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ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
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2018 SESSION
Chairman: Mark D. Obenshain
Clerk: Hobie Lehman
Staff: Kristen Walsh, C. Quagliato
Date of Meeting: January 17, 2018
Time and Place: 15 minutes after adjournment/Senate Comm Room A, Pocahontas Bld
Patron: Spruill
Sex offenders in emergency shelters; notification registration. Provides that a registered sex offender who enters an emergency shelter designated by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof and operated in response to a declared state or local emergency shall, as soon as practicable after entry, notify a member of the shelter's staff who is responsible for providing security of such person's status as a registered sex offender. The bill provides that the shelter's staff may access the publicly available information on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry regarding such person and use such information in making reasonable accommodations to ensure the safety of all persons in the shelter; however, no person shall be denied entry solely on the basis of his status as a sex offender unless such entry is otherwise prohibited by law. The bill also requires that such person register with the local law-enforcement agency where the shelter is located within three days of entering the shelter if such person continues to reside in the shelter at that time.
Patron: Cosgrove
Sex offenders in emergency shelters; notification registration. Provides that a registered sex offender who enters an emergency shelter designated by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof and operated in response to a declared state or local emergency shall, as soon as practicable after entry, notify a member of the shelter's staff who is responsible for providing security of such person's status as a registered sex offender. The bill provides that the shelter's staff may access the publicly available information on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry regarding such person and use such information in making reasonable accommodations to ensure the safety of all persons in the shelter; however, no person shall be denied entry solely on the basis of his status as a sex offender unless such entry is otherwise prohibited by law. The bill also requires that such person register with the local law-enforcement agency where the shelter is located within three days of entering the shelter if such person continues to reside in the shelter at that time.
Patron: Lucas
Department of Criminal Justice Services training standards; community engaged policing. Expands the responsibilities of the Department of Criminal Justice Services regarding community policing by requiring the compulsory training standards for basic training and recertification of law-enforcement officers to include fair and impartial policing, verbal de-escalation, and needs of special populations. The bill changes the term "community policing" to "community engaged policing."
Patron: Lucas
Firearms on school property. Adds public, private, or religious preschools and child day centers that are not operated at the residence of the provider or of any of the children to the list of schools where possessing a firearm on school property or on a school bus is prohibited. Under current law, the list of such schools only includes public, private, or religious elementary, middle, or high schools.
Patron: Marsden
Juvenile offenders; sentencing; geriatric parole. Provides that for any juvenile felony a circuit court shall consider a juvenile's diminished culpability and heightened capacity for change in determining the particular sentence to be imposed. The bill also requires that the Parole Board consider a petitioner's demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation and the lesser culpability of juvenile offenders in reviewing a petition for geriatric release when submitted by a person serving a sentence imposed on a juvenile for an offense that would be a crime if committed by an adult.
Patron: Marsden
Release of hunting dogs on a highway. Provides that any person who intentionally releases five or more hunting dogs on or within 15 feet of a highway is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and a second or subsequent violation within three years of the first violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Patron: McClellan
New sentencing hearing; abolition of parole. Provides that a person who was sentenced by a jury prior to the date of the Supreme Court of Virginia decision in Fishback v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 104 (June 9, 2000), in which the Court held that a jury should be instructed on the abolition of parole, for a nonviolent felony committed after the time that the abolition of parole went into effect (January 1, 1995), is entitled to a new sentencing proceeding if such person is still incarcerated. The bill provides that such person shall file a petition for a new sentencing proceeding with the circuit court in which the order of conviction was originally entered. The circuit court shall empanel a new jury for the purpose of conducting the new sentencing proceeding and notify the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth. The bill also provides that if the attorney for the Commonwealth and the person filing the petition agree, such person may waive his right to a new sentencing proceeding and allow the court to fix punishment.
Patron: Edwards
Control of firearms; chambers of local governing bodies. Allows a locality to adopt an ordinance that prohibits firearms, ammunition, or components or a combination thereof at any regular or special meeting of such local governing body, provided that notice of such prohibition is publicly posted and the meeting room is owned or operated by the locality.
