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ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2008 SESSION
Chairman: Henry L. Marsh III
Clerk: Angi Murphy
Staff: J. French, M. Felch, D. Cotter
Date of Meeting: January 30, 2008
Time and Place: 2:00 p.m., Senate Room A
Patron: Puller
Elements of indecent exposure. Provides that any person who (i) intentionally makes an obscene display or exposure of his person, or the private parts thereof, in (a) any public place, or (b) any place where others may see him, intending to be seen by others, or (ii) procures another to so expose himself, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The section previously provided that such person was guilty of indecent exposure if the display was done in any public place or in any place where others are present, and did not include the requirement that he intended the display or exposure to be seen by others.
Patron: Puller
Return of service of process; costs. Provides that if a sheriff who has received process or papers to be served by him fails to return service of process within 72 hours of effecting service, the party requesting service of process may elect to have process served by a private process server. The party shall give notice of such an election to the clerk's office that issued the process and the sheriff prior to making such an election. If, at the time such notice is received, return of service of process has still not been made, the sheriff shall be liable for the costs subsequently incurred in effecting service as well as costs incurred in collecting the costs of service.
Patron: Edwards
Commonwealth's lien for payment of medical services; reduction. Provides that in the event that the Commonwealth's lien against any recovery from a third party obtained by an injured person whose medical costs were paid in whole or in part by the Commonwealth is compromised under § 2.2-514, this lien shall be reduced by an amount proportionate to the costs, expenses, and attorney fees incurred by the injured person.
Patron: Reynolds
Line of Duty Act; definitions. Amends the definition of “disabled person” to include any sheriff or deputy sheriff who was disabled on or after January 1, 1990.
Patron: Lucas
Expungement of marijuana charges. Provides that anyone who has had a charge of possession of marijuana discharged and dismissed in accordance with the provisions of § 18.2-251, more than 10 years prior to his petition for expungement, may file a petition setting forth the relevant facts and requesting expungement of the police records and the court records relating to the charge. The bill adds that the Department of Criminal Justice Services shall maintain a record of an expungement of a dismissal under § 18.2-251 for the purpose of a second prosecution under § 18.2-250 or 18.2-250.1.
Patron: Colgan
Employment; verification of eligibility. Requires employers to participate in an electronic employment verification system or any equivalent federal work authorization program. The measure prohibits an employer from allowing an individual to start work unless the employer has conducted the identity verification process through the electronic employment verification system and has obtained a response that affirmatively verifies that the individual is legally eligible for employment in the United States. Violations are a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Patron: Reynolds
Definition of pyramid promotional schemes; penalty. Clearly defines activities described as "pyramid promotional schemes" and punishes any person who establishes, promotes, operates, or participates in any pyramid promotional scheme with a Class 1 misdemeanor. Currently, participation in such a scheme is not a crime.
Patron: Cuccinelli
Protective orders; custody and visitation; access to child. Requires a court, when entering an order on behalf of another petitioner, to independently determine whether such order should prohibit contacts between a child and the person subject to a protective order, who is the parent or other custodian of the child. The court shall determine whether prohibiting such contacts in the protective order is necessary to protect the health and safety of the child and that there are no less drastic alternatives available. If the court determines that such contacts should not be prohibited, the court shall include in the protective order how such contacts will be maintained without violating the terms of the order.
Patron: McDougle
Local salary supplements for district court employees. Removes the restriction on local salary supplements paid to local district court employees.
Patron: McDougle
Driving without a license; penalty. Requires the court to suspend the driving privileges of a person convicted of driving without a license for a period not to exceed 90 days.
Patron: McDougle
Traffic lights; penalty. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for running a red light, if running the red light is the sole and proximate cause of the death of another.
Patron: Edwards
Property transfer; Virginia Tech. Authorizes the board of visitors of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, with the approval of the Governor, to convey 95 acres to the Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc. to allow the expansion of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center.
Patron: Edwards
Destruction of criminal exhibits. Provides that the trial court may not order the destruction or donation of exhibits used in evidence without prior notice to the counsel for the parties and until expiration of five years from the date the judgment of the court became final.
Patron: Stuart
Criminal procedure; admission to bail. Adds a presumption, subject to rebuttal, against admitting to bail any alien charged with a criminal offense who is in the United States illegally as verified by the Law Enforcement Support Center of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Patron: Blevins
Sex offenders; proximity to children; penalties. Prohibits sex offenders from entering school and child day center property and from loitering near or entering community centers, public parks, and recreation centers. The bill also makes the prohibitions apply to persons with out-of-state convictions.
Patron: Herring
Criminal procedure, admission to bail; persons not lawfully present in the United States; presumption. Adds a presumption, subject to rebuttal, against admitting to bail any alien, who commits (i) a violent felony, (ii) DUI manslaughter whether in a motor vehicle or watercraft, (iii) DUI, (iv) refusal of a test after DUI arrest or after forfeiture of license, or (v) driving after forfeiture of license and committing certain crimes, while an alien present in the United States without authority, and requires judicial officers prior to a bail hearing, to determine whether the person is an alien who is present in the United States without authority, as verified by the Law Enforcement Support Center of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Patron: Lucas
School employees; criminal acts. Requires (i) notification to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the division superintendent of the conviction of any individual holding a license issued by the Board of Education; (ii) local school boards to develop policies and procedures to address complaints of sexual abuse of a student by a teacher or other school board employee; (iii) the Board of Education to include requirements for the denial, suspension, cancellation, revocation, and reinstatement of licensure in its licensure regulations; (iv) notification to the Board of Education when a licensed employee of a school board is dismissed or resigns for certain convictions of enumerated crimes; and (v) notification to the Superintendent of Public Instruction when any individual holding a license is the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect. There is also a technical amendment.
Patron: Howell
Magistrates. Reforms the magistrate system by transferring appointment and supervisory responsibilities from the circuit court judges to the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court. The bill requires certain minimum educational requirements for magistrates. Beginning July 1, 2008, each magistrate shall have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college. The Executive Secretary can waive this. All chief magistrates are required to be members in good standing of the Bar. No magistrate may practice law, or engage in any other business without the approval of the Executive Secretary. Magistrates will have to serve an initial nine-month probationary period (currently, six months), complete a minimum training program and pass a certification exam. The bill broadens magistrates' geographical assignment from within a particular judicial district to regions established by the Executive Secretary. The remainder of the bill makes technical amendments replacing "justice of the peace" with magistrate" and removes references to magistrates only serving within a particular jurisdiction or district.
Patron: Ruff
Easement in state park. Authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to grant a 20-foot wide easement across a portion of the Staunton River State Park in exchange for the extinguishment of an existing right-of-way easement.
Patron: Deeds
Retrieving hunting dogs. Requires the revocation of the hunting license for the current and the next hunting seasons as well as the forfeiture of the firearm or bow and arrow of any person who is convicted of carrying such weapons on another person's property while he is retrieving his hunting dogs.
Patron: Deeds
Law-enforcement; overtime compensation. Extends the coverage under the overtime compensation for law-enforcement employees and firefighters, etc., to include state police and employers with less than 100 law-enforcement employees.
Patron: Deeds
Elements of indecent exposure. Provides that any person who (i) intentionally makes an obscene display or exposure of his person, or the private parts thereof, in (a) any public place, or (b) any place where others may see him, intending to be seen by others, or (ii) procures another to so expose himself, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The section previously provided that such person was guilty of indecent exposure if the display was done in any public place or in any place where others are present, and did not include the requirement that he intended the display or exposure to be seen by others.
Patron: Wampler
Department of Motor Vehicles Special Agents; criminal enforcement authority. Provides full-time sworn members of the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles full authority to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth.
Patron: Houck
Easement in state park. Authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to grant a 30-foot-wide easement across a portion of Lake Anna State Park in exchange for the extinguishment of an existing right-of-way easement.
