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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: February 19, 2020
Time and Place: 1/2 hour after adjournment of Senate Sen Room A Pocahontas Bldg
Patron: Roem
Protected information; newspersons engaged in journalism. Provides that no newsperson engaged in journalism shall be compelled by the Commonwealth or a locality to testify about, disclose, or produce protected information, as defined in the bill, except when the court finds that (i) the protected information is necessary to the proof of an issue material to an administrative, civil, or criminal proceeding; (ii) the protected information is not obtainable from any alternative source; (iii) the Commonwealth or locality exhausted all reasonable methods for obtaining the protected information from all relevant alternative sources, if applicable; and (iv) there is an overriding public interest in the disclosure of the protected information, including preventing harm to or death of a person. The bill further provides that any information obtained in violation of the provisions of the bill shall be inadmissible for any purpose in an administrative, civil, or criminal proceeding.
Patron: Watts
Prostitution-related crimes; minors; penalties. Makes it a Class 6 felony for an adult to visit a bawdy place with a minor when he knows that the bawdy place is used or to be used for lewdness, assignation, or prostitution. The bill also adds felony violations of such offense to (i) the list of offenses for which registration in the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry is required, (ii) the definition of violent felony for the purposes of the sentencing guidelines, (iii) the list of predicate criminal acts that constitutes the definition of street gangs, (iv) the list of offenses that may constitute racketeering under the Virginia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, and (v) the offenses that may be investigated by a multi-jurisdiction grand jury. The bill also makes applicable to all persons, regardless of the gender of the victim, the crimes of (a) assisting or aiding in the abduction of or threatening to abduct a female under 16 years of age for the purpose of concubinage or prostitution, which the bill also changes to include any person under 18 years of age, and (b) placing or leaving one's wife in a bawdy place.
Patron: Watts
Offenses requiring registration under the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry Act; unlawful dissemination or sale of images of another. Adds a third or subsequent conviction of unlawful dissemination or sale of images of another to the list of offenses requiring registration under the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry if the offense was committed on or after July 1, 2020. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron: Tran
Misdemeanor sexual offenses where the victim is a minor; statute of limitations. Increases the statute of limitations for prosecuting misdemeanor violations where the victim is a minor from one year after the victim reaches the age of majority to five years after the victim reaches the age of majority if the offender was an adult at the time of the offense and more than three years older than the victim for the following misdemeanor violations: carnal knowledge of offender by employee of bail bond company, sexual battery, attempted sexual battery, infected sexual battery, sexual abuse of a child age 13 or 14 by an adult, and tongue penetration by adult of mouth of child under age 13 with lascivious intent.
Patron: Hope
Guardianship and conservatorship petitions; identifying characteristics of the respondent. Adds certain identifying characteristics of the respondent to the content requirements of a petition for the appointment of a guardian, a conservator, or both if such petition contains a statement that the respondent is a threat of harm to himself or others. The bill further requires that such identifying characteristics be included in the information sent to the Criminal Records Exchange by the clerk if such a statement is included in the petition.
Patron: Brewer
Carnal knowledge of pretrial or posttrial offender; bail bondsmen; penalty. Increases to a Class 6 felony from a Class 1 misdemeanor the penalty for an owner or employee of a bail bond company that posted bond for a person to carnally know such person if the owner or employee has the authority to revoke the person's bond.
Patron: Miyares
Limitations period; previously time-barred actions; sexual abuse; two-year time period to file. Creates a two-year time period, on or after July 1, 2020, but before July 1, 2022, within which persons previously time-barred from filing an action for injury to such person for sexual abuse occurring during the infancy or incapacity of such person due to the expiration of the statute of limitations may file such an action.
Patron: Plum
Hate crimes; gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation; penalty. Adds gender, disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also adds gender, disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation to the categories of hate crimes that are to be reported to the central repository of information regarding hate crimes maintained by the Virginia State Police. The bill provides that a person who is subjected to acts of intimidation or harassment, violence directed against his person, or vandalism to his real or personal property, where such acts are motivated by gender, disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation, may bring a civil action to recover his damages. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. This bill incorporates HB 488.
