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2015 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 19, 2015
Time and Place: One half hour upon adjournment of the House, HRC in GAB

H.B. 1308 Electronic communications; right to privacy, confidential relationship, penalty.

Patron: Marshall, R.G.

Right to privacy in electronic communications; confidential relationship; penalty; civil action. Provides that any person who without lawful authority intercepts, monitors, examines, or otherwise accesses electronic transmissions of messages, data, signals, or other communications that are not intended for public disclosure from any person to another with whom such person is in a confidential relationship is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill defines a "confidential relationship" as a relationship between (i) a husband and wife; (ii) an attorney and client; (iii) a licensed practitioner of the healing arts and patient; (iv) a licensed professional counselor, licensed clinical social worker, licensed psychologist, or licensed marriage and family therapist and client; or (v) a clergy member and person seeking spiritual counsel or advice. The bill also creates a civil cause of action for the person whose electronic transmissions of messages, data, signals, or other communications have been intercepted, monitored, examined, or otherwise accessed against the person who without lawful authority intercepted, monitored, examined, or otherwise accessed such transmissions and any person who facilitated or allowed such interception, monitoring, examination, or access.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 18.2-504.2, relating to right to privacy in electronic communications; confidential relationship; penalty; civil action.

15100035D

H.B. 1311 Civil contempt; limits on imprisonment.

Patron: Cole

Civil contempt; limits on imprisonment. Limits the length of time a person can be imprisoned for civil contempt to 30 days except as otherwise provided by law.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 18.2-457 and 18.2-458 of the Code of Virginia, relating to civil contempt; limits on imprisonment.

15100439D

H.B. 1354 Animal Cruelty Conviction List; established.

Patron: Ramadan

Animal Cruelty Conviction List established. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish and maintain an Animal Cruelty Conviction List available to the public on the website of the Department of State Police by 2017. The list shall include the names of persons convicted of certain felony animal cruelty offenses on or after July 1, 2015. Persons so convicted will be required to pay a fee of $50 per conviction to fund the maintenance of the list. The bill requires the State Police to remove a person from the list after 15 years if he has no additional felony conviction of a relevant animal cruelty offense.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 9 of Chapter 65 of Title 3.2 a section numbered 3.2-6573.1, relating to the establishment of an animal cruelty conviction list.

15100455D

H.B. 1366 Sex offenders; prohibiting entry onto school or other property, hearing.

Patron: Campbell

Sex offenses prohibiting entry onto school or other property; hearing. Provides that a sex offender who is prohibited from entering upon school or child day center property who petitions the circuit court for permission to enter such property must cause notice of the time and place of the hearing on his petition to be published once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. The bill provides that the court may permit any person who attends the hearing to testify regarding the petition. The bill also requires that for a public school the petitioner must provide notice of his petition to the chairman of the school board in addition to the superintendent of public instruction.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 18.2-370.5 of the Code of Virginia, relating to sex offenses prohibiting entry onto school or other property; hearing.

15101126D

H.B. 1369 Grand larceny; increases threshold.

Patron: Lindsey

Grand larceny; threshold. Increases from $200 to $500 the threshold amount of money taken or value of goods or chattel taken at which the crime rises from petit larceny to grand larceny. The bill increases the threshold by the same amount for the classification of certain property crimes.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 18.2-23, 18.2-95 through 18.2-97, 18.2-102, 18.2-103, 18.2-108.01, 18.2-145.1, 18.2-150, 18.2-152.3, 18.2-181, 18.2-181.1, 18.2-182, 18.2-186, 18.2-186.3, 18.2-187.1, 18.2-188, 18.2-195, 18.2-195.2, 18.2-197, 18.2-340.37, 19.2-289, 19.2-290, 19.2-386.16, and 29.1-553 of the Code of Virginia, relating to grand larceny and certain property crimes; threshold.

15100146D

H.B. 1370 Improper driving; jury hearing case.

Patron: Lindsey

Improper driving; jury. Provides that a jury hearing a case involving a person charged with reckless driving where the accused's degree of culpability is slight may find the accused not guilty of reckless driving but guilty of improper driving, which is punishable as a traffic infraction. Currently, only the court hearing the case may find the accused guilty of improper driving.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 46.2-869 of the Code of Virginia, relating to improper driving; jury.

