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2012 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Courts of Justice

Chairman: Thomas K. Norment, Jr.

Clerk: Angi Murphy, Cheryl Law
Staff: J. French, M. Felch, K. Walsh
Date of Meeting: February 20, 2012
Time and Place: 8:00 AM - Senate Room B

H.B. 84

Patron: Albo

Child custody; communication of decision. Provides that the judge's required communication of the basis for his decision regarding child custody or visitation, except in cases of a consent order for custody or visitation, shall set forth the judge's findings regarding the relevant statutory factors used to determine the best interests of the child.

H.B. 185

Patron: Gilbert

Manner of enforcement of state criminal offenses and local criminal ordinances.  Provides that when a person is summoned or arrested for a misdemeanor offense under the Code of Virginia he shall be charged and tried for that offense and shall not be charged and tried for a violation of a local ordinance representing a like offense.

H.B. 278

Patron: Iaquinto

Bonds in recognizances; how payable.  Provides that bonds in recognizances in criminal or juvenile cases are payable to the county or city where the case is prosecuted, not the locality where the recognizance was taken.

H.B. 279

Patron: Iaquinto

DUI ignition interlock limitations.  Provides that a person who is convicted of DUI may drive only with an ignition interlock after the first offense, as a condition of a restricted license and is required to have an ignition interlock installed in each vehicle owned by or registered to him after a second offense. The bill also provides that the court may authorize a restricted license for travel to and from the interlock installer and a person can pre-qualify for an ignition interlock prior to conviction. Currently, the requirement for an ignition interlock is imposed only upon a second or subsequent offense or when the offender's BAC is above 0.15 percent. This bill incorporates HB 467, HB 951, and HB 1258.

H.B. 280

Patron: Iaquinto

Correcting errors in deeds; affidavit. Allows, in the event that a recorded deed or other instrument contains an obvious description error, the recordation of a corrective affidavit by an attorney, settlement agent, or title insurance company involved in the transaction that resulted in the recordation of the deed or other instrument needing correction. Obvious description errors include (i) errors transcribing courses and distances, (ii) errors incorporating previously recorded plat or deed references, (iii) errors incorporating tax map or other identification numbers, and (iv) omitted exhibits that supply property parcel descriptions. Before a corrective affidavit may be recorded, all parties to the deed or other instrument and, if necessary, the title insurance company, must be provided with a copy of the affidavit and such parties have 30 days to object in writing to the recordation of the corrective affidavit. If a corrective affidavit is recorded, the title insurance company shall amend the title insurance policy and deliver a copy of the amended policy to all parties to the policy.

H.B. 282

Patron: Iaquinto

Divorce; revocation of death benefits; notice.  Requires that every decree of divorce or annulment contain a notice alerting the parties that the final decree may not necessarily serve to revoke the designation of the other party as a beneficiary in a contract providing for a death benefit.

H.B. 283

Patron: Iaquinto

Divorce; temporary orders; life insurance.  Provides that a party in a suit for divorce, annulment, separate maintenance, or child custody or visitation may be ordered to maintain any existing life insurance policy on the life of either spouse or designate as beneficiary the child or children of the parties, or of the other party, and that the court may allocate the cost of the premiums of such insurance between the parties.

H.B. 331

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.

H.B. 375

Patron: Pogge

Control of firearms by localities; workplace rules.  Prohibits localities from adopting a workplace rule that prevents an employee from storing a lawfully possessed firearm and ammunition in his locked motor vehicle. The firearm must be in a secured container or compartment in the vehicle.

H.B. 424

Patron: Bulova

School records; self-authentication.  Provides that school records may be admissible in any matter where such records are material, provided that they are authenticated as true and accurate copies by the custodian of the records or by the person to whom the custodian reports, if they are different. Currently, such authenticated school records are only admissible in cases involving custody of the student or termination of parental rights.

H.B. 445

Patron: Toscano

Adoption procedures. Makes various changes to adoption procedures including: establishing a procedure for review of petitions filed for the purpose of obtaining a juvenile and domestic relations district court's assistance with the execution of consent to an adoption when the consent is executed pursuant to the laws of another state; expanding venue for consent hearings in parental placement adoptions to include any city or county in the Commonwealth, provided that diligent efforts are made to conduct the hearing where the child was born, where the birth parents reside, or where the adoptive parents reside; eliminating the need for parental consent for an adoption in cases in which a birth parent has, without just cause, neither visited nor contacted the child for a period of six months immediately prior to the filing of a petition for adoption or a petition to accept consent to an adoption; adding language setting forth requirements for establishment of a date of birth for a child adopted from a foreign country; and clarifying the requirements for stepparent adoptions. The bill also makes changes to the process of registering with the Putative Father Registry.

