GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to § 6 of Article V of the Constitution of Virginia, I am vetoing House Bill 1080.

House Bill 1080 would create a separate, permanent advisory committee to advise and assist the Board of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Juvenile Justice on matters related to programs, services, allocations and expenditures associated with the Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act (VJCCCA).

I remain unconvinced of any benefit to be gained from adding this unnecessary level of bureaucracy to VJCCCA. The Department already has an active advisory committee, established during the implementation of the Act. This committee includes local program staff as well as staff from the Department's central office, regional offices and court services units, and has the flexibility to meet as needed.

This bill requires the new committee to meet quarterly, and mandates that staff assistance and members' expenses be provided by the Department of Juvenile Justice from within its current budget. No additional funds were provided by the General Assembly to support this new committee, so the funds will have to be taken from other needs.

Finally, concerns have been expressed that the proposed advisory committee may decrease local autonomy in the creation and administration of community-based programs for troubled juveniles, which would be contrary to the original purposes of the Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act.

Accordingly, I am disapproving of this bill.