Minor victims of sex trafficking; services.Provides that a minor engaged in prostitution or keeping, residingin, or frequenting a bawdy place shall not be proceeded upon as delinquentand shall be referred to the local department of social servicesfor an assessment and services.
Arrest and prosecution when experiencing orreporting overdoses. Clarifies that the immunity afforded tothe seeking of emergency help for an overdose also applies to a showcause, a probation revocation, or a parole violation.
Prohibition of deceptive tactics during thecustodial interrogation of a minor. Provides that any confessionof a minor, made as a result of a custodial interrogation conductedat a place of detention on or after July 1, 2022, shall be presumedto be inadmissible as evidence against such minor making such confessionin any adjudication of delinquency or criminal proceeding for anact that if committed by an adult would be a criminal offense if,during the custodial interrogation, a law-enforcement officer knowingly engages in deception, as defined in the bill. The bill provides thatthe presumption of inadmissibility for such confession of a minormay be overcome if the confession was voluntarily given.
Law-enforcement officer; purpose of trafficstop. Provides that the operator of a motor vehicle, trailer,or semitrailer that has stopped on the signal of any law-enforcementofficer shall exhibit his registