GOVERNOR’S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto Senate Bill 1675, which creates a six-month mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for any person who kills or injures an animal owned, used, or trained by a law enforcement agency, regional jail, or the Department of Corrections. This legislation also requires that the mandatory minimum term be imposed separately and made to run consecutively with any other sentence.

We rely on our judges and juries to make sound sentencing decisions based on the circumstances of each individual case. In making these decisions, judges and juries consider a number of factors before determining a sentence, and their sentence decisions are the result of intense deliberation. Imposing mandatory minimum sentences eliminates this discretion and ties the hands of the individuals we have entrusted to make these important decisions.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.

GOVERNOR'S RECOMMENDATION

1. Line 14, enrolled, after a

strike

the remainder of line 14, all of line 15, and through sentence on line 16

insert

term of confinement of at least six months

2. Line 18, enrolled

strike

all of lines 18 through 22