Saturday, September 6, 2008
The General Assembly is not in session.
Tracking Virginia’s General Assembly
since 2007.
HB2672: Sexually violent predators; if convicted of sex offense referred to Commitment Review Committee.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 37.2-903 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 37.2-905.1 as follows:
§ 37.2-903. Treatment plans; database of prisoners convicted of sexually violent offenses; maintained by Department of Corrections; notice of pending release to CRC.
A. The Director shall establish and maintain a treatment program for prisoners convicted pursuant to Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2 and committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections. This program shall include a clinical assessment of all such prisoners upon receipt into the custody of the Department of Corrections and the development of appropriate treatment plans, if indicated. This program shall be operated under the direction of a licensed psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist who is experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of mental abnormalities and disorders associated with criminal sexual offenders.
B. The Director shall establish and maintain a database of
each prisoner in his custody who is (i) incarcerated for a sexually violent
offense or (ii) serving or will serve concurrent or consecutive time for
another offense in addition to time for a sexually violent offense. The
database shall include the following information regarding each prisoner: (a)
the prisoner's criminal record and (b) the prisoner's sentences and scheduled
date of release. A prisoner who is serving or will serve concurrent or
consecutive time for other offenses in addition to his time for a sexually
violent offense, shall remain in the database until such time as he is released
from the custody or supervision of the Department of Corrections or Virginia
Parole Board for all of his charges. Prior to the initial
assessment of a prisoner under subsection C, the Director shall order a
national criminal history records check to be conducted on the prisoner.
C. Each month, the Director shall review the database and
identify all such prisoners who are scheduled for release from prison within 10
months from the date of such review who receive a score of five four or more on the Static-99 or a like similar score on a comparable, scientifically validated instrument
designated by the Commissioner, or a score of four
on the Static-99 or a like score on a comparable, scientifically validated
instrument if the sexually violent offense mandating the prisoner's evaluation
under this section was a violation of (a) clause (iii) of subsection A of §
18.2-61; (b) subdivision A 1 of § 18.2-67.1; (c) subdivision A 1 of §
18.2-67.2; or (d) subdivision A 1 of § 18.2-67.3 where the victim was under the
age of 13 and suffered physical bodily injury.
D. If the Director and the Commissioner agree that no specific scientifically validated instrument exists to measure the risk assessment of a prisoner, the prisoner may instead be evaluated by a licensed psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist for an initial determination of whether or not the prisoner may meet the definition of a sexually violent predator.
E. Upon the identification of such prisoners, the Director shall forward their names, their scheduled dates of release, and copies of their files to the CRC for assessment.
§ 37.2-905.1. Substantial compliance.
The provisions of §§ 37.2-903, 37.2-904, 37.2-905 and 37.2-913 are procedural and not substantive or jurisdictional. Absent a showing of failure to follow these provisions as a result of gross negligence or willful misconduct, (i) it shall be presumed that there has been substantial compliance with these provisions, which shall be sufficient as a matter of law; (ii) such failure shall not bar the Office of the Attorney General from filing a petition under this chapter; (iii) such failure shall not be a basis upon which a court may dismiss a petition filed under this chapter; and (iv) such failure shall not be a basis upon which a court may deny civil commitment or conditional release pursuant to this chapter.
Additional Data
Explanation
This is the actual text of the bill — the legislation itself. Generally this is amending existing law, proposing the addition or removal of words from laws that are already on the books.
Words that are highlighted in yellow are
proposed additions, and words that are crossed out in
red are proposed removals.
The numbers with the § symbol before them are references to existing laws, and if you click on them they’ll take you to that part of the law on the state's website.