Governor signs legislation on mental health system in response to Virginia Tech massacre

The governor signed into law Wednesday a package of legislation aimed at tightening the state's mental health system and improving campus security in response to last year's deadly Virginia Tech shootings.

The new laws, which go into effect in July, are intended to improve oversight and accountability of a mental health system harshly criticized after a mentally disturbed student killed 32 people and himself at Virginia Tech on April 16.

"It has been a difficult year, but it has been a year where people haven't shrinked from trying to learn and improve," Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said at the bill-signing ceremony as lawmakers and the parent of a student wounded in the shootings looked on.

The Legislature last month budgeted $42 million (euro27 million) to expand community-based mental health treatment across the state.

Killer Seung-Hui Cho, who was from South Korea, had been ruled a danger to himself during a court commitment hearing in 2005 and was ordered to receive outpatient mental health care — but he never got it.

The changes relax the standard for involuntary commitment to a mental health facility. Under current law, a person proven to be an "imminent danger" to himself or others can be forced into treatment. The legislation changes that standard to a "substantial likelihood" that the person will cause physical harm to himself or others.

The bills also allow better sharing of mental health records, extend the time a person can be detained for observation, and require representatives of local community services boards, which provide mental health services, to participate in commitment hearings.

Universities also will be required to develop written emergency management plans and establish threat-assessment teams under the legislation. The bills also require that by Jan. 1, 2009, universities must establish comprehensive emergency notification systems.

Lawmakers will monitor how the changes are implemented and will study whether additional steps need to be taken, Kaine said.

"This is not the end of what we need to do," he said.

The state has been hoping to stave off lawsuits over the shootings by trying to negotiate a settlement with injured victims and families of the deceased.Kaine declined to speculate on when a deal might be reached or comment on the status of negotiations.