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News From Richmond By ANGIE MUSOLINO Arundel Newapapera Richmond Bureau RICHMOND — A bill that would create a new charter for the Town of Washington was introduced recently by Del. Raymond R. “Andy” Guest Jr. (R-31st). The new charter would replace one that has been in effect since 1894. The proposed charter was presented in December to the Washington Town Council by its attorney. The council unanimously approved it Jan. 2. The new charter would prohibit the town from taxing real estate. If passed, it will also change the term of office of the town’s five council members, its mayor and its treasurer from two to four years, beginning with the town’s next scheduled elections in May 1986. The bill has been referred to the House’s Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. The ‘bottle bill’ is back The “bottle bill,” which would require returnable bottles for carbonated beverages, is back in the legislature again. Sen. Madison Marye (D-37th) introduced the bill, which has been referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources. Mr. Marye fought for the bill’s passage last year, when it died in committee. The bill made it out of a Senate committee during the 1983 session, but it was killed on the Senate floor. Mr. Mayre’s bill says discarded beverage bottles and cans “create a hazard to vehicular traffic, a source of physi- . cal injury to pedestrians, farm animals and machinery and an unsightly accumulation of litter which must be disposed of at increasing public expense.” Crime victims get attention Three Northern Virginia legislators are sponsoring a bill that would require the inclusion of a “Victim Impact Statement” in the presentence report of a defendant who has been convicted of a felony. Sen. Clive L. DuVal (D-2nd) is patron of the bill, while Dels. Robert T. Andrews (R-33rd) and Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-34th) are co-sponsors. The bill would amend a similar one passed by the legislature in its 1983 session. That bill said that the Victim Impact Statements could be included in presentence reports at the discretion of the court, while the bill DuVal would make the inclusion mandatory.
In the statements, victims are given the opportunity to tell the court — prior to sentencing — of any financial loss or physical or psychological damage he or she may have suffered as a result of the crime. DuVal’s bill, if passed, will also require that the statements tell how the defendant can provide restitution to the victim — or, in the case of a death, the victim’s survivors.
Irene Wodell, director of the Loudoun County VictimWitness Program, said Victim Impact Statements are used frequently in Loudoun, and that she supports making them a mandatory part of the sentencing procedure. “It’d be fantastic if it passes,” she said. “I think the Victim Impact Statement is the best thing that’s ever happened to victims.”
State lottery proposed — again Del. Kenneth R. Plum (D-36th) is co-sponsoring a bill introduced recently that would establish a state lottery in Virginia. The bill’s patron is Del. W.R. O’Brien (R-82nd), who has introduced the same legislation in previous sessions of the General Assembly. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on General Laws.
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