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2014 SESSION

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House Committee on Courts of Justice
Subcommittee Criminal Law

Bell, Robert B. (Chairman), Albo, Cline, Gilbert, Miller, Villanueva, Morris, Adams, Watts, Herring, Mason

Date of Meeting: January 20, 2014
Time and Place: Immediately upon adjournment of the full committee, House Room C

H.B. 17 Cellular telephone, etc.; warrant requirement if used as tracking device & obtaining location data.

Patron: Marshall, R.G.

Warrant requirement for cellular telephone, etc., as tracking device and obtaining location data. Provides that a cellular phone or other wireless telecommunications device is a tracking device when it is used to track the movement of a person and that such use requires a warrant issued by a judicial officer. The bill also provides that the "location data" of a customer of an electronic communication service or a remote computing service may only be retrieved from the provider by warrant or consent of the customer. Location data is defined as any data or information that tracks, either at a point in time or over a period of time, the location of a subscriber to or customer of a provider of electronic communication service or a remote computing service as determined by the location of an electronic device to which the subscriber or customer has legal title, claim, right, custody, or ultimate control.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 18.2-152.17, 19.2-56.2, and 19.2-70.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to warrant requirement for cellular telephone, etc., as tracking device and obtaining location data.

14100125D

H.B. 43 Federal firearms laws; enforcement.

Patron: Marshall, R.G.

Federal firearms laws; enforcement. Provides that agencies and political subdivisions of the Commonwealth, and employees thereof, shall not knowingly aid any employee or entity of the federal government (i) in the enforcement of federal firearms laws that take effect on or after December 1, 2013, or (ii) in the conduct or enforcement of a criminal background check related to any intrastate sale, loan, gift, or other transfer of a firearm between citizens of the Commonwealth.

A BILL to prevent agencies and political subdivisions of the Commonwealth from assisting in the enforcement of new restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms imposed under federal firearms laws.

14100778D

Impact Statements

H.B. 90 Federal government; allows Governor to declare state of emergency in response to a shutdown, etc.

Patron: Marshall, R.G.

Federal government shutdown; creditor process; utility service. Allows the Governor to declare a state of emergency in response to a federal government shutdown, which is defined as a partial or total discontinuance of federal governmental services due to a failure by the President and Congress to approve the necessary funding for the operations of the federal government. During the period that the state of emergency is in effect, no public utility shall terminate a customer's service for nonpayment if the State Corporation Commission determines that such customer is a federal government employee or contractor or will be disproportionately adversely affected by the federal government shutdown. The bill provides that the Governor, during the state of emergency, may request that the Supreme Court declare a judicial emergency in which all judicial proceedings or other court matters involving creditor process be suspended in cases where the defendant is a federal government employee or contractor or the Supreme Court determines that the defendant will be disproportionately adversely affected by the federal government shutdown.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 17.1-114, 17.1-330, 44-146.16, and 56-247.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to federal government shutdown; creditor process; utility service.

14100372D

H.B. 111 Assault and battery; conspiracy to commit is Class 1 misdemeanor.

Patron: Miller

Assault and battery; conspiracy. Provides that conspiracy to commit misdemeanor assault or assault and battery is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 18.2-23 of the Code of Virginia, relating to conspiring to commit assault and battery.

14102406D

Impact Statements

H.B. 173 Electronic devices; search without warrant prohibited.

Patron: Farrell

Search of electronic device without warrant prohibited. Provides that no officer of the law or any other person shall search any cellular telephone, tablet computer, portable computer, desktop computer, or other electronic device containing or designed to contain electronic data or digital information except by virtue of and under a warrant issued by a proper officer.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 19.2-59.2, relating to warrant requirement for search of devices containing digital information.

14100584D

H.B. 278 Juvenile and domestic relations district court; expungement of records.

