GOVERNOR'S VETO EXPLANATION

Pursuant to § 6 of Article V of the Constitution of Virginia, I am vetoing House Bill 1607.

I remain unconvinced that establishing and funding a public defender office for the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County would necessarily be cost-effective or preferable to the use of court-appointed attorneys to represent indigent criminal defendants. There are many attorneys in the Charlottesville area that are willing and able to represent criminal defendants. The veto of this unnecessary bill and its proposed creation of a ten person office will save the taxpayers over $1.1 million during the next two years.