RICHMOND — A bill the Lynchburg Police Department wanted the General Assembly to approve, to help it investigate street crimes, didn’t get past its first subcommittee hearing Wednesday.
Sponsored by Del. Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg, the bill would have allowed officers to require people to identify themselves if they are detained lawfully “under circumstances that reasonably indicate that the person has committed” or may commit a crime.
Under current law, people can refuse to give their names during on-the-street questioning.
Two legal questions emerged about the bill (HB 1049) during a hearing in the Courts of Justice committee of the House of Delegates.
Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said he thought the bill could increase chances the state could be sued for damages if a detained person were to be charged with a violation that, later, was proven not to have been a crime.
Three prosecutors on the committee, including Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, said they doubted that the bill met constitutional requirements. Cline said he could envision circumstances where the bill could violate someone’s Fifth Amendment protections.
Griffith, the House majority leader, said he felt the bill was constitutional and told Garrett, “you did a good job presenting it,” but he was worried about possible civil penalties against the state.
It was Garrett’s first time presenting a bill to a General Assembly committee.
The committee voted to “lay the bill gently on the table,” meaning that Garrett could try to revise it.
Garrett said afterward that he would ask the prosecutors if they could recommend new language for the bill, but its future was in doubt.
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