Patron: Simon
Gender-neutral terms; prohibitions on same-sex marriage and civil unions removed from Code; certain gender-specific crimes; penalty. Replaces the terms "husband" and "wife" as well as related terms with gender-neutral terms throughout the Code to comport with the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (June 26, 2015). The bill also repeals the statutory prohibitions on same-sex marriages and civil unions or other arrangements between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges and obligations of marriage, and it makes conforming changes to various laws involving married individuals and their rights stemming from marriage.
Further, the bill makes applicable to all persons, regardless of the gender of the victim, the crimes of (i) assisting or aiding in the abduction of or threatening to abduct a female under 16 years of age for the purpose of concubinage or prostitution; (ii) placing or leaving one's wife in a bawdy place; and (iii) defaming the chaste character of a female. The bill provides that a defendant placed on probation may be ordered to provide support for the defendant's spouse; currently, the law only provides for support of a defendant's wife. The bill also amends various criminal and criminal procedure laws to make them applicable to both same-sex and opposite-sex married couples. Finally, the bill repeals the crime of adultery.
Patron: Hurst
Sanctions; improper purpose; claims filed in retaliation for certain actions. Provides that, for the purpose of awarding sanctions, improper purpose includes certain claims filed in retaliation for or in order to discourage actions taken by victims of violence to obtain an order of protection or criminal charges based on such conduct.
Patron: Mullin
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 that such person has not previously been convicted of any felony. The bill also provides that deferred disposition will no longer be allowed for peeping crimes. This bill incorporates HB 1592.
Patron: Mullin
Cruelty to children; penalty. Increases the penalty from a Class 6 felony to a Class 4 felony for any person employing or having custody of a child to willfully cause or permit such child to be tortured physically or psychologically, tormented, mutilated, beaten, or cruelly treated. The bill includes such offense in the definition of "violent felony" for purposes of determining felony sentencing guidelines. The bill also includes willful and negligent acts of cruelty and injuries to children in offenses prohibiting a person from operating or residing in a family day home and provides that a conviction is a barrier crime for persons providing care to certain children or the elderly or disabled.
Patron: Watts
Custodial interrogation of a child; parental notification and contact. Requires that prior to the custodial interrogation of a child, the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian shall be notified of the child's arrest and the child shall have contact with his parent, guardian, or legal custodian in person, by telephone, or by video conference. However, notification and contact prior to a custodial interrogation is not required if the parent, guardian, or legal custodian is a codefendant in the alleged offense; the parent, guardian, or legal custodian has been arrested for, has been charged with, or is being investigated for a crime against the child; the person cannot reasonably be located or refuses contact with the child; or the law-enforcement officer conducting the custodial interrogation reasonably believes the information sought is necessary to protect life, limb, or property from an imminent danger and the questions are limited to those that are reasonably necessary to obtain that information.
Patron: VanValkenburg
Strategic lawsuits against public participation; special motion to dismiss; stay of discovery; fees and costs. Establishes a procedure by which a party alleging that a claim filed against him is a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP), as defined in the bill, may file a special motion to dismiss. The bill provides that the filing of such a special motion to dismiss shall stay discovery proceedings related to the claim, pending the entry of an order adjudicating the special motion to dismiss. The bill provides that a court shall award reasonable expenses related to a special motion to dismiss, including attorney fees and costs, if the moving party prevails, in whole or in part, on such a special motion. The bill allows the court to award such reasonable expenses to a prevailing responding party to a special motion to dismiss if the court finds that such a motion was filed in bad faith or solely with the intent to delay the underlying proceedings.
Patron: Delaney
Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund; uncompensated medical costs; victims of sexual assault. Adds to those persons invited to participate in the annual meeting of the group led by the attorney for the Commonwealth to coordinate the multidisciplinary response to criminal sexual assault in each political subdivision (i) local health department district directors; (ii) the administrator of each licensed hospital within the jurisdiction; (iii) the director of each health safety net clinic within the jurisdiction; and (iv) any other local health care providers, or their designees, and authorizes attorneys for the Commonwealth to conduct the sexual assault response team annual meetings using other methods, such as electronic communication means, to encourage attendance. The bill also directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to establish a work group to evaluate the feasibility of moving responsibility for the SAFE program from the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission to the Department of Medical Assistance Services and to provide recommendations related to (i) the feasibility and cost of expanding the type of services for which the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund created pursuant to § 19.2-368.18 of the Code of Virginia will make awards to include claims or portions of claims based on the claimant's actual expenses incurred for unreimbursed medical costs resulting from sexual abuse, including the cost of physical evidence recovery kit examinations conducted on victims of sexual assault, unreimbursed medical expenses or indebtedness reasonably incurred for medical expenses, expenses attributable to pregnancy resulting from such sexual abuse, and any other reasonable and necessary expenses and indebtedness associated with or attributable to the sexual abuse upon which such claim is based and (ii) the feasibility of transferring responsibility from the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission to the Department of Medical Assistance Services for the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination program (the SAFE program) and all related claims for medical expenses related to sexual assault, strangulation, domestic and intimate partner violence, human trafficking, and adult and child abuse.