Patron: Albo

Expungement of juvenile and domestic relations district court records. Clarifies the law governing retention of juvenile and domestic relations district court records to provide that (i) the records for all offenses for which a juvenile was found not innocent shall be retained when the juvenile is also found guilty of a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult or certain traffic offenses that must be reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles and (ii) a person who was the subject of a traffic proceeding and was found innocent or the proceeding was otherwise dismissed may file a motion to expunge all records relating to the proceeding.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 16.1-306 of the Code of Virginia, relating to expungement of juvenile and domestic relations district court records.

14100688D

H.B. 285 Emergency protective orders; arrests for certain offenses.

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

Emergency protective orders; arrests for certain offenses. Defines a law-enforcement officer, for the purposes of obtaining an emergency protective order and for making arrests for assault and battery against a household member, stalking, and violation of a protective order, as any person authorized to make an arrest for a criminal offense, including special conservators of the peace.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 16.1-253.4, 19.2-18, and 19.2-81.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to arrest for domestic assault; emergency protective orders; definition of law-enforcement officer.

14103122D

H.B. 505 Dextromethorphan Distribution Act; penalty.

Patron: Hodges

Dextromethorphan Distribution Act; penalty. Provides that no pharmacy or retail distributor may knowingly or intentionally sell or distribute a product containing dextromethorphan (a cough suppressant found in many over-the-counter medications) to a minor and that no minor may knowingly and intentionally purchase such product. A violation is punishable by a $50 civil penalty. The bill also provides that a person who distributes or possesses with the intent to distribute unfinished dextromethorphan is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 an article numbered 1.3, consisting of sections numbered 18.2-265.19, 18.2-265.20, and 18.2-265.21, relating to the Dextromethorphan Distribution Act; penalty.

14101202D

Impact Statements

H.B. 567 Assault; touching a person's intimate parts, penalty.

Patron: Watts

Assault by touching a person's intimate parts; penalty. Provides that the penalty for a person who commits a simple assault, a Class 1 misdemeanor, by touching the intimate parts of another person or material directly covering such intimates parts shall include a term of confinement of at least six months with a 30-day mandatory minimum sentence.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 18.2-57 of the Code of Virginia, relating to assault by touching a person's intimate parts; penalty.

14102312D

Impact Statements

H.B. 624 Protective orders; companion animals.

Patron: Watts

Protective orders. Provides that a court may include in a protective order provisions prohibiting harm to a companion animal.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 16.1-253, 16.1-253.1, 16.1-253.4, 16.1-279.1, 19.2-152.8, 19.2-152.9, and 19.2-152.10 of the Code of Virginia, relating to protective orders.

14102327D

H.B. 657 Victims of crime; testimony using two-way closed-circuit television for certain offenses.

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

Testimony using two-way closed-circuit television; certain offenses. Permits a victim of kidnapping, criminal sexual assault, or family offenses to testify via two-way closed-circuit television if the court finds that the victim is unable to testify in open court because he will suffer severe emotional trauma. Currently, only child victims who are under 16 years old at the time of trial and who were under 14 years old at the time of the offense and child witnesses who are under 14 years old at the time of trial may testify in this manner.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 18.2-67.9 and 19.2-11.01 of the Code of Virginia, relating to testimony using two-way closed-circuit television; certain offenses.

14100841D

H.B. 684 Marijuana; prescribing, dispensing, etc., as medicine.

Patron: Marshall, R.G.

Prescribing marijuana as medicine.

A BILL to amend and reenact [ §§ 18.2-250.1 and 54.1-3408] of the Code of Virginia and to repeal § 18.2-251.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to prescribing marijuana as medicine.

14103540D

H.B. 723 Sentence credits; drug-related felonies.

Patron: McClellan

Sentence credits; drug-related felonies. Allows a maximum of seven and one-half sentence credits to be earned for each 30 days served on sentence for drug-related felonies. All other felony sentences will continue to earn sentence credits at a maximum of four and one-half days for each 30 days served. The bill also allows all felons to earn an additional two and one-half sentence credits for each 30 days served for participating in programs intended to assist in rehabilitation that are taken in addition to the mandatory programs in which they are already required to participate.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 53.1-202.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to sentence credits; drug-related felonies.

