By Michael Sluss and Laurence Hammack

Archives Reprint

   The Roanoke Times

    RICHMOND - Gov. Mark Warner signed legislation Thursday that will prohibit methadone clinics from operating within a half-mile of schools and state-licensed child care centers throughout most of Virginia.

    The governor also signaled his support for legislation abolishing the state's 21-day time limit for convicted felons to introduce newly discovered evidence. But Warner amended the bill to remove a provision that would limit defendants to just one chance to make a case for innocence.

    Warner announced action on several high-profile bills in advance of a midnight deadline for signing, amending or vetoing bills passed during the General Assembly session that ended March 16. Lawmakers will act on the governor's amendments and vetoes Wednesday.

    Warner said the legislation (SB 607/HB 745) restricting locations of future methadone clinics "represents a common-sense solution to a difficult issue."

    The new law also requires state officials to notify local governments and community service boards of plans for methadone clinics within 15 days of receiving applications from prospective clinic operators.

    The law will not affect clinics or facilities that obtained an occupancy permit before Jan. 1. Although community opposition to methadone clinics was the impetus for the legislation, the bills Warner signed could have the unintended consequence of finalizing plans for a clinic in Northwest Roanoke.

    CRC Health Group, the California-based company that plans to open a clinic at 3208 Hershberger Road, has told opponents it would be willing to consider other locations.

    However, a new site would have to be more than a half-mile from any school or state-licensed day care center. The restriction makes a large part of the city off-limits to a clinic, according to a computer-based map created earlier this year for The Roanoke Times.

    "It's been a struggle to find anything," said Joe Pritchard, vice president of operations for CRC's eastern region.

    Pritchard said there has been no decision to abandon the Hershberger Road site. An opening date is anywhere from six to 12 weeks away, he said. The company is still working to obtain a state license to administer daily doses of methadone on an outpatient basis to opioid addicts.

    The Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services has yet to schedule an inspection of the Hershberger Road building, which it must do before a license is granted. CRC must also receive approval from the state Board of Pharmacy and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

    The location restrictions will not apply to Northern Virginia, to state-run facilities, or to clinics that operate in hospital settings. But by creating a half-mile "safe zone" around schools and child care centers, the law will effectively ban private free-standing clinics in most other densely populated areas.

    The American Civil Liberties Union urged Warner to veto the bills, arguing that it discriminates against drug addicts entitled to treatment under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

    But Virginia ACLU director Kent Willis said the organization could file a lawsuit only if a prospective clinic operator is denied a license because of the legislation.

    Sen. William Wampler, R-Bristol, sponsored the Senate version of the bill. Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, sponsored the House version, which originally contained only the notice provision. The Senate amended Ware's bill to add the location restrictions.

    Warner hailed the passage of legislation (SB 333) abolishing the state's 21-day rule, calling it "an extraordinary and long-overdue step forward."

    The bill would abolish the time limit for convicted felons to introduce evidence that was unknown or unattainable at trial, unless the defendant pleaded guilty or entered a so-called Alford plea.

    But Warner struck a provision that would limit a defendant to just one post-conviction petition to introduce new evidence.

    "It makes no sense to eliminate one arbitrary deadline on justice - a 21-day limit - and impose yet another - a limit of one petition per conviction," Warner said in a written statement explaining his decision to send the bill back to the legislature.

    The House of Delegates inserted the provision into the bill and could reject Warner's amendment by a simple majority vote next week.

    Other bills signed by the governor Thursday include a measure (SB 651) that leaves current electric utility rate caps in place through 2010. Warner said the bill is designed to protect consumers as competition among electric suppliers increases.

    Warner also signed legislation (HB 1357) that exempts the General Assembly's partisan caucuses from the state's open-meetings law. Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, sponsored the bill.

    Griffith had sought to exempt the entire General Assembly from the Freedom of Information Act and let the Joint Rules Committee determine how much access the public would have to legislative meetings. The Senate amended the bill to specifically exempt partisan caucus meetings, which had been the focus of a controversy that prompted Griffith's bill.

    All legislative floor sessions, committees and subcommittees will remain subject to open-meetings laws, Warner noted.

    "This bill strikes a reasonable compromise on an issue that I consider largely a legislative prerogative," Warner said.

    mike.sluss@roanoke.com

   (804) 697-1585

    laurence.hammack@roanoke.com

   (540) 981-3239

Let any elected or appointed official know what you think and how you feel by CLICKING HERE.