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.
2018 SESSION
Chairman: Mark D. Obenshain
Clerk: Hobie Lehman
Staff: Kristen Walsh, C. Quagliato
Date of Meeting: January 29, 2018
Time and Place: 8 AM / Senate Room A, Pocahontas Building
Updated to add SB 987
Patron: Stanley
Marijuana offenses; driver's license forfeiture. Eliminates the requirement that the Virginia Department of Transportation receive written assurance from the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation that Virginia will not lose any federal funds as a prerequisite to implementing revisions enacted in 2017 that except persons who have been placed on deferred disposition for simple possession of marijuana, subject to certain exceptions, from the existing provision that a person loses his driver's license for six months when convicted of or placed on deferred disposition for a drug offense. The bill contains an emergency clause.
EMERGENCY
Patron: Stanley
Expungement of police and court records; deceased persons. Provides that in the event that a person who is entitled to bring a petition for expungement dies before filing a petition, the next of kin of the decedent may file on the decedent's behalf within three years after the death of the decedent. The bill also provides that if a person who is entitled to bring a petition for expungement dies while such petition is pending, his next of kin may continue to prosecute such petition on the decedent's behalf.
Patron: Favola
Marijuana; reduced penalties for distribution or possession with intent to distribute. 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 reduces the criminal penalties for distribution of or possession with intent to distribute certain greater weights of marijuana and creates a rebuttable presumption that a person who possesses no more than one ounce of marijuana possesses it for personal use.
Patron: Marsden
Expungement of police and court records; deceased persons. Provides that in the event that a person who is entitled to bring a petition for expungement dies before filing a petition, the next of kin of the decedent may file on the decedent's behalf within three years after the death of the decedent. The bill also provides that if a person who is entitled to bring a petition for expungement dies while such petition is pending, his next of kin may continue to prosecute such petition on the decedent's behalf.
Patron: Ebbin
Marijuana; decriminalization of simple marijuana possession. 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 and driver's license suspension provisions apply only to criminal violations or to civil violations by a juvenile. The bill provides that a court may suspend a driver's license for a civil violation committed by an adult. 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: Howell
Admissibility of prior inconsistent statements in a criminal case. Provides that in all criminal cases, evidence of a prior statement that is inconsistent with testimony at the hearing or trial is admissible if the testifying witness is subject to cross-examination and the prior statement (i) was made by the witness under oath at a trial, hearing, or other proceeding or (ii) narrates, describes, or explains an event or condition of which the witness had personal knowledge and (a) the statement is proved to have been written or signed by the witness; (b) the witness acknowledges under oath the making of the statement in his testimony at the hearing or trial in which the admission into evidence of the prior statement is being sought; or (c) the statement is proved to have been accurately recorded by using an audio recorder, a video/audio recorder, or any other similar electronic means of sound recording. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Patron: Stanley
Electronic transmission of nude or partially nude images of minors by minors; penalty. Provides that a minor who knowingly transmits, distributes, publishes, or disseminates any videographic or still image to another minor, by any means whatsoever on any device or through any media or through the use of a computer system, that depicts a minor who is totally nude or in a state of undress so as to expose the genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breasts is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill authorizes the court to defer and dismiss a first offense.
Patron: Black
Unmanned aircraft by a locality; search warrant; exception. Authorizes a state or local government department, agency, or instrumentality having jurisdiction over criminal law-enforcement or regulatory violations to utilize an unmanned aircraft system without a search warrant when such system is utilized to support any locality for a purpose other than law enforcement.
Patron: Petersen
Eminent domain proceedings; prompt payment of funds. Requires, upon final settlement or determination in an eminent domain proceeding, that any funds due to the land owner, whether such funds are in the possession of the court or are outstanding, shall be payable promptly to the land owner or to the land owner's attorney, if such land owner is represented by counsel.
Patron: Peake
Forfeiture of property used in connection with the commission of crimes; finding of guilt required. Requires that any action for the forfeiture of property used in connection with the commission of a crime be stayed until the owner of the property or the person in whose custody such property is found has been found guilty of the crime authorizing the forfeiture, regardless of whether he has been sentenced. The bill provides that property may be forfeited even though no finding of guilt is made if (i) the forfeiture is ordered by the court pursuant to a plea agreement or (ii) the owner of the property or the person in whose custody the property is found has not submitted a written demand for the return of the property within one year from the date the property was seized.