14103419D

H.B. 724 Writ of actual innocence based on biological evidence; petitioners pro se.

Patron: McClellan

Writ of actual innocence based on biological evidence; petitioners pro se. Provides that the Supreme Court shall not accept a petition for a writ of actual innocence based on biological evidence from a petitioner pro se unless such petition is accompanied by a certificate that a copy of the petition and all attachments has been sent to the attorney for the Commonwealth for the jurisdiction where the conviction or adjudication of delinquency occurred and to the Attorney General. This duplicates the practice for a pro se petition for a writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence filed with the Court of Appeals. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 19.2-327.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to writ of actual innocence based on biological evidence; petitioners pro se.

14101190D

H.B. 748 Parking violations at VDOT commuter lots; failure to appear.

Patron: Rust

Parking violations at VDOT commuter lots; failure to appear. Provides that if a person issued a summons for a parking violation at a commuter parking lot owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation fails to appear after being mailed a summons at the address on record with the Department of Motor Vehicles, the person shall be deemed to have waived a court hearing and the court may hear the case in his absence. A violation is a traffic infraction. Under existing law, if the person fails to appear the summons is to be delivered by personal or substitute service.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 46.2-1219.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to parking violations at VDOT commuter lots; failure to appear.

14101405D

H.B. 813 Search of electronic device without warrant prohibited.

Patron: Carr

Search of electronic device without warrant prohibited. Provides that no officer of the law or any other person shall search any cellular telephone, tablet computer, portable computer, desktop computer, or other electronic device containing or designed to contain electronic data or digital information except by virtue of and under a warrant issued by a proper officer.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 19.2-59.2, relating to warrant requirement for search of devices containing digital information.

14101726D

H.B. 814 Warrant requirement for cellular telephone, etc., as tracking device.

Patron: Carr

Warrant requirement for cellular telephone, etc., as tracking device. Provides that a cellular phone or other wireless telecommunications device is a tracking device when it is used to track the movement of a person and that such use requires a warrant issued by a judicial officer.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 19.2-56.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to warrant requirement for cellular telephone, etc., as tracking device.

14101727D

H.B. 817 Telecommunications records; warrant requirement for certain records to be retrieved .

Patron: Carr

Warrant requirement for certain telecommunications records. Provides that the "location data" of a customer of an electronic communication service or a remote computing service may only be retrieved from the provider by warrant or consent of the customer. Location data is defined as any data or information that tracks, either at a point in time or over a period of time, the location of a subscriber to or customer of a provider of electronic communication service or a remote computing service as determined by the location of an electronic device to which the subscriber or customer has legal title, claim, right, or ultimate control.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 18.2-152.17 and 19.2-70.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to warrant requirement for certain telecommunications records.

14101728D

H.B. 972 Protective orders; companion animals.

Patron: Cline

Protective orders; companion animals. Provides that a court may include in a protective order provisions granting to the petitioner the care, custody, and control of an animal jointly owned, possessed, or cared for by (i) the petitioner and the respondent or (ii) a child residing in the petitioner's household and the respondent.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 16.1-253, 16.1-253.1, 16.1-253.4, 16.1-279.1, 19.2-152.8, 19.2-152.9, and 19.2-152.10 of the Code of Virginia, relating to protective orders; companion animals.

14101852D

H.B. 1015 Trespass; signs prohibiting firearms posted on noresidential building.

Patron: Berg

Trespass; signs prohibiting trespass. Provides that a nonresidential building shall not be considered to be posted no trespassing with regard to signs prohibiting the carrying of a firearm or a particular type of firearm unless such signs (i) have been posted where they may reasonably be seen at all entrances to the building or to the part of the building to which the restriction applies, (ii) state the nature of the prohibition in conspicuous type, and (iii) have dimensions of at least five inches by seven inches.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 18.2-119 of the Code of Virginia, relating to trespass; signs prohibiting firearms.

