July 1 marked the start of the new fiscal year and was the effective date of much of the legislation approved by the General Assembly earlier this year and signed into law by Governor Warner. DCJS staff actively tracked 70 bills during the relatively quiet 2005 session. Twenty-eight of them eventually became law. Several of the bills which took effect on July 1 are important to the Department and its constituents and are noted below:
Virginia Center for School Safety
HB 1615 shifted from the Superintendent of Public Instruction to the DCJS Center for School Safety the authority to develop a list of items to be reviewed and evaluated in required school safety audits and to prescribe a standardized report format for the audits. This change in the Code is a result of previous d iscussions with Department of Education officials, local school superintendents and principals, who have long agreed with giving DCJS full responsibility for school safety audits due to the agency’s expertise and technical ability in this area.
Private Security Services
DCJS investigators carry a caseload of approximately 60 active investigations. At times, they utilize informants to gain information regarding complaints or they conduct covert operations to gain information prior to alerting the respondent. HB 2729 exempts active investigations conducted by DCJS from disclosure as required by the Freedom of Information Act. Thus, investigations will not be jeopardized by early r elease of any information, which could result in a respondent preparing false documents, a witness being afraid to participate, or a respondent’s reputation being damaged when the concluded investigation may clear the respondent of wrongdoing.
SB 1346 clarified the definition of 'electronic security equipment.' The clarification was sought by DCJS in response to previous challenges to its current definition of ‘electronic security equipment’ for licensure purposes.
Commonwealth’s Attorneys will now be Conservators of the Peace while engaged in the performance of their official duties under § 19.2-12. This change in the Code, brought about by HB 1666, now makes them officers of the court with arrest powers. They do not, however, have to be registered with DCJS’ Private Security Services.
Criminal History Record Checks
HB 1676 permits board members and prospective board members of any Crime Stoppers/Solvers program to receive their criminal history record checks ($15/record check) without charge. The State Police, repository for criminal history records, estimated that 75 jurisdictions have these programs, with six board members per program, at a cost of $6,750 per fiscal year. This appears to be an incentive for persons willing to serve on the boards of these programs.
Criminal Justice Services Board (CJSB)
HB 2627 added the Executive Director of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission or his/her designee to the Board, while SB 988 added an active duty law enforcement officer. These two additions increase the membership of the CJSB to 29 persons.
Department of Forensic Science (DFS)
DFS is now a separate department within the Secretariat of Public Safety as a result of HB 2216 and SB 1153. Both bills also created a Forensic Science Board to oversee the new department, and a Scientific Advisory Committee. DCJS will continue to provide some support services to the new department as it makes the transition.
The legislature appropriated $1.8 million for 34 new full-time lab positions to address the case backlogs. The Assembly provided $376,000 and three positions to establish a mitochondrial DNA lab in the Richmond office. Finally, $1,991,800 was appropriated to acquire land for a new Northern Virginia lab in Prince William County , and $900,000 was earmarked for the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine for training of forensic scientists.
HB 1896 eliminated the need for testimony from the Department of Forensic Science’s toxicologists in cases where the Certificate of Analysis reveals one of the four listed drugs - cocaine, methamphetamine, PCP , and MDMA or “ecstasy” - in the defendant’s blood is at or above the level specified in the bill. The Division estimates this bill would affect approximately 200 cases per year.
DCJS Budget Items
During the 2004 legislative session, the Drug Court Program was transferred to the Supreme Court; but administrative and operational dollars for this program continued to be routed through DCJS. During the 2005 session the funding (approximately $520,000) was transferred directly to the Court.
In 2004, DCJS was given authority to regulate bail bondsman beginning October 1, 2005 . This year, the General Assembly appropriated $367,220 in non-general funds and authorized three fulltime positions to run the program.
The so-called "599" program provides direct funding to localities with police departments. As recommended by Governor Warner, the FY 2006 appropriation for the program was raised to $191,323,238, an increase of $4,184,305.
The legislature also increased funding for Community Corrections Act programs by $500,000.
DCJS received funds to convert its Alzheimer’s Disease training position to full-time and $25,000 to provide training of first-responders such as fire and emergency medical personnel. Previously, training was only available to law enforcement.
State support for the regional law enforcement training academies was increased by $274,385 in general funds, and spending authority from the special fund created for the academies was increased to $558,203 to better to reflect revenues collected in the fund.
You can review all the bills and resolutions considered during the General Assembly’s 2005 Session, and find a wealth of other information, at the Legislative Information Website, at http://leg1.state.va.us/051/lis.htm.