Patron: Peake
School boards; employment of certain individuals. Prohibits any school board from employing (i) any individual who has been convicted of any felony offense against a child; a certain act of violence or violent felony; or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse, or rape of a child or (ii) any other individual who has been convicted of any other felony offense unless such individual has had his civil rights restored by the Governor and at least 5 years have passed since such conviction.
Patron: Chafin
Foreclosure; notice of sale when owner is deceased. Provides that when the owner of a property to be sold by a trustee pursuant to a deed of trust is deceased, the notice of the sale shall be delivered to the last known address of the deceased owner, any personal representative of the decedent's estate, and any heirs of the decedent as recorded in the land records where the property is located.
Patron: Howell
Confidentiality of victim telephone numbers and email addresses in criminal cases. Provides that upon request of a crime victim or a witness in a criminal prosecution of a violent felony, law enforcement, the attorney for the Commonwealth, counsel for a defendant, and the Department of Corrections are prohibited from disclosing any telephone number or email address of such victim or witness except to the extent that such disclosure is required by law, necessary for law-enforcement purposes, or permitted by the court. The bill also provides that during any criminal proceeding, upon motion of the defendant or the attorney for the Commonwealth, a judge may prohibit testimony as to any telephone number or email address of a victim or witness if the judge determines that this information is not material under the circumstances of the case. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Patron: Obenshain
Restitution; collection; Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund. Adds to the duties of the Workers' Compensation Commission in its role as administrator of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund (Fund) the obligation to identify and locate victims for whom restitution owed to such victims has been deposited into the Fund. The bill provides that clerks shall deposit into the Fund on an annual basis restitution collected for victims who can no longer be identified or located. The bill requires that clerks record the receipt of restitution payments in the Virginia Supreme Court's automated information system and that the restitution form used by the court include the victim's contact information, including address, telephone number, and email address.
Patron: Obenshain
DNA analysis upon conviction of certain misdemeanors. Adds misdemeanor violations of §§ 18.2-57 (assault and battery), 18.2-57.2 (assault and battery against a family or household member), 18.2-96 (petit larceny), 18.2-103 (concealing merchandise; altering price tags), 18.2-119 (trespass), 18.2-137 (destruction of property), and 18.2-460 (obstruction of justice) to the list of offenses for which an adult convicted of such offense must have a sample of his blood, saliva, or tissue taken for DNA analysis. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Patron: Obenshain
Report of arrests; fingerprints; trespass; disorderly conduct. Requires that a law-enforcement agency make a report of any arrest of a person for trespassing (§ 18.2-119) or disorderly conduct (§ 18.2-415) to the Central Criminal Records Exchange and that such report be accompanied by the fingerprints and photograph of the person arrested. Under current law, such a report is required for all other misdemeanors punishable by confinement in jail under Title 18.2 (Crimes and Offenses Generally). This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Patron: Ebbin
Suspension of driver's license for nonpayment of fines or costs. Removes the requirement that a court suspend the driver's license of a person convicted of any violation of the law who fails or refuses to provide for immediate payment of fines or costs. The bill allows a court, after 90 days of nonpayment where the court finds the nonpayment was not an intentional refusal to obey the sentence of the court, to provide additional time for payment, reduce the amount of each payment installment, assign community service in lieu of payment, or waive the unpaid portion in whole or in part. Upon a finding that the nonpayment was an intentional refusal to obey the sentence of the court, a court may suspend the defendant's driver's license until payment in full or until the defendant enters into a payment plan.
Patron: Vogel
Possession or distribution of marijuana for medical purposes; affirmative defense for treatment of certain conditions. Provides an affirmative defense to prosecution for possession of marijuana if a person has a valid written certification issued by a practitioner for cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil for treatment of, or to alleviate the symptoms of, cancer, glaucoma, human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, Alzheimer's disease, nail patella, cachexia or wasting syndrome, multiple sclerosis, or complex regional pain syndrome. Under current law, only the treatment of intractable epilepsy is covered by the affirmative defense.
Patron: Surovell
Electronic transmission of sexually explicit images by minors; penalties. Provides that a minor who (i) knowingly transmits, distributes, publishes, or disseminates to another minor an electronically transmitted communication containing a sexually explicit image of his own person or (ii) knowingly possesses at least one but not more than 10 electronically transmitted communications containing a sexually explicit image of another minor is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Patron: Surovell
Expungement of police and court records; plea agreements. Provides that any provision in any plea agreement that purports to waive, release, or extinguish the right of a person to file a petition requesting the expungement of police and court records shall be void and unenforceable as against public policy.
