SEARCH SITE
VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL
- Code of Virginia
- Virginia Administrative Code
- Constitution of Virginia
- Charters
- Authorities
- Compacts
- Uncodified Acts
- RIS Users (account required)
SEARCHABLE DATABASES
- Bills & Resolutions
session legislation - Bill Summaries
session summaries - Reports to the General Assembly
House and Senate documents - Legislative Liaisons
State agency contacts
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
Reynolds (Chairman), Norment, Howell, McDougle, Deeds, McEachin, Stuart
Clerk: Angi Murphy, Cheryl Law
Staff: J. French, M. Felch, K. Stokes
Date of Meeting: February 10, 2011
Time and Place: 07:30am/Senate Room A
Patron: Loupassi
Forfeiture of vehicle used to elude police. Provides that any vehicle driven to elude police and in such a manner as to interfere with or endanger the operation of a law-enforcement vehicle or officer or to endanger a person (in violation of subsection B of § 46.2-817) shall be forfeited and sold by the sheriff. The proceeds of the sale are to be delivered to the Literary Fund.
Patron: Morgan
Hunting; practice of falconry; penalty. Updates state laws on the practice of falconry by (i) removing the limit on possession to three raptors, (ii) broadening the penalty that applies to the intentional removal of transmitting collars on dogs to include any transmitting device on raptors, and (iii) extending the rights of those hunting with dogs that permit the retrieval of such dogs from prohibited lands to those hunting with raptors.
Patron: Landes
Supervision and control of wiretap devices. Allows wiretap devices in the possession of any sheriff's office or police department to be under the direct control and supervision of a designee of the sheriff or chief of police.
Patron: Cox, M.K.
Authority for posting a property "no trespassing." Provides that, for purposes of proof that business or commercial property is lawfully posted "no trespassing," the trier of fact may infer that signs prohibiting entry upon land or other property are authorized and were posted by or at the direction of (i) the owner, lessee, custodian, agent, property manager or other person lawfully in charge thereof or (ii) by the holder of any easement or other right-of-way authorized by the instrument creating such interest to post such signs on such land or property. The bill also adds "agent" of any such person to the list of those persons authorized to post the signs.
Patron: Loupassi
Public availability of a search warrant affidavit. Provides that the affidavit for a search warrant may be made publicly available only after the warrant that is the subject of the affidavit has been served.
Patron: Iaquinto
Melendez-Diaz notice of breath test certificates. Provides that, for purposes of compliance with notice to defendants of their right to confrontation of witnesses who perform chemical, etc., analyses of evidence to be offered at trial, in the case of DUI breath test certificates, the notice is to be provided to the clerk of court no later than three business days following the day that the certificate and notice are provided to the accused. Current law requires that such notice be provided to the clerk and defendant on the same day.
Patron: Iaquinto
Sealing of order; court-ordered disclosure of electronic communication service records. Provides that when court orders the disclosure of records of a provider of electronic communication services or remote computing services, it may temporarily seal the order upon application of the attorney for the Commonwealth in an ex parte proceeding for good cause shown.
Patron: Loupassi
Falsifying patient records. Changes the fraudulent falsification of patient records from a Class 3 misdemeanor offense to a Class 1 misdemeanor offense.
Patron: Stolle
Battery of emergency health care providers; penalty. Provides that the punishment for battery of a health care provider who is engaged in the performance of his duties as an emergency health care provider in an emergency room of a hospital or clinic or on the premises of any other facility rendering emergency medical care is a Class 1 misdemeanor, including a term of confinement of 15 days in jail, two days of which shall be a mandatory minimum term of confinement.
Patron: Wilt
Criminal procedure; presumption against admission to bail. Adds to the list of crimes committed for which there is a presumption against admission to bail, subject to rebuttal, obstruction of justice where a person threatens bodily harm or force and knowingly attempts to (i) intimidate or impede a judge, magistrate, justice, juror, attorney for the Commonwealth, witness, or law-enforcement officer or (ii) obstruct or impede the administration of justice, relating to a violation of or conspiracy to violate (a) the crimes involving the manufacturing, selling, giving, distribution, or possession with the intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a controlled substance or its imitation or marijuana; (b) certain gang crimes; or (c) any violent felony offense.
Patron: Wilt
Identity Theft Passport. Makes the issuance of an Identity Theft Passport under certain conditions discretionary with the Office of the Attorney General, rather than mandatory. The bill also provides that the provisions of the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act denying the right of a government agency to require the disclosure of a social security number do not apply to the Code provisions that provide for issuance of an Identity Theft Passport.
