Adjust text size
Home > VACP News > Preview: 2011 Virginia General Assembly

Preview: 2011 Virginia General Assembly

January 12, 2011 | VACP

The report below is a partial list of bills that have been introduced, as well as a report on the bills carried over from the 2010 session that were NOT acted on prior to the 2011 session. This list will be updated and sent to VACP Members periodically.

The most critical issue will be funding, both for the retirement system and for law enforcement agencies. The VACP will follow these issues closely and keep you apprised of any progress.

Please let me know about specific legislation of interest to you so I can include it in our legislative tracking.

-- .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Important Dates:

  • January 12, 2011 – Opening day of General Assembly session
  • February 8, 2011 – Crossover 
  • February 26, 2011 – Session Adjours

(Complete Session Calendar - PDF)

Key Vacancies:

Key Budget Issues:

  • Retirement system
  • Law enforcement support funding (599 funding, state law enforcement agency budgets)
  • Possible ABC privatization
  • Dedicated state funding for LOD benefits fund vs. local responsibility
  • Funding for transportation projects

Pre-filed Legislation for 2011:

HB 1403 (Loupassi) – Forfeiture of vehicle used to elude police. Provides that any vehicle driven to elude police and in such a manner as to interfere with or endanger the operation of a law-enforcement vehicle or officer or to endanger a person (in violation of subsection B of § 46.2-817) shall be forfeited and sold by the sheriff. The proceeds of the sale are to be delivered to the Literary Fund.

HB 1404 (A. Howell) – Use of handheld personal communications devices; penalty. Prohibits any use of a handheld personal communications device while operating a motor vehicle, bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, or moped on the highways in the Commonwealth and makes such use a primary offense.

HB 1420 (Albo) – Enforcement of immigration laws; agreement with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Provides that the Superintendent of State Police shall seek to enter into a memorandum of agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would allow the State Police to perform certain federal immigration law-enforcement functions in the Commonwealth. Such an agreement is often referred to as an agreement under the federal 287(g) program.

HB 1421 (Albo) – Enforcement of federal immigration law by the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions.  Provides that no agency of the Commonwealth, political subdivision of the Commonwealth or locality, or an employee of any of them acting in his official capacity, may limit or restrict the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law. The bill also provides, in a second enactment, that the Governor may withhold the appropriation of state funds under his control to any agency, political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or locality in violation of this act, or to any agency, political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or locality whose employee is in violation of this act, in an amount deemed sufficient to ensure compliance, and shall release the funds to the entity when compliance is achieved.

HB 1423 (P. Miller) – Penalties for possession, sale, gift, distribution or possession with intent to sell, give or distribute synthetic marijuana. Creates a new category for "synthetic marijuana" as a series of controlled substances listed in Schedule 1 (§ 54.1-3446) of the Drug Control Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.). Notwithstanding the provisions regarding punishment for possession and distribution of controlled substances listed in Schedule 1, punishment for possession and distribution of synthetic marijuana is largely in accord with the provisions for actual marijuana.

HB 1424 (Dance) – Wireless telecommunications devices in motor vehicles. Extends prohibition on the use of wireless telecommunications devices in motor vehicles to talking on such device only when the device is configured for hands-free operation and is being used in the hands-free mode.

HB 1426 (Oder) – Taxicabs; markings and roof signs.  Requires taxicabs to have markings and roof signs identifying them as operating as taxicabs or performing taxicab services.

HB 1430 (Albo) – Arresting officer to ascertain citizenship of arrestee. Supplements the existing law that requires sheriffs to make a query into legal presence when a person is "taken into custody" at a jail. This bill expands such inquiries by requiring inquiries of everyone arrested, independent of whether they were taken into custody at a jail and requires that an arresting officer inquire of every arrestee whether he (i) was born in a country other than the United States and (ii) is a citizen of a country other than the United States and that, if the person responds he was born in another country and is not a citizen of the United States, the officer shall make an immigration alien query to the Law Enforcement Support Center of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and shall communicate the results of any immigration alien query to the Central Criminal Records Exchange of the Department of State Police in a format approved by the Exchange.

HB 1449 (Crockett-Stark) – Possession of certain substances with intent to manufacture methamphetamines.  Refines the list of substances involved in the manufacture of methamphetamine, the possession of two of which, coupled with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine, is punished as a Class 6 felony. The change is intended to capture substances used in new methods of manufacture and to capture by-products, as well as precursors, of manufacture.

HB 1455 (Landes) – Supervision and control of wiretap devices.  Specifies that wiretap devices in the possession of any sheriff's office or police department shall be under the control and supervision of the sheriff or chief of police and not under his “direct” control.

HB 1457 (Marshall) – Freedom of Information Act; violations and penalties.  Provides that public employees may be terminated or otherwise disciplined for knowing and willful violations of FOIA. The bill also clarifies existing law that officers, employees, and members of public bodies may be subject to civil penalties for knowing and willful violations of FOIA.

