Governor Timothy M. Kaine Thursday highlighted the success of his 2008 legislative agenda, which included major initiatives in mental health reform, economic development, early education, campaign and election reform, consumer protection, public safety, children’s services and environmental protection. As the legislature adjourned sine die, which means they closed the session, Kaine issued the following statement:

“Over the past two months, we have addressed important legislative issues and faced the daunting task of developing a balanced budget during challenging economic times,” says Kaine. “I am pleased to announce that, through hard work, we have much to celebrate at the end of this session of the General Assembly. I thank General Assembly members for advancing so many critical policy initiatives despite the difficult budgetary realities.

“As the legislators came together this year, we were all living with raw memories of the tragedy at Virginia Tech last April. We recognized that significant changes to our mental health system were needed, and working together, we have made those changes, providing better guidelines for involuntary commitment and patient monitoring. We also took steps to ensure that people adjudicated mentally ill and dangerous cannot legally buy guns, and we now will require college campuses to develop security plans. These were central pieces of my legislative proposals this session. All told, the legislature and I have worked together to add $41.2 million to strengthen the Commonwealth’s mental health system over the next two years.

“I asked legislators to significantly expand access to pre-kindergarten for at-risk children this year. While economic realities forced a limited expansion of this important program, legislators agreed that a $22 million expansion was a good investment. Because members of the General Assembly saw the value of early childhood education, Virginia will enroll thousands more at-risk children in high-quality pre-kindergarten in coming years. And legislators agreed with my proposal to fully fund the Standards of Quality, ensuring that our students will achieve beyond standard base models and move toward excellence.

“Working together, we also made significant improvements to our campaign and election laws. Our military women and men can now receive absentee ballots electronically when they are serving outside of the country. And donations made to political action committees and designated for a particular candidate will now meet the same standard of transparency that other political donations in Virginia must meet.

“Legislators also passed laws I proposed to protect consumers from identity theft. Individuals, corporations and the government will be required to notify the Attorney General and any affected resident when personal information has been accessed by an unauthorized person, and consumers will be able to freeze their credit reports, preventing anyone to apply for credit in their names.

“The General Assembly also passed my proposed legislation aimed at helping homeowners with sub-prime loans overcome pending foreclosure before they lose their home.

“The budget also includes significant money to increase payments to foster parents and for improvements to recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive parents. First Lady Anne Holton’s 'For Keeps' initiative will strengthen permanent family connections for older children in foster care.

“We also have invested in preserving and protecting our environment. The budget includes money to begin identifying and correcting non-point source pollution of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and it sets aside money to increase the amount of conserved open space for current and future Virginians.

“Much has been accomplished, but hard work remains. Last year, together we passed House Bill 3202 to address our transportation funding needs. With the repeal of the abusive driver fees and the Supreme Court’s ruling nullifying the regional plans that last year’s compromise put in place, we are once again faced with the challenge of adequately funding transportation.

“Over the coming weeks, I will meet with legislators from both houses and both parties, as well as local officials and other stakeholders to seek a funding solution for transportation, so that the issue can be addressed during a special session.

"The General Assembly also will work to close remaining differences over my proposal to significantly advance capital construction on university and community college campuses around the state. The important priority, shared by both Houses, will ensure that our schools have the capacity to educate more Virginians, train a 21st century workforce and conduct important research. I look forward to working with members of the General Assembly to craft a real solution and keep Virginia moving forward.”

Governor Kaine’s 2008 Legislative Achievements

Campaigns and Elections

- Making It Easier for Military Stationed Overseas to Vote

      Virginians living outside the United States, including members of the military and the National Guard who are serving outside the United States may now receive absentee ballots electronically, making it easier for Virginians who are serving our country to vote.

HB 798 (Englin)
SB 508 (Northam, Whipple)

- Adding Flexibility for Scheduling Special Elections

      This law grants more flexibility for scheduling special elections by providing that voting equipment must be secured after an election only until the recount deadline has passed (generally ten days after the election results are certified). It also reduces to 55 days the required period of time between a general or primary election and a special election.

HB 1235 (Bouchard)
SB 509 (Northam, Edwards)

- Transparency in Campaign Contributions

      Beginning January 1, 2009, Political Action Committees receiving donations for a specific candidate in Virginia will have to provide the candidate's campaign committee with information about the contributor, to be included in campaign finance reports. This law will ensure that campaign contributions made to Virginia candidates remain transparent.

HB 359 (Cole) (Original Governor’s Bill: HB 1389, Brink)
SB 452 (Petersen)

- Clarifying Use of Electronic Voting Machines

      To ensure that all approved voting equipment can be used in elections, this law provides exceptions to the prohibition on wireless communications to or from voting devices at the polls on election day. With the passage of this bill, the prohibition will not apply to voting equipment purchased by a locality before July 1, 2007 or to the use of electronic poll books.

HB 1476 (Rust) (Original Governor’s Bills: HB 685, Brink; HB 801, Englin)
SB 52 (Whipple)

Consumer Protections

- Adding Protection from Identity Theft

      Under this law, individuals, corporations and the government must notify the Office of the Attorney General and any affected resident of the Commonwealth when the resident’s personal information has been accessed by an unauthorized person.

HB 1469 (Byron) (Originial Governor’s Bill: HB 1052, Plum)
SB 307 (Reynolds)

- Allowing Credit Report Freezes for Consumers

      Under this law, any consumer in Virginia may freeze access to his credit report, prohibiting a consumer reporting agency from releasing the credit report, or any information in it, without the consumer's express authorization.

HB 1311 (Byron) (Originial Governor’s Bill: HB 785, Brink)
SB 576 (Saslaw)

- Helping Homeowners Keep Their Homes

      This measure requires mortgage lenders to provide ten days written notice when they want to accelerate the repayment of high-risk loans, and grants the homeowner an additional 30 calendar days to try to resolve the situation, if they request an extension.

SB 797 (Puckett)

Good Government

- Merge Charitable Gaming into VDACS

      The Board and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will now be in charge of the regulation of charitable gaming. The move will eliminate a state agency and allow Charitable Gaming employees to take on additional consumer protection duties.

HB 1280 (Spruill)
SB 199 (Puller)

- Council on Virginia’s Future

      The Council on Virginia’s Future will continue to work until July 1, 2013. The original law required its work to end July 1, 2008.

SB 574 (Saslaw)

- Moving Veterans Services to Secretary of Public Safety

      The Department of Veterans Services will report to the Secretary of Public Safety, rather than the Secretary of Administration. The agency was moved to Public Safety to allow it to better work in tandem with the Department of Military Affairs. The bill codifies executive order 8.

HB 229 (Cosgrove) (Original Governor’s Bill: HB 943, D. Jones)
SB 760 (Wagner) (Original Governor’s Bill: SB 521, Locke)

- Virginia War Memorial Foundation to receive support from the Department of Veterans Services

      The Department of Veterans Services will provide administrative support to the Virginia War Memorial Foundation. The Foundation restructuring will allow it to have the full benefit of the resources of the veterans agency.

SB 580 (Edwards)

Education

- Full Funding of the Standards of Quality

      Legislators agreed with my proposal to fully fund the Standards of Quality, ensuring that our students will achieve beyond standard base models and move toward excellence. In total, funding for public education in the 2008-2010 biennium increased by $1.1 billion from the current funding level in FY 2008.

- Base Adequacy, Research, Financial Aid Funding

      Legislators provided $22.1 million each year for institutions of higher education to continue to meet the base adequacy funding guidelines, $33.8 million to continue the investment in research, and $18.2 million over the biennium for financial aid to help offset tuition and fee charges.

- Expanded Funding for Pre-K

      Legislators agreed that a $22 million expansion in Pre-K education is a good investment. It will allow thousands more at-risk children to enroll in high-quality pre-kindergarten in coming years. The conferees agreed to two key policy changes and revised the per pupil share amount for the Virginia Pre-school Initiative from $5,700 to a maximum of $6,000. They capped the composite index at 0.5000 in the second year and using historical practice estimated the non-participation savings.

- Higher Education Restructuring

      Provides operational authority for public institutions of higher education in the areas of information technology, procurement, and capital outlay pursuant to the Restructuring Act of 2005.

