Judge trashes garbage
import limits
Laws intended to limit
solid waste shipments to Virginia's landfills were struck down by
a federal judge yesterday, according to the Richmond
Times-Dispatch. U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer granted summary
judgment to four waste-hauling companies and Charles City County,
a coalition that jointly sued the governor and the state last year.
The laws, passed by the
1999 General Assembly, were found to violate the commerce clause,
thus interfering with interstate commerce, according to the summary
judgment. Gov. Jim Gilmore prompted the legislation after a heated
exchange with New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani over the importation
of that state's municipal waste into Virginia. Attorney General Mark
Earley said the state will appeal the decision.
Corporate lobbying overshadows
consumers' right to privacy
The House Corporations,
Insurance and Banking Committee rejected legislation that would have
made it easier for consumers to take their names off telemarketers'
lists, according to The
Virginian-Pilot. Corporate opponents included MCI, Bell Atlantic,
Capital One and Nationwide Insurance.
The bill would have allowed
citizens for a fee of $10 to put their name on a no-call list held
by the Office of Consumer Affairs. Telemarketers would have been fined
up to $2,500 per violation. Lobbyists said consumers already benefit
from a federal law passed in 1991. Eight states already have no-call
laws, while at least 20 others are considering them.
Checks for river polluters
get more attention, expensive
A bill mandating more intensive
monitoring of state rivers' water quality would cost an additional
$2 million year, state officials said, according to the Lynchburg
News & Advance.
The bill, proposed by Delegate
W.W. "Ted" Bennett, D-Halifax, calls for the Department of Environmental
Quality to test fish for toxins every three years instead of every
five years. It also:
