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.
2020 SESSION
Chair: John S. Edwards
Clerk: John Garrett, Alec Fischbein
Staff: Kristen Walsh, C. Quagliato
Date of Meeting: January 29, 2020
Time and Place: 1/2 hour after adjournment of Senate Sen Room A Pocahontas Bldg
Patron: Ebbin
Marijuana; decriminalization of simple marijuana possession; penalty. Decriminalizes simple marijuana possession and provides a civil penalty of no more than $50. Current law imposes a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum 30-day jail sentence for a first offense, and subsequent offenses are a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill provides that the suspended sentence and substance abuse screening provisions and driver's license suspension provisions apply only to criminal violations or to civil violations by a juvenile. The bill defines marijuana to include hashish oil. The bill raises the threshold amount of marijuana subject to the offense of distribution or possession with intent to distribute from one-half ounce to one ounce. The bill also allows a person to petition for expungement of convictions and deferred disposition dismissals for marijuana possession when all court costs and fines and orders of restitution have been paid. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron: Petersen
Eminent domain; costs. Eliminates specific provisions for the assessment of costs in eminent domain proceedings where the condemnor is a public service company, public service corporation, railroad, or government utility corporation and provides that all costs shall be assessed in the same manner, regardless of the identity of the condemnor.
Patron: Petersen
Eminent domain; costs for petition for distribution of funds; interest rate; recordation of certificate. Provides that the costs of filing a petition with the court for the distribution of the funds due pursuant to an eminent domain proceeding shall be taxed against the condemnor. The bill also provides that the interest rate on the funds represented by a certificate of deposit from the date of filing of the certificate until the funds are paid into the court shall not be less than the judgment rate of interest. Finally, the bill reorganizes for clarity the provisions governing what happens upon recordation of a certificate by the Commissioner of Highways in a condemnation proceeding.
Patron: DeSteph
Aggravated sexual battery by false representation or subterfuge; penalty. Provides that any person who sexually abuses another person through false representation or subterfuge that is part of a massage by a massage therapist, a medical procedure, or physical therapy is guilty of aggravated sexual battery if such abuse is intentional and without the consent of the complaining witness. The bill also eliminates the provision that sexual battery can be accomplished by ruse.
Patron: Hanger
Juvenile law-enforcement records; disclosures to school principals. Changes from discretionary to mandatory that the chief of police of a city or chief of police or sheriff of a county disclose to a school principal all instances where a juvenile at the principal's school is a suspect in or has been charged with a violent juvenile felony, an arson offense, or a concealed weapon offense and adds an offense that requires a juvenile intake officer to make a report with the school division superintendent to the list of such instances that must be disclosed to a school principal for the protection of the juvenile, his fellow students, and school personnel.
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 and fines and orders of restitution have been satisfied, and the person seeking the expungement is at least 21 years of age and has no other alcohol-related convictions. The bill provides that any person seeking expungement of an alcohol-related charge shall be assessed a $150 fee, which shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Department of State Police.
Patron: Stuart
Deferred disposition in criminal cases. Allows a court to defer and dismiss a criminal case where the defendant has been diagnosed with autism or an intellectual disability.
Patron: Stuart
Driving under the influence. Provides that the provisions regarding driving or operating a motor vehicle, engine, or train while intoxicated and the provisions regarding operating a motor vehicle by a person under the age of 21 after illegally consuming alcohol shall not apply to any person driving or operating a motor vehicle on his own residential property or the curtilage thereof.
Patron: Stuart
Allowable purposes for restricted licenses. Adds travel to and from the offices of the Virginia Employment Commission for the purpose of seeking employment to the list of purposes for which a court may issue a restricted driver's license.
