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2009 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Courts of Justice

Chairman: Henry L. Marsh III

Clerk: Angi Murphy
Staff: J. French, M. Felch, K. Stokes
Date of Meeting: January 21, 2009
Time and Place: 2:00 P.M., Senate Room A

S.B. 806

Patron: Ticer

Nonresident decedents' personal property in Virginia.  Clarifies that a transferor of a nonresident decedent's stocks, bonds, securities, money or tangible personal property held in Virginia may comply with either the law of Virginia or the law of the state or country in which the nonresident decedent was domiciled regarding the transfer of the decedent's property held in Virginia.

S.B. 808

Patron: Puller

Foreign service officers.  Provides that any foreign service officer of the United States who (i) at the time the suit for annulment or divorce is commenced is stationed in any territory or foreign country and (ii) was domiciled in the Commonwealth for the six-month period immediately preceding his being stationed in such territory or country, shall be deemed to have been domiciled in and to have been a bona fide resident of the Commonwealth during the six months preceding commencement of a suit for annulment or divorce. The bill also expands the list of when personal jurisdiction of a person may be exercised to include a cause of action arising from a person having executed an agreement in the Commonwealth which obligates the person to pay spousal support or child support to a person who has satisfied the residency requirements in suits for annulments or divorce for foreign service officers of the United States.

S.B. 856

Patron: Edwards

Mandatory retirement age for judges. Increases the mandatory retirement age for judges from age 70 to age 75. This is a recommendation of Judicial Council.

S.B. 859

Patron: Edwards

Divorce; equitable distribution.  Provides that unless good cause is shown that there should not be an interim distribution, the court may, upon request of either party, at any time after a request for equitable distribution has been made and prior to the final judgment of equitable distribution, enter an order providing for a partial division of marital property or a distributive award.  Any such order entered shall be taken into consideration at trial and proper credit given towards the final distribution of marital property.

S.B. 888

Patron: McDougle

Release of deed of trust; assignment of penalty.  Prohibits settlement agents and real estate attorneys from facilitating an assignment, to themselves or any person they designate, of their client's right to the $500 penalty levied on lenders that fail to timely deliver a certificate of satisfaction releasing a deed of trust.

S.B. 907

Patron: Stuart

Incorporating powers of fiduciary into will or trust instrument; donation of conservation easements.  Provides for the power of fiduciaries to donate conservation easements to obtain the benefit of certain estate tax exclusions to be incorporated in any will or trust instrument by statutory reference.

S.B. 908

Patron: Stuart

Condemnations by public service corporations.  Prohibits a public service corporation from acquiring by condemnation proceedings land or interest therein that is subject to a conservation easement.  If the public service corporation owns a right-of-way in land that is subject to a conservation easement on which it has existing lines or other facilities, then it shall not expand its easement by condemning adjacent land that is subject to a conservation easement. This restriction does not prohibit a corporation from acquiring the right to install, operate, and maintain additional utility facilities within the area of its existing right-of-way or similar interest.

S.B. 916

Patron: Stuart

Fees in civil cases.  Increases the fee for filing any civil action in general district court to $100 (currently $27); and increases the fees for filing a civil action in circuit court to a sliding scale (currently, between $60 and $160): in cases seeking recovery up to $50,000 - fee is $150; up to $100,000 - $200; up to $250,000 - $300; up to $500,000 - $400; up to $1,000,000 - $500; and above $1,000,000 - $750.

S.B. 923

Patron: Reynolds

Mileage reimbursement for circuit court judges.  Repeals the section granting mileage reimbursement for circuit judges to travel to and from the courthouse each day if they do not reside in the county seat. The state budget gives circuit court judges $1,500 per year intended to cover their expenses.

S.B. 943

Patron: Deeds

Line of Duty Act.  Amends the definition of "deceased person" under the Line of Duty Act to include an individual who suffers a fatal heart attack or stroke while engaged in delineated nonroutine stressful or strenuous situations not later than 24 hours after engaging in such activity. The bill also allows for the $100,000 payment to the beneficiary of the deceased to be annually adjusted to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index.

S.B. 959

Patron: Obenshain

Fraudulent conveyances; attorney fees.  Provides that attorney fees shall be awarded to a creditor in an action where a gift; deed; conveyance, assignment, or transfer of or charge upon the estate of a debtor; suit commenced or decree, judgment, or execution suffered or obtained; or bond or other writing is declared void. The award of attorney fees shall be paid out of the proceeds of a resulting judicial sale, if any, but shall not affect a prior lien creditor not represented by the attorney. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

S.B. 960

Patron: Obenshain

Acceptance of credit cards by clerks.  Clarifies the language allowing the acceptance of credit cards by clerks to make it clear that the convenience fee collected is to be collected from the person presenting the card as payment and not the credit card issuer. The bill also changes the language calling this fee a service charge to a reasonable convenience fee to mirror the language used in credit contracts.

S.B. 961

Patron: Obenshain

Redefinition of the triggerman rule; penalty.  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.

S.B. 975

Patron: Stuart

Property conveyance.  Conveys through a quitclaim any interest that the Department of Conservation and Recreation may have in certain subdivision roadways in Stafford County.

S.B. 1069

Patron: Martin

Capital murder; fire marshals. Adds fire marshals and assistant fire marshals with law-enforcement powers to the capital murder statute so that the death sentence can be imposed for the murder of such a fire marshal.

S.B. 1297

Patron: Herring

Juvenile dispositions.  Allows juveniles who have previously been adjudicated delinquent of a violent juvenile felony to be confined in a detention home or other secure juvenile facility. The bill also requires the court to consider the assessment completed by the secure facility regarding the appropriateness of the placement when ordering a period of confinement that exceeds 30 days.

S.B. 1298

Patron: Herring

Juvenile dispositions.  Allows the court to reduce a felony to a misdemeanor after deferring disposition when a juvenile was placed on probation and fulfills the terms and conditions of his probation.