Patron: Surovell
Duties of attorneys for the Commonwealth and their assistants. Provides that elected and assistant Commonwealth's attorneys may enforce the provisions of subsection D of § 18.2-268.3 (the civil offense of refusal to submit to the DUI blood alcohol test). The bill contains an emergency clause.
EMERGENCY
Patron: Hope
Criminal procedure; issuance of Governor's warrant. Changes the requirement that a Governor's warrant of arrest and extradition be received within four days of the transmission of a facsimile of such document in order for the facsimile to be treated as an original. The proposal changes the requirement from four days to four working days.
Patron: Miller, J.H.
Search warrants. Allows a court to temporarily seal, for a specified period of time, a warrant and a return on the warrant in addition to the affidavit supporting the warrant, and to seal the order sealing the affidavit, warrant or return. The conditions in existing law concerning the sealing of an affidavit apply: sealing is upon application of the attorney of the Commonwealth for good cause shown in an ex parte hearing and an aggrieved party may move the court for the unsealing of the warrant and return with the burden of proof for continued sealing on the Commonwealth.
Patron: Villanueva
Obscenity. Modifies the educational, artistic, and theatrical exemption to obscenity laws by providing that certain crimes (child pornography and use of communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children) are not subject to the exemption.
Patron: Bell, Robert B.
Bail terms set by court on a capias to be honored by magistrate. Provides that a magistrate who is to set the terms of bail of a person arrested and brought before him pursuant to a capias shall, unless circumstances exist that require him to impose more restrictive terms of bail, set bail in accordance with the order of the court that issued the capias if such an order is affixed to or made a part of the capias by the court.
Patron: Bell, Robert B.
DNA samples taken at arrest and upon conviction. Expands the scope of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) collection to provide that every person convicted of a violation of (i) § 18.2-67.4 (sexual battery) where the perpetrator is an adult and the victim is a minor, (ii) § 18.2-67.4:2 (sexual abuse of a child under 15), (iii) subsection C of § 18.2-67.5 (attempt to commit sexual battery) where the perpetrator is an adult and the victim is a minor, (iv) § 18.2-130 (peeping), or (v) § 18.2-370.6 (penetrating the mouth of a child under 13 with the tongue) shall have a sample of his blood, saliva, or tissue taken for DNA analysis. The bill also provides that every person arrested for the commission or attempted commission of § 18.2-370 (taking indecent liberties with a minor), or § 18.2-370.1 (indecent liberties with a minor), shall have a sample of his saliva or tissue taken for DNA analysis. The bill also provides that the Department of Forensic Science may include the identification characteristics of an individual's DNA profile in the DNA data bank when ordered by a circuit court pursuant to a lawful plea agreement.
Patron: Herring
Service of notice of emergency protective orders. Provides that a law-enforcement officer may effect service of an emergency protective order by personally serving the person subject to the order with a notification of the issuance of the order, which shall be on a form approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia. The officer making service shall enter or cause to be entered the date and time of service and other appropriate information into the Virginia Criminal Information Network and make due return to the court.
Patron: Keam
Statute of limitation for local professional license violations. Creates a statute of limitations for local licensure violations by providing that prosecution of any misdemeanor violation of any professional licensure requirement imposed by a locality shall commence within one year of the discovery of the offense by the complainant, but in no case later than five years from occurrence of the offense.
Patron: McClellan
Restricted license. Authorizes the court to issue a restricted license to a person convicted of DUI and certain other offenses to travel to and from jail to serve a sentence of confinement in jail on weekends or nonconsecutive days, and to travel to and from the facility that installed or monitors the ignition interlock device in the person’s vehicle.
Patron: Loupassi
Criminal procedure; multijurisdiction grand jury. Includes a violation of insurance fraud under § 18.2-178 within the functions of a multijurisdiction grand jury to investigate any condition that involves or tends to promote certain criminal violations.
Patron: Herring
Regulation of bail bondsmen. Provides that a licensed bail bondsman shall not charge less than 10 percent of the amount of the bond for a bail bond premium. The bill also prohibits the financing of a bail bond premium
Patron: Herring
Criminal cases; delayed appeal. Allows a defendant to move for a delayed appeal when an appeal from a criminal case has been denied or the conviction has been affirmed due to failure to file or timely file the indispensible transcript or written statement of facts. This provision is added to the current provisions that a defendant may move for leave to pursue a delayed appeal from circuit court to the Court of Appeals and from the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court when an appeal in a criminal case was never initiated or was dismissed for failure to adhere to proper form, procedures, and time limits due to error, neglect, or fault of counsel, court reporter, the court, or an officer or employee of the court.