Patron: Petersen
Mechanics' liens; right to withhold payment. Specifies that the use of funds paid to a general contractor or subcontractor and used by such contractor or subcontractor before paying all amounts due for labor performed or material furnished gives rise to a civil cause of action for a party who is owed such funds. The bill further specifies that such cause of action does not affect a contractor's or subcontractor's right to withhold payment for failure to properly perform labor or furnish materials and that any contractual provision that allows a party to withhold funds due on one contract for alleged claims or damages due on another contract is void as against public policy.
Patron: Favola
Juvenile records; expungement. Provides for the expungement of juvenile records for offenses that would be felony larceny if committed by an adult. Under current law, juvenile records of all delinquent acts that would be a felony if committed by an adult are retained.
Patron: Chafin
Deeds of trust; fiduciary duties. Specifies that a trustee under a deed of trust has only the duties, rights, and obligations imposed and conferred on it by the deed of trust or by statute. This bill is in response to Crosby v. ALG Trustee, LLC, 296 Va. 561 (2018).
Patron: Deeds
Ignition interlock for first offense driving under the influence of drugs. Provides that a court of proper jurisdiction may, as a condition of a restricted license, prohibit an offender from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock system for a first offense driving under the influence of drugs. Under current law, such prohibition is required to be ordered as a condition of a restricted license.
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: Deeds
Deferred dispositions; property crimes; larceny and receiving stolen goods. Provides that a court, upon such plea if the facts found by the court would justify a finding of guilt, without entering a judgment of guilt and with the consent of the accused, may defer further proceedings and place him on probation subject to terms and conditions for a first offense misdemeanor larceny provided such person has not previously been convicted of any felony or had a prior deferred disposition for the same offense. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.
Patron: Deeds
Destruction of criminal history information for certain charges and convictions. Provides that a court shall enter an order of destruction for police and court records, in the absence of good cause shown to the contrary by the Commonwealth, for a deferred disposition dismissal of (i) underage alcohol possession when one year has passed since the date of dismissal and all court costs and fines and all orders of restitution have been satisfied or (ii) possession of marijuana when three years have passed since the date of dismissal and all court costs and fines and all orders of restitution have been satisfied. The bill also provides that any person who has received such deferred disposition dismissals may file a petition with the court that disposed of such charge for an order of destruction at any time provided that all court costs and fines and all orders of restitution have been satisfied. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.
Patron: Marsden
Bail bondsman; petition for return of deposit for surrender of principal; deposited funds credited to Literary Fund. Provides that if a bail bondsman does not petition the court for the return of funds deposited for the surrender of his principal within 15 days from the surrender of the principal, the deposited funds shall be paid into the state treasury to be credited to the Literary Fund. This bill is a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts and the Judicial Council.
Patron: Stanley
Custodial interrogations; 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 if an audiovisual recording is unable to be made, the law-enforcement officer shall make an audio recording of the custodial interrogation. The bill provides that the failure of a law-enforcement officer to make such a recording shall not affect the admissibility of the statements made during the custodial interrogation, but the court or jury may consider such failure in determining the weight given to such evidence. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.
Patron: Stanley
Destruction of criminal history information for certain charges and convictions. Provides that a court shall enter an order of destruction for police and court records, in the absence of good cause shown to the contrary by the Commonwealth, for a deferred disposition dismissal of (i) underage alcohol possession when one year has passed since the date of dismissal and all court costs and fines and all orders of restitution have been satisfied or (ii) possession of marijuana when three years have passed since the date of dismissal and all court costs and fines and all orders of restitution have been satisfied. The bill also provides that any person who has received such deferred disposition dismissals may file a petition with the court that disposed of such charge for an order of destruction at any time provided that all court costs and fines and all orders of restitution have been satisfied. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.
Patron: Stanley
Adults sentenced for juvenile offenses; good conduct credit. Provides that an adult sentenced for a juvenile offense can earn good conduct credit at the rate of one day for each one day served, including all days served while confined in jail or secured detention prior to conviction and sentencing, in which the adult has not violated the written rules and regulations of the jail. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.
Patron: Stanley
Deferred dispositions; property crimes; larceny and receiving stolen goods. Provides that a court, upon such plea if the facts found by the court would justify a finding of guilt, without entering a judgment of guilt and with the consent of the accused, may defer further proceedings and place him on probation subject to terms and conditions for a first offense misdemeanor larceny provided such person has not previously been convicted of any felony or had a prior deferred disposition for the same offense. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.
Patron: Stanley
Postrelease incarceration of felons sentenced for certain offenses. Clarifies that offenders who are convicted of knowingly failing to register or reregister with, or knowingly providing materially false information to, the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry are subject to added terms of postrelease incarceration. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.
Patron: Cosgrove
Gifts of real estate; title search required for recordation. Provides that no deed of gift conveying real estate shall be recorded unless accompanied by a document certifying that a title search has been completed for the real estate subject to the deed and stating any matters affecting the title of property that were found by the title search.
Patron: Deeds
Virginia sexual assault forensic examiner coordination program. Establishes the Virginia sexual assault forensic examiner coordination program within the Department of Criminal Justice Services. The bill provides that the program shall create and coordinate an annual statewide sexual assault forensic nurse examiner training program; coordinate the development and enhancement of sexual assault forensic examiner programs across the Commonwealth; coordinate the development of hospital protocols and guidelines for treatment of survivors of sexual assault; coordinate and strengthen communications among sexual assault nurse examiner medical directors, sexual assault response teams, and hospitals for existing and developing sexual assault nurse examiner programs; provide technical assistance for existing and developing sexual assault forensic examiner programs; establish best practices for billing and reimbursement for medical services provided to survivors of sexual assault; create and maintain a statewide list, updated biannually, that includes pertinent information regarding sexual assault forensic examiners and nurse examiners; create sexual assault nurse examiner recruitment materials for universities and colleges with nursing programs; and support and coordinate community education and public outreach, when appropriate, relating to sexual assault nurse examiner issues for the Commonwealth.
Patron: Kiggans
Powers of special police appointed pursuant to a city charter. Authorizes special police officers appointed by authority of a city charter to issue summonses in lieu of warrants in misdemeanor cases if such officers are in uniform or displaying a badge of office.
Patron: Surovell
Withholding of income for child support; independent contractors. Clarifies that income earned by an independent contractor may be withheld by court order for payment of child support obligations.
Patron: Surovell
Judicial performance evaluation program; risk assessment tool; use of alternative sanction. Requires the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission to report to the Supreme Court and the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice the number of cases during a judge's term in which an offender qualified for use of the risk assessment tool, received a recommendation for an alternative sanction on the basis of the assessment, and when a sentence was imposed and an alternative sanction was not given. The bill requires sentencing courts to use sentencing guidelines to determine the cost of incarceration for an offender who receives the minimum recommended sentence and to include the cost on the sentencing guideline form. The bill also requires the Commission to determine and include on a judge's judicial performance evaluation the total costs of imposing a sentence on each offender who was evaluated by the risk assessment tool and who received a recommendation for an alternative sanction but did not receive an alternative sanction during a judge's term.
Patron: Surovell
Driving under the influence; first offenders; license conditions. Provides that in the case of an adult offender's first conviction of driving under the influence when the offender's blood alcohol content was less than 0.15, the sole restriction of the offender's restricted driver's license shall be the prohibition of the offender from operating any motor vehicle not equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock system for one year without any violation of the ignition interlock system requirements.
Patron: Surovell
Abolition of the death penalty. Abolishes the death penalty, including for those persons currently under a death sentence.
Patron: DeSteph
Eminent domain; remnants and remainders. Repeals the provision of the Code of Virginia declaring that the acquisition of residual parcels when acquiring land for highway rights-of-way is in the public interest and is a public use. The bill provides a property owner with the ability to decide whether acquisition would create an uneconomic remnant or whether the damage to the remainder of a piece of acquired property would equal or exceed the fair market value of the remaining land.
Patron: Surovell
Inquiry and report of immigration status; persons charged with or convicted of certain crimes. Removes provisions requiring (i) jail officers to ascertain the citizenship of any inmate taken into custody at a jail, (ii) probation and parole officers to inquire as to the citizenship status of an individual convicted of a felony in circuit court and referred to such officers, and (iii) officers in charge of correctional facilities to inquire as to the citizenship of any person committed to a correctional facility, and therefore such information is not required to be reported to the Central Criminal Records Exchange of the Department of State Police. The bill also removes the mandatory duty of the clerk of a court committing a convicted alien to a correctional facility to furnish related court records to a United States immigration officer and the requirement that an intake officer report to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security any juvenile detained on an allegation that the juvenile, believed to be in the United States illegally, committed a violent felony.
Patron: Surovell
Sex offenses requiring registration. Clarifies the registration and reregistration obligations imposed upon a person convicted of a foreign sex offense for the purposes of registration with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry. The bill also provides that a person who is required to register may not petition the circuit court for the removal of his name and all identifying information from the Registry if such person was convicted of two or more offenses for which registration is required and was at liberty between such convictions. Under current law, a person does not need to be at liberty between such convictions and would be prohibited from petitioning for removal from the Registry.
Patron: Edwards
Department of Criminal Justice Services; crisis intervention team training. Adds the Department for Aging and Rehabilitation Services and brain injury stakeholders to the list of entities with whom the Department of Criminal Justice Services is required to consult in developing a training program for all persons involved in the crisis intervention team programs and requires the curriculum for such training program to include a module on brain injury.
Patron: Edwards
Driver's license suspensions for certain non-driving-related offenses. Removes the existing provisions that allow a person's driver's license to be suspended (i) when he is convicted of or placed on deferred disposition for a drug offense and (ii) for violations not pertaining to the operator or operation of a motor vehicle. The provisions of this bill have a delayed effective date of September 1, 2020.
Patron: Edwards
Driver's license suspensions for certain non-driving related offenses. Removes the existing provisions that allow a person's driver's license to be suspended (i) when he is convicted of or placed on deferred disposition for a drug offense; (ii) for non-payment of certain fees owed to a local correctional facility or regional jail; and (iii) for shoplifting motor fuel.
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. The bill provides that any person seeking expungement of a marijuana possession or alcohol-related charge shall be assessed a $150 fee, which shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Department of State Police.
Patron: McDougle
Driving under the influence; secure transdermal alcohol monitoring; penalty. Provides that the court may, upon request of an offender convicted for DUI who has not been previously prohibited from operating a vehicle that is not equipped with a functioning ignition interlock system, order that the offender (i) wear a secure transdermal alcohol-monitoring device that continuously monitors the person's blood alcohol level and (ii) refrain from alcohol consumption. The bill provides that if an offender is ordered to wear such a device, the only conditions that will be imposed upon the offender's restricted driver's license, if one is issued, shall be the wearing of such a device and the existing requirement to have an ignition interlock system. The bill also provides that it is a Class 1 misdemeanor to tamper with or in any way attempt to circumvent the operation of a secure transdermal alcohol-monitoring device.
Patron: Vogel
Hope Card Program; permanent protective orders. Requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to develop and implement a Hope Card Program (the Program) for the issuance of a Hope Card to any person who has been issued a permanent protective order by any general district court, juvenile and domestic relations court, or circuit court. The bill states that a Hope Card issued pursuant to the Program shall be a durable, plastic, wallet-sized card containing essential information about the protective order, such as the identifying information and characteristics of the person subject to the protective order, the issuance and expiration date of the protective order, the terms of the protective order, and the names of any other persons protected by the protective order.
Patron: Ruff
Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act. Creates the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act to preserve the right of a cotenant to sell his interest in inherited real estate while ensuring that the other cotenants will have the necessary due process, including notice, appraisal, and right of first refusal, to prevent a forced sale. If the other cotenants do not exercise their right to purchase property from the seller, the court must order a partition in kind if feasible, and if not, a commercially reasonable sale for fair market value. The provisions of the bill apply to partition actions filed on or after July 1, 2020.
Patron: Dunnavant
Visitation; petition of grandparent of deceased parent. Requires the court, in petitions for visitation filed by the grandparent of a child whose parent is the grandparent's child and is deceased, to consider the following factors: (i) the historical relationship between the grandparent and child; (ii) the motivation of the grandparent in seeking visitation; (iii) the motivation of the living parent in denying visitation to the grandparent; (iv) the quantity of time requested and the effect it will have on the child's daily activities; and (v) the benefits of maintaining a relationship with the extended family of the deceased parent.
Patron: Howell
Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry. Makes numerous changes to the provisions governing the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry. The bill changes the number of classifications of offenders who are required to register under the Registry to match the number of classifications under federal law and redesignates the classifications as Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III offenses. The bill also streamlines the reregistration process, eliminates the need for lower-level offenders to reregister annually, and allows offenders to electronically verify their registration information. Finally, the bill allows the Virginia State Police to use public records to determine a victim's age if the victim's age is not contained in the judgment of conviction in order to determine whether a person is required to register under the Registry.
Patron: Norment
Expungement of police and court records; pardons. Allows a person to petition for the expungement of the police and court records relating to such person's conviction for misdemeanors and certain felonies if he has been granted a simple pardon for the crime. Under current law, police and court records relating to convictions are only expunged if a person received an absolute pardon for a crime he did not commit.
Patron: Surovell
Contributory negligence; motor vehicle accident involving a pedestrian, bicyclist, etc. Provides that the negligence of a pedestrian, bicyclist, or other person lawfully using a device other than a motor vehicle on a public highway who is involved in a collision with a motor vehicle shall not bar a plaintiff's recovery in any civil action unless the plaintiff's negligence is (i) a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury and (ii) greater than the aggregated total amount of negligence of all the defendants that proximately caused the plaintiff's injury.
Patron: Surovell
Accrual of cause of action; diagnoses of nonmalignant and malignant asbestos-related injury or disease. Provides that a diagnosis of a nonmalignant asbestos-related injury or disease shall not be deemed an accrual of an action based upon a later diagnosis of a malignant asbestos-related injury or disease and that a cause of action for an asbestos-related malignancy shall accrue when the malignant asbestos-related disease or injury is first communicated to the person or his agent by a physician.
Patron: Mason
Records of financial institutions; reimbursement of costs for production. Provides that a financial institution that is asked to provide records related to a customer of the financial institution pursuant to a court proceeding shall be reimbursed by the requesting party for the reasonably necessary and directly incurred costs for the production of such records.
Patron: Obenshain
Common-law defense of intra-family immunity; abolished in certain cases. Abolishes the common-law defense of intra-family immunity for wrongful death actions that accrue on or after July 1, 2020.
Patron: Obenshain
Notaries; qualifications. Prohibits a person who has been convicted of a felony offense of (i) fraud or misrepresentation or (ii) robbery, extortion, burglary, larceny, embezzlement, fraudulent conversion, perjury, bribery, treason, or racketeering from qualifying to be a notary, regardless of whether his civil rights have been restored.
Patron: Obenshain
Execution of wills; witnesses. Requires the witnesses to a will to be disinterested, a term defined in the bill.
Patron: Obenshain
Indexing of wills. Provides that a will shall be indexed in the name of the executor as listed in such instrument.
Patron: Obenshain
Issuance of United States passports by clerk's office. Provides that a clerk of a circuit court shall collect whatever fee is specified by the U.S. Department of State for processing and issuing a United States passport, of which $10 shall be paid to the Commonwealth and the remainder shall be deposited with the local treasurer and used solely to fund such services.
