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Department of Planning and Budget
2021 Fiscal Impact Statement
. Bill Number: HB2263
House of Origin [X] Introduced C1 Substitute C1 Engrossed
Second House [1 MCommittee [] Substitute C1 Enrolled
Patron: Mullin
. Committee: Committee Referral Pending
. Title: Abolition of the death penalty.
. Summary: Under current law, an offender convicted of a Class 1 felony who was at least
18 years of age at the time of the offense and is determined not to have an intellectual
disability may be sentenced to either death or life imprisonment. This proposal amends
numerous statutes in the Code of Virginia to eliminate death as a penalty for Class 1 felonies
and to remove references to the punishment of death from related statutes. Under the
proposed changes, an offender convicted of a Class 1 felony who was 18 years of age or
older at the time of the offense must be sentenced to imprisonment for life and would be
ineligible for parole, good conduct allowance, earned-sentence credits, or conditional release
under § 53.1-40.01, which pertains to conditional release of geriatric prisoners. The
provisions of the proposal would apply to Class 1 felonies sentenced on or after July 1, 2021.
Any person who was 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense, who received a
sentence of death before July 1, 2021, and who has not been executed by that date would
have his sentence changed to life imprisonment and would be ineligible for parole, good
conduct allowance, sentence credits, or conditional release.
The proposal removes the requirement for the Department of Forensic Science to store,
preserve, and retain evidence specific to cases where the death penalty is imposed. The bill
also removes the requirement for the Board of Pharmacy to report annually to the Chairmen
of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health,
Welfare and Institutions on (i) the number of outsourcing facilities permitted or registered by
the Board that have entered into a contract with the Department of Corrections for the
compounding of drugs necessary to carry out an execution by lethal injection pursuant to §
53.1-234 (Transfer of prisoner; how death sentence executed; who to be present) and (ii) the
name of any such outsourcing facilities that received disciplinary action for a violation of law
or regulation related to compounding.
. Budget Amendment Necessary: No
. Fiscal Impact Estimates: Preliminary. See Item 8 below.
. Fiscal Implications: According to the Department of Corrections, there were two Virginia
inmates serving death sentences as of December 1, 2020. The Virginia Criminal Sentencing
Commission (VCSC) reports that, according to the Circuit Court Case Management System
(CMS) for FY 2015 through FY 2020, 34 offenders were convicted of a completed act of
capital murder under § 18.2-31 (defines capital murder and establishes penalty). Of these, 32
were given a sentence of life in prison. For the remaining two offenders, the court suspended
the life sentence and ordered prison terms of 36 and 38 years, respectively.
Based on DOC data reviewed by the VCSC, inmates remain on death row for an average of
7.1 years prior to execution (based on the last 20 inmates executed). As of December 10,
2020, no execution date has been set for these two inmates currently on death row. By
eliminating the death penalty, the proposed legislation is expected to increase the state-
responsible prion space needs of the Commonwealth. Pursuant to §30-19.1:4 of the Code of
Virginia, the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission estimates a fiscal impact of $77,376.
The amount is based on the projection that the legislation will result in the need for two
additional prison beds. However, the two individuals currently on death row have served
between 13.3 and 17.7 years, therefore it is expected that the Department of Corrections can
absorb this cost. This legislation will not affect local-responsible (jail) bed space needs.
Currently, there are 29 employees in four regional offices of the Indigent Defense
Commission (IDC) that handle only capital cases. If the death penalty is repealed under this
bill, it is expected that the functions of these offices will be no longer needed after the current
case load is completed. According to the IDC, the budget for the four Capital Defender
offices is $3.9 million annually.
According to the Department of Forensic Science, the Office of Attorney General, and the
Virginia Board of Pharmacy (Department of Health Professions), this bill is not expected to
impact agency operations.
Specific Agency or Political Subdivisions Affected: Department of Corrections, Indigent
Defense Commission, Department of Forensic Science, Virginia Board of Pharmacy
10. Technical Amendment Necessary: None
11. Other Comments: This bill is the same as SB1165 S1.
