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2010 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Courts of Justice

Chairman: Henry L. Marsh III

Clerk: Angi Murphy
Date of Meeting: February 22, 2010
Time and Place: 9:00 A.M., Senate Room A

H.B. 14

Patron: Marshall, R.G.

Domestic relations; self-incrimination; adverse inference. Provides that in actions filed on or after July 1, 2010, for spousal support, custody, or visitation under Title 16.1 or for divorce or separate maintenance filed under Title 20, the court may draw an adverse inference against any party or witness who refuses to answer a question regarding conduct constituting adultery, sodomy, or buggery outside of marriage, or fornication on the ground that the testimony might be self-incriminating. This bill incorporates HB 67.

H.B. 56

Patron: Cole

Testamentary trustees; relief of duty to file an inventory or annual accounts. Provides that any trustee under a will of a decedent probated on or after July 1, 2010, shall be relieved of the duty to file an inventory or annual accounts with the commissioner of accounts if the will of the decedent does not direct the filing of such inventory and accounts and the trustee (i) obtains the written consent of all adult beneficiaries, other than the trustee, to whom income or principal of the trust could be currently distributed, after providing those beneficiaries with the documents and information specified in subsection A; (ii) obtains the written consent of the representative of all incapacitated beneficiaries, other than the trustee, to whom income or principal of the trust could be currently distributed, after providing those representatives with the documents and information specified in subsection A; and (iii) files those consents with the commissioner on or before the date on which the inventory or next required accounting would otherwise be due.

H.B. 66

Patron: Toscano

Child and spousal support; vocational experts. Allows a court to appoint a vocational expert to conduct an evaluation of a party in cases involving child support, spousal support, and separate maintenance where the earning capacity, unemployment, or underemployment of a party is in controversy. The court may award costs or fees for the evaluation and the services of the expert at any time during the proceedings.

H.B. 81

Patron: Knight

Compensation of condemnation jurors.  Equalizes the pay of jurors in condemnation cases with that of regular jurors. Currently, regular jurors are paid $30 per day once summoned and appearing for jury duty, and condemnation jurors are paid $60 per day only if they are empanelled on the jury. This bill would pay each juror $30 per day for being summoned and appearing, whether for regular jury service or for service as a condemnation juror.

H.B. 231

Patron: Dance

Interpleader of real estate escrows.  Establishes that suits in interpleader of real estate escrows shall go to General District Court, and protects escrow funds in the event of a real estate foreclosure. This bill is recommended by the Virginia Housing Commission.

H.B. 376

Patron: Lewis

Service by publication. Validates orders of publication processed by a clerk prior to July 1, 2010, for service in certain actions.

H.B. 572

Patron: Iaquinto

District court; acting chief judge.  Provides a procedure for the assumption of the duties of a chief judge of a district court and notification of other judges in the event the chief judge is unable to perform his duties. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.

H.B. 715

Patron: Peace

Releases of deed of trust.  Allows certain title insurance companies to exercise the authority that settlement agents currently possess to release the lien of a deed of trust. References to "mortgage" are replaced with "deed of trust." The measure also authorizes a settlement agent to release a deed of trust lien upon written confirmation from the lien creditor that such obligation has a zero balance. The procedure for lien releases by settlement agent and title insurance companies is limited to transactions involving real estate that is either unimproved with a lien amount not exceeding $1 million or containing one to four residential dwelling units. The measure also eliminates a duplicative provision addressing a settlement agent's ability to obtain an assignment of the $500 penalty imposed for a lender's failure to release a lien within the prescribed period.

H.B. 719

Patron: Peace

Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA). Establishes in the Code of Virginia the Uniform Act that was adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2006. The UPOAA consists of default rules that can be modified if the principal desires. Powers of attorney will be durable unless drafted to expire upon a specified date or event. The UPOAA addresses creation and use, good faith reliance, limitations of agent's powers, refusal to recognize, judicial review, notification of resignation, and other matters. The UPOAA contains an optional statutory form that may be used by an agent to certify facts concerning a power of attorney.

H.B. 755

Patron: Janis

Wills and trusts; formula clauses referring to federal estate and generation-skipping transfer tax laws; application.  Provides that a formula for calculating transfers or devises based on federal estate or generation-skipping transfer tax law contained in a will or trust of a decedent who dies after December 31, 2009, and before January 1, 2011, shall be construed to refer to the tax law applicable on December 31, 2009. The bill is intended to address the consequences of the repeal of the federal estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes with respect to estates and taxable transfers occurring after December 31, 2009, and before January 1, 2011. The bill contains an emergency clause and its provisions will also be effective retroactive to December 31, 2009.

EMERGENCY

H.B. 883

Patron: Athey

Declaration of judicial emergency. Sets out a procedure for the Supreme Court to follow in entering an order declaring a judicial emergency when there is a disaster as defined in the Commonwealth's Emergency Services and Disaster Law. The judicial emergency order may suspend, toll, extend, or otherwise grant relief from time limits or filing requirements in any court affected by the order and allows designation of a neighboring jurisdiction as proper venue for civil and criminal proceedings. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.

H.B. 997

Patron: Howell, A.T.

Eminent domain; application to Norfolk.  Extends the expiration date, from July 1, 2010, to December 31, 2010, for the exemption to requirements applicable to the exercise of the power of eminent domain by the City of Norfolk or the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority. The exemption was created in the 2007 legislation that, among other things, established limitations on what constituted a public use for which private property could be acquired by exercise of the power of eminent domain.

H.B. 1065

Patron: Athey

Electronic filing of cases in circuit courts. Establishes electronic filing of cases in circuit courts by providing for acceptance of electronic images as original documents for filing and recording, and for the attachment of electronic seals or stamps for original signatures and notarizations in civil cases. The circuit court clerk may require each person whom the clerk authorizes to file documents electronically to enter into an agreement specifying the electronic filing procedures to be followed for transmitting signed or notarized documents. However, the bill does not allow for electronic filing in certain classes of cases where particular forms are specified by statute (e.g., creation and execution of wills, codicils, testamentary trusts, premarital agreements, and negotiable instruments). This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.

H.B. 1192

Patron: Griffith

Homestead deeds for personal property; previous filings. Adds to the homestead deed for personal property form the following questions: (i) how many homestead deeds has the householder filed previously, (ii) what was the amount of the exemption, and (iii) what jurisdiction were they in.

H.B. 1306

Patron: LeMunyon

Jurors to provide photo identification. Provides that upon the request of a counsel of record or the clerk of the court, a juror, prior to being selected from the jury venire, shall verify his identity by presenting any of the following forms of identification: his Commonwealth of Virginia voter registration card; his social security card; his valid Virginia driver's license or any other identification card issued by a government agency of the Commonwealth, one of its political subdivisions, or the United States; or any valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the juror and issued by an employer of the juror in the ordinary course of the employer's business. If the juror is unable to present one of the forms of identification, he shall sign a statement, under penalty of perjury, stating whether or not he is the named juror.

H.B. 1345

Patron: Barlow

Probate; list of heirs.  Provides that the list of heirs that must be filed with the clerk of court when a personal representative for a decedent's estate seeks to qualify or a will is submitted to probate shall reflect the heirs in existence on the date of the decedent's death. If there have been any changes as to who should be included on the list of heirs between the date of the decedent's death and the time the list is filed, an additional list of heirs shall be filed that includes such changes.