H.B. 484

Patron: Iaquinto

Court records; secure remote access; interfacing computer systems.  Provides that the operational expenses associated with providing secure remote access to land records includes locating technology in an offsite facility for purposes of improving public access or for the implementation of a disaster recovery plan. The bill extends the prohibition on selling or posting data accessed by secure remote access to include land records. The bill further requires the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court to establish security and data standards for interfacing between a circuit court's case management or financial management system and the systems of the Supreme Court.

H.B. 553

Patron: Knight

Privately owned airports; duty of care of landowners.  Adjusts the liability of owners of private, unlicensed airports that are not open to the public to be more like that of owners of private property used for hunting, fishing, trapping, and bicycle riding.

H.B. 750

Patron: Cline

Inherent authority to defer and dismiss a criminal case.  Provides that no court shall have the authority, upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or after a plea of not guilty, when the facts found by the court would justify a finding of guilt, to defer proceedings or to defer entry of a final order of guilt or to dismiss the case upon completion of terms and conditions except as provided by statute unless all parties agree otherwise or deferred judgment is provided for by statute. This bill responds to the January 13, 2011, Supreme Court of Virginia decision in Hernandez v. Commonwealth, 281 Va. 222, 707 S.E.2d 273 (2011). This bill incorporates HB 51.

H.B. 807

Patron: May

Use of electronic tracking devices; penalty.  Provides that any person who uses an electronic tracking device through intentionally deceptive means and without consent to track the location of another person is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. The bill includes exceptions. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science.

H.B. 926

Patron: Lingamfelter

Circuit court clerks; remote access to land records; fees collected by clerks; debit cards. Provides for the acceptance of debit cards in addition to credit cards and allows the clerk to outsource the processing of credit and debit card transactions. The bill also provides that the clerk may charge a convenience fee for processing credit or debits cards of up to $2 per transaction or four percent of the amount paid. Currently, such fee may not exceed four percent of the amount paid. The bill also makes permanent a Prince William program authorizing the clerk to charge a convenience fee of up to $2 per transaction, and a separate per image download fee for access to land records.

H.B. 944

Patron: Villanueva

Commitment of sexually violent predators; probable cause hearing; use of video and audio communication system.  Provides that the hearing to determine whether probable cause exists to believe that a person is a sexually violent predator who should be civilly committed may be conducted by using a two-way electronic video and audio communication system.

H.B. 961

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

Shoplifting and employee theft; civil action. Provides that a civil action for shoplifting or employee theft may be initiated or maintained by a merchant even though a criminal action for the same conduct has been initiated. A merchant may not recover the value of the merchandise, or the unpaid retail value of the merchandise if it is not recovered in a merchantable condition, more than once for the same loss if both criminal and civil actions are initiated. However, a merchant may still recover any damages in excess of such value allowed by statute even if a criminal action is initiated.

H.B. 966

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

Child custody; guardian ad litem.  Provides that a court shall not appoint a guardian ad litem for a child or a child's parent or guardian in any case in which the child is alleged to have committed a delinquent act unless there is a conflict of interests between the child and the parent or guardian, no parent or guardian can be located, or good cause exists to make such an appointment.

H.B. 1011

Patron: Ramadan

Abatement of criminal conviction; effect of death of convicted person while case on appeal.  Provides that a criminal conviction shall not abate if a convicted criminal defendant dies at any time following his conviction in circuit court, and if his death occurs during the pendency of an appeal by him, the appeal is rendered moot.

H.B. 1161

Patron: Cline

Methamphetamine precursors; sale and tracking; penalties. Requires the Department of State Police to enter into a memorandum of understanding to establish the Commonwealth's participation in a real-time electronic recordkeeping and monitoring system for the nonprescription sale of ephedrine or related compounds. Most pharmacies and retail distributors will be required to enter nonprescription sales of ephedrine or related compounds into the electronic system. The bill retains the existing sales limit of no more than 3.6 grams of ephedrine or related compounds per day per individual retail customer and no more than 9 grams per 30-day period. The bill is effective January 1, 2013.

H.B. 1224

Patron: Morefield

Transfer of property by VDOT; emergency.  Authorizes VDOT to exchange real property controlled by the Department in Tazewell County for private property owned by Steelsburg Properties LLC. The bill includes an emergency clause.

H.B. 1244

Patron: Johnson

Arrest, detention, admission to bail of adult charged when a juvenile.  Provides that the provisions of the section of the Code that allow for the admission to bail of a child pursuant to warrant or petition also apply to an adult for whom such a warrant or petition alleging a delinquent act was filed when he was a juvenile.