Patron: Hope
Ex parte requests for expert assistance in criminal cases. Provides that in any case before a circuit court in which a defendant is charged with a jailable offense and determined to be indigent by the court, the defendant or his attorney, upon notice to the Commonwealth, may move the court to designate another judge in the same circuit to hear an ex parte request for appointment of a qualified expert to assist in the defense. For a motion for expert assistance, the bill requires a defendant or his attorney to state under oath or in a sworn declaration that a need for confidentiality exists. Upon receiving the defendant's or his attorney's declaration of need for confidentiality, the court is required to conduct an ex parte hearing as soon as practicable on the request for authorization to obtain expert assistance. After a hearing upon the motion, the court is required to authorize the defendant or his attorney to obtain expert assistance upon a showing that the requested assistance would materially assist the defendant and the denial of such services would result in a fundamentally unfair trial.
Under current law, in a capital case, a defendant or his attorney is required to show, in an adversarial proceeding before the trial judge, a particularized need for confidentiality of the request for expert assistance. Upon a finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that a particularized need for confidentiality of the expert services exists, the court holds an ex parte hearing and may order the appointment of a qualified expert upon a showing that the provision of the requested expert services would materially assist the defendant in preparing his defense and the lack of such confidential assistance would result in a fundamentally unfair trial. There is no such procedure to appoint a qualified expert in noncapital cases.
Patron: Bourne
Supplementing compensation of public defender. Requires the governing body of any county or city that elects to supplement the compensation of the attorney for the Commonwealth, or any of their deputies or employees, above the salary of any such officer, deputy, or employee, to supplement the compensation of the public defender, or any of his deputies or employees, in the same amount as the supplement to the compensation of the attorney for the Commonwealth, or any of his deputies or employees.
Patron: Bourne
Discovery in criminal cases. Establishes requirements and procedures for discovery by an accused and by the Commonwealth in a criminal case. The bill requires a party requesting discovery to request that the other party voluntarily comply with such request prior to filing any motion before a judge. Upon receiving a negative or unsatisfactory response, or upon the passage of seven days following the receipt of the request without response, the party requesting discovery may file a motion for discovery with the court. The bill details information that is subject to discovery and provides that discovery shall be provided at a reasonable time before trial but that in no case shall it be provided later than (i) 14 days before trial on a misdemeanor in circuit court, (ii) 30 days before trial on a felony or multiple felony counts punishable by confinement in a state correctional facility for an aggregate of 30 years or less, or (iii) 90 days before trial on a felony or multiple felony counts punishable by confinement in a state correctional facility for an aggregate of more than 30 years. The bill also provides a mechanism for redaction of certain personal identifying information and creates a procedure for either party to move the court to enter a protection order with regard to discovery. Finally, the bill grants the court the ability to impose various remedies it deems just if a party fails to comply with any of the requirements. This bill incorporates HB 1153.
Patron: Hayes
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: Marshall
Hemp products intended for smoking. Prohibits the sale to persons under age 21 of hemp products intended for smoking.
Patron: Herring
Possession and consumption of marijuana; penalty. Decriminalizes simple marijuana possession and provides a civil penalty of no more than $25. 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 any violation of simple possession of marijuana may be charged by a summons in form the same as the uniform summons for motor vehicle law violations and that no court costs shall be assessed for such violations. The bill also provides that a person's criminal history record information shall not include records of any charges or judgments for such violations and records of such charges or judgements shall not be reported to the Central Criminal Records Exchange. Additionally, the bill provides that the suspended sentence/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 and creates a rebuttable presumption that a person who possesses no more than one-half ounce of marijuana possesses it for personal use. The bill also (i) makes records relating to the arrest, criminal charge, or conviction of possession of marijuana not open to public inspection and disclosure, except in certain circumstances; (ii) prohibits employers and educational institutions from requiring an applicant for employment or admission to disclose information related to such arrest, criminal charge, or conviction; and (iii) prohibits agencies, officials, and employees of the state and local governments from requiring an applicant for a license, permit, registration, or governmental service to disclose information concerning such arrest, criminal charge, or conviction. Finally, the bill requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry, Finance, Health and Human Resources, and Public Safety and Homeland Security to convene a work group to study the impact on the Commonwealth of legalizing the sale and personal use of marijuana and report the recommendations of the work group to the General Assembly and the Governor by November 1, 2021. This bill incorporates HB 265, HB 301, and HB 481.
Patron: Herring
Petition for writ of actual innocence. Provides that a person who was convicted of a felony or who was adjudicated delinquent by a circuit court of an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult may petition for a writ of actual innocence based on biological evidence or nonbiological evidence regardless of the type of plea he entered at trial. Under current law, such person may petition for a writ based on biological evidence if he entered a plea of not guilty, and any person, regardless of the type of plea he entered at trial, may petition for such writ if he is sentenced to death or convicted or adjudicated delinquent of murder or a felony for which the maximum punishment is imprisonment for life. The bill also (i) allows a writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence to be granted if scientific testing of previously untested evidence, regardless of whether such evidence was available or known at the time of conviction, proves that no trier of fact would have found proof of guilt of the person petitioning for the writ, provided that the testing procedure was not available at the time of conviction, and (ii) eliminates the provision that limits a petitioner to only one writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence for any conviction. The bill provides that the petitioner must prove the allegations supporting either type of writ of actual innocence by a preponderance of the evidence. Currently, the petitioner must prove such allegations by clear and convincing evidence. Finally, the bill clarifies that the Attorney General may join a petition for a writ of actual innocence filed in connection with an adjudication of delinquency.
Patron: Herring
Criminal fiscal impact statements. Provides that no bill resulting in an increase in net periods of imprisonment or commitment shall be (i) reported from a standing committee of the House of Delegates or the Senate or (ii) passed by the House of Delegates or the Senate unless a fiscal impact statement for the current version of the bill has been prepared and is printed on the face of the bill or reported or passed as an amendment to such bill. Current law requires such fiscal impact statements to be prepared and the amount of the estimated appropriation reflected in the fiscal impact statement to be printed on the face of each bill.
The bill clarifies the ability of the Division of Legislative Services to forward an advance copy of such bills to the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission for the preparation of such fiscal impact statements.
Patron: Kory
Common-law crime of suicide. Abolishes the common-law crime of suicide. Suicide is currently a common-law crime in Virginia, although there is no statutorily prescribed punishment.
Patron: Miyares
Injuries to churches or church property; dead animals. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to willfully or maliciously place a dead animal within any church or on church property.
Patron: Bell
Involuntary admission; transportation; transfer to local law enforcement. Establishes procedures for changing the transportation provider designated to provide transportation to a minor or a person who is the subject of a temporary detention order, and provides that in cases in which an alternative transportation provider providing transportation of a minor or a person who is subject to an involuntary admission order becomes unable to continue providing transportation, local law enforcement shall take custody of the minor or person and provide transportation to the proper facility. This bill incorporates HB 1117.
Patron: Wampler
Accounts filed by fiduciaries and reports filed by guardians; civil penalty. Provides that any account filed by a fiduciary with the commissioner of accounts and annual report filed by a guardian with the local department of social services shall be signed under oath and that the punishment for making a false statement or entry in such a filing is a civil penalty of not more than $500.
Patron: Watts
Violation of provisions of protective order; venue. Provides that a violation of a protective order may be prosecuted in the jurisdiction where the protective order was issued or in any county or city where any act constituting the violation of the protective order occurred.
Patron: Tran
Notaries; satisfactory evidence of identity; persons in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Allows expired state issued driver's licenses or state issued identification cards and expired passports to be used as a means of identification for notarial purposes for individuals residing in nursing homes or assisted living facilities, provided such expired documents expired within five years of the date of use for such identification purposes.
Patron: Wilt
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 as part of the four hours of mandatory training in legal issues.
