SB 815 Virginia Senate · 2020 Regular Session

Marijuana; decriminalization of simple possession, penalty.

Summary
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. This bill was incorporated into SB 2.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2020
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 8, 2020 Last action Jan 29, 2020
Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
0
Committee
2
Jan 16, 2020
Committee
Assigned Judiciary sub: Criminal Law
upper
Jan 8, 2020
Committee
Referred to Committee on the Judiciary
upper
Jan 8, 2020
Introduced
Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20103848D
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
JM
Joe Morrissey
DDemocratic
VA
16