ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611050010
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: VOTER'S GUIDE
FOR ALL VOTERS
Virginians will be asked to decide the fate of five proposed amendments to the state constitution. They are:
AMENDMENT No. 1:
Public Employees Retirement System
Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended to provide that the funds in the governmental employees retirement system shall be trust funds and invested and administered solely in the interests of the members and beneficiaries of the system?
WHAT THIS WOULD DO: This amendment would prevent Virginia's government from borrowing, investing or otherwise using the money in the state's employee pension fund. Some have suggested using the retirement system as a source of start-up capital for Northern Virginia's technology industry.
AMENDMENT No. 2:
Rights of Victims of Crime
Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended to provide that the victims of crime should be treated with fairness, dignity and respect in the criminal justice process, and that the General Assembly may define, by law, the rights of victims of crime?
WHAT THIS WOULD DO: This amendment, written and proposed by state Attorney General Jim Gilmore, would give the General Assembly the power to pass laws giving new rights to victims of crime. Supporters say this would protect victims' rights; opponents say this would either accomplish little or diminish the constitutional rights of the accused.
AMENDMENT No. 3.
Commonwealth's Right of Appeal
Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended to authorize the General Assembly to allow the Commonwealth the right of an appeal in all cases, including criminal cases, provided that the appeal would not violate the Virginia or United States Constitution?
WHAT THIS WOULD DO:The most far-reaching of the proposed amendments, this would give the General Assembly power to pass laws allowing prosecutors to appeal decisions in criminal cases by the Court of Appeals to the more conservative Virginia Supreme Court. Supporters say this would allow prosecutors to appeal cases and have a defendant's conviction reinstated when the appeals court has made a "mistake" in overturning a lower court ruling; opponents say it gives the government a dangerous power to pursue cases and bankrupt defendants.
AMENDMENT No. 4
Voting and Voter Registration
Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended so that the form for voter registration applications may be revised and so that voters who move within Virginia may vote in their former precincts under the conditions and time limits provided by law?
WHAT THIS WOULD DO: Described as a housekeeping detail which would help the state conform to the new federal motor voter law, this amendment gives the General Assembly the power to pass laws about information required on voter registration forms and how Virginians may vote after they have moved to another part of the state.
AMENDMENT No. 5.
Incorporation of Churches and Religious Denominations
Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended to remove the language which prohibits the General Assembly from passing a law permitting incorporation of any church or religious organization?
WHAT THIS WOULD DO: This amendment would delete a provision in the Virginia Constitution prohibiting the incorporation of churches and religious denominations. Virginia and West Virginia are the only states with constitutions containing such a clause.
AND IN THESE
LOCALITIES
BEDFORD COUNTY
Voters in District 4 (Forest, New London) will be electing a supervisor to fill an unexpired term. The candidates are Robert Bashore and John White.
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Five candidates are seeking to fill an unexpired term for Clerk of Circuit Court. They are: Daniel Boone (independent); Amanda Davis (independent); Alice Hall (independent); Bill Overton (Democrat) and Ben Pinckard Jr. (Republican).
ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY
Voters will be asked to take sides in an advisory referendum on whether the county should build an airport.
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