THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603080008
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
While the General Assembly is in session, state lawmakers and their aides are immune from arrest except for treason, felonies and breach of peace.
Last week, Chesterfield County officials complained that they were powerless to stop lawmakers and their aides from driving as fast as they pleased on county roads outside Richmond.
Their complaint was lodged after an aide to Lt. Gov. Donald Beyer was let off with a warning after being clocked at 73 mph in a 55 zone. Beyer was in the car but reportedly said nothing to the officer.
Clearly, a minor change in Virginia law is called for. Rather than being immune from arrest for traffic violations during legislative sessions, lawmakers and their aides should be treated as ordinary citizens.
In Utopia, public servants violating public trust would be liable to fines, say, four times the normal amounts. Thus, a speeding offense normally carrying a $300 penalty would cost a legislator or aide $1,200.
Immunity from arrest contributes to a malady to which many legislators succumb. The nontechnical term for it is ``a big head.''
Lobbyists provide parties and food for legislators almost every night. Citizens clamor for the legislators' attention. Legislators get to distribute billions of taxpayer dollars. On top of all that, a privilege like immunity from arrest renders them likely to forget they're public servants - not masters of the road.
As one might expect in tradition-steeped Virginia, the rationale for immunity dates to Colonial times. Nathaniel Bacon, a 17th-century planter who rebelled against English rule, was arrested as he traveled to take his seat in the House of Burgesses, the legislative body that predated the General Assembly. The problem of British governors arresting American rebels has abated in recent centuries, however, and need no longer concern us.
When legislators use their offices to enrich themselves, as when they represent clients before state regulatory agencies, they claim they're citizens who must make a living. They're also citizens when caught speeding and should pay the fines. If caught speeding going home from Richmond, the air should be let out of their cars' tires, for good measure.
Regrettably, the same Virginia love of tradition that preserves much that is good also is likely to perpetuate this anachronistic protection from arrest.
Suffolk Del. Robert E. Nelms could perform a public service by claiming legislative immunity when he appears in a Richmond court later this month on an indecent-exposure charge. The public outrage might be such that someone would notice Nathaniel Bacon is dead and the British are gone. by CNB