Patron: Torian
Community Policing Act; data collection and reporting requirement. Prohibits law-enforcement officers and State Police officers from engaging in bias-based profiling, defined in the bill, in the performance of their official duties. The bill directs the Department of State Police to create the Community Policing Reporting Database into which sheriffs, police forces, and State Police officers report certain data pertaining to motor vehicle or investigatory stops. The Department is directed to use the database to collect and analyze motor vehicle and investigatory stops and records of complaints alleging the use of excessive force. The data analysis shall be used to determine the existence and prevalence of the practice of bias-based profiling and the prevalence of complaints alleging the use of excessive force. The bill requires that each time a local law-enforcement officer or State Police officer stops a driver of a motor vehicle the officer collect the following data: (i) the race, ethnicity, age, and gender of the person stopped; (ii) the reason for the stop; (iii) the location of the stop; (iv) whether a warning, written citation, or summons was issued or whether any persons were arrested; (v) if a warning, written citation, or summons was issued or an arrest was made, the warning provided, violation charged, or crime charged; and (vi) whether the vehicle or any person was searched. Each state and local law-enforcement agency shall also collect and report to the State Police the number of complaints the agency receives alleging the use of excessive force. The Superintendent of State Police shall annually report the findings and recommendations resulting from the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data from the Database to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Attorney General beginning July 1, 2021. The report shall include information regarding any state or local law-enforcement agency that has failed or refused to report the required data to the Department of State Police. A copy of the report shall be provided to each attorney for the Commonwealth of the county or city in which a reporting law-enforcement agency is located.
Patron: Carroll Foy
Juvenile and domestic relations district court; intake. Makes various changes to the intake procedures for the domestic relations district court, including (i) providing that, if a juvenile is alleged to be a truant, the intake officer may defer filing a petition in order to develop and allow the juvenile to complete a truancy plan or program; (ii) changing the notice requirement for circumstances under which informal action has been taken on a complaint alleging that a juvenile is in need of services, in need of supervision, or delinquent so that the intake officer advises the juvenile and his parents that any subsequent complaint may result in the filing of a petition with the court; and (iii) adding possession of alcohol to the existing offense of possession of marijuana for which, if charged by summons, a juvenile is entitled to have the charge referred to intake for consideration of informal proceedings.
Patron: Byron
Possession, distribution, production, publication, sale, financing, etc., of child pornography; venue. Provides that venue for a prosecution of child pornography possession, distribution, or production may lie in the jurisdiction where the alleged offender resides. Under current law, venue for a prosecution of such offense may lie only in the jurisdiction where the unlawful act occurs or where any sexually explicit visual material associated with the unlawful act is produced, reproduced, found, stored, or possessed. This bill incorporates HB 478.
Patron: Leftwich
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. The bill further requires that a trustee shall comply with all restrictive covenants regarding the affordability of the property and that a trustee under a deed of trust is a fiduciary for both the debtor and the creditor. This bill is in response to Crosby v. ALG Trustee, LLC, 296 Va. 561 (2018).
Patron: Jones
Juvenile confinement for violation of court order. Reduces from 10 days to seven days the maximum allowable period of confinement of a juvenile in a secure facility for a contempt violation or when a child in need of supervision is found to have willfully and materially violated an order of the court. The bill also provides that any order of disposition of such violation confining the juvenile in a secure facility for juveniles shall (i) identify the valid court order that has been violated; (ii) specify the factual basis for determining that there is reasonable cause to believe that the juvenile has violated such order; (iii) state the findings of fact that support a determination that there is no appropriate less restrictive alternative available to placing the juvenile in such a facility, with due consideration to the best interest of the juvenile; (iv) specify the length of time of such confinement, not to exceed seven days; and (v) include a plan for the juvenile's release from such facility.
Patron: Scott
Admission to bail; rebuttable presumptions against bail. Eliminates the provision prohibiting a judicial officer who is a magistrate, clerk, or deputy clerk of a district court or circuit court from admitting to bail, that is not set by a judge, any person who is charged with an offense giving rise to a rebuttable presumption against bail without the concurrence of an attorney for the Commonwealth.
Patron: Bourne
Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund. Establishes the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund to be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services for the purpose of supporting gun violence intervention and prevention programs, including street outreach, hospital-based violence intervention, and group violence intervention programs.