Patron: Stanley
Discovery in criminal cases; duty to provide. Requires the attorney for the Commonwealth, upon written notice by an accused to the court and to the attorney for the Commonwealth, to permit the accused to inspect and copy or photograph (i) any relevant written or recorded statements or confessions made by the accused and the substance of any oral statements or confessions made by the accused to any law-enforcement officer; (ii) any relevant written reports of autopsies, ballistic tests, fingerprint analyses, handwriting analyses, blood, urine, and breath tests, and other scientific reports and written reports of a physical or mental examination of the accused or the alleged victim; (iii) any books, papers, documents, tangible objects, buildings, or places, or copies or portions thereof, that are within the possession, custody, or control of the Commonwealth; (iv) any relevant police reports, as defined in the bill; and (v) all relevant statements, as defined in the bill, of any non-expert witness whom the Commonwealth is required to designate on a witness list. The bill also provides that if the accused files a written notice the accused shall (a) permit the Commonwealth to inspect, copy, or photograph any written reports of autopsy examinations, ballistic tests, fingerprint, blood, urine, and breath analyses, and other scientific tests that are within the possession, custody, or control of the accused and that the accused intends to introduce in evidence at the trial or sentencing; (b) disclose whether he intends to introduce evidence to establish an alibi; (c) if he intends to rely upon a defense of insanity, permit the Commonwealth to inspect, copy, or photograph any written reports of physical or mental examination of the accused made in connection with the case; and (d) disclose all relevant statements of any non-expert witness, other than the defendant, whom the defense is required to designate on a witness list. The bill provides that for good cause a party may withhold or redact certain information from such disclosures and the opposing party may file a motion to compel disclosure or to remove any restriction. The accused's duty to provide discovery shall be in addition to any duty to provide reciprocal discovery pursuant to Rule 3A:11 of the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia.
Patron: Barker
Distracted driving; penalty. Expands the prohibition on manually entering multiple letters or text in a handheld communications device while operating a motor vehicle to also prohibit the manual selection of multiple icons and removes the condition that such manual entry is prohibited only if performed as a means of communicating with another person. The bill prohibits the operator of a motor vehicle from reading any information displayed on the device; current law prohibits reading an email or text message. The bill provides that this prohibition does not apply to reading any information displayed through the use of a global positioning system for the purpose of navigation. The bill eliminates the current exemption from the prohibition on using a handheld personal communications device while operating a motor vehicle when the vehicle is stopped or not moving; the current exemption from the prohibition when the vehicle is parked is not affected.
Patron: Peake
Expungement of certain offenses. Allows a person to petition for expungement of a deferred disposition dismissal for underage alcohol possession or using a false ID to obtain alcohol when the offense occurred prior to the person's twenty-first birthday; all court costs, fines, and restitution have been paid; and the person seeking the expungement is at least 21 years of age and has no other alcohol-related convictions.
Patron: Peake
Firearms in courthouses. Allows a person who may lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition for a firearm to carry a firearm or ammunition for a firearm into an area courthouse that is being used exclusively for purposes other than judicial proceedings outside of the courthouse's normal hours of operation.
Patron: Peake
Concealed handgun permit; expiration date. Extends from five to 15 years the validity of a concealed handgun permit.
Patron: Peake
Firearms in locked vehicles; immunity from liability. Provides that no person, property owner, tenant, employer, or business owner may (i) prohibit a person who lawfully possesses a firearm from storing that firearm or ammunition for a firearm in a locked motor vehicle, (ii) take any adverse employment action against an employee or contractor for lawfully storing a firearm or ammunition for a firearm in a locked motor vehicle, or (iii) search an employee's or contractor's motor vehicle or require that an employee or contractor consent to such a search as a condition of employment. The bill allows a person to petition a circuit court for an injunction to enforce his right to lawfully store a firearm or ammunition for a firearm in a locked motor vehicle. The bill provides immunity for any person, property owner, tenant, employer, or business owner in a civil action for any occurrence resulting from the use of a lawfully stored firearm or ammunition for a firearm. The provisions of the bill do not apply to (a) property owned or controlled by the federal government, (b) vehicles on property controlled by an employer required to develop and implement a security plan under federal law or regulation, (c) property on which a person is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm, (d) vehicles owned or leased by an employer or business entity and used by an employee or contractor in the course of his employment, or (e) personal vehicles while such vehicles are being used for the transport of consumers of programs licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
Patron: Chafin
Carrying dangerous weapon to place of religious worship. Repeals the statutory prohibition on carrying a gun, pistol, bowie knife, dagger, or other dangerous weapon, without good and sufficient reason, to a place of worship while a meeting for religious purposes is being held at such place.