HB 1390 (Putney)
SB 442 (Houck)

- Virginia Commission on Higher Education Appointments

      Continues the important work of the Virginia Commission on Higher Education Board Appointments, in assembling lists of qualified persons to serve on college and university boards

HB 776 (Tata)
SB 683 (Norment) (Original Governor’s Bill: SB 302, Houck and Quayle)

- Developing School Policies to Address Abuse

      This measure requires the State Board of Education and local school boards to take steps to ensure that teachers convicted of certain crimes are kept out of the classroom. The law requires local school boards to develop policies and procedures to address complaints of sexual abuse of a student by a teacher or other school board employee. In addition, the changes require the Board of Education to issue regulations including requirements for the denial, suspension, cancellation, revocation, and reinstatement of licensure in its licensure regulations.

HB 1439 (Frederick) (Original Governor’s Bill: HB 1067, Amundson)
SB 241 (Lucas)

Child Services

- Foster Care and Comprehensive Service Ace

      The General Assembly recognized our obligation to support at-risk children by providing $43.9 million for the enhancement of the Commonwealth’s child welfare system. I believe the additional resources will dramatically improve several areas of the foster care system that are in dire need of attention. These dollars will promote new foster family homes in the community, enhance the quality of existing foster homes, and enrich the training provided to child welfare workers. Legislators also supported several important measures to reform the Comprehensive Services Act to provide better outcome data on these children and incentives to ensure that they are being served in the most beneficial settings.

- Establishing Minimum Training Standards for Foster Care and Adoption Workers

      Requires the Department of Social Services to establish training requirements and to provide educational programs for foster and adoption workers and their supervisors, to ensure that these employees are well trained to deal with children and families in what are often fragile situations.

HB 825 (BaCote)
SB 493 (Puller and Hanger)

- Adjusting Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Waiver of Ineligibility Period

      This measure ensures that children removed from their parents' home by child protective service and placed with a relative do not lose eligibility or have to go through a waiting period for TANF assistance.

SB 251 (Y. Miller)
HB 811 (J. Ward)

Responding to the Virginia Tech Shootings

- Increased Spending on Mental Health

      The budget includes $41 million for mental health reform. Initiatives include expanded monitoring and accountability of community services boards and continued and expanded support for jail diversion services. Funding also will establish a training program for crisis intervention, increase community services boards emergency services capacity, increase community services boards case management capacity, provide outpatient services to children and increase availability of outpatient clinicians and therapists.

- Changing Involuntary Commitment Standards and Monitoring Procedures for Outpatient Mental Health Care

      Changes the criteria for emergency custody orders, temporary detention orders, and involuntary commitment proceedings to better ensure that mentally ill Virginians get the treatment they need. The measure provides that a person who meets the criteria for involuntary commitment may be ordered to mandatory outpatient treatment if less restrictive alternatives to involuntary inpatient treatment are appropriate and are available, and the person has the capacity to comply with such outpatient treatment and has agreed to abide by the treatment plan. It also sets forth how such mandatory outpatient treatment will be monitored and how a person's noncompliance with such treatment will be addressed.

HB 499 (Hamilton)
SB 246 (Howell)

- Ensuring People Adjudicated Mentally Ill and Dangerous Cannot Buy Guns

      Adds to the section requiring reporting of involuntary commitment persons who were the subject of a temporary detention order and who subsequently agreed to voluntary commitment.

HB 815 (Albo) (Original Governor’s Bill: HB 1054, J. Scott)
SB 216 (Edwards)

- Higher Education Emergency Plans

      Requires colleges and universities to develop, adopt, and keep current a written crisis and emergency management plan.

HB 1449 (Crockett-Stark) (Original Governor’s Bill: HB 489, Shuler)
SB 256 (Deeds)

Preventing and Responding to Sexual and Domestic Violence

- Eliminating Archaic Defense for Statutory Rape

      This measure repeals the law that allows a man to marry a child (14 years of age or older) in order to avoid prosecution for statutory rape of the child.

HB 597 (McClellan)
SB 608 (Stolle)

- Provide Reimbursements for PERK Kits

      This measure allows the state to directly reimburse a health care provider for the costs of performing the physical evidence recovery kit (PERK) examinations used in cases of sexual assault, regardless of the victim’s decision about prosecution. The defendant, upon conviction, is required to reimburse the Commonwealth.

