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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.
2011 SESSION
Chairman: Henry L. Marsh III
Clerk: Angi Murphy, Cheryl Law
Staff: J. French, M. Felch, K. Stokes
Date of Meeting: February 7, 2011
Time and Place: 9:00 AM -- Senate Room A
Patron: McEachin
Judicial foreclosure. Provides that a court must order the sale of property subject to foreclosure for deeds of trust entered into on or after July 1, 2011. Property secured by deeds of trust entered into prior to July 1, 2011, may still be foreclosed upon using current non-judicial procedures.
Patron: Petersen
Foreclosure; use of false records, documents, or statements. Provides that a person who knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used any false or fraudulent record, document, or statement in support of any foreclosure is liable for a civil penalty of $2,500, which shall be paid into the local treasury. The bill clarifies that the civil penalty provisions apply in addition to any applicable criminal penalties. The bill also creates a civil cause of action for such a violation in favor of the owner of the property foreclosed upon.
Patron: Petersen
Recordation of certificate of assignment of debt secured by deed of trust. Requires the assignee of a debt or other obligation that is secured by a deed of trust, mortgage, or vendor's lien on real estate to record a certificate of assignment in the clerk's office of the circuit court where the deed of trust, mortgage, or vendor's lien is recorded. Effective July 1, 2011, the recordation of a certificate of assignment will be necessary to transfer the benefit of the security provided by the deed of trust or mortgage.
Patron: Petersen
Homestead and other exemptions. Raises the homestead exemption from real or personal property not exceeding $5,000 in value to personal property not exceeding $5,000 in value and real property not exceeding $25,000 in value. The bill also adds certain specific items of personal property to the list of what a debtor may hold exempt from creditor process and increases from $2,000 to $5,000 the value of an automobile that may be held as exempt. The bill also provides that the amount of certain exemptions shall be adjusted for inflation every three years. The bill also provides that a debtor may elect between the exemptions permitted under federal bankruptcy law and Title 34. Current law does not allow a debtor to elect the bankruptcy exemptions. The bill also provides that a debtor may not claim an exemption for property not lawfully owned by him or against debts based on judgments entered against the debtor for fraud or deceit.
Patron: Petersen
Speech or debate immunity; local officials. Provides that local officials who are members of public bodies with legislative powers are immune from civil liability or criminal prosecution for any speech or debate engaged in by the officials during the exercise of such powers, and that they shall not be compelled by law to be questioned on such speech or debate in any other place without leave of court. The public body still retains its authority to regulate the conduct of its members.
Patron: Stuart
Best interests of the child. Provides that when a court has jurisdiction to resolve a dispute between parents as to how a child shall be educated, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that it is in the child’s best interests to remain in the last educational setting to which both parents agreed.
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: Edwards
Unauthorized practice of law; statute of limitations. Increases the statute of limitations on prosecutions of the unauthorized practice of law from one year to two years after discovery. The bill also allows a person convicted to be ordered to pay restitution. The bill allows for the recovery, in a civil proceeding, of a civil penalty of $5,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, costs, and reasonable attorney fees. If the court finds that the defendant committed actual fraud on another person in connection with the unauthorized practice of law, the court may award punitive damages.
Patron: Edwards
Irrevocable trusts; trustee's power to appoint assets into second trust. Authorizes the trustee of an irrevocable trust to appoint all or part of the principal or income of a trust into a second trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the original trust.
Patron: Edwards
Inter vivos QTIP trusts. Provides that the donor spouse who establishes for his spouse a QTIP (qualified terminable interest property) trust, which effectively gives the donee spouse a life estate in the trust property, or an inter vivos power of appointment marital deduction trust shall not have the trust property included in the donor spouse's estate for estate tax purposes.
Patron: Quayle
Determination of child support. Provides that a court shall make a determination of child support and enter an order containing such determination at the initial court date on any initial petition for support if the petitioner demonstrates that (i) he has physical custody of the child for whom support is being sought and (ii) he has personally served the respondent with the initial petition seeking child support unless the respondent appears in person on the initial court date. If the court makes a written finding that continuation of the matter is proper, such order shall be entered as a pendente lite order. However, if the respondent contests paternity and the court cannot lawfully establish paternity at the initial hearing, the case shall be continued without the entry of a pendente lite support order.
Patron: Quayle
Exemption from jury service; general registrar, electoral board, and their employees. Provides that any general registrar, local electoral board member, or person appointed or employed by a general registrar or local electoral board shall be exempt from jury service upon his request. This exemption applies only to jury service starting (i) during the period beginning 90 days before any election and continuing through election day; (ii) during the period to ascertain the results of the election and continuing for 10 days after the local electoral board certifies the results of the election or the State Board of Elections certifies the results of the election; or (iii) during the period of an election recount or contested election.