Patron: McClellan
Bail; data collection and reporting standards; report. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to (i) collect data relating to bail determinations for any person who is held in custody pending trial or hearing for an offense, civil or criminal contempt or otherwise, in every locality; (ii) create a uniform reporting mechanism for criminal justice agencies to submit such data; and (iii) submit an annual report on the data collected to the Governor and the General Assembly, as well as publish the annual report on the Department's website. The bill also provides that the law addressing bail is to be construed so as to give effect to a general presumption in favor of pretrial release. The bill also requires the Department to report to the House Committee for Courts of Justice by January 1, 2021, on the development and application of the uniform reporting mechanisms. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021, for provisions related to the creation of uniform reporting mechanisms and data collection by the Department.
Patron: McClellan
Custodial interrogations; 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 if an audiovisual recording is unable to be made, the law-enforcement officer shall make an audio recording of the custodial interrogation. The bill provides that the failure of a law-enforcement officer to make such a recording shall not affect the admissibility of the statements made during the custodial interrogation, but the court or jury may consider such failure in determining the weight given to such evidence. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.
Patron: Obenshain
Community service work in lieu of payment of fines and costs. Provides that a court may permit an inmate to earn credits against any fines and court costs imposed against him by performing community service. Under current law, credits may be earned only before or after imprisonment.
Patron: Morrissey
Death penalty executions; moratorium. Imposes a moratorium on executions. The bill does not affect any other matter of law related to the death penalty, including bringing and trying capital charges, sentencing proceedings, imposition of the death penalty, appeals of the death penalty, and habeas review. The moratorium will remain in effect until adjournment of the first regular session of the General Assembly after a joint subcommittee established pursuant to a joint resolution passed by the 2020 General Assembly conducts a study of the death penalty in the Commonwealth and issues a report of its conclusions and recommendations.
Patron: Morrissey
Expungement of police and court records; misdemeanor and felony convictions. Allows a person convicted of a criminal offense to file a petition requesting expungement of the police and court records relating to the conviction if such person (i) has been free from any term of incarceration, probation, and postrelease supervision imposed as a result of such conviction for (a) at least eight years for a misdemeanor offense or (b) at least 12 years for a felony offense, (ii) has no subsequent convictions other than traffic infractions, and (iii) has no pending criminal proceeding.
Patron: Morrissey
Marijuana; decriminalization of simple marijuana possession; penalty. Decriminalizes simple marijuana possession and provides a civil penalty of no more than $50 for a first violation, $100 for a second violation, and $250 for a third or subsequent violation. Current law imposes a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum 30-day jail sentence for a first offense, and subsequent offenses are a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill provides that the suspended sentence/substance abuse screening provisions apply only to criminal violations or civil violations by a juvenile, and the driver's license suspension provisions apply only to criminal violations. A civil violation will be treated as a conviction for prohibitions on the purchase or transport of a handgun and disqualification for a concealed handgun permit.
Patron: Marsden
Compensation of court-appointed counsel; waivers. Allows court-appointed counsel for parents in child welfare cases to submit a waiver application for additional compensation of $120 in district court and $158 for cases appealed to the circuit court.
Patron: Marsden
Hunting with dogs; retrieval and trespass; discharge of firearm on road; civil and criminal penalties. Prohibits a dog owner from allowing his dog to run at large on the property of another after the landowner has given notice to the dog owner to keep dogs off the property. The bill provides for a civil penalty of $100 per dog enforced by animal control, conservation police, and other law-enforcement officers and a civil penalty of $250 per occurrence for a second or subsequent occurrence. The bill contains an exception to the penalty if the dog's owner or custodian releases the dog on property measuring 500 acres or more that is owned or leased by him or on which he has written permission to hunt.
The bill provides that the release of a hunting dog on a public road or on either side of such road within 100 feet of the centerline is a Class 4 misdemeanor. The bill also requires a hunter of game other than fox or raccoon, when going on prohibited lands to retrieve his dog, to obtain the permission of the owner or occupant of the property before entering such prohibited lands. A violation of such is a Class 4 misdemeanor.