HB 1546 (Kory) – Use of handheld personal communications devices in motor vehicles; penalty. Makes texting while driving a primary offense.

HB 1552 (Cox) – Issuance of concealed handgun permits. Amends the language relating to the issuance of de facto concealed handgun permits. Current law states that if a court does not issue a permit or find that the applicant is disqualified, within 45 days of receipt of the application, the clerk is to certify the application and send it to the applicant. The certified application then serves as a de facto permit until the actual permit is issued or the applicant is found to be disqualified. The bill states that the clerk must mail the certified application to the applicant within five business days of the expiration of the 45-day period.

HB 1579 (Dance) – Sex offender registry; penalties when registrants do not disclose all real property owned in State. Requires registrants to disclose all real property owned in the Commonwealth, including property that they own jointly or through a corporation or partnership. Access to the real property information must be available on the State Police maintained website.

HB 1574 (Garrett) – Mandatory self-identification; failure to identify oneself to law-enforcement officer. Provides that any person, when he is lawfully detained by a law-enforcement officer under circumstances that reasonably indicate that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime, and is requested by the officer to identify himself, shall do so. Any such person who refuses to identify himself is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

HB 1573 (Cleaveland) – Castle doctrine; encodes version allowing use of deadly force, etc. against an intruder in dwelling. Encodes a version of the "castle doctrine," allowing the use of physical force, including deadly force, against an intruder in his dwelling who has committed an overt act against him, without civil liability.

HJ 497 (Dance) – Constitutional amendment (first resolution); restoration of civil rights. Authorizes the General Assembly to provide by general law for the restoration of civil rights for persons convicted of felonies who have completed service of their sentence including any period or condition of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The present Constitution provides for restoration of rights by the Governor. The proposed amendment retains the right of the Governor to restore civil rights and adds the alternative for restoration of rights pursuant to general law.

SB 745 (Mark Herring) – Penalties for possession, sale, gift, distribution or possession with intent to sell, give or distribute synthetic marijuana. Creates a new category for "synthetic marijuana" as a series of controlled substances listed in Schedule 1 (§ 54.1-3446) of the Drug Control Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.). Notwithstanding the provisions regarding punishment for possession and distribution of controlled substances listed in Schedule 1, punishment for possession and distribution of synthetic marijuana is largely in accord with the provisions for actual marijuana. (other similar bills also have been filed)

SB 747 (McEachin) – Nondiscrimination in state employment. Prohibits discrimination in state employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or status as a special disabled veteran or other veteran covered by the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended. The bill defines "sexual orientation" as a person's actual or perceived heterosexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality, or gender identity or expression. The bill expressly provides that "sexual orientation" shall not include any person's attraction toward persons with whom sexual conduct would be illegal due to the age of the parties. The bill contains technical amendments.

SB 754 (Reynolds) – Preliminary protective orders.  Makes the prohibition on purchasing and transporting a firearm applicable to persons subject to preliminary protective orders that contain a finding of abuse. Under current law, persons subject to a preliminary protective order are prohibited from purchasing or transporting a firearm regardless of any court finding.

SB 755 (Reynolds) – Concealed handgun permits; disqualification for residential mental health or substance abuse treatment.  Allows a person who has received mental health treatment or substance abuse treatment in a residential setting within five years from the application to petition the court for a permit to carry a concealed handgun. Currently, such persons are disqualified from obtaining a permit within five years of receiving residential treatment.

SB 762 (Puller) – Emergency vehicles proceeding past red lights.  Provides that emergency vehicles proceeding past any steady or flashing red signals, traffic lights, stop signs, or other devices indicating moving traffic shall stop must sound a siren, exhaust whistle, or air horn designed to give automatically intermittent signals or bring the vehicle to a complete stop before proceeding with due regard to the safety of persons and property.

SB 767 (Marsden) – Expungement of protective orders.  Provides that a person against whom a protective order has been issued may petition to have police and court records relating to the protective order expunged if the order is subsequently dissolved by the issuing court.

SB 770 (Marsden) – Punishment for underage drinking and driving; penalty.  Provides that "zero tolerance" (0.02% BAC) underage drinking and driving is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Currently, the punishment is loss of license for six months and a fine of no more than $500. This bill provides that the punishment includes, but is not limited to, forfeiture of such person's license to operate a motor vehicle for a period of one year from the date of conviction and either a mandatory minimum fine of $500 or 50 hours of community service.

SB 772 (Locke) – Assault and battery; fire marshals; penalty.  Adds fire marshals and assistant fire marshals who have police powers to the definition of law-enforcement officer in the assault and battery criminal provision, which means that the punishment for committing an assault and battery on such a person who is engaged in the performance of his public duties is elevated from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony, with a six-month mandatory minimum term of confinement.

SB 797 (Locke) – Virginia Human Rights Act; unlawful discriminatory practice; sexual orientation. Adds sexual orientation to the definition of unlawful discriminatory practice.