Patron: Quayle
Citations for vehicle equipment violations. Provides for a simplified procedure for processing simple vehicle equipment violations punishable as traffic infractions. If the defects are remedied within 24 hours, the case is dismissed.
Patron: Norment
Reimbursement for law-enforcement training by certain public employers. Provides that whenever a public employer provides law-enforcement training for a person who has been or will be hired as a law-enforcement officer with such employer, and such person terminates his position with the employer to work as a law-enforcement officer within two years of completing the training, then the subsequent employer shall reimburse the former employer the reasonable costs incurred for the training.
Patron: Obenshain
Special appearance; waiver of objection to personal jurisdiction or defective process. Delineates what affirmative conduct on the part of a party constitutes a waiver of any objection such party may have to personal jurisdiction or defective process and what conduct does not constitute such a waiver. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.
Patron: Deeds
Hearings in the Supreme Court of Virginia; Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission. Clarifies that the hearings allowed under the Constitution related to complaints filed by the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission are to be evidentiary hearings and that both the Commission and the judge are entitled to present evidence and argument during such hearings subject to any scheduling orders issued by the Court.
Patron: Edwards
Courts of record; courts not of record; judicial circuits and districts; number of judges. Establishes new boundaries for the various judicial circuits and districts of the Commonwealth and reallocates the number of judges serving such circuits and districts. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill is effective July 1, 2012.
Patron: Vogel
Electronic tracking devices; penalty. Prohibits a person from placing, through intentionally deceptive means, an electronic tracking device in or on a vehicle. The prohibition would not apply to law-enforcement officers, judicial officers, probation or parole officers, or employees of the Department of Corrections in the lawful performance of their duties or to parents or guardians of minors. A violation of the section is a Class 3 misdemeanor. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science.
Patron: Obenshain
Secure remote access to court records. Clarifies that the secure remote access restrictions do not apply to secure access by attorneys, their authorized agents, or by governmental agencies as authorized by the clerk.
Patron: McWaters
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: Herring
Magistrates ascertaining citizenship of arrested persons. Requires a magistrate or other issuing authority having jurisdiction who issues a warrant following a warrantless arrest to inquire as to whether the arrested person (i) was born in a country other than the United States and (ii) is a citizen of a country other than the United States. The magistrate or other issuing authority having jurisdiction shall make an immigration alien query to the Law Enforcement Support Center of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for any arrested person who responds that he (a) was born in a country other than the United States and (b) is a citizen of a country other than the United States, or for whom the answer to clause (i) or (ii) is unknown. The magistrate or other issuing authority having jurisdiction shall communicate the results of any immigration alien query to the Central Criminal Records Exchange of the Department of State Police in a format approved by the Exchange. The information received by the Central Criminal Records Exchange concerning the person's immigration status shall be recorded in the arrested person's criminal history record. Under current law, sheriffs and jail officers have the above duties when a person is taken into custody at their jails.
Patron: Norment
Wireless telecommunications devices in motor vehicles. Extends prohibition on use of wireless telecommunications devices in motor vehicles to initiating or answering a call on such device, unless the device is configured for hands-free operation and is being used in the hands-free mode. The bill also provides for graduated penalties for violations.
Patron: Quayle
Practice of law. Provides that the practice of law shall not include (i) the design, creation, publication, distribution, display or sale of written materials, books, forms, computer software, or similar products, including publication, distribution, display, or sale by means of an Internet website, or (ii) the assembling of legal documents for use by consumers through an automated Internet website, if there is a clear and conspicuous notice to the consumer that the products or assembled documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
Patron: Edwards
Wills and trusts; formula clauses referring to federal estate and generation-skipping transfer tax laws; application. Amends a section added to the Code during the 2010 Session that was designed to address the consequences of the anticipated 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, to address the retroactive reinstatement of such taxes as well as other changes made to federal tax law. The bill provides that the decision by a decedent's personal representative not to have the estate tax apply to a decedent's estate in 2010 does not affect the meaning of formula clauses for calculating transfers or devises based on federal estate or generation-skipping transfer tax law contained in a will or other instrument. The bill also provides that the fiduciaries or beneficiaries of an estate may petition the court to determine how the decedent would want such formula clauses construed and may also enter into a nonjudicial agreement regarding the construction of such clauses. The bill contains an emergency clause and its provisions will be effective upon its passage.
EMERGENCY