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1986-88 budget period.
A watered down mandatory seat belt bill appears certain to become law.
A measure defining and prescribing punishment for marital rape is all but cleared for passage.
Life will become rougher on drunk drivers as tests and penalties stiffen.
Alimony rule changes are in the works which will help the innocent party in divorce actions.
A tepid conflice of interest measure tied up the assembly in angry debate for two weeks, but appears likely to become law.
Other bills, some after heated hearings and debates, bit the dust.
A state lottery measure died in committee.
A bill requiring parental consent prior to an abortion was defeated.
A proposed constitutional amendment allowing the governor to serve two consecutive terms failed on its constitutionally required second presentation to the assembly.
A measure requiring that students pass their academic subjects before being allowed to participate in athletics went down in committee.
An old faithful outlawing throwaway bottles and cans and requiring a deposit on soft drink containers was once again rejected.
These, of course, are only a handful of the more than 1,000 bills and resolutions which are working their way through the assembly, as the lawmakers move beyond the halfway point in the session.
Only five weeks into his administration it is, of course, far too early to say if Gov. Jerry Baliles’ first General Assembly has moved him appreciably closer to his goal of a “New Dominion” for Virginia.
But his legislative vital signs appear to be good.
One thing can be said, however. He has given the lawmakers a blueprint to work by. His task now, both in this and future sessions, will be to persuade them to work by it.
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