Patron: Lucas
Purchase of handguns; limitation on handgun purchases; penalty. Prohibits any person who is not a licensed firearms dealer from purchasing more than one handgun in a 30-day period and establishes such an offense as a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill exempts from this provision (i) persons who have been issued a certificate by the Department of State Police under certain circumstances and with an enhanced background check, (ii) law-enforcement agencies and officers, (iii) state and local correctional facilities, (iv) licensed private security companies, (v) persons who hold a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit, (vi) persons whose handgun has been stolen or irretrievably lost or who are trading in a handgun, (vii) purchases of handguns in a private sale, and (viii) purchases of antique firearms.
Patron: McDougle
Expungement of certain charges and convictions. Allows a person to petition for expungement of convictions and deferred disposition dismissals for marijuana possession, underage alcohol possession, and using a false ID to obtain alcohol when the offense occurred prior to the person's twenty-first birthday; all court costs, fines, and restitution have been paid; and five years have elapsed since the date of completion of all terms of sentencing and probation.
Patron: McDougle
Jurisdiction of claim; plaintiff's motion to amend claim amount; transfer of matter. Provides that, where a matter is pending in either the general district court or the circuit court, upon motion of the plaintiff seeking to amend the amount of the claim, the court shall order transfer of the matter to the court having jurisdiction over the claim without requiring a dismissal of the claim or a nonsuit. The bill further provides that, where such an amended claim provides the general district court and the circuit court with concurrent jurisdiction over such a claim, the court shall transfer the matter to either the general district court or the circuit court, as directed by the plaintiff, provided that such court otherwise has jurisdiction over the matter.
Patron: Wexton
Restoration of firearms rights; convicted felons. Requires the court to find by clear and convincing evidence that a person convicted of a violent felony, whose civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority, who has petitioned for a permit to possess or carry a firearm is not a risk to public safety and poses no present or future danger to himself or others prior to granting the petition and issuing the permit. Current law provides for a standard of good cause shown.
Patron: Howell
Allowing access to firearms by children; penalty. Provides that any person who leaves a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any person under the age of 18 is guilty of a Class 6 felony. Current law provides that any person who recklessly leaves a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of 14 is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Patron: Reeves
Use or display of firearm during commission of a felony; killing or injuring police animals; penalty. Adds maliciously shooting, stabbing, wounding, or otherwise causing bodily injury to or administering poison to any animal used or trained by a law-enforcement agency, regional jail, or the Department of Corrections to the list of felonies for which a separate penalty is prescribed if a firearm is used during the commission of the offense.
Patron: Reeves
Nonsuits; recommencement of action. Decreases the time period in which a plaintiff who takes a voluntary nonsuit may recommence this action from six months to 14 days from the date the nonsuit was entered. The bill does not change the provision allowing for recommencement of the action within the original period of limitation, if longer than 14 days from the date the nonsuit was entered. The bill further provides that a plaintiff who has taken a voluntary nonsuit shall serve the defendant within three months of the recommencement of the action. The bill contains a technical amendment.
Patron: Carrico
Possession of concealed handguns; concealed handgun permit holders at public institutions of higher education. Allows any person who possesses a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit or a concealed handgun permit from another state that is recognized by Virginia to carry a concealed handgun on the property of, in buildings owned by, or at events hosted at public institutions of higher education. The bill provides an exception that may prohibit firearms in facilities operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services or a campus police department of a public institution of higher education if such facilities are located on the property of or in buildings owned by a public institution of higher education.
Patron: Hanger
Expansion of courthouses to contiguous property. Provides that expansion of a courthouse to contiguous land within the same county or city shall not trigger a referendum requirement. The existing statute refers only to relocation within the same county.
Patron: Vogel
Scope of discovery; deposing certain corporate officers. Provides that parties to a civil action may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the subject matter and proportional to the needs of the case. The bill states that a determination of whether discovery is unduly burdensome or expensive shall include consideration of whether the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefits.
The bill further provides that when an officer, as defined in the bill, who is called as a deposition witness files a motion for a protective order because the discovery sought by the deposition is obtainable from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive, the burden shall be on the party seeking the deposition to defeat such a motion by showing that (i) there is a reasonable indication that the officer's deposition is calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, (ii) the officer has unique or superior personal knowledge of discoverable information that cannot be discovered through means other than a deposition, and (iii) deposition of a representative other than the officer or other methods of discovery are unsatisfactory, insufficient, or inadequate.
Patron: Vogel
Distracted driving; penalty. Expands the prohibition on manually entering multiple letters or text in a handheld communications device while operating a motor vehicle to also prohibit the manual selection of multiple icons and removes the condition that such manual entry is prohibited only if performed as a means of communicating with another person. The bill prohibits the operator of a motor vehicle from reading any information displayed on the device; current law prohibits reading an email or text message. The bill provides that this prohibition does not apply to reading any information displayed through the use of a global positioning system for the purpose of navigation. The bill eliminates the current exemption from the prohibition on using a handheld personal communications device while operating a motor vehicle when the vehicle is stopped or not moving; the current exemption from the prohibition when the vehicle is parked is not affected.
Patron: Ebbin
Office of Immigrant Assistance created. Establishes in the Department of Social Services an Office of Immigrant Assistance (the Office) to assist persons lawfully entering the United States and the Commonwealth for the purpose of becoming citizens. The Office shall provide (i) advice and assistance regarding the citizenship application process; (ii) assistance with finding and securing employment, housing, and services for which such persons may be eligible; (iii) information to localities about state programs that help such persons find and secure employment, housing, and services for which they may be eligible; and (iv) information to localities and immigrant service organizations regarding health epidemics and unlawful predatory actions, such as human trafficking, gang recruitment, and fraudulent financial and other schemes, to which communities of such persons may be especially vulnerable.
Patron: McPike
Expungement of certain charges and convictions. Allows a person to petition for expungement of convictions and deferred disposition dismissals for marijuana possession, underage alcohol possession, and using a false ID to obtain alcohol when the offense occurred prior to the person's twenty-first birthday and five years have elapsed since the date of completion of all terms of sentencing and probation.
Patron: McPike
Dangerous weapons; place of religious worship. Requires a person to have the express authorization of a place of religious worship to carry certain weapons to such place of worship while a meeting for religious purposes is being held. Current law requires such person to have a good and sufficient reason to do so.
Patron: Deeds
Impersonating certain public safety personnel; military members; penalty. Adds members of the United States Armed Forces, Armed Forces Reserves, and National Guard to the list of public safety personnel for which it is a Class 1 misdemeanor to impersonate with the intent to make someone else believe he is such a public safety official. A second or subsequent offense is punishable as a Class 6 felony.
Patron: Deeds
Bystander claims for intentional or negligent infliction of injury or death; emotional distress. Provides that a bystander who witnesses, live and in-person, an event during which the intentional or negligent infliction of injury to or death of a victim occurs may recover damages for resulting emotional distress, proven by a preponderance of the evidence, with or without a physical impact or physical injury to the bystander, if (i) the bystander is related to the victim or (ii) although not related to the victim, the bystander is in close proximity to the victim at the time the event occurs and is aware that such event is causing injury to or the death of the victim.
