GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to § 6 of Article V of the Constitution of Virginia, I am vetoing House Bill 702.

House Bill 702 would create a first offender statute for persons under the age of 21 who illegally purchase or possess alcoholic beverages. Senate Bill 299 also seeks the creation of a new first offender statute for violation of alcohol age requirements. Underage drinking is a Class 1 misdemeanor, with a fine of at least $500, or a minimum of fifty hours of public service, with the possibility that the judge will suspend the offender's driver's license for up to one year.

Staff of the Division of Legislative Services, in their review of the two bills, stated that not only do the two bills conflict, but there are important unanswered questions about how the bills could be reconciled and whether they could be implemented, due to internal conflicts within the individual bills, conflicts with existing law, and missing details.

Perhaps the most serious conflicts were between these bills and the application of our existing juvenile "abuse and lose" law (§ 16.1-278.9).

The Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia also has concerns about these bills, and prepared an extensive set of comments, concentrating on the conflict between the two (including provisions for payment of court costs that could delay collections for up to one year per case), disparity in results between the conviction and deferral options in the bills, and conflicts between these bills and § 16.1-278.9.

In short, House Bill 702 and Senate Bill 299 need work, and I would not sign them in their present form even if I agreed with what they are trying to accomplish.

The larger question is whether we should provide more lenient treatment for those who choose to violate Virginia's law specifying the legal age for purchase and possession of alcohol, simply because they are appearing before the court for the first time on this particular offense.

The consequences we provide for juveniles and young adults who violate these laws must match the seriousness of the offense. Virginia has established 21 as the legal age for drinking or possessing alcohol because we know, all too well, the negative and often deadly consequences of alcohol consumption by those who lack maturity and good judgment. Going easy on these young offenders will not help them learn from their mistakes, and will not help protect the innocent whose lives may be endangered by these persons' irresponsible actions and their flaunting of Virginia's laws.

The Attorney General's Task Force on Drinking by College Students, with a broad-based membership composed of college and university presidents, other professional educators, legislators, student leaders, law enforcement professionals, and business and community leaders, is working to find viable solutions to the widespread problem of drinking on Virginia's college campuses. The Attorney General has said that the key to addressing this problem is to "change the prevailing campus culture that accepts--in some cases even promotes--alcohol abuse among students."

The Attorney General's Task Force is hard at work on the specific problem of college alcohol abuse, which includes both binge drinking and underage drinking. Signing legislation to "go easy" on first offenses of underage drinking would send exactly the wrong message to all Virginians--particularly to those under 21.

Accordingly, I am disapproving of this bill.