Removal of public officers from office; petition requirements, procedure.

Removal of public officers from office; petition requirements; procedure. Requires the signatures collected on a petition for removal of certain public officers to be collected within 90 days of the first signature being collected and provides that no signatures gathered after such period shall count toward the required number. The attorney for the Commonwealth is required to request that the court dismiss the petition, and the court is required to do so, if the factual or legal allegations made by the petition are not materially different than the factual or legal allegations set forth in a previously filed petition or litigated in a trial pursuant to a previously filed petition that was against the same subject and that was dismissed with prejudice or that did not result in the subject's removal from office at trial. The bill also provides that, in proceedings to remove a public officer from office, if the attorney for the Commonwealth who would be responsible for reviewing a removal petition and determining whether valid grounds for removal exist or for representing the Commonwealth at a removal proceeding has a conflict of interest or is otherwise unavailable, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia shall appoint an alternate attorney for the Commonwealth. Lastly, the bill provides that discovery shall not be permitted prior to a determination that the petition states valid grounds to proceed to trial.