For Release: June 29, 2007
Contact: David Clementson
Email: dclementson@oag.state.va.us
Phone: 804-786-2071
McDonnell Legislation Takes Effect Sunday July 1
‘Protecting Virginia’s Future’ Agenda Includes E-mail Registration for Sex Offenders, Senior Alert, New Protections for Private Property Owners
RICHMOND - The overwhelming majority of the proposals comprising Attorney General Bob McDonnell’s “Protecting Virginia’s Future” 2007 legislative agenda will become law on Sunday July 1st. The Attorney General’s agenda, consisting only of bills worked on, or crafted by, the Office of the Attorney General, includes the first-in-the-nation requirement that sex offenders register online identities and email addresses with Virginia’s Sex Offender Registry; new protections for private property owners; the creation of a “Senior Alert” for missing seniors with cognitive impairments; and new rights for victims of crime. McDonnell formally announced his 2007 agenda in January.
Speaking about the success of his legislative agenda, McDonnell noted, “These common sense proposals will provide new protections for all Virginians. Property owners will be more secure from the threat of government taking their property. Seniors with cognitive impairments will benefit from a new safety net dedicated to finding them if they become lost or confused. Virginia’s children will use the Internet with new safeguards to help keep sex offenders off of popular social networking sites. Victims of crime will be able to testify during the sentencing phase of a trial, allowing their voices to be heard.”
McDonnell continued noting, “The overwhelming majority of these bills passed with broad bi-partisan support in the General Assembly. I thank the patrons of these bills for their tireless work.”
The “Protecting Virginia’s Future” agenda consisted of 43 bills. Of those 43 bills, 40 initially passed the General Assembly, for a 93% success rate. Following gubernatorial action, 38 of the bills will take effect on July 1st. Taken together with last year’s legislative agenda, which saw 20 of 21 initiatives passed and signed by the Governor, McDonnell has seen 58 of his 64 legislative proposals become law since taking office.
Attorney General Bob McDonnell’s 2007 Legislative Agenda
“Protecting Virginia’s Future”
The Following Bills Will Become Law on Sunday July 1 (Bill Patrons Noted in Parentheses)
Protecting our Senior Citizens from Harm
Crimes Against Seniors (O’Brien and Cline)
- Increases the penalties for any person who abuses or neglects an incapacitated adult and the abuse or neglect results in the death of the incapacitated adult.
Senior Alert (Rerras and Dudley)
- Creates a Senior Alert modeled on Virginia’s Amber Alert, when elderly adults with cognitive impairments are missing and the disappearance poses a credible threat to the adult’s health and safety.
- Authorizes the State Police to coordinate regional alerts and to develop model policies that local law enforcement and media representatives may implement voluntarily in their areas to ensure a coordinated effort in finding those adults with cognitive impairments who become lost.
Protecting our Children from Internet Sexual Predators
Internet Safety – E-Mail Registration and Increased penalties for Child Porn and Online Solicitation
(McDougle and Hurt):
● Requires registration of all email addresses and other online identities as part of the Sex Offender Registry.
● Authorizes the State Police to provide certain information to social networking websites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com.
● Creates mandatory-minimum sentences for production and distribution of child pornography and online solicitation of children. These mandatory minimums will be especially harsh for offenses involving child victims below 15 years of age.
Internet Safety - Youth Internet Safety Fund (Callahan)
● Establishes the Youth Internet Safety Fund for a Prevention and Awareness Campaign about dangers of the Internet. Will permit an ongoing public education and awareness program for parents and children through TV, radio, DVD’s and other promotional materials.
Internet Safety – Warrants, Subpeonas, Bail and Asset Forfeiture (Obenshain and Bell)
● Expands asset forfeiture provisions to include possession of child pornography and online solicitation cases.
● Includes on-line child solicitation and production of child pornography cases in the presumption against bail.
● Allows Commonwealth’s Attorneys to issue administrative subpoenas to Internet Service Providers for computer-facilitated child exploitation investigations.
Protecting our Commonwealth during a Crisis
Emergency Preparedness
(Wampler, Newman, Cuccinelli and Hamilton, Sherwood, O’Bannon)
- Expands the Governor’s authority to assist a sister state’s request for aid without having to declare a state of an emergency.
- Expands the ability of law enforcement and medical personnel to carry out their duties during an emergency such as administering and dispensing of drugs by authorized personnel.
