Virginia Conservation Police Review Board; created. (SB838)

Introduced By

Sen. Lionell Spruill (D-Chesapeake) with support from co-patrons Del. Matt Fariss (R-Rustburg), and Sen. Mark Peake (R-Lynchburg)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Virginia Conservation Police Review Board. Creates a six-member review board composed of a State Police officer and a criminal defense lawyer, both appointed by the Governor; a recreational angler and a hunter, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates and the Senate Rules Committee, respectively; the chairman of the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries; and the Attorney General or his designee, who shall be a nonvoting member. The review board is tasked with reviewing (i) citizen complaints of misconduct by conservation police officers, (ii) the performance of conservation police officers in carrying out the policy of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (the Department), and (iii) the level of coordination and the relationships between conservation police officers and other law-enforcement agencies. The bill authorizes the review board to have access to all Department law-enforcement records, facilities, and landholdings and requires the review board to report its findings to the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries. The bill also authorizes the review board to refer serious cases of officer misconduct to the Secretary of Natural Resources with a recommendation for disciplinary action or termination of employment. Read the Bill »

Status

02/01/2018: Failed to Pass in Committee

History

DateAction
01/15/2018Presented and ordered printed 18104931D
01/15/2018Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
01/31/2018Impact statement from DPB (SB838)
02/01/2018Continued to 2019 in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (14-Y 1-N) (see vote tally)