ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 27, 1997 TAG: 9701270065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: GENERAL ASSEMBLY NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE AND DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITERS
Sen. Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo is reaching out to his beer-drinking constituency.
Hoping to promote business for small microbreweries, the Fincastle Republican is sponsoring a bill that would allow brewers to sell beer directly to consumers in refillable containers.
The bill would allow people to bring kegs, bottles or growlers to the brewery to have them refilled.
Members of the Senate Rehabilitation and Health Committee approved unanimously, but not until Fairfax County Democrat Joseph Gartlan got one thing cleared up:
"What," he asked, "is a growler? Besides an angry dog?"
An Alcoholic Beverage Control board spokesman explained that growlers are reusable containers, usually with ceramic lids, that can seal carbonated beverages for a short time. They hold more than most glass bottles, seal tighter and keep longer.
Gartlan still looked puzzled.
Trumbo put things in perspective.
"Back home, we call them Mason jars," he said.
Putney finally surprised
There is little about the legislative process that can surprise Del. Lacey Putney, who has served in the House of Delegates since 1962.
But the Bedford lawmaker - the legislature's only independent - was caught off guard last week when his office switchboard was tied up with people urging him to support a measure known as "Senate Joint Resolution 98.''
"You can't believe all the calls I've gotten," he said. "I asked myself, `Why am I getting all these calls, when I don't even know about it?'''
Some quick research revealed that SJR 98 would insert a "parents right" amendment in the state constitution. Conservative groups such as the Christian Coalition and Family Foundation have whipped up grass-roots support for the measure.
Putney said he is unsure how he would vote if the measure reached the House floor. He said he shares some concerns of critics who say the amendment is so broad that it could empower parents to overturn routine decisions by local school boards.
On Wednesday, Putney was leaving his office when he met a couple from Natural Bridge who had brought their two teen-agers to Richmond.
"They told me they were there for the [Senate] public hearing," he said. "What I didn't tell them is that I didn't even know there was a public hearing."
Deeds' bipartisan neckwear
The necktie was so tacky that Del. Creigh Deeds knew he could get away with wearing it in only one place: the House of Delegates.
The tie features red and white stripes, which give way to a pattern of donkeys against a yellow background.
The top half resembles the American flag ties that many Republican House members - known as the "Amen Corner" - sport each Friday.
The bottom half is similar to the yellow power ties that many Democrats - known as the "Coffin Corner" - don on the same day.
"This is my bit toward bipartisanship," the Warm Springs Democrat said. "It's a blend of the Amen Corner and the Coffin Corner."
To contact legislators
Write in care of the General Assembly Building, Richmond, Va. 23219 or call:
HOUSE OF DELEGATES
* Ward Armstrong, D-Henry County, (804)786-6817
* Tommy Baker, R-Pulaski County, (804)786-6605
* Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, (804)786-6891
* Barnie Day, D-Patrick County (804)786-7205
* Creigh Deeds, D-Warm Springs, (804)786-6606
* Allen Dudley, R-Rocky Mount, (804)786-6895
* Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, (804)786-7296
* Tom Jackson, D-Hillsville, (804)786-7301
* Lacey Putney, I-Bedford, (804)786-6598
* Jim Shuler, D-Blacksburg, (804)786-8425
* Vic Thomas, D-Roanoke, (804)786-6900
* Clifton "Chip" Woodrum, D-Roanoke, (804)786-2898
SENATE
* John Edwards, D-Roanoke, (804)786-6702
* Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta County, (804)786-6068
* Madison Marye, D-Shawsville, (804)786-6986
* Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, (804)786-6595
* Jack Reasor, D-Bluefield, (804)786-6695
* Roscoe Reynolds, D-Henry County, (804)786-6067
* Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo, R-Fincastle, (804)786-6884
WHERE THINGS STAND
Status of key pieces of legislation
ASSISTED SUICIDE
SB 788, by Sen. Mark Earley, R-Chesapeake, would make it a felony to assist a suicide and revoke the license of any health care professional who assists a suicide.
CHARTER SCHOOLS
HB 1751, by Del. Philip Hamilton, R-Newport News, would allow the creation of charter schools that would receive state funds but be free of some state regulations.
EBONICS
HB 2437, by Del. Preston Bryant, R-Lynchburg, would require schools to teach "standard English," not any form of jargon, such as Ebonics.
GAY RIGHTS
SB 1079, by Sen. Pat Ticer, D-Alexandria, would prohibit discrimination in employment and housing on the basis of sexual orientation.
LEGISLATIVE IMMUNITY
HB 1973, by Del. Robert Nelms, R-Suffolk, HB 2290, by Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, and SB 639, by Sen. Charles Waddell, D-Leesburg, would repeal the immunity that legislators and certain General Assembly staffers now have from arrest during legislative sessions. HJR 432, also by Nelms, and SJR 179, also by Waddell, would amend the state constitution to forbid granting immunity from arrest to legislators during legislative sessions.
PARENTAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
SJ 98, by Sen. Steve Martin, R-Chesterfield County, would amend the state's constitution to declare that parents' right to direct the upbringing of their children is "fundamental."
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
SB 884, by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, would declare that Virginia does not recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
STATE SONG
(See story in today's Extra section)
SB 891, by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, would "retire" the current state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny." SB 219, also by Newman, would set up a committee to study whether to adopt a new state song. HB 2360, by Del. Frank Hall, D-Richmond, would replace current song with "Virginia," by Donna and Jimmy Dean.
TELEPHONE SOLICITATION
SB 648, by Sen. Fred Quayle, R-Chesapeake, would regulate telephone solicitors, and create a list of people who don't want to be called. Telephone solicitors would be required to consult this list.
TUITION ROLLBACK
Budget amendment 529#2, by Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, would reduce in-state tuition rates at state colleges by 10 percent, with the expectation that tuition would be cut 10 percent per year for four years.
LENGTH: Long : 149 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Trumbo KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997by CNB