14101308D

H.B. 1029 Libel and slander; candidates for office.

Patron: Orrock

Libel and slander; candidates for office. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to use campaign funds for the purpose of knowingly and falsely asserting criminal behavior on the part of a candidate.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 10 of Title 24.2 a section numbered 24.2-1005.2, relating to slander and libel; candidates for office.

14102118D

H.B. 1040 Photo-monitoring systems; use to enforce traffic light signals, appeals.

Patron: Joannou

Use of photo-monitoring systems to enforce traffic light signals; appeals. Provides that operators found in violation of ordinances created to enforce photo-monitoring systems for traffic lights have a right to appeal to the circuit court and that the appeal shall be civil in nature. The bill also reduces from $50 to $25 amount of the matter in controversy necessary for an appeal of right in a civil case.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 15.2-968.1 and 16.1-106 of the Code of Virginia, relating to use of photo-monitoring systems to enforce traffic light signals; appeals.

14102891D

H.B. 1049 Regional Criminal Justice Academy Training Fund; local fee.

Patron: Helsel

Regional Criminal Justice Academy Training Fund; local fee. Changes the date by which a locality must have been operating a certified independent criminal justice academy from July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2014, to allow certain localities to receive money from the Fund for operating their criminal justice academies.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 9.1-106 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Regional Criminal Justice Academy Training Fund; local fee.

14103111D

H.B. 1111 Tobacco products; electronic cigarettes; minors.

Patron: Hope

Tobacco products; electronic cigarettes; minors. Defines "tobacco product" for the purposes of the prohibition on the purchase or possession by or sale to minors of tobacco products. The term "tobacco product" includes an electronic smoking device, which is defined as any product containing or delivering nicotine or any other similar substance intended for human consumption that can be used by a person to simulate smoking in the delivery of nicotine or other substance through inhalation of vapor or aerosol from the product.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 18.2-371.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to tobacco products; electronic cigarettes; minors.

14103561D

H.B. 1126 Protection of witness identity.

Patron: Ramadan

Protection of witness identity. Provides that a court may allow a witness in a criminal case to testify while wearing a disguise designed to conceal the witness's identity, using a pseudonym, or both if protection of the identity of the witness is necessary to further an important public policy and the reliability of the evidence presented by the witness whose identity would be protected is otherwise assured. The attorney for the Commonwealth may file a motion prior to trial seeking to protect a witness's identity and, if the defendant objects, the court shall hold an in camera hearing on the motion.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 19.2-269.3, relating to protection of witness identity.

14103704D

H.B. 1131 Health care providers; regulation, prohibited acts, penalties.

Patron: Cole

Regulation of health care providers; prohibited acts; penalties. Provides that any person who is licensed, registered, certified, or otherwise subject to the oversight of a health regulatory board who knowingly or intentionally makes any false statement or includes any false information in a patient's medical record is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor and that any individual who knowingly or intentionally makes a false statement or provides false information related to the subject of an investigation to investigative personnel of the Department of Health Professions engaged in the investigation of a complaint is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered 54.1-2403.4 and 54.1-2506.02, relating to regulation of health care providers; prohibited acts; penalties.

14103454D

Impact Statements

H.B. 1154 Expungement for misdemeanors deferred and dismissed.

Patron: Rasoul

Expungement for misdemeanors deferred and dismissed. Provides that expungement of a criminal record is available to a petitioner whose misdemeanor charges are dismissed without adjudication of guilt following a deferral of proceedings and satisfaction of terms and conditions imposed by the court. Currently, expungement is only available for an acquittal, a nolle prosequi, a pardon, or an accord and satisfaction.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 19.2-392.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to expungement of certain dismissed misdemeanor charges.

14103699D