Patron: Reynolds
Database breach notification. Requires that an individual or a commercial entity that conducts business in Virginia and that owns or licenses data that includes personal information about a resident of Virginia shall, when it becomes aware of a breach of the security of the system, (i) conduct in good faith a reasonable and prompt investigation to determine the likelihood that personal information has been or will be misused and (ii) notify the Office of the Attorney General that a breach has occurred. A breach of the security of the system is defined as the unauthorized acquisition and access of unencrypted or unredacted data that compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of personal information maintained by an individual or a commercial entity. Types of notification meeting the requirements of this bill are listed, but not required if, after a reasonable investigation, the person or commercial entity determines that there is no reasonable likelihood of harm to affected Virginia residents. The Attorney General may bring an action in law to address violations and ensure proper compliance with this section. Nothing in this section shall limit an individual from recovering direct economic damages resulting from a violation of this section.
Patron: Reynolds
Suspended license; unpaid fines. Authorizes the issuance of a restricted permit to operate a motor vehicle during a period of suspension for unpaid fines and costs.
Patron: Reynolds
Restricted driver’s licenses. Authorizes a court to provide a restricted permit to operate a motor vehicle during the period of suspension of a permit to operate a motor vehicle.
Patron: Edwards
Child support; exemption; parents who are imprisoned for life. Clarifies that only parents who are imprisoned for life with no chance of parole are exempted from paying the presumptive minimum child support obligation of $65 per month. Currently, all parents who are imprisoned with no chance of parole are exempted.
Patron: Quayle
No-fault divorce; evidence required. Allows a decree of divorce to be issued on the affidavit of one party to the marriage if no minor children are involved and there is no dispute regarding spousal support or property distribution. And if the plaintiff is indigent, allows an order stating the object of the suit and grounds thereof, in lieu of publication, to be posted on the courthouse door.
Patron: Quayle
Admissibility of mental health care records in custody and visitation cases. Repeals the current law that provides that in any case in which custody or visitation of a child is at issue, the mental health records concerning a parent shall be privileged and confidential and the mental health care provider may not be required to testify on behalf of or against a parent or any of the parent's adult relatives.
Patron: Cuccinelli
Admissibility of mental health care records in custody and visitation cases. Repeals the current law, which provides that in any case in which custody or visitation of a child is at issue, the mental health records concerning a parent shall be privileged and confidential and the mental health care provider may not be required to testify on behalf of or against a parent or any of the parent's adult relatives.
Patron: Reynolds
Crimes; embezzlement of public funds. Provides that embezzlement of public funds can result from the misuse or misappropriation of public assets. The term "public assets" is defined to include, but not be limited to, accounts, documents, resources, equipment, records, materials, vouchers, property, personnel resources, services, money, or anything of value belonging or owed to the Commonwealth, to any city, town or county, or to any other political subdivision.
Patron: Watkins
Worthless check program. Authorizes attorneys for the Commonwealth to establish programs that allow persons who write bad checks to avoid prosecution if they pay full restitution to the victim, attend an educational program, and pay all fines and costs.
Patron: Martin
Sale of firearms to persons not lawfully present in the United States; penalty. Prohibits the sale or transfer of firearms to any person who is not a citizen of the United States and who is not lawfully present in the United States. A violation of this section is a Class 6 felony.
Patron: Martin
Business, professional and occupational license tax requirements; illegal workers. Requires applicants seeking a local business license to certify that they do not employ persons who cannot provide legal documents proving they are legally eligible to work in the United States.
Patron: Edwards
Death sentence; execution dates. Removes some of the circumstances in which circuit courts are required to set execution dates before state and federal review of an inmate's death sentence is complete. The Federal Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 has revised the remedies available to the convicted person and imposes a one-year statute of limitations for filing petitions for federal review of state convictions and sentences.
Patron: Edwards
Methamphetamine precursors; electronic log. Requires that the log currently required to be maintained by sellers of products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or any of their salts or isomers or any salts of isomers must be kept in electronic format. The Board of Pharmacy is required to establish and maintain the log and ensure that the log is capable of checking compliance against all state, local, and federal laws, including interfacing with other states to ensure comprehensive compliance.
Patron: Puckett
Controlled substances; nonresident pharmacies; penalties. Adds new penalties and increases existing penalties related to controlled substances including: (i) a medical practitioner wrongly prescribing or dispensing a Schedule I or II drug shall be imprisoned for not less than five nor more than 40 years and fined not more than $500,000, and upon a second or subsequent conviction, may be sentenced to imprisonment for life and be fined not more than $500,000, and for Schedule III through V drugs, shall be guilty of a Class 5 felony; (ii) a pharmacist violating any provision of the Drug Control Act shall be guilty of a Class 5 felony for the first offense, and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense; and (iii) any person wrongfully obtaining a drug through fraud, forgery, misrepresentation, etc., shall be guilty of a Class 5 felony for the first offense and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, rather than the current Class 6 felony for all such offenses. Also adds new reporting and approval requirements for nonresident pharmacies doing business over the internet and via electronic mail.
Patron: Barker
Real property tax relief for certain new or rehabilitated, renovated, or replacement real property. Authorizes local governing bodies to require that a person seeking partial tax exemptions or credits on real property taxes for certain new or rehabilitated, renovated, or replacement property demonstrate that he has the right to be legally present in the United States.
Patron: Barker
Real property tax exemptions and deferrals; individuals. Authorizes counties, cities, and towns to require that persons seeking real estate tax exemptions and deferrals under current law demonstrate that they have the legal right to be present in the United States in order to be eligible.
Patron: Barker
Public Procurement Act; verification of legal presence. Requires all public contractors and their subcontractors to register and participate in a federal Electronic Work Verification Program or similar electronic verification of work authorization program to determine that their employees and individual independent contractors are legally eligible for employment in the United States. Contractors and subcontractors are required to verify the employment status of their employees and independent contractors, and are prohibited from employing or contracting with an individual who is not determined to be legally eligible for employment in the United States as determined through the verification of the individual's status. Contractors who do not register and participate in the registration program are ineligible for prequalification.
Patron: Vogel
Enforcement of immigration laws; agreement with United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. States that it is the responsibility of the Governor to enter into a memorandum of agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would allow designated state and local law-enforcement officers to perform certain federal immigration law functions in the Commonwealth. Such an agreement is often referred to as an agreement under the federal 287(g) program.
Patron: Vogel
Crimes; violence against women; testing of certain persons for human immunodeficiency virus or hepatitis B or C viruses. Eliminates the procedure for a probable cause hearing to obtain a court order to require a defendant to undergo HIV testing when he has been charged with a defined violent offense against a child or woman and has initially refused an HIV test.
Patron: Howell
Crime victims; immigration status. Provides that no law-enforcement officer or other agent of state or local government shall inquire into the immigration status of a person who reports that he is the victim of a crime or is the parent or guardian of a minor victim or is a cooperating witness in a criminal investigation.
Patron: Petersen
Diversion Center Incarceration Program. Allows a probation and parole officer to place a defendant who scores Incarceration on the probation violation guidelines with the Department of Corrections to determine suitability to participate in the Diversion Center Incarceration Program.
Patron: Cuccinelli
Impoundment of motor vehicle for driving without an operator's license. Allows law enforcement to use a portable device to fingerprint a person who drives without having been issued a license and requires the Central Criminal Records Exchange to receive, classify, and file any fingerprints submitted for such a violation. The bill also provides that any adult who is arrested for driving without an operator's license after previously being convicted of the same offense shall suffer a 30-day impoundment of his motor vehicle.
