Thursday, March 11, 2010
General Assembly notebook: Lawmakers reappoint Franklin County judge
General Assembly 2011
Among the major issues: The state's continuing efforts to provide services with fewer dollars and Gov. McDonnell's plan to privatize liquor stores. Session ends Feb. 26.
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- Gilbert expresses regret for abortion remarks
- Senate rebuffs McDonnell, rejects teacher contract change
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- Va. House passes abortion-related bills
- Newspaper ad bills OK'd by House, head to Senate
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RICHMOND -- The General Assembly on Wednesday reappointed Franklin County Circuit Court Judge William Alexander to another eight-year term after weeks of controversy and questions about the judge's handling of a special grand jury investigation of the county's sheriff.
The House delayed Alexander's reappointment vote in January because of concerns over how he handled a special grand jury investigation of Sheriff Ewell Hunt. The grand jury in December returned an indictment against Hunt on a misdemeanor charge of failing to maintain proper records.
In a three-hour hearing in February, lawmakers questioned the judge's selection of jurors and his decision to unseal a grand jury report that was critical of Hunt's office. But there was no opposition to Alexander's reappointment when the two chambers voted on it Wednesday.
The legislature also reappointed General District Court Judge Randal Duncan of Radford to a six-year term. Duncan sits in the judicial district that covers the New River Valley.
Former Attorney General Bill Mims was appointed to a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Virginia. Mims will succeed Justice Barbara Milano Keenan, who was confirmed last week to a seat on the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
-- Michael Sluss
McDonnell-backed
education bills pass
Bills pushed by Gov. Bob McDonnell to give the state a role in establishing charter schools and laboratory schools run by state universities are on the way to his desk.
The Senate passed both House measures without debate Wednesday, a day after it passed its own identical proposals despite concerns by some that creating the new schools would drain already hurting public school budgets.
Another measure to allow the state to regulate online schools also passed the Senate, but it must head back to the House for a final vote because the Senate changed it.
The state Department of Education would be allowed to help charter school providers with their applications. The decision whether to approve the schools would remain with local school boards.
-- Associated Press
Bill protects athletes who suffer concussions
A bill by Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk, that would bench student athletes who suffer concussions until they have a medical clearance, is on its way to the governor's desk for his signature.
The bill, SB652, received unanimous support from both the House and Senate. The legislation also requires school boards to develop guidelines and procedures for dealing with concussions and inform parents and students about the dangers.
Several state legislatures are considering similar bills.
-- Deirdre Fernandes, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot
Personal voting history remains shielded in Va.
The House of Delegates voted Wednesday to keep a tight hold on Virginians' personal voting history, inviting litigation over whether the information should be made more widely available.
In its original form, Sen. Janet Howell's bill, SB624, would have given nonprofit organizations access to voter history lists. Those lists, kept by the state board of elections, don't show how anyone voted, but they do reveal who voted in which elections, including primaries.
Under current law, they are provided only to elected officials, candidates and political parties, who use them for targeted campaign mailings.
Howell's bill was introduced in response to a lawsuit brought by the Know Campaign, a nonprofit group that attempted to disseminate Virginians' voting history in a get-out-the-vote campaign last fall.
The lawsuit, which challenged the current law on constitutional grounds, was settled pending a change in the law such as that proposed by Howell, a Fairfax County Democrat.
But by the time the bill reached the House floor, it had been amended to prohibit release of the information to anyone.
Proponents of the amended bill said voters expect and are entitled to keep their voting history private. Opponents said closing off all access to the lists would raise the cost of campaigning because candidates would no longer be able to tailor their mailing lists.
On a motion by Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, the House sent the bill back to a House committee that has no more scheduled meetings, effectively killing it for this legislative session -- and likely inviting refiling of the lawsuit.
-- Bill Sizemore, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot
Governor says he'll sign overhaul of ethics rules
The state Senate approved a comprehensive overhaul of the General Assembly's ethics rules Wednesday. The measure now goes to the desk of Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has said he will sign it.
The rules changes ensure there will be no repeat of what happened in the fall, when a closed-door investigation into conflict-of-interest allegations against Del. Phil Hamilton was halted for lack of jurisdiction when Hamilton resigned his seat.
Hamilton, a veteran Republican delegate from Newport News, was defeated after revelations that he lobbied for a job at Old Dominion University while he was securing state funding for the school.
House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong's bill, HB655, requires that an ethics investigation be carried to conclusion regardless of a lawmaker's resignation.
It also opens the process to the public once a preliminary inquiry has established a sound basis for the allegations of misconduct.
The measure was approved on a 37-2 vote over the objections of Sen. Fred Quayle, R-Chesapeake, who warned that it would expose lawmakers to "political mischief" by opponents.
-- Bill Sizemore, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot
Va. legislature is first to buck health care reform
Virginia's General Assembly is the first in the nation to approve legislation that bucks federal health care reforms by banning mandatory health insurance coverage.
Without debate, the House of Delegates voted 80-17 Wednesday to accept Senate amendments to a bill that supporters said preserves Virginia's prerogatives as a state.
The measure goes to Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, who plans to sign it.
-- Associated Press
