ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180112
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: General Assembly Notebook
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Hotel owners across the state probably will get a six-month extension on the law requiring them to install fire sprinklers.
A House of Delegates committee passed the bill Monday giving hotels until Sept. 1 to install sprinklers.
The General Assembly passed a law in 1990 requiring any hotel taller than three stories to install sprinklers by this March.
Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, is seeking a six-month extension this year because 20 or more Virginia Beach 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.
Into the political fray
The judge who revoked Oliver North's concealed-weapons permit came to Richmond on Monday 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 Democrat, 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 with a Republican, said he has 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 allegations that he had been unfairly harsh to women in his court.
The Senate and House of Delegates both have to agree on a judicial candidate by Friday. If an agreement cannot be reached, 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 Hawkins, R-Chatham, 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 already has passed the bill, which now goes to the House floor.
Also on Monday:
* 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.
Constituent viewpoints
A toll-free hot-line exists for expressing opinions on issues before the General Assembly:
1-(800)889-0229
Robert Little, Liz Simpson, Marc Davis and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997by CNB