For Release: June 27, 2006
Contact: J. Tucker Martin or David Clementson
Email: jtmartin@oag.state.va.us or dclementson@oag.state.va.us
Phone: 804-786-2071
McDonnell Legislation Takes Effect on Saturday
--“A Safer and Stronger Virginia” Legislation Received Broad Bipartisan Backing--
***Former Attorneys General Voice Support***
Richmond- Legislation advanced by Attorney General Bob McDonnell in his 2006 “A Safer and Stronger Virginia” legislative package will take effect on Saturday July 1st, marking the conclusion of an extremely successful session of the General Assembly for the first year Attorney General. McDonnell officially announced his 2006 legislative agenda on January 25th. Labeled “A Safer and Stronger Virginia”, the Attorney General’s first-year agenda mostly consisted of legislation that fulfilled the promises he made while a candidate for Attorney General in 2005.
Speaking about his agenda Attorney General McDonnell noted, “Our citizens will be safer and our communities will be stronger when this legislation takes effect on Saturday.” McDonnell continued, “The focus of my efforts this session was to ensure that Virginia has the nation’s toughest laws when it comes to sexual predators, and this legislative package accomplishes that. I am very pleased that the ideas I championed while campaigning for Attorney General will become the laws of Virginia on Saturday July 1st.”
Two former Virginia Attorneys General congratulated Attorney General McDonnell on his legislative achievements.
Richard Cullen, Attorney General from 1997-1998, voiced his support remarking, “Bob McDonnell came into office with a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish. Now, the promises he made on the campaign trail are the laws of Virginia, and Virginia is better off for it.”
Jerry Kilgore, Attorney General from 2001-2005, added, “Bob McDonnell has made Virginia the toughest state in the nation on sexual predators. As a father of two, I thank him for his leadership on this issue. And, as a former Attorney General, I thank Bob McDonnell for using the office to make Virginia safer and stronger.”
The hallmark of McDonnell’s legislative proposals was his effort to put Virginia in the national lead in the fight against sexual predators. As of July 1st Virginia will have a state-of-the-art Sex Offender Registry, a mandatory-minimum 25 year sentence for certain violent sexual offenses against a child under 13, GPS monitoring for certain paroled sexually violent predators, and an improved civil commitment process for sexually violent predators. Virginia will lead the nation in the fight against sexual predators.
But McDonnell’s “A Safer and Stronger Virginia” agenda was not limited to the issue of combating sexually violent predators. The Attorney General also proposed, and saw passed, legislation to crack down on gangs, protect Virginians from identity theft, toughen sentences on mid-level drug dealers, and better prepare the Commonwealth to face the threat of terrorist attacks.
A description of the Attorney General’s legislation follows
Attorney General Bob McDonnell
“A Safer and Stronger Virginia”
TOUGHENING PENALTIES FOR SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATORS
HB 846 (Albo) requires that a sexually violent predator serve a minimum mandatory term of 25 years for certain violent offenses. The Senate companion to this bill, SB 470 (Norment), was incorporated into an omnibus bill dealing with sexually violent offenders.
HB 984 (Sherwood) makes numerous changes to the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry. In an effort to ensure that Virginia’s children are safe from these predators, this legislation sets forth additional Registry offenses, prohibits certain offenders from living within 500 feet of a school or day care center, and instructs school divisions to develop policies to provide information to parents regarding the availability of information on the Registry. In addition, this bill makes a second or subsequent conviction for failing to register a Class 6 felony. HB 984 also incorporates HB 1012 (Hurt) which adds to the list of Registry offenses the use of a computer or computer network, to engage a juvenile in a sex offense. The companion to this bill, SB 316 (Howell) was incorporated into comprehensive legislation dealing with sexually violent predators.
HB 1014 (Hurt) and its companion, SB 348 (Howell) prohibit intentionally operating a website to facilitate the payment for accessing child pornography over the Internet. This legislation is intended to prohibit websites from charging people to view child pornography over the Internet. The bills are also intended to penalize third party billing companies that intentionally assist in processing payment of those consumers who want to purchase access to child pornography.
HB 1037 (Hamilton) was a product of the Crime Commission and establishes within the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, the Office of Sexually Violent Predator Services to administer provisions relating to the civil commitment of sexually violent predators. The companion to this bill, SB 319 (Howell) was incorporated into comprehensive legislation dealing with sexually violent predators.
HB 1038 (Griffith) reforms the civil commitment of sexually violent predators program. It adds certain offenses to list of crimes that qualify as sexual offenses. In addition, this legislation states that a person on conditional release will be subject to mandatory GPS monitoring. The companion to this bill, SB 317 (Howell) was incorporated into comprehensive legislation dealing with sexually violent predators.
HB 1359 (Bell) authorizes the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to contract with the Department of Corrections to provide services for the monitoring and supervision of civilly committed sexually violent predators who are on conditional release. The bills companion is SB 318 (Howell).
SB 420 (Hanger)/ HB 1589 (Gilbert) makes it unlawful for a person to operate a family day home if he knows that any of its employees or volunteers are convicted sex offenders.
SB 421 (Hanger) requires certain businesses and organizations that provide care to children, the elderly, or disabled to request a national criminal background check of all employees.
FIGHTING DRUGS
HB 1347 (Bell) and SB 553 (Stolle) Creates a new “mini-kingpin” statute that imposes a 5- year mandatory minimum sentence and a fine of up to $1 million on mid-level drug dealers. The new law also imposes a mandatory minimum 5 year sentence on anyone convicted of manufacturing, selling, or distributing any controlled substance for a third or subsequent time. Finally, this law provides prosecutors with a tool that can be used to ensure that those who fuel the drug trade on our streets are dealt with in a serious manner.
STOPPING IDENTITY THEFT
HB 1141 (Cline) and SB 460 (Devolites) increases the number of identity theft crimes that are prosecutable as a felony. Identity theft is a rapidly growing and devastating crime, and under the new law, any person who steals five or more identities in the same transaction can be prosecuted for a felony, regardless of financial loss. This covers the new criminal practice of “pharming.” This legislation was passed in response to the mass database breaches that made national news last year.
SB 461 (Devolites) would require that documents held by agencies of the Commonwealth that are no longer needed, primarily those containing personal information of Virginians, are destroyed to prevent their access by those wishing to perpetrate identity theft.
COMBATING GANGS
HB 901 (Iaquinto) and SB 344 (Obenshain) Make clear that judges have the ability to impose restrictions on gang members that are on probation with regard to association with other gang members.
HB 1013 (Hurt) and SB 345 (Obenshain) Permits prosecutors to seek stiffer penalties for those who manufacture, reproduce, or use fake id’s in the execution of certain crimes.
HB 775 (Albo) and SB 473 (Norment) Add to the list of crimes that make someone eligible for prosecution under Virginia’s gang participation laws, giving Virginia’s law enforcement more tools with which to crack down on street gangs.
STRENGTHENING HOMELAND SECURITY
HB 1004 (Sherwood) and SB 363 (Wampler) codify the mission and outline the preparedness and security duties of the Office of Commonwealth Preparedness and the Secure Commonwealth Panel.
CURBING FRIVILOUS PRISONER LAWSUITS
HB 888 (Kilgore) Curbs frivolous prisoner lawsuits by giving judges discretion on issuing subpoenas and permits the dismissal of certain inmate lawsuits without the need for hearings. Furthermore, the legislation would give the state access to relevant prisoner medical records kept by the Department of Corrections to determine whether actual injury was sustained by the prisoner.
