GOVERNOR'S RECOMMENDATION

1. Page 1, enrolled, § 15.1-362.1, subsection C, second paragraph, line 3, after A,

strike

shall

insert

may enter into an agreement to

GOVERNOR'S VETO EXPLANATION

I am returning this bill without my signature.

This bill would authorize certain local governments to force public service companies to turn over to those governments the companies' customer lists, including the addresses of those customers.

A public service company, while it may be a regulated utility provider, is still a privately owned business. Forcing a private company to turn over one of its most valuable assets - its customer lists - to a governmental entity is an infringement on the freedom to conduct business in Virginia. That is not a message we want to send to private businesses who may be thinking about investing in Virginia. Virginia's business environment is a key componenet of my Administration's efforts to attract jobs to those parts of Virginia where new jobs are desperately needed, such as Southwest Virginia.

The amendment to this bill, offered for consideration at the reconvenead session, would have authorized the local government and the utitlity company to enter into a voluntary agreement to provide this information. But it would have been voluntary, not mandatory. That amendment was rejected by a narrow margin after it was initially accepted.

Since the bill has not been amended to meet my original objections, I am vetoing it.