Finally, the bill makes it a Class 4 misdemeanor to discharge a firearm or bow within 75 feet of either side of the centerline of a road. Current law prohibits such discharge in or across any road, within the right-of-way thereof, or in a street of any city or town. The bill includes technical changes.
Patron: Locke
Petition for vacatur and expungement of convictions and police and court records of victims of human trafficking. Allows any person who was a victim of human trafficking at the time of an offense that led to a criminal charge or conviction of certain crimes to petition the court to vacate such conviction and expunge the police and court records related to such conviction or to expunge the police and court records related to such charge. The bill provides that there is a rebuttable presumption that a person's participation in an offense was a result of having been a victim of human trafficking if there is official documentation, defined in the bill, of the petitioner's status as a victim of human trafficking at the time of the offense.
Patron: Peake
Surrogacy contracts; provisions requiring abortion or selective reduction unenforceable. Provides that any provision of a surrogacy contract requiring an abortion or selective reduction is against the public policy of the Commonwealth and is void and unenforceable.
Patron: Peake
Fingerprints and photographs by police authorities. Provides that all duly constituted police authorities having the power of arrest may take the fingerprints and photographs of any person found in contempt or in violation of the terms or conditions of a suspended sentence or probation for a felony offense. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Patron: Peake
Fingerprints and photographs by police authorities; reports to the Central Criminal Records Exchange. Provides that all duly constituted police authorities having the power of arrest may take the fingerprints and photographs of persons who plead guilty or are found guilty for driving while intoxicated when charged by summons. The bill also provides that such summons information may be entered into the Virginia Criminal Information Network. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Patron: Stuart
Virginia Fusion Intelligence Center; creation of a Mental Health Crisis Intervention Hotline. Directs the Virginia Fusion Intelligence Center to (i) establish a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week toll-free Mental Health Crisis Intervention Hotline (the Hotline) to receive anonymous tips regarding individuals suspected to be in need of mental health treatment to facilitate mental health treatment, crisis intervention, and prevention of tragedies and (ii) develop and implement policies and procedures for referring tips received through the Hotline to state or local law enforcement, as may be appropriate, in a timely manner for follow-up and investigation.
Patron: Favola
Fees collected by circuit court clerks for recording and indexing; use of fee in preserving permanent records of the circuit courts. Increases by $2 the fees for the recording and indexing of certain documents. The bill further increases from $1.50 to $3.50 the portion of the recording and indexing fee collected by circuit court clerks that is designated for use in preserving the permanent records of the circuit courts.
Patron: Favola
Circuit court clerk's fee; lodging of wills. Increases from $2 to $5 the fee that the circuit court clerk is required to charge for lodging, indexing, and preserving a will.
Patron: Saslaw
Expungement of police and court records; acquittals. Provides that a court that enters a judgment acquitting a person of a criminal charge shall also enter an order requiring the expungement of the police and court records relating to the charge. Currently, such a person may file a separate petition for the expungement of such records; however, except in certain cases involving misdemeanor charges, the person is not entitled to an order of expungement, and the court hearing the petition must find that the continued existence and possible dissemination of such records causes or may cause circumstances that constitute a manifest injustice to such person before such an order will be entered.
Patron: Obenshain
Eminent domain; written offer to purchase property. Requires a condemnor's written offer to purchase property prior to instituting a condemnation proceeding, and its written statement of the amount established as just compensation, to be on such condemnor's letterhead and signed by an authorized employee of such condemnor.
Patron: Cosgrove
Eminent domain; notice of intent to file certificate. Provides that the notice required to be sent to a landowner prior to an authorized condemnor recording a certificate of take or certificate of deposit shall state that (i) the certificate of take or certificate of deposit will be recorded between 30 and 45 days from the date of the notice and (ii) that the property will transfer to the condemnor upon recordation and that the owner has the right to petition the court to take possession of the funds represented in the certificate.