CNS Briefs

Preventing sexual, domestic violence focus of General Assembly

Several sexual- and domestic violence
prevention bills are facing
the General Assembly this session in
response to the stalking and subsequent
murder of University of Richmond
student De’Nora Hill.

Delegate Jennifer L. McClellan,
D-Richmond, said her bill, House Bill
335, is in part a response to Hill’s
murder.

“After her death, her mother and
students at University of Richmond
worked with the Sexual Violence Action
Alliance (and) came up with this bill,
introducing it last year,” McClellan
said.

Since, McClellan’s bill has been
attached to House Bill 1328, a similar
bill sponsored by Delegate Christopher
K. Peace, R-Mechanicsville.

Any person who commits a stalking
offense within five years of a previous
conviction would be guilty of a felony,
if the legislation is approved. McClellan
said waiting for a third offense to make
the charge a felony – as current law
mandates – is unsafe.

“Stalking is a pretty serious offense.
Stalking usually leads either to rape
or, a lot of times, murder. Right now,
stalking is a misdemeanor,” McClellan
said. “Usually, stalking escalates into
violence, and we need to break that
cycle.”

Stacy Ruble, domestic violence
advocacy coordinator for the Virginia
Sexual and Domestic Violence Action
Alliance, said the alliance is supporting
several bills and amendments this
session.

“A lot of these (bills) were ones
that we specifically saw (as) issues
in the community that needed to be
addressed,” Ruble said.

Brief by Mary Boyd

Spend more to stop youth smoking, poll says

Virginia voters support using tobacco
settlement and tobacco tax revenues to
fund programs to prevent children from
starting to smoke and to help current
smokers quit, according to a study
released by anti-smoking groups.

The statewide survey of 500 registered
voters said that 80 percent
of respondents think funding for the
commonwealth’s prevention efforts
should be more than or equal to the
amount recommended by the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The survey was conducted by the
Mellman Group, an opinion research
firm. It was commissioned by the
American Cancer Society, American
Heart Association, American Lung
Association and the Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids.

Keenan Caldwell, director of government
relations for the American Cancer
Society, said the voters of Virginia have
made their opinions known.

“It’s now up to the elected officials
of this state to listen,” she said.

Delegate John O’Bannon,R-Henrico,
said he encourages the General
Assembly to spend more money on
anti-smoking programs aimed at young
people.

Helping adults quit smoking has
obvious health benefits, but even better
would be to prevent children from
beginning to smoke, said O’Bannon,
who is also a physician.

Brief by Travis Lyle

Commission’s task to cut Virginia’s greenhouse gas emissions

Amid recommendations to reduce
greenhouse-gas emissions in the commonwealth,
members of Gov. Timothy
M. Kaine’s Commission on Climate
Change were sworn in at its inaugural
meeting this past week.

“Climate change is the environmental
issue of this and the next
generation,” Kaine said in a speech to
the commission.

Kaine and commission members
convened for 14 months to devise the
Virginia Energy Plan. The plan has
four basic goals: to acquire energy
independence through conservation
and the discovery of native resources
to educate the public about actions
they can take to reduce greenhouse-gas
emissions to research in areas in which
Virginia has a strategic advantage and
to reduce greenhouse gases.

Kaine said he relies on citizens’
boards and commissions, and said it is
important to consider any recommendations
those boards and commissions
suggest when making key decisions.
Although it is difficult to motivate
people about environmental issues,
Kaine said, climate-change awareness
is rising.

“Gone are the days when debating
whether or not manmade effects on
climate even exist,” Kaine said. “There’s
an acknowledgement now.”

Kaine also addressed the need
for a comprehensive federal policy.
He said former Virginia Gov. Mark
Warner – and the presumed Democratic
nominee for a seat in the U.S. Senate
– is at the forefront of an effort to
encourage the U.S. Senate to look
into comprehensive federal strategies
focused on climate change.

Brief by Michelle Antogiovanni