Virginia Bills

Removing, altering, etc., serial number on firearm; selling, giving, etc., or possessing firearm with removed, altered, etc., serial number; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person, firm, association, or corporation to knowingly possess any pistol, shotgun, rifle, machine gun, or any other firearm that has a serial number that has been removed, altered, changed, destroyed, or obliterated in any manner. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person, firm, association, or corporation to sell, give, or distribute any pistol, shotgun, rifle, machine gun, or other firearm that has a serial number that has been removed, defaced, altered, changed, destroyed, or obliterated in any manner. The bill contains a reenactment clause.

Search warrants; execution. Provides thata law-enforcement officer may seek, execute, or participate in the execution of a no-knock warrant if authorized by a judge for goodcause shown by particularized facts. The bill also clarifies thata search warrant for any place of abode shall require that at leastone law-enforcement officer be recognizable and identifiable as auniformed law-enforcement officer and provide audible notice of hisauthority and purpose reasonably designed to be heard by the occupantsof such place to be searched prior to the execution of such searchwarrant. The bill changes the hours of execution of a search warrantfor the search of any place of abode from the daytime hours between8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. The billalso provides that a magistrate may authorize the execution of suchsearch warrant at another time as necessary for law-enforcement officersto obtain the objects or persons described in the warrant or in theinterest of public safety. Currently, a judge or a magistrate, ifa judge is not available, may authorize the execution of such searchwarrant at another time. The bill removes provisions stating thatany evidence obtained from a search warrant in violation of any ofthe execution requirements shall not be admitted into evidence forthe Commonwealth in any prosecution.

Elections; absentee voting; verification by social security number or unique identifier in lieu of witness signature. Requires the State Board of Elections to promulgate regulations for providing a unique identifier to any qualified voter who lacks a social security number and provides that such unique identifier can be accepted in place of a social security number for the purposes of voting absentee. The bill makes optional the current absentee ballot witness signature requirement by giving the voter the option to provide the last four digits of the voter's social security number and the voter's date of birth in lieu of a witness signature. The bill clarifies that verification of the required voter affirmation on absentee ballots by the general registrar includes matching any date of birth and last four digits of the social security number or assigned unique identifier provided as part of the voter affirmation against the information in the voter's registration record.

Virginia Center for Firearm Violence Interventionand Prevention; Virginia Firearm Violence Intervention and PreventionFund; creation. Establishes the Virginia Center for Firearm ViolenceIntervention and Prevention (the Center) within the Department ofCriminal Justice Services and transfers to the Center the administrationof the existing Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and PreventionFund.

Conveyances of property; acceptance by clerk's office for recordation. Provides that there is a presumption for state and local governmental agency and office purposes that title to property transfers to the grantee upon acceptance of a deed conveying such property by the clerk of court in the county or city in which the property is located. Such presumption does not apply to matters litigated in the federal or state courts.