15100764D

H.B. 1388 Courthouse and courtroom security; increase of certain fee.

Patron: Albo

Courthouse and courtroom security fee. Increases the maximum local fee on criminal and traffic cases from $10 to $20.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 53.1-120 of the Code of Virginia, relating to courthouse and courtroom security fee.

15100425D

H.B. 1426 Explosive materials; use near dwelling house prohibited, penalty.

Patron: Marshall, D.W.

Use of explosive material near dwelling house; penalty. Provides that any person who intentionally detonates an explosive material by means of a firearm within one mile of a dwelling house is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 18.2-85.1, relating to use of explosive materials near dwelling house; penalty.

15101985D

H.B. 1453 Stalking; penalty.

Patron: Miller

Stalking; penalty. Provides that a person who on more than one occasion engages in conduct directed at another person with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass, or when he knows or reasonably should know that the conduct coerces, intimidates, or harasses, the other person or the other person's family or household member is guilty of stalking, a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 18.2-60.3 and 18.2-308.1:4 of the Code of Virginia, relating to stalking; penalty.

15101885D

H.B. 1474 Detention of delinquent juveniles; offenses resulting in death.

Patron: Lingamfelter

Detention of delinquent juveniles; offenses resulting in death. Provides that a court may order that a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent of an offense that would be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor if committed by an adult and who (i) has not previously been and is not currently adjudicated delinquent of a violent juvenile felony or found guilty of a violent juvenile felony and (ii) has not been released from the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice within the previous 18 months be confined in a detention home or other secure facility for juveniles for a period not to exceed 12 months if the offense committed by the juvenile resulted in the death of another person. Currently, the length of such confinement cannot exceed six months, regardless of whether the offense resulted in the death of another person.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 16.1-284.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to detention of delinquent juveniles; offenses resulting in death.

15100106D

H.B. 1500 Overdoses; definition, safe reporting by individual.

Patron: Carr

Safe reporting of overdoses. Establishes an affirmative defense to prosecution of an individual for (i) simple possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, or controlled paraphernalia; (ii) intoxication in public; or (iii) the unlawful purchase, possession, or consumption of alcohol if such individual sought or obtained emergency medical attention for himself or for another individual because of a drug- or alcohol-related overdose and if the evidence for the charge was obtained as a result of the individual seeking or obtaining emergency medical attention. The bill provides that the affirmative defense may only be invoked by an individual who (a) remains at the scene of the overdose or at any location to which he is transported for emergency medical attention until a law-enforcement officer responds to the report of an overdose, (b) identifies himself to the responding law-enforcement officer, and (c) cooperates, upon request, with any criminal investigation reasonably related to the drug or alcohol that resulted in the overdose. No individual may assert this affirmative defense if the emergency medical attention sought or obtained was during the execution of an arrest warrant or search warrant or during the conduct of a lawful search.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 18.2-251.03, relating to safe reporting of overdoses.

15100050D

H.B. 1503 Driving after forfeiture of license; blood alcohol content.

Patron: Albo

Driving after forfeiture of license; blood alcohol content. Provides that a person who operates a motor vehicle whose privilege to do so has been restricted, suspended, or revoked with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.02 or more as indicated by a chemical test is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 18.2-272 of the Code of Virginia, relating to driving after forfeiture of license; blood alcohol content.

15101319D

H.B. 1596 Prostitution; affirmative defense to prosecution.

Patron: Watts

Prostitution; affirmative defense. Provides that there exists an affirmative defense to the crime of prostitution when the person was abducted and induced to engage in prostitution through the use of force, intimidation, or deception by another.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 18.2-346 of the Code of Virginia, relating to prostitution; affirmative defense.

15101520D

H.B. 1611 Assault and battery; felony when committed against certain persons.

Patron: Miller

Assault and battery against certain persons. Amends provision making it a Class 6 felony to commit an assault or an assault and battery against judges, magistrates, law-enforcement officers, correctional officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel and persons directly involved in the care, treatment, or supervision of certain inmates, juvenile offenders, and sexually violent predators, when they are engaged in the performance of their public duties to state that the crime may occur anywhere in the Commonwealth. The bill provides that its provisions are declarative of existing law.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 18.2-57 of the Code of Virginia, relating to assault and battery; location of offense.

15102599D