Patron: Delaney
Prostitution; touching the intimate parts of another; penalty. Provides that any person who touches the intimate parts of another with the intent to sexually arouse or gratify for money is guilty of prostitution, which is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also provides that any person who receives any money on account of procuring for or placing in a house of prostitution any person for the purpose of causing such person to engage in the touching of the intimate parts of another person with the intent to sexually arouse or gratify is guilty of a Class 4 felony. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Patron: Carter
Strip searches of children. Provides that no child under the age of 14 shall be strip searched and that a child who is 14 years of age or older but under 18 years of age shall not be strip searched unless such child and such child's parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of such child has authorized or consented to the strip search. The bill also provides that no person shall be denied noncontact visitation on the basis of withholding such authorization or consent. The bill provides exceptions for (i) children committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice or confined or detained in a secure local facility for juveniles or a jail or other facility for the detention of adults; (ii) persons in custodial arrests for a traffic infraction, Class 3 or 4 misdemeanor, or violation of a city, county, or town ordinance that is punishable by no more than 30 days in jail where there is reasonable cause to believe on the part of a law-enforcement officer that the individual is concealing a weapon; or (iii) persons taken into custody by or remanded to a law-enforcement officer pursuant to a circuit or district court order.
Patron: Leftwich
Sex offenders in emergency shelters; notification registration penalty. 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 the shelter's staff that such person is a registered sex offender. The bill provides that any person who fails to notify the shelter's staff of his status as a registered sex offender is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. The bill provides that the shelter's staff may request a law-enforcement officer or agency to access the publicly available information on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry regarding such person and use such information to ensure the safety of all persons in the shelter. The bill also provides that the state emergency operations plan and each political subdivision emergency operations plan shall (i) set forth the procedures for persons required to register or reregister who enter an emergency shelter to provide the required notification and (ii) provide for the accommodation in an emergency shelter of persons required to register or reregister with due regard to the health and safety of all persons in the emergency shelter. The bill requires that the Department of State Police provide to any registered sex offender at the time of his initial registration a summary of his obligation to inform the staff of an emergency shelter of his status as a registered sex offender.
Patron: VanValkenburg
Possession of tobacco products, nicotine vapor products, and alternative nicotine products by persons under 21 years of age; exception; scientific study. Provides an exception to the law prohibiting possession of tobacco products, nicotine vapor products, or alternative nicotine products by a person less than 21 years of age when such possession is part of a scientific study being conducted by an organization for the purpose of medical research to further efforts in cigarette and tobacco use prevention and cessation and tobacco product regulation, provided that such medical research has been approved by an institutional review board pursuant to applicable federal regulations or by a research review committee.
Patron: Heretick
Tax delinquent real property; correction of tax records. Transfers from the local clerk of court to the local treasurer the duties of maintaining records of delinquent real property taxes and sales of such property and of correcting records relating to such property.
Patron: Brewer
Victims of human trafficking; affirmative defense to prosecution for certain offenses. Provides an affirmative defense to prosecution for prostitution and keeping, residing in, or frequenting a bawdy place if, at the time of the offense leading to such charge, such person was a victim of human trafficking, as defined in the bill, and (i) was coerced to engage in the offense through the use of force or intimidation of another, (ii) such offense was committed as part of a commercial sex trafficking scheme, or (iii) such offense was committed at the direction of an operator of a commercial sex trafficking scheme. The bill also states that a victim of human trafficking may raise such affirmative defense regardless of whether any other person has been arrested for, prosecuted for, charged with, or convicted of an offense.
Patron: Bourne
Threats and harassment of certain officials and property; venue. Provides that certain crimes relating to threats and harassment may be prosecuted in the City of Richmond if the victim is (i) the Governor, Governor-elect, Lieutenant Governor, Lieutenant Governor-elect, Attorney General, or Attorney General-elect, a member or employee of the General Assembly, a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, or a judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia and (ii) such official or employee was threatened or harassed while engaged in the performance of his public duties or because of his position with the Commonwealth. In addition, threats to damage property may be prosecuted in the City of Richmond if the property is owned by the Commonwealth and located in the Capitol District.
Patron: Campbell, J.L.
Judicial assistants. Provides that a judicial assistant serving a circuit court judge and whose position is funded in whole or in part by a county or city shall serve at the pleasure and under the sole management and supervision of the presiding judge of the circuit court.