Maximum number of judges in each judicial district. Increases from 11 to 12 the maximum number of authorized general district court judgeships in the nineteenth judicial district. The Committee on District Courts recommended the additional judgeship in 2018. This bill is identical to HB 275.
Prescription requirements; treatment of sexually transmitted diseases; sunset. Repeals the sunset of July 1,2020, on the provision that allows practitioners employed by the Department of Health to prescribe antibiotic therapy to the sexualpartner of a patient diagnosed with a sexually transmitted diseasewithout the physical examination normally required.
Holding handheld personal communications devices while driving a motor vehicle. Prohibits any person from holding a handheld personal communications device while driving a motor vehicle. Current law prohibits (i) the reading of any email or text message and manually entering letters or text in such a device as a means of communicating and (ii) holding a personal communications device while driving in a work zone. The bill expands the exemptions to include handheld personal communications devices that are being held and used (a) as an amateur radio or a citizens band radio or (b) for official Department of Transportation or traffic incident management services. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This bill incorporates SB 136 and SB 944 and is identical to HB 874.
Trigger activators; prohibition; penalty. Prohibitsthe manufacture, importation, sale or offer to sell, possession,transfer, or transportation of a trigger activator, defined in thebill as (i) a device designed to be attached to a semi-automaticfirearm, which allows the firearm to discharge two or more shotsin a burst by activating the device, including a bump-fire deviceor a binary trigger, but does not convert the semi-automatic firearminto a machine gun or (ii) a manual or power-driven trigger activatingdevice designed so that when attached to a semi-automatic firearmit increases the rate of fire of that firearm, including a triggercrank, but does not convert the semiautomatic firearm into a machine gun. A violation is punishable as a Class 6 felony.
Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); personal property tax exemption; motor vehicle owned by a veteran who is disabled. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2020, election to approve or reject a personal property tax exemption for a motor vehicle that is owned and used primarily by or for a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Virginia National Guard who has a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability.
Kinship foster care; training and approval processes. Requires local boards of social services to request a waiver of training requirements necessary for the approval of a kinship foster parent upon determining that training requirements are a barrier to placement with the kinship foster parent and that such placement is in the child's best interest. The bill prohibits local boards from requiring that a child be removed from the physical custody of a kinship foster parent during such approval process, provided that placement with the kinship foster parent remains in the child's best interest. The bill requires the Department of Social Services to (i) develop a training program that is tailored to persons seeking approval as a kinship foster parent, (ii) develop a document that provides comprehensive information regarding kinship foster care, and (iii) provide training to local boards regarding the process through which a person may be approved as a kinship foster parent without requiring removal of the child from the physical custody of such person.
Public schools; diploma requirements; dual enrollment and work-based learning options. Requires the Board of Education to include in its graduation requirements the options for students to complete a dual enrollment course or high-quality work-based learning experience. This bill is identical to HB 516.
Bail bondsman; petition for return of deposit for surrender of principal; deposited funds credited to Literary Fund. Provides that if a bail bondsman does not petition the court for the return of funds deposited for the surrender of his principal within 15 days from the surrender of the principal, the deposited funds shall be paid into the state treasury to be credited to the Literary Fund. This bill is a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts and the Judicial Council.
Juvenile offenders; parole. Provides that any person sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was a juvenile and who has served at least 20 years of such sentence and any person who has active sentences that total more than 20 years for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was a juvenile and who has served at least 20 years of such sentences shall be eligible for parole. This bill is identical to HB 35.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; library records. Clarifies that information contained in library records that can be used to identify any library patron who has borrowed or accessed material or resources from a library as well as the material or resources such patron borrowed or accessed is exempt from disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. This bill is identical to HB 313.
Guardianship; review of Individualized Education Plan. Provides that if the respondent to a guardianship or conservatorship petition is between 17 and a half and 21 years of age and has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), the guardian ad litem appointed to represent the respondent shall review the IEP and include the results of his review in the report required to be submitted to the court.
Import and sale of dogs from certain breeders;penalty. Prohibits any dealer or commercial dog breeder fromimporting for sale, selling, or offering for sale any dog bred bya person who has received certain citations pursuant to enforcementof the federal Animal Welfare Act. A violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
