WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1996

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1996

Amendments

Voters in the Nov. 5 election bill be faced , with an extra ballot containing five proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution and asked to vote "Yes" or "No" to each one.

• The first question is designed to protect the funds in the Virginia Retirement System by keeping them in a separate fund and investing them "solely" in the interests of the members. This is a huge pot of money, and in hard times at the state level it becomes a tempting target for members of the General Assembly hoping to close the gap between spending "desires" and state revenues. .

At times appointments to the board that administers the funds have become politicized. A "Yes" vote is recommended.

• The second is a "feel good" amendment being promoted by Attorney General James Gilmore. It says that victims of crimes shall "be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect in the criminal justice process" and allows the General Assembly to enact bills to define the "rights" of crime victims. Contrary to some of the rhetoric of its supporters, the amendment will not itself enact a "Crime Victims Bill of Rights." Members of the assembly already have the power to enact such bills without the passage of tfie amendment, but a strong vote for the amendment might send a clear message that the voters want them to do so.

The Constitution of Virginia is already overly long; it lacks the elegant simplicity of the U.S. Constitution. However, neither document should be frivolously amended. Voters must weigh the "message" against their feelings about unnecessary amendments in decid*ing on this one.

• The third proposed amendment allows the state to appeal fur;ther when a criminal conviction is overturned on appeal. Currently ; criminals have the right of appeal, but the state does not. « A "Yes" vote is recommended to right what seems to be an •imbalance in the criminal justice process. Approval of this amend;ment will not lead to double jeopardy. » • The fourth is another amendment to state law required by ^changes in federal law brought on by the "Motor Voter" bill. The Estate Constitution has already been amended to bring it into line with " this new registration process, but apparently not all discrepancies 'were caught the first time: This amendment, which will allow voters £to continue to vote where they are registered even years after they "have moved, is needed to prevent local registrars from having to »keep lists of those allowed to vote in federal elections separate from •lists of those allowed to vote in state and local elections. Avoiding ,';such a burden on the registrars justifies a "Yes" vote on this one. " • The fifth amendment will repeal a portion of the state ^Constitution that some scholars say forbids the incorporation of “churches and religious organizations. For any group, churches “included, incorporation allows the continuation of an organization “when its membership changes. " This happens in church groups at least as frequently as in other »groups. There seems no valid reason to prohibit church groups from "incorporating and a "Yes" vote is recommended.

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