again.
Beyer voted on an effort by Sen. Mark Earley, R-Chesapeake, to attach a parental-notification requirement to a bill on child visitation and custody orders.
Beyer ruled that the notification amendment was not germane. A vote on whether to override him wound up 20-20, leaving the lieutenant governor to break the deadlock by voting to sustain his own ruling.
Beyer said he had checked the rules and found that he could vote on whether to uphold his ruling.
"That's a good deal for you," Earley said.
When notification supporters tried the same maneuver two years ago, the Senate overrode Beyer and passed the bill. Then-Gov. Douglas Wilder vetoed it.
Allen, by contrast, has made passage of parental notification a priority for his first year in office.
Earley said a bill from the governor likely would be the only way to get the bill through this year. But such a bill would have to go through the Senate Education and Health Committee, which killed parental-notification measures by 8-7 votes twice this session.
Notification supporters tried to amend a bill on the floor to bypass the committee. The House of Delegates overwhelmingly approved parental notification last month.
Beyer said the state constitution "should not be tampered with to overcome frustration with the committee process."
He told reporters that he would have voted for Earley's bill if it had been attached to a germane bill.
Beyer won support from some senators who support notification, including Sen. Frank Nolen, D-Augusta County.
"We have long honored the committee system," Nolen said. "Virginia is admired across the nation because we do act as ladies and gentlemen."
Democrats Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount and Charles Colgan of Manassas joined the Senate's 18 Republicans in opposing Beyer, a Democrat.
The measure would have required that a parent or guardian of an unmarried girl under age 18 be notified when she seeks an abortion. The girl could get permission from a juvenile-court judge if she did not want to tell a parent.
In other legislative action:
The House voted 55-45 to reject a Senate proposal that would have increased the penalties for using a firearm in a felony from three years to five years for a first offense and from five years to eight years for a second offense.
Another Senate amendment to the bill, sponsored by Del. Robert McDonnell, R-Virginia Beach, would have exempted the measure from a law requiring the legislature to set aside money to pay for new tough-on-crime bills.
"It's fiscally irresponsible," said House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County.
He said the money that would have to be spent on new prison space would be better used for elementary education.
But Del. John Reid, R-Henrico County, said the bill is "an honest effort to deal with a serious problem."
The House rejected the Senate amendments despite a plea from Allen to accept them. He said the measure "tells lawbreakers that crimes with guns will not be tolerated in Virginia - that gun-wielding criminals will face stiff, mandatory sentences for their offenses."
He also said the fiscal impact of the tougher sentences would be addressed at a special session on parole reform in September.
A bill establishing a sexual offender registry was sent to the governor after the House approved it 91-5. Only police, school and child-care officials would have access to the registry.
The House voted 99-0 to pass a bill prohibiting legislators and top state officials and employees from accepting more than $200 for making a speech. They also would be barred from accepting gifts valued at more than $200 from anyone other than a relative or friend.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1994
by CNB