The "sensational part" — castration of chronic sex offenders — is gone, Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr., R-Augusta, told members of a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee on Friday.
But what was left of an emasculated bill to examine the treatment and housing of the sexually violent offenders still did not satisfy the subcommittee, which quickly tabled it.
Subcommittee members said language had already been included in the House version of the budget to study sex offenders and their housing needs.
A Senate committee earlier in the session removed "the use of physical castration" as a treatment option.
The General Assembly has been wrestling with the sex-offender program this session because of high costs and the commitment of more offenders than were anticipated.
The state completed a $62 million facility at Burkeville in 2008 to house sex offenders, and it is already crowded. When built, state officials estimated 12 offenders would be added each year, but this year 75 to 80 will be added, spokesmen for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services told the House Appropriations Committee.
The center houses residents who have completed their criminal sentences but are deemed likely to commit another crime. The process is called civil commitment.
Gov. Bob McDonnell proposed to add $24 million to the budget to pay for the growing costs. He called this a priority program.
To relieve the crowding, the department considered reopening a 48-bed facility in Petersburg and converting the closed Brunswick Correctional Center into a center for violent sex offenders. This would be financed with a $43.5 million bond issue.
The Senate Finance Committee went along with the governor's proposal, but the House committee balked. Its budget bill authorizes $14 million and calls for double bunking of 150 beds at the Burkeville facility. It suggests that some inmates could be shipped out of state.
The House bill would sell the Brunswick Correctional Center for an estimated $11 million — one-quarter of its estimated market value.
twhitley@timesdispatch.com
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