HB 956 (P. Miller)
SB 312 (Puller, Reynolds)

- Banning the Use of Polygraph Tests on Victims of Sexual Violence

      Under this measure, a rape victim cannot be required to submit to a polygraph examination as a condition of the investigation of the offense.

HB 1043 (Watts)
SB 164 (Lucas)

- Requiring Faster Reporting of Protective Orders

      Provides that when a protective order is issued, the district court must enter and transfer identifying information to the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) system no later than the end of the business day on which the order was issued.

HB 753 (Peace) (Original Governor’s Bill: HB 974, Shannon)
SB 540 (Obenshain, Reynolds)

Public Safety

- Managing Our Corrections System Better

      Two measures passed that will allow a probation and parole officer to place low-risk defendants with the Department of Corrections to be evaluated for participation in the Detention Center Incarceration Program or the Diversion Center Incarceration Program, if approved by the court.

HB 682 (Miller)
SB 611 (Stolle)
HB 1205 (Melvin)
SB 451 (Petersen)

- Keeping Our Troopers Safe on the Road

      This measure clarifies existing law to require motorists to give a full lane of clearance to emergency vehicles that are stopped on the side of the road. This helps keep our troopers safe when they have to pull motorists over to the side of the road.

SB 799 (Saslaw)

- Improving the Registration Requirements for the Sex Offender Registry

      Several bills improved the registration requirements for the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry.

HB 902 (Matthieson)
HB 844 (Sherwood) (Original Governor’s Bill: HB 1376, Morrisey)
HB 1044 (Watts)

- Revokes ABC licenses for Meeting Places for Criminal Street Gangs

      Permits the revocation of a license if the licensee has allowed his premises to become a meeting place or rendezvous for members of a criminal street gang.

HB 1117 (P. Miller)

- Health Safety Net

      We will now be able to expand the health safety net, as well as provide critical preventive and prenatal care to the uninsured. The legislators have agreed to provide just over $5 million over the biennium in additional funding for community-based health safety net providers, purchase dental equipment and supplies, and provide women with free breast and cervical cancer screenings and tests. And the General Assembly also agreed to expand prenatal care for women up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level to cover 400 additional women, which is key to improving birth outcomes.

Workforce

- Transferring Workforce Development Responsibility to Community College System

      Transfers responsibility for the management of the Commonwealth’s workforce development program to the Virginia Community College System and requires that the workforce strategic plan be developed in coordination with the economic development strategic plan.

HB 1312 (Byron)
SB 252 (Ruff)

- Adding VCCS Chancellor to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority Board of Directors

      This bill adds the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System to the board of directors of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to help better coordinate workforce development in Virginia.

HB 731 (Caputo)

- Clarifying VEC’s Responsibility for Provision of Certain Job Services

      This measure requires the Virginia Employment Commission to provide Job Services, in order to provide employment stabilization.

HB 925 (Byron)
SB 253 (Ruff)

Protecting the Environment

- Land conservation

      The General Assembly provided about $9 million for various land conservation programs. The Commonwealth will be able to expand its parks, save Civil War battlefields central our nation’s history from development, and protect wildlife habitat and working farm and forest landscapes. Hopefully, the commitment to providing a flexible, diverse land conservation program will be reinforced by providing funding for preservation of open space lands when a $30 million bond package is finalized.

- Non-point Source Pollution

      One of Virginia’s most valuable environmental assets is the Chesapeake Bay. The General Assembly included $20 million for agricultural best management practices that will help farmers to reduce the impact of their activities on Virginia’s waters. Included is $3 million for combined sewer overflow projects in Richmond and Lynchburg to protect the bay from excessive discharges during significant storms.

- Addressing Non-point Source Pollution Reduction

      This measure authorizes the Governor and General Assembly to provide additional funding in excess of the amount deposited in the Water Quality Improvement Fund from a budget surplus to fund non-point source pollution reduction activities.

HB 360 (Bulova) (Additional House Patrons: Hall, Marsden, Plum)
SB 513 (Hanger)

Repealing the Abuser Fees

- Abuser Fee Repeal

      These bills repeal the abusive driver fees and provide refunds for drivers who had the fees charged against them.

SB 1 (Houck)
HB 1243 (Hugo)