Albemarle County enacted several legislative changes this week, including altered repercussions for public urination, defecation and intoxication.
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors proposed various changes in county law to keep up with recent changes in state law, said Annie Kim, one of the county's senior assistant county attorneys.
For citizens found intoxicated in public, officials have now created the option for an individual to go to a detoxification center as an alternative to arrest. If the individual does not choose to be held at the center, he will risk being charged with public intoxication.
Other areas affected by these new code changes include assault and battery, littering, damaging signs, disorderly conduct, drinking and possessing alcohol in public school grounds, hunting and trespassing, Kim said.
Under the new law, urinating in public becomes a class 4 misdemeanor, rather than a class 1 offense as it what previously. This change allows officers to arrest an individual for public urination without charging him with the more serious indecent exposure charge.
"The way the law is written now, [urinating in public] would be indecent exposure, which would have a lot more repercussions," said Duane Snow, vice-chairman of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. "The whole purpose of the change was so that the crime would not carry the weight of indecent exposure."
Kim noted that laws are constantly changing and there are always proposals being made.
"State law allows localities to create parallel county law provisions," Kim said. "If you don't revise every year or month, you may fall behind with state codes."
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article mistakenly indicated that public urination was downgraded from a class 4 misdemeanor to a class 1 offense.
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