State Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, introduced legislation in the Virginia General Assembly proposing that the state study the feasibility of castrating sexually violent predators.

Appropriations for the state’s civil commitment program for sexual predators have grown from $2.7 million in 2004 to an expected $24 million this year, as the types of crimes that qualify offenders for civil commitments increased sevenfold.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has put in a budget amendment of $24.4 million to address the growth in civil commitments, and the state is also considering borrowing about $43 million to refurbish the shuttered Brunswick Correctional Center as another potential remedy for the overcrowding.