- Streamlines and enhances procedures relating to the issuance, appeal, and delivery of orders of isolation and quarantine.
- Increases the membership of the Secure Commonwealth Panel to include other important stakeholders.
- Establishes a joint subcommittee to study the problems associated with liability issues for healthcare providers during a state of emergency.
- Protects law enforcement personnel who enforce a quarantine or isolation order by informing them of potential exposure they may receive from those they quarantine.
- Permits a locality to enter into mutual aid agreements with a neighboring locality of another state that has declared a state of emergency.
- Clarifies that local law enforcement officers are authorized to deliver, serve, execute and enforce orders of isolation and quarantine.
Protecting our Citizens’ Private Property Rights
Eminent Domain (Bell, Cuccinelli, Newman and Norment)
- Provides property can only be taken when the public interest dominates the private gain and the primary purpose of the taking is not private financial gain, private benefit, an increase in tax base or revenues, or an increase in employment.
- Provides that a property owner may challenge that a taking is a pretext for an unauthorized use.
- Places new limitations upon the Housing Authority’s ability to condemn for blight.
Ensuring our Victims’ Rights
Domestic Violence Victims – Protective Orders (Obenshain and Lohr)
- Enhances the penalties for multiple violations of a protective order that involves an act or threat of violence with a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 days for the second offense and 6 months for a third or subsequent violation.
Victim’s Rights (Norment and Welch, Gilbert, E. Scott)
- Ensures victims may testify during the sentencing phase of a defendant’s case.
- Permits evidence of a defendant’s prior criminal history including the conviction and imposed punishment during the sentencing phase of trial.
Ensuring Justice for Victims of Capital Murder
Death Penalty- Expansion of (Gilbert)
- Provides that the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of any witness under subpoena in a criminal case when the killing is for the purpose of interfering with the person's duties in such case is punishable as capital murder, a Class 1 felony.
Keeping our Families Together
Comprehensive Services Act (Devolites Davis and Fralin)
- Expands eligibility for state pool funds to include children requiring mental health services to avoid placement in foster care.
- Allows for further study on the impact of this legislation on the program so the General Assembly can take further action next year.
Protecting our Communities from Violence
Gangs & Terrorism (Albo)
- Punishes those who recruit others to commit acts of terrorism.
- Allows the Attorney General to assist Commonwealth’s Attorneys to prosecute crimes related to gang participation, gang recruitment and terrorism recruitment when such crimes occur in state prisons.
Promoting Second Amendment Rights
Guns – Straw Purchases (Lingamfelter)
- Prevents those attempts not sanctioned by law enforcement authorities to conduct the illegal purchase of firearms in the Commonwealth by misleading gun dealers as to the actual intended purchaser. Specifically, this will prevent New York authorities from targeting Virginia gun dealers for civil lawsuits.
Providing Opportunities for our Veterans’ Families
Veteran’s Tuition (O’Brien and Janis)
- Clarifies existing law to ensure that all qualified survivors and dependents of Virginia military personnel lost in action attend public institutions of higher education free of tuition and fees when admitted.
- Establishes the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Fund to provide financial assistance for board and room charges, books and supplies, and other expenses.
- Directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is responsible for disbursing funds appropriated or otherwise made available to support the Fund.
Promoting Health
Organ Donation Act (Frederick)
- Updates Virginia law related to organ donation so that it is similar to other states to promote organ donations and to ensure that the donor’s wishes are met.
Promoting Regulatory Reform
Regulatory Reform (Wagner and Landes)
- Creates a “fast track” removal process for those administrative regulations that are outdated, inefficient or obsolete.
- Streamlines the Administrative Process Act to promote necessary rule making and to provide more flexibility to participants in the process.
Promoting Educational Opportunities
Enforcing Truancy Policies (Lambert and Reid)
- Enables law enforcement, educators and social service entities to facilitate the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders with excessive absences from school to serve the student’s educational needs more promptly and effectively.
Protecting our Citizens’ Voices
Recount Ballot Security (Cosgrove)
- Ensures the integrity of and voter confidence in our electoral system by codifying a process to secure all ballots and election materials when a recount is pending.
Charitable Trusts (Waddell)
- Provides that in a situation where a party is seeking the modification or termination of the original terms of a charitable trust, sufficient notice to the public must be made to allow them to share their views with the Attorney General.
