Tuesday, March 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Parents of juvenile vandals are held financially liable for damages in a bill approved by the Assembly.
Efforts to soften Assembly Bill 39 were voted down Monday, and it passed 35-7. The measure, which requires restitution by the parents if a child destroys or damages property, has been sent to the Senate.
If the juvenile judge finds the restitution would impose a financial hardship on the family, then the judge is required to order the child or the parents or both to perform community service.
"Parents need to step up to the line along with their children," Assemblyman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, said.
An amendment by Assemblyman Jack Close, R-Las Vegas, to tone down the bill was voted down earlier. Close sought to give the judge the discretion whether to order community service if the parents could not pay.
Close said he does "not want to tie the hands of the judiciary." He said he is worried that community service for a family would "take time out of their lives."
The bill, as originally introduced by Assemblyman Dario Herrera, D-Las Vegas, gave the judges the discretion to order community service where there is no payment for the damage. But it was toughened in the Judiciary Committee.
The community service must be performed for a local or state government or a charitable organization. The judge may order the child or the parent to deposit with the court money to pay the cost for an insurance policy to cover on-the-job injury or damage to the property that is being worked on.
The new requirement, if finally enacted, will apply only to vandalism committed after October this year.
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