THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180358
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Robert Little, Elizabeth Simpson, Marc Davis, and the
Associated Press contributed to this report.
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 172 lines
It won't be just Virginia Beach hotel owners who get a temporary reprieve from the law requiring them to install fire sprinklers - hoteliers all across the state will likely be getting a six-month extension.
A House of Delegates committee passed the bill Monday giving Oceanfront hotels until Sept. 1 to install sprinklers, but not before making it apply statewide.
The General Assembly passed a law in 1990 requiring any hotel taller than three stories to install sprinklers by this March. Virginia Beach Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle is seeking a six-month extension this year because 20 or more Oceanfront hotels will not meet the deadline.
The House General Laws Committee decided the extension should be granted statewide because Stolle and others have received calls from hotel owners throughout Virginia who didn't even know the law existed.
``Obviously, it's not just a problem at the beach,'' Stolle said.
ALSO MONDAY
NOTIFY PARENTS, AND MORE: A House of Delegates committee approved a bill Monday requiring notification of parents, guardians, grandparents or adult siblings before a minor can receive an abortion.
The vote sets up an abortion-rights showdown Wednesday, when the full House of Delegates will consider whether grandparents and siblings will remain part of the legislation.
If they do, the governor promises to veto the bill. If not, Virginia will adopt a parental notification bill after 18 years of trying.
INTO THE POLITICAL FRAY: The judge who revoked Oliver North's concealed weapon permit came to Richmond to defend himself against a campaign to oust him. But he didn't say much.
In 1992, Clarke County Circuit Judge James L. Berry, a Democratic appointee, issued North a permit to carry a concealed gun. Later, when North was the Republican U.S. Senate nominee, Berry refused to renew the permit, citing North's role in the Iran-Contra scandal during the mid-1980s.
``I was forced to either acknowledge that I had made a mistake in finding him to be of good character in 1992, or to knowingly compound that mistake,'' Berry said in an interview after a legislative hearing on his reappointment.
Sen. Russell Potts, R-Winchester, has been pushing for Berry's dismissal, citing the gun permit decision.
Berry's opponents told the committee of other reasons he should not be reappointed. ``Judge Berry makes rude and degrading remarks to women in open court,'' said Marilyn Solomon, a lawyer who has appeared before Berry. ``Judge Berry's reappointment is not about politics . . . it's about the ability of a woman to practice law with a modicum of respect.''
Potts, who wants to replace Berry, said he has also received 400 letters from constituents complaining about Berry's behavior on the bench.
But Berry's supporters said he is a good judge who should be reappointed.
``Is this reappointment to be determined by his decision in one case?'' said Robert T. Mitchell, a Winchester lawyer.
Berry, who did not speak to the committee, said ``appearances might dictate'' that the fight against him was motivated by politics.
The 63-year-old judge denied the allegations that he had been unfairly harsh to women in his court.
The Senate and House of Delegates will try to select a judicial candidate Friday. If the chambers cannot reach an agreement, the decision is left to Republican Gov. George Allen.
BUCKLE UP IN THE BACK SEAT: The House passed a bill requiring adult drivers to make back-seat passengers under 16 use seat belts.
Violators would be subject to a $25 civil fine but would not get demerits on their driving record. Supporters of the bill said it would save lives, but critics said it was an attempt to legislate personal responsibility.
The House debated the bill and proposed amendments for more than an hour. Two efforts to send the bill back to committee failed, and the House voted 69-30 to pass the bill. Next step: back to the Senate to consider the House amendments.
INFORMATION FLOW: A House committee approved a bill to make it tougher for inmates to file frivolous Freedom of Information Act requests.
``There is a problem going on in our prison system,'' the bill's sponsor, Sen. Charles R. Hawkins, R-Pittsylvania, told the House General Laws Committee. ``We need to dam it before it overflows over us.''
Hawkins said inmates file hundreds of information requests every year designed to annoy bureaucrats and clog the system with needless paperwork.
The Senate has passed the bill, which now goes to the House floor.
IN OTHER ACTION
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee approved a bill that would make it a capital crime to knowingly kill a pregnant woman.
A bill that would force school boards to release the results of student elections was killed by the House General Laws Committee.
The House voted to allow consumers to use lawyers or the lay real estate settlement industry in handling their real estate closings.
NOTICED & NOTED
Coming soon to a home computer near you: local court records.
Moving forward is a bill that would let court clerks put public, non-confidential records on the Internet. A Senate committee vote Sunday was 15-0. The bill passed the House 100-0 last month.
That means many public court records - indexes of deeds, wills, marriage licenses, liens, lawsuits and criminal cases, among others - could be a mouse click away, if the full Senate passes the bill.
Those records are already open to anyone who visits the courthouse in person. Some records, such as criminal, civil and traffic court indexes and dockets, are also available by direct-dial computer link to Richmond. That system, however, is clunky and costly, if you count long-distance phone charges to the Virginia Supreme Court.
The new bill was introduced after Attorney General James Gilmore ruled last year that Virginia law does not allow court records on the Internet.
As a result, Wise County Clerk of Court J. Jack Kennedy Jr. pushed to have the law changed. Kennedy has furiously lobbied lawyers and clerks statewide - via the Internet, of course - to get the bill passed. Del. Clarence E. ``Bud'' Phillips, a Democrat who represents Kennedy's district, is the sponsor.
About a dozen courts statewide have direct-dial computer access to some records, but none is in Hampton Roads. Some courts around Virginia, including Norfolk's, are studying ways to take advantage of Internet access, if it is allowed.
Critics worry that Internet access would make it easier for neighborhood snoops to peek at embarrassing divorce files. Kennedy and other clerks say it is impractical to put fat legal files on the Net, and the most inflammatory are sealed anyway.
WHAT'S NEXT
Today, floor sessions begin at noon.
GETTING INVOLVED
FORUM ON FATHERS: A statewide forum will be conducted Saturday in Richmond to promote fathers in the lives of their children. The forum is being sponsored by local, state and national fathers' rights groups, including the Children's Rights Council of Tidewater. The conference will include a rally at the General Assembly Building at 11:15 a.m., and panel discussions from 1 to 6 p.m. on child custody, child support and the effects of a father's absence on children and society. Registration and panel discussions will be conducted at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, at Ninth and Grace streets in Richmond, which is across from Capitol Square.
Registration will be at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at St. Paul's. For more information, call 545-DADS (in Hampton Roads) or 1-800-711-DADS.
KEY DATES
Today: Midnight deadline for conference committee to reach compromise on budget.
Thursday: Vote on budget.
Saturday: Adjournment.
March 24: Last day for governor to sign, veto or amend legislation.
April 2: One-day reconvened session to act on governor's amendments and vetoes.
STAYING IN TOUCH
A toll-free hotline to provide the citizens of Virginia the opportunity to express their views on issues before the General Assembly.
1-800-889-0229
For more information:
The Clerk's Office
House of Delegates
P.O. Box 406
Richmond, Va. 23218
804-786-6530
The Clerk's Office
Senate of Virginia
P.O. Box 396
Richmond, Va. 23218
804-786-3838
ONLINE INFORMATION
See Pilot Online's Virginia Voter Net to read and track bills, check local legislators' contact information and legislation, and review Pilot coverage. The Web address is
http://www.pilotonline.com/voter/
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY