Thursday, January 18, 2007
Committee approves death penalty bills
Related
The latest from our Blue Ridge Caucus politics blog
- Federal lawsuit over congressional redistricting dismissed
- Southwest Virginians more pessimistic about economy than other Virginians
From The Roanoke Times
RICHMOND -- The Senate Courts of Justice Committee approved two bills Wednesday that would expand the range of crimes for which a prosecutor could ask for the death penalty.
Senate Bills 1116 and 1288 are both based on recommendations from the Virginia Crime Commission. SB 1116 would make the premeditated killing of a judge or subpoenaed witness a capital crime, eligible for the death penalty.
SB 1288, meanwhile, would eliminate the "triggerman rule," which limits capital charges to the actual killer and not accomplices. There are already three exceptions to the rule, but SB 1288 would add more.
Lawmakers have worked for several years on eliminating the triggerman rule but have failed to achieve consensus to pass such legislation.
In Wednesday's meeting, committee counsel Steve Benjamin, a Richmond lawyer, disagreed with Michael McGinty of the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys over legal definitions in an effort to determine what role a murder accomplice must play in order to be eligible for capital charges under SB 1288. Benjamin argued the role should be narrowly defined, while McGinty argued for a broader interpretation.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, agreed with McGinty, saying that a judge and jury should ultimately decide that question.
Both SB 1116 and SB 1288 now go to the full Senate for consideration.
Career training bill OK'd
Most high school students seeking a standard diploma would need a two-credit sequence of courses in career or technical education under legislation that passed the House of Delegates on Wednesday.
House Bill 1442, sponsored by Republican Dave Nutter of Christiansburg, is designed to better prepare non-college-bound students for the workplace. The new requirements will apply to students entering the ninth grade after July 1, 2008.
Nutter said such a requirement is necessary to meet a critical need for workers in manufacturing and technical fields.
"Our number-one ranking as a pro-business state will surely disappear if we fail to fill key positions," Nutter said during a Tuesday floor debate on his bill.
Nutter's bill has support from both labor and industry organizations, but some critics questioned the need to pile another new requirement on students. The bill passed by a vote of 72-25 and now goes to the Senate.
The bill contains exemptions for several categories of students, such as those participating in junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs, certain fine arts programs, and programs providing a three- or four-year sequence of courses in a designated career path.
Inaugural bill goes to Senate
The House of Delegates passed legislation Wednesday that would prevent funds raised for the inaugurations of Virginia's governor, lieutenant governor or attorney general from being spent on political purposes.
By a vote of 62-32, the House passed legislation (HB 1977) prohibiting the state's top three officeholders from using surplus inaugural funds for anything other than charitable contributions or refunds to contributors. The measure now goes to the Senate.
The newly elected officeholders could not use excess inaugural funds to retire campaign debts, contribute to their own political action committees, or contribute to other political candidates and committees.
The bill's sponsor, William Fralin, R-Roanoke, said inaugural funds should only be used for events surrounding the swearing in of the state's top three officeholders, events that many consider nonpartisan. Virginia's current governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general all used some funds from their inaugural committees for purposes unrelated to their 2006 celebrations of taking office.