Patron: Cuccinelli
Public employment; required eligibility verification documentation. Prohibits state and local government agencies from knowingly employing any person who is not a citizen of the United States or who does not provide employment eligibility verification documentation as specified in the Department of Homeland Security Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 indicating that he is legally eligible for employment in the United States. An intentional violation of this prohibition by any state employee or official, after notice from the Governor, or his designees, to desist, shall subject him to suspension or permanent dismissal from employment or office. The bill also requires the Department of Human Resource Management to compile an annual report detailing (i) the number of persons suspended and the length of the suspensions, and (ii) the number of persons permanently dismissed.
Patron: Cuccinelli
Virginia Public Procurement Act; required contract provisions; immigration status verification. Requires contractors to certify that they have undertaken immigration status verification on all of their employees, and that all employees are legally authorized to work in the United States
Patron: Obenshain
Protective orders; expiration; Virginia Criminal Information Network. Provides that when a protective order is issued, a court shall immediately enter and transfer information to the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) system. A copy of such order shall also be delivered immediately to the primary law-enforcement agency responsible for service and entry of such orders for service on the person who is the subject of the order. The bill also establishes the precise time when protective orders expire so that they can automatically be cleared from VCIN. The bill also requires that clerks make electronic reports of certain proceedings or adjudications to the Central Criminal Records Exchange and defines the term "electronic report."
Patron: Hurt
Presumption against bail. Provides a presumption against bail for a person charged with failure to appear.
Patron: Obenshain
Reckless driving; violation of right-of-way resulting in death of another. Provides that a person is guilty of reckless driving if he violates the right-of-way of any motor vehicle causing the death of another. The court must sentence the driver to 90 days in jail and suspend his driver's license for not less than six months or more than three years, although the court may suspend the penalties if the person completes 24 or more hours of community service.
Patron: Obenshain
Redefinition of the triggerman rule. Redefines the "triggerman rule," which currently provides that only the actual perpetrator of a capital murder is eligible for the death penalty and that accessories and principals in the second degree can be punished only as if guilty of first degree murder. This bill allows principals in the second degree and accessories before the fact to be charged as principals in the first degree in the cases of murder for hire, murder involving a continuing criminal enterprise, and terrorism. This bill allows, in all other cases of capital murder, a principal in the second degree to be tried as a principal in the first degree if he had the same intent to kill as the principal in the first degree. The bill allows an accessory before the fact to be tried as a principal in the first degree if he ordered or directed the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing.
Patron: Obenshain
Appeal bonds; support cases. Provides that a party may elect to appeal only the portions of a juvenile and domestic relations district court judgment (i) establishing or modifying support, or (ii) convicting him or holding him in contempt for failure to support, without appealing any portion of the judgment establishing a support arrearage. If such an election is made, the portion of the judgment establishing an arrearage remains in full force and effect and is not subject to appeal. The bill also clarifies that only parties who appeal the portion of a judgment establishing a support arrearage, either alone or in conjunction with an appeal of a support order, have to post an appeal bond. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.
Patron: Howell
Sex offenders; registration; penalty. Makes various amendments addressing the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry including what crimes require registration, the effect of a failure to register or reregister, the effect of providing false information or failing to provide registration information, and the procedures to petition for removal of a name from the Registry to ensure that Virginia law complies with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. § 16901 et seq.).
Patron: Norment
Animal protection and fighting; penalty. Broadens the Class 6 felony applicable to the crime of dogfighting to the fighting of any animals, including cocks, and the possession of any materials intended to enhance the ability of animals to fight. Attending an exhibition of animal fighting or permitting a minor to become involved in animal fighting is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Animals that are the subject of such criminal charges may be forfeited to the locality, but the owner may post bond to retain his ownership interest and repossess the animals if the court issues a finding of not guilty. Law-enforcement officers would be permitted to conduct searches at any time upon the issuance of warrants. Currently, such officers may only conduct searches during the day.
