By Richmond Digest
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
A group that opposes making cockfighting a felony in Virginia has identified nine private clubs in Culpeper, Albemarle County and southern Virginia where the animal fights occur.
The Virginia Gamefowl Breeders Association has sent a letter to the attorney general's office listing the locations for the first time.
State officials say they will crack down on the clubs but would like to do so after the state makes all animal fighting a felony, which is being considered by the General Assembly.
A Senate committee overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to exempt members of the breeders association from the bill yesterday and sent it to the Senate floor for a vote. The association claims 2,000 members statewide.
Under current Virginia law, some forms of cockfighting are misdemeanors.
-- Anita Kumar
Saslaw Seeks Accord On Payday Lending Bills
The chairman of a Senate committee looking at bills to reform the payday-lending industry threatened yesterday to effectively kill the legislation for the year unless both sides can work out an agreement.
Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax), chairman of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, said he would refuse to appoint conferees to work out issues between the Senate and House proposals if a compromise can't be reached behind the scenes.
Last year, Saslaw pulled his industry-written bill in the final hours of the session for fear that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) would put stricter regulations on payday lenders if the bill got to his desk.
The industry favors the Senate version; opponents of payday lending favor the House's bill. The session is scheduled to adjourn March 8.
-- Associated Press
Limit on Gun Permit Database Access Stalls
Legislation to block the public from records of Virginians with permits to carry concealed handguns died yesterday.
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted 9 to 7 to carry the bill over until next year.
The bill by Del. David A. Nutter (R-Montgomery) originally would have prohibited access to a state police database of permit holders. The House added a provision allowing Circuit Court clerks to release only the names of permit holders while keeping all other identifying information secret.
Nutter encouraged the committee to delete that provision to keep the database protection alive, but the Democratic-controlled committee declined.
Last year, the Roanoke Times posted the state police database on its Web site. Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R) advised the state police to stop making the list available, but Nutter said any Circuit Court judge could overrule McDonnell's opinion.
-- Associated Press
View all comments that have been posted about this article.