GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 614, which relates to community service work in lieu of payment of fines and costs.

The existing mandate that the court establish a program to allow individuals to offset all or part of these expenses by participating in community service changes from an option the court may provide to a requirement. The bill also permits individuals to count work performed during incarceration towards this community service requirement.

Furthermore, work performed while incarcerated is fundamentally different from community service work. Additionally, the potential loss of court revenue could adversely affect victim services funded by court fines and fees, such as contributions to the Virginia Victims Fund.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.