Patron: Stolle
Alien status of jail and correctional facility inmates. Requires a jail officer to inquire of a person in his custody as to whether the person is a citizen of the United States and to communicate the results of the inquiry, including a result specifying that this information is unknown, to the Local Inmate Data System of the State Compensation Board. The State Compensation Board shall submit the data on any such person to the Central Criminal Records Exchange. The State Police shall forward this information to the Law Enforcement Support Center of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with a request that the Law Enforcement Support Center respond as to the person’s immigration status. Any response received by the State Police from the Law Enforcement Support Center concerning an individual’s immigration status shall be transmitted to the State Compensation Board for inclusion in the Local Inmate Data System. The bill requires officer in charge of a correctional facility to verify that such information is in the Central Criminal Records Exchange and to request that the Law Enforcement Support Center respond as to the person’s immigration status.
Patron: Stolle
Detention Center Incarceration Program. Allows a probation and parole officer to place a defendant who scores Incarceration on the probation violation guidelines with the Department of Corrections to have the defendant's suitability to participate in the Detention Center Incarceration Program determined.
Patron: Stolle
Presumption of no bail for illegal aliens charged with certain crimes. Provides that a judicial officer shall presume, subject to rebuttal, that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person or the safety of the public if (i) the person is currently charged with an offense listed in subsection A of § 19.2-297.1 (acts of violence), subsection C of § 17.1-805 (acts of violence), or any felony offense under Chapter 4 (§ 18.2-30 et seq.) of Title 18.2 (crimes against the person), any felony offense under Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 (drug offenses), or any offense under Articles 2 (§ 18.2-266 et seq.), 4 (§ 18.2-279 et seq.), 5 (§ 18.2-288 et seq.), 6 (§ 18.2-299 et seq.), or 7 (§ 18.2-308 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 (crimes involving health and safety), and (ii) the court determines that the person is illegally present in the United States. This presumption shall exist unless and until notification is received from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement that it does not intend to detain the person.
Patron: Ticer
Waiving interest during period of incarceration. Authorizes the court to waive interest on fines and costs accruing during any period that the defendant was incarcerated prior to July 1, 2008.
Patron: Ticer
Child support; exemptions from presumptive minimum monthly obligation. Provides that a period of incarceration in a state or local correctional facility shall not constitute voluntary unemployment or bad faith for the purpose of calculating child support. This bill also creates an exemption from the minimum monthly child support payment for obligors who lack sufficient assets from which to pay child support and who are incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility.
Patron: Ticer
Notification of service of protective order. Provides that persons who have obtained a protective order shall receive notice of the service of such order by the local police department, sheriff's office, or other law-enforcement agency that served the order on the person subject to the order. The notification may be made through the Virginia Statewide VINE (Virginia Information and Notification Everyday) System.
Patron: Ticer
Crime victims and witnesses; immigration status. Prohibits law enforcement from questioning or investigating the immigration status of a person who reports that he was a victim of or witness to a crime.
Patron: Puckett
Criminal jurors; disqualifications. Prohibits relatives and persons with an employment relationship to the accused, any alleged victim of the accused, the attorney for the Commonwealth, and court officers and employees from serving on the accused's jury.
Patron: Puckett
Drug Treatment Court Act. Authorizes a drug treatment court for the County of Tazewell.
Patron: Smith
Presumption against admission to bail for illegal aliens. Adds a presumption, subject to rebuttal, against admitting to bail any alien who has committed any criminal offense and is an alien who is present in the United States illegally and subject to detention by the Law Enforcement Support Center of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Patron: Hurt
Drug Treatment Court Act. Authorizes a drug treatment court for the County of Franklin.
Patron: Obenshain
Professions and occupations; unlawful acts; employing illegal aliens. Provides that it is cause for disciplinary action by any regulatory board established pursuant to Title 54.1 against a regulant if such regulant has been convicted of a state or federal law prohibiting the employment of persons who are not legally eligible to be employed in the United States.
Patron: Deeds
Policies for responding to crimes involving sexual assault. Requires that the Department of State Police and local law-enforcement agencies establish written policies and procedures regarding response to incidents involving sexual assault. The Department of Criminal Justice Services is directed to provide law-enforcement agencies with technical support and assistance in developing the policies and procedures.