Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 11, 1992 TAG: 9202110292
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
BEYER VOTE PASSES PAROLE BILL
Lt. Gov. Donald Beyer broke a tie Monday to pass a Senate bill that would allow the Parole Board to grant earlier release to non-violent offenders.Republicans had complained that the bill was too soft on criminals, but Beyer said he was not worried that the vote would haunt him during statewide elections next year.
"It can show up in an ad in '93. That's OK," said Beyer, a Democrat. "None of the tie votes are not controversial."
The Senate had split 20-20 largely along party lines on the bill sponsored by Sen. Richard Holland, D-Windsor, at the request of Gov. Douglas Wilder.
Republicans managed to defeat the bill on the floor last week, but Holland asked that it go back to committee to be revised.
The original bill would have required that non-violent offenders be released nine months early. Currently, prisoners get mandatory parole six months before their term ends.
Under the revised bill, the mandatory parole provision was dropped and only first- and second-time offenders were covered by the discretionary parole provision. The Parole Board would be allowed to consider prisoners for parole three months earlier than current law allows.
In other legislative action:
The House of Delegates gave preliminary approval to a bill allowing off-track betting on horse races at as many as six facilities that could be built if approved by local voters.
The House voted 53-41 to give preliminary approval to the off-track betting bill. Opponents questioned the moral implications of the measure. Supporters said off-track betting would encourage construction of a horse-racing track, which would create jobs and boost tourism.
Since Virginia voters approved pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing in 1988, no investors have come forward to build a track.
The House also gave tentative approval to a bill prohibiting merchants from selling consumer transaction data without notifying the consumer and giving him a chance to "opt out." For example, a grocery store could gather information about what a customer buys and sell the information to manufacturers who could send the customer advertisements and coupons.
Del. George Grayson, D-Williamsburg, wanted to toughen the bill by prohibiting the sale of the information without the customer's written consent. He said his amendment would "strike a blow for privacy."
But Del. Robert Tata, R-Virginia Beach, said he had to work hard to come up with a bill that was agreeable to both consumer and business groups. He asked that the amendment be rejected, and the House complied.
The bill then was advanced on a voice vote.
The House of Delegates and the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee approved bills to require that sport fishermen buy a $7.50 annual license to fish in the Chesapeake Bay.
The House voted 51-46 to pass the saltwater fishing license after amending it to exclude fishing in the Atlantic Ocean. Fishermen already have to buy an annual license for freshwater fishing.
The saltwater license fees would pay for fisheries management programs, said the bill's sponsor, Del. Tayloe Murphy, D-Warsaw.
The Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee also passed bills to require polluters to pay fees for air and water permits and to impose a one-year moratorium on issuing permits for medical waste burners.
The House voted 96-2 to pass a two-year moratorium on commercial medical waste incinerator construction and expansion.
The Senate committee voted 15-0 to pass the medical-waste burner bill after amending it to limit the moratorium to a year.
Former U.S. Rep. Caldwell Butler, an attorney for the company planning the Bland County plant, asked the committee to reject the moratorium. The company already has waited more than a year to build the plant, he said.
"I can't understand why additional time is needed for a moratorium," Butler said.
The only major recycling bill in this year's General Assembly died when the committee tabled it until the 1993 session. The bill sponsored by Sen. Joseph Gartlan, D-Fairfax County, would have required deposits on beverage containers and set up redemption centers where consumers could recycle the containers and get their deposits back.
\ YEA OR NAY ON EARLY PAROLE
IN FAVOR Sens. Frank Nolen, D-New Hope; Jack Reasor, D-Bluefield; Elliot Schewel, D-Lynchburg; William Wampler, R-Bristol.
OPPOSED Sens. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke; Virgil Goode, D-Rocky Mount; Madison Marye, D-Shawsville; Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo, R-Fincastle.