Patron: McPike
DNA sample after arrest; certain misdemeanors. Adds indecent exposure and obscene sexual display to the list of crimes for which a DNA sample must be taken upon arrest for commission or attempted commission of such crimes. The provisions of the bill apply only to persons convicted on or after July 1, 2018.
Patron: Deeds
Restitution form; completion by court or clerk of court. Provides that the required form outlining the amount of restitution and repayment terms shall be completed by the court or clerk of court if the attorney for the Commonwealth serves part-time. Under current law, if the attorney for the Commonwealth participated in the prosecution of the defendant who owes restitution, such attorney shall complete the restitution form, regardless of his employment status.
Patron: Dunnavant
CBD oil and THC-A oil; certification for use; dispensing. Provides that a practitioner may issue a written certification for the use of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil for the treatment or to alleviate the symptoms of any diagnosed condition or disease determined by the practitioner to benefit from such use. Under current law, a practitioner may only issue such certification for the treatment or to alleviate the symptoms of intractable epilepsy. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.
Patron: Peake
Department of Criminal Justice Services to review pretrial services agencies; report. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services (Department) to annually review each pretrial services agency to determine compliance with its biennial plan and operating standards. Current law requires the Department to review each pretrial services agency periodically. The bill also requires the Department to report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on the performance of each pretrial services agency. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Patron: Marsden
CBD oil and THC-A oil; certification for use; dispensing. Provides that a practitioner may issue a written certification for the use of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil for the treatment or to alleviate the symptoms of any diagnosed condition or disease. Under current law, a practitioner may only issue such certification for the treatment or to alleviate the symptoms of intractable epilepsy. The bill increases the supply of CBD oil or THC-A oil a pharmaceutical processor may dispense from a 30-day supply to a 90-day supply. The bill reduces the minimum amount of cannabidiol or tetrahydrocannabinol acid per milliliter for a dilution of the Cannabis plant to fall under the definition of CBD oil or THC-A oil, respectively. The bill provides that any agent or employee of a pharmaceutical processor is authorized to deliver CBD oil or THC-A oil. Finally, the bill provides that no agent or employee of a pharmaceutical processor can be prosecuted for the possession or manufacture of marijuana or the possession, manufacture, or distribution of CBD oil or THC-A oil if such agent or employee is acting in accordance with certain statutes and regulations. Under current law, such agents and employees may be prosecuted but it is considered an affirmative defense if such agents or employees act in accordance with such statutes and regulations.
Patron: Petersen
Eminent domain; calculation of lost profits. Amends, in the definitions of "lost profits" and "business profit" for the purposes of eminent domain, the period for which lost profits are calculated to a period not to exceed three years from the later of (i) the date of valuation or (ii) the date the state agency or its contractor prevents the owner from using the land or any of the owner's other property rights are taken. Under current law, lost profits are calculated for a period not to exceed (a) three years from the date of valuation if less than the entire parcel of property is taken or (b) one year from the date of valuation if the entire parcel of property is taken. The bill specifies that the person claiming lost profits is entitled to compensation whether part of the property or the entire parcel of property is taken. The bill further specifies that if the owner is not named in the petition for condemnation, he may intervene in the proceeding and that proceedings to adjudicate lost profits may be bifurcated from the other proceedings to determine just compensation if the lost profits claim period will not expire until one year or later from the date of the filing of the petition for condemnation, but such bifurcation shall not prevent the entry of an order confirming indefeasible title to the land interests acquired by the condemning authority.
Patron: Peake
Sharing of forfeited assets; report. Provides that a state or local agency that receives a forfeited asset or an equitable share of the net proceeds of a forfeited asset from the Department of Criminal Justice Services (Department) or from a federal asset forfeiture proceeding shall inform the Department (i) whether such forfeited asset or equitable share was associated with a criminal charge and (ii) if such charge led to a conviction. The bill also provides that the Department shall include such information in the annual report that it provides to the Governor and the General Assembly concerning the sharing of forfeited assets.
Patron: Norment
Restitution; penalties other than fines; limitations on actions. Provides that the enforcement of an order of restitution docketed as a civil judgment is not subject to any statute of limitations. The bill also provides that the recovery of penalties or costs due the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof may be enforced within 60 years from the date of the offense or delinquency giving rise to imposition of such penalty if imposed by a circuit court or within 30 years if imposed by a general district court. Current law provides that such recovery of penalties or costs due shall occur within 20 years from the date of the offense or delinquency giving rise to imposition of such penalty if imposed by a circuit court or within 10 years if imposed by a general district court.
Patron: Chase
Eminent domain; lost profits. The bill redefines lost profits for the purposes of calculating an award in an eminent domain proceeding as a loss of business profits from a business or farm operation for a period not to exceed three years from the date of valuation, regardless of the amount of property that is taken. Under current law, lost profits are calculated for a period not to exceed three years from the date of valuation if there is a partial taking of property and for a period not to exceed one year from the date of valuation if the entire parcel of property is taken.
Patron: Obenshain
Office of the Attorney General; employment of special counsel. Provides that when entering into a contract with special counsel, the Office of the Governor or Office of the Attorney General, as applicable, must make a copy of the contract available to the public on the website of the Governor or the Attorney General. However, the Attorney General may temporarily not disclose such information upon making a written determination that such action is necessary to protect attorney-client or otherwise privileged information or that immediate disclosure of the existence of special counsel, or any other sensitive information, could compromise the initiation, handling, or conclusion of any investigation or case matter handled by the Attorney General or special counsel and might put the Commonwealth and its citizens at a disadvantage. The bill also provides that prior to entering into a contract with special counsel, the Attorney General must make a written determination that the representation is both cost-effective and in the public interest. In addition, the bill (i) requires the Governor and the Attorney General to submit an annual report to the General Assembly describing the use of contracts for special counsel; (ii) provides that the Attorney General, or counsel to the Governor in cases in which the Attorney General has a conflict, shall retain control over special counsel; and (iii) limits the contingency fee that may be charged by special counsel depending on the amount recovered.
Patron: Surovell
Withholding of income for child support; independent contractors. Requires any person who contracts with an independent contractor, as defined in the bill, to submit information regarding any new independent contractor to the Virginia New Hire Reporting Center for the purposes of income withholding by the Division of Child Support Enforcement. The bill also makes clear that income earned by an independent contractor may be withheld by court order for payment of child support obligations.
Patron: Stuart
Protective orders; issuance upon convictions for certain felonies; penalty. Authorizes a court to issue a protective order upon convicting a defendant for a felony offense of (i) violating a protective order, (ii) homicide set forth in Article 1 (§ 18.2-30 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (iii) kidnapping set forth in Article 3 (§ 18.2-47 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (iv) assaults and bodily woundings set forth in Article 4 (§ 18.2-51 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (v) extortion set forth in Article 6 (§ 18.2-59 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, or (vi) criminal sexual assault set forth in Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2. The bill provides that the duration of such protective order can be for any period of time, including up to the lifetime of the defendant, that the court deems necessary to protect the health and safety of the victim and may only prohibit (a) acts of family abuse or of violence, force, or threat against the victim or criminal offenses that may result in injury to the person or property of the victim and (b) such contacts by the defendant with the victim as the court deems necessary for the health or safety of the victim. The bill provides that a violation of a protective order issued upon conviction of one of the enumerated offenses is punishable as contempt of court or in the same manner as criminal violations of other protective orders are punished.
Patron: Norment
Possession of marijuana; first offense; expungement; penalty. Reduces the penalties for possession of marijuana to a fine of not more than $500. Current law provides that the possession of marijuana may be punished by confinement in jail for not more than 30 days and subject to a fine of not more than $500. The bill also provides that a first offense for possession of marijuana is eligible for expungement. The bill provides that any person seeking expungement of a first-offense marijuana charge shall be assessed a $300 fee, which shall be paid into the Heroin and Prescription Opioid Epidemic Fund. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2019, except for the provisions related to the reduction of penalties for possession of marijuana, which shall become effective July 1, 2018. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron: Sturtevant
Calculation of child support obligation; multiple custody arrangements. Establishes methods by which child support obligations can be calculated when multiple custody arrangements exist between parents of children subject to child support orders.
Patron: Sturtevant
Guidelines for the determination of a child support obligation; child support orders. Requires the court or Department of Social Services to attach the guidelines relied upon in computing a child support obligation to any child support order issued by such court or the Department.
Patron: Lucas
Paramilitary activities; penalty. Provides that a person is guilty of unlawful paramilitary activity if such person assembles with another person with the intent of intimidating any person or group of persons by drilling, parading, or marching with any firearm or explosive or incendiary device or any components or combination thereof. Such unlawful paramilitary activity is punishable as a Class 5 felony.