ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 17, 1997 TAG: 9701170096
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: General Assembly Notebook
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
Virginia, it seems, has too many dead people.
And the General Assembly is going to do something about it.
The state law's definition of death is outdated - so much so that doctors who follow it would be guilty of malpractice, Sen. Emily Couric, D-Charlottesville, said Thursday.
Couric is proposing changes that bring the definition up to date.
Currently, the state says a person is dead if he has lost all "spontaneous brain functions" and "spontaneous respiratory functions."
But such a person might still have "brain stem reflexes," making him or her a living being by any accepted medical standard.
Doctors already check for brain stem reflexes, Couric said - shining light in the eyes to watch the pupils, touching the eyeballs to see if the person blinks, for instance. Virginia law doesn't require it, though.
"If they followed the State Code... doctors would be declaring a lot more people dead than they should," Couric said.
"You mean they might declare me dead while I'm sitting up here?" asked Fairfax Sen. Richard Saslaw.
Couric's bill passed unanimously Thursday in the Senate Education and Health Committee.
Bigger tax breaks ...
Sen. Kevin Miller filed two bills Thursday that would increase the standard income tax deduction by 20 percent and increase the personal exemption by $800.
The Harrisonburg Republican said his proposals would bring state tax policy more in line with the tax policy of the Internal Revenue Service.
He pointed out that the state personal exemption has increased by only $200 since 1972. The federal deduction has increased from $675 in 1971 to $2,500 in 1996.
Miller said he would be happy if his proposals made it out of committee and onto the floor of the Senate, but he didn't think that was likely.
... and more police
There would be more state and local police on the streets if two budget amendments proposed Thursday by Democratic legislators and Lt. Gov. Don Beyer are approved.
A $6 million amendment would provide for 105 new state troopers, and an $8.3 million amendment would help localities get more federal money for 1,000 additional police officers.
``We are asking our state police to do more than ever before,'' Beyer said at a news conference, where he was flanked by police officers and Democratic legislators. ``We can use this to put more police officers in communities.''
Beyer said there are 105 fewer state police positions now than in 1992, and added that the force has not kept pace with Virginia's increasing population and traffic.
The local policing amendment would provide funding to help localities receive the maximum amount available from the federal government for police officers under the Community-Oriented Policing Services program.
The COPS program pays up to 75 percent of a new officer's salary and benefits over three years. The balance of the expenses is paid by the local government.
Under the plan, the state would provide grants of up to $8,300 to localities for each new officer. Local governments already participating in COPS would be eligible for grants of up to $8,300 per position after federal funding runs out.
Staff writers Robert Little and Jane Evans and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997by CNB