Governor Warner Announces Amendments to Various Bills

Governor Mark R. Warner today announced action taken on various pieces of legislation to which he offered amendments. The amendments will be considered by the General Assembly in its April 2nd reconvened session. The Governor signed 955 bills, amended 87 (including the budget bill which had 67 line item amendments), and vetoed four bills by his March 24th midnight deadline.

Sexually Violent Predators
HB 2445 (Delegate Griffith) and SB 1149 (Senator Stolle)

This session there was bipartisan consensus to finally implement a program to civilly commit dangerous sexually violent predators after the conclusion of their prison sentence. My administration worked with Delegates Griffith, McDonnell, Moran, Alexander, and Watts along with Senator Stolle and the Attorney General's Office to craft amendments to better define who is a sexually violent predator. We have taken action also to nearly double funding for the program by providing an additional $1.2 million for security and treatment costs. The bill has an emergency clause, meaning it will become effective on April 2nd if the General Assembly accepts my amendments.

Prohibiting Execution of People with Mental Retardation
HB 1923 (Delegate Almand) and SB 1239 (Senator Norment)

During last year's General Assembly session, I supported legislation banning the execution of those who are mentally retarded. That bill failed. In June of last year, the Supreme Court ruled that executing persons who are mentally retarded is unconstitutional. After that decision, the Crime Commission undertook a careful study of the issue and proposed legislation for this year's session. I am pleased that the Crime Commission proposal passed in the form of identical bills carried by Senator Norment and Delegate Almand. Unfortunately, the final version of those bills changed the definition of "mentally retarded" from the Crime Commission's proposal in a manner that inappropriately increases the degree of adaptive impairment required for a person to be considered mentally retarded. Because this definition could permit the execution of some people with lifelong, bona fide status as persons with mental retardation, I have proposed amendments to the bills to comport with the language originally proposed by the Crime Commission. These amendments are supported by both patrons, Senator Norment and Delegate Almand, as well as the Crime Commission chairman, Senator Stolle.

21-Day Rule
SB 1143 (Senator Stolle)

During my State of the Commonwealth address, I announced my support for changes to the outdated "21-day rule" which can actually prevent evidence of innocence from coming to light. No other state has such a restrictive rule. SB 1143, carried by Senator Stolle, extends the 21-day rule to 90 days. While this is a step in the right direction, I do not believe it goes far enough. The Crime Commission, in conjunction with the courts, plans to develop a more comprehensive reform proposal to introduce next year. Changing the 21-day rule will require our courts to change numerous other rules. Rather than make those changes this year, and make them again next year if a new plan passes the General Assembly, I have proposed an amendment delaying the effective date of this year's bill until July 1, 2004. If the General Assembly adopts a better proposal next year, the courts will need to change their rules only once. If the General Assembly cannot pass a better approach, this bill will become law. Senator Stolle supports this approach and plans to work with the Crime Commission in studying this issue further.

Electricity Deregulation
HB 2453 (Delegate Parrish)

I am concerned that we proceed in a deliberate responsible manner with respect to electricity deregulation. Delegate Parrish's legislation on this subject, which delays for one year (until July 1, 2004) the requirement that Virginia electric utilities join regional transmission organizations, was a common sense measure that needs to take effect right away. Accordingly, I have added an emergency clause to the bill, with the concurrence of the patron. This means that the bill will take effect immediately if the amendment is approved on April 2.

Workers Compensation for Smallpox
HB 2728 (Delegate O'Bannon)

Our men and women of law enforcement are true heroes whose job is made more difficult by the ever-present threat of terrorism. House Bill 2728 provides that, for firefighters and rescue squads workers, contracting the vaccinia virus from the vaccine after a smallpox vaccination shall be presumed to be job-related for purposes of workers compensation. In recognition of the difficult job facing law enforcement, I have proposed an amendment to add state police officers, local police officers, and sheriffs and their deputies to the protections of this bill.

Inspection of Rental Property
HB 1678 (Delegate Rapp)

My concern about the safety of buildings across Virginia has been heightened by recent tragedies in Chicago, Rhode Island, and New York City. In Chicago and Rhode Island, building safety violations led to fatalities in nightclubs. In New York, fires in two large apartment buildings made 520 people homeless, - one in a low-income area and the other in a middle-class building housing widows, elderly couples and young families. We need to ensure that local building officials are able to perform their jobs responsibly to protect people, especially in public places and rental property. HB 1678 is a complex measure that deals with such rental inspections. I have proposed that the measure not take effect until it has a second review by the 2004 legislature. I believe that, as drafted, the bill would have the unintended consequence of restricting some local governments from enforcing the provisions of their existing rental inspection programs. By recommending a reenactment clause, I am giving all parties more time to work out a rental inspection process that ensures the safety of all Virginians.

Governor of Virginia - Mark R. Warner
Copyright 2003