HOUSE BILL NO. 178 Offered January 11, 2006 Prefiled December 30, 2005 A BILL to amend and reenact § 15.2-1609.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to number of deputy sheriffs. ---------- Patron-- McEachin ---------- Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That § 15.2-1609.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 15.2-1609.1. Number of deputies.

Except as provided in § 15.2-1603, the respective number of full-time deputies appointed by the sheriff of a county or city shall be fixed by the Compensation Board at not less than 10 after receiving such any recommendation of the board of supervisors of the county or the council of the city, as the case may be, as the board of supervisors or city council may desire to make. Such recommendation, if any, shall be made to the Compensation Board on or before April 1 of each year. In any county without a police force, upon the request of the board of supervisors of such county, the number of such law-enforcement deputies shall be fixed at not less than one such deputy for each 1,500 population in such county excluding the population served by state educational institution police departments if the sheriff's department does not provide the majority of the law-enforcement activities to such population according to uniform crime reports compiled by the Department of State Police. The Compensation Board shall also consider any agreement the sheriff may have pursuant to § 15.2-1726 and any obligation he may have pursuant to this section to provide law enforcement for towns in fixing the number of deputies. The governing body of any county or city may employ a greater number of law-enforcement deputies than fixed by the Compensation Board, provided that the county or city shall pay the total compensation and all employer costs for such additional deputies.