Patron: McClellan
Custodial interrogations; length; recording. Provides that any law-enforcement officer shall, if practicable, make an audiovisual recording of any custodial interrogation of a person conducted in a place of detention. The bill provides that the failure to make such a recording does not affect the admissibility of statements made during the custodial interrogation, but the court shall consider or shall instruct the jury to consider such failure in determining the weight given to such evidence. The bill also requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish, publish, and disseminate a model policy or guideline for law-enforcement personnel for the recording of custodial interrogations. The bill further provides that the length of any custodial interrogation shall not be unreasonable and the person who is subject to such interrogation shall be permitted reasonable periods for rest and personal necessities.
Patron: Spruill
Prohibition of sale, transfer, etc., of certain firearms magazines and firearms; penalties. Prohibits any person from importing, selling, bartering, or transferring a firearms magazine designed to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. A violation is a Class 6 felony. The bill prohibits a person from carrying semi-automatic center-fire firearms with more than 10 rounds of ammunition in a public place; under existing law, this prohibition applies only in certain localities and only to such firearms if the firearm holds more than 20 rounds of ammunition. The bill also increases from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for carrying a semi-automatic center-fire firearm and a shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered in a public place. The bill redefines "assault firearm" by reducing from more than 20 to more than 10 the number of rounds of ammunition that a firearms magazine will hold in order to be defined as an "assault firearm" and prohibits a dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from his inventory such an assault firearm to any person. The bill also reduces from more than 20 to more than 10 the number of rounds of ammunition that a firearms magazine will hold in order to be defined as an "assault firearm" for purposes of possession or transportation by a person younger than 18 years of age and increases the penalty from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony for a person younger than 18 years of age to possess or transport a handgun, an assault firearm, or a shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered, with some exceptions.
Patron: Peake
Standards for testimony of expert witnesses. Adopts two additional standards for admission of expert testimony found in Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence by (i) requiring that the expert's testimony be the product of reliable principles and methods and (ii) requiring that the expert has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case. The bill also codifies the requirement that the expert's testimony be based on sufficient facts or data (as recognized in Forbes v. Rapp, 269 Va. 374, 611 S.E.2d 592 (2005)). The bill does not change the current requirement that the expert's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact in understanding the evidence or determining a fact in issue.
Patron: Chafin
Administrative subpoena for electronic communication service or remote computing service records; certain offenses. Adds various computer crimes to the list of crimes for which attorneys for the Commonwealth have the authority to issue administrative subpoenas to obtain records and other information from electronic communication service and remote computing service providers if relevant to a legitimate law-enforcement investigation.
Patron: Howell
Protective orders; possession of firearms; penalty. Provides that it is a Class 6 felony for a person who is subject to a permanent protective order (i.e., a protective order with a maximum duration of two years) for subjecting another person to an act of violence, force, or threat to possess a firearm while the order is in effect, which is equivalent to the existing penalty for possession of a firearm by a person subject to a permanent protective order for family abuse. The bill also provides that such person may continue to possess and transport a firearm for 24 hours after being served with the order for the purposes of selling or transferring the firearm to another person.
Patron: Favola
Death penalty; severe mental illness. Provides that a defendant in a capital case who had a severe mental illness, which is defined in the bill, at the time of the offense is not eligible for the death penalty. The bill establishes procedures for determining whether a defendant had a severe mental illness at the time of the offense and provides for the appointment of expert evaluators. When the defendant's severe mental illness is at issue, a determination will be made by the jury, or by the judge in a bench trial, as part of the sentencing proceeding, and the defendant bears the burden of proving his severe mental illness by a preponderance of the evidence.
Patron: Marsden
Protective orders; possession of firearms; surrender or transfer of firearms. Provides that a court shall order a person subject to a protective order to (i) surrender any firearm possessed by such person to the local law-enforcement agency of the county or city where such person resides or to sell or transfer any firearms possessed by such person to a firearms dealer within 24 hours after being served with a protective order or (ii) certify in writing that such person does not possess any firearms and file such certification with the clerk of the court that entered the protective order within three days after being served with a protective order. The bill also provides that within 48 hours after surrendering or selling or transferring all firearms, such person shall certify in writing that all firearms possessed by such person have either been surrendered or sold or transferred and file such certification with the clerk of the court that entered the protective order.