ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996 TAG: 9610100076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: what's on your mind?
Q: Five proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution will be on the ballot in November. What are the sources of these proposals? What groups, organizations or individuals backed them, and did they arise from specific instances?
C.S., Roanoke
A: Perceptive questions. Some answers:
Amendment 1 makes the Virginia Retirement System an independent trust, guaranteeing that retirement funds for public employees will be kept separate from other funds.
Proposed in 1993 by the state's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the change would keep the governor or legislature from raiding the fund for other purposes. It came in response to short-lived efforts during Gov. Douglas Wilder's administration to use part of the retirement system's real estate assets to build a pro football stadium in Northern Virginia.
Amendment 2 would assure crime victims of certain rights, such as notification if a criminal is released or escapes. Other aspects, such as proper treatment of the victim and communication with the prosecutor, are mostly symbolic. State Attorney General Jim Gilmore is the primary advocate of this measure. Its sponsors in the General Assembly were Del. William Mims, R-Loudoun County, and Sen. Mark Earley, R-Chesapeake.
Amendment 3 is significant to criminal justice. It allows prosecutors the same right of appeal as defendants when a court rules on pretrial issues such as the admissibility of evidence. For example, if a court were to rule that evidence in a drug case was seized improperly, the commonwealth's attorney could appeal to a higher court. Now, only the defendant has that right.
This amendment would not affect other constitutional protections, such as double jeopardy. Gilmore is the primary mover; the sponsor was Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach.
Amendment 4 is a housekeeping measure to help the state comply with the federal motor-voter law, which lets people register by mail or at the Department of Motor Vehicles. It drops a requirement that everyone list his place of birth and gives people more time to update their registration when they change residence.
Amendment 5 lets churches organize as nonprofit corporations, as they can in all other states except West Virginia.
Its sponsor, Sen. Roger McClure, R-Fairfax County, says the existing constitution prevents Virginia from chartering church corporations because 18th-century lawmakers feared state-sponsored religion. Advocates for the change say it would make owning property less cumbersome and protect deacons from liability.
History preserved
Q: On the Lee Highway widening project in Roanoke, there is a monument to Gen. Robert E. Lee, for whom the road is named. What's going to become of it?
W.N., Roanoke
A: This historical marker, placed by the Daughters of the Confederacy, was to be taken down Wednesday and stored on a nearby property. The builder's contract requires its replacement, most likely at a site close to Aerial Way Drive.
Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Call us at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RayR@Roanoke.Infi.Net. Maybe we can find the answer.
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