SB 788 (Watkins) – Wireless E-911 Fund; distributions. Amends the procedure by which the Wireless E-911 Services Board distributes funds in the Wireless E-911 Fund. The measure requires the Board to recalculate the distribution percentage for each public safety answering point annually before the start of each fiscal year based on the cost and call load data from one or more of the previous fiscal years. Currently, the Board calculates the distribution formula each October based on the data from the prior year.

Carry-Over Legislation from 2010:

(All were left in committee. These bills will not be heard unless patrons reintroduce new bills for 2011.)

HB 15 (R. Marshall) – Custody in state and local correctional facilities of those accused or convicted of federal terrorism. Provides that no person who is accused or convicted of terrorism in violation of federal law, as terrorism is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2331, shall be held in custody in any state, regional, or local correction facility unless (i) such person is also accused or convicted of a violation of state or local law or (ii) there is an agreement or contract with the federal government, as of June 30, 2010, to hold federal prisoners, which may include any such person, at such state, regional, or local correctional facility. (LEFT IN COMMITTEE)

HB 164 (Pogge) – Protective orders; GPS devices.  Authorizes a judicial officer to require that a protective order respondent be subject to GPS monitoring. (LIC)

HB 207 (Alexander) – Conduct of police lineups.  Establishes a uniform procedure to be used in all lineups by all law-enforcement agencies intended to ensure maximum accuracy of the procedure. The bill requires that the person who administers the lineup be a person who is not involved in the investigation of the criminal incident at issue and who does not know the identity of the suspect, that only one photograph or person is displayed to the eyewitness at a time, that all information about the suspect is kept from the eyewitness, that the lineup be recorded by videotape, audiotape or in writing by the administrator, and that the quality of the procedures used is subject to review in court by the finder of fact. (Crime Commission study) (LIC)

HB 216 (McClellan) – Assault and battery against a family or household member; protective order; penalty.  Provides that a person who commits an assault and battery against a person who is protected by the provisions of a protective order is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and for a third offense, a Class 6 felony. (LIC)

HB 453 (Herring) – Service of protective orders.  Provides that a law-enforcement officer may effect service of a protective order by personally serving the person subject to the order with either (i) a copy of the order or (ii) a notification of the issuance of the order, which shall be on a form approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia. The officer making service shall enter or cause to be entered the date and time of service and other appropriate information into the Virginia Criminal Information Network and make due return to the court. (LIC)

HB 661 (Englin) – Line of Duty Death and Health Benefits Fund. Establishes the Line of Duty Death and Health Benefits Fund to pay the death and health insurance premium benefits to individuals covered by the Line of Duty Act (§ 9.1-400 et seq.) and the death benefit provided to state and local government employees who have been killed in action after being called to active duty services under Title 10 of the United States Code. The Fund is funded through a $.018 surcharge for E-911 service. (LIC)

HB 1020 (Hugo) – Loitering in public places. Provides that any locality may by ordinance prohibit congregating or loitering in, upon or around any public place for the purposes of solicitation for work. (LIC)

SB208 (Barker) – Family or household member; definition.  Includes within the definition of a person's "family or household member" any individual who is currently or was formerly involved in a substantive, intimate dating relationship with the person; the existence of such a substantive relationship shall be determined based on (i) the length of the relationship, (ii) the nature of the relationship, and (iii) the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. A casual relationship or ordinary fraternization in a business or social context does not constitute a dating relationship. Expanding the definition of "family or household member" implicates crimes for which a family or household member is a victim (e.g., assault and battery against a family member) and protective orders under which a person may be protected (e.g., protective orders in cases of family abuse). (LIC)

SB 256 (Y. Miller) – Driver's licenses; REAL ID.  Makes documents required for renewal, reissue, or duplication of driver's licenses and identification cards compliant with REAL ID. (LIC)

SB 287 (Deeds) – Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act; definition of law-enforcement officer. Includes certain employees of a sheriff's department under the coverage of the Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act, so long as the employees would not be considered exempt employees for purposes of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. (LIC)

SB 320 (Ruff) – Crimes; falsely summoning or giving false reports to law-enforcement officials; penalty.  Increases from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony falsely summoning or giving false reports to a law-enforcement official. (LIC)

SB 604 (Locke) – Crimes; assault and battery of ABC agent.  Provides for an offender who assaults a special agent of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control because of his employment to be prosecuted for a Class 6 felony. (LIC)

SB 711 (Edwards) – Freedom of Information Act; disclosure of criminal investigative records.  Limits the exemption for criminal investigative or prosecution records to those investigations or prosecutions that are ongoing. As a result, criminal investigative and prosecution records would be open to the public after the ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution has become final or has been otherwise terminated, unless there is jeopardy to any other criminal investigation or prosecution. The bill contains technical amendments. (LIC)

 

Contact:
Dana Schrad, Executive Director
Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police
Office: 804-285-8227
Fax: 804-285-3363
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Mobile: 804-338-9512

Next entry: New Facebook pages post Amber Alerts nationwide

Previous entry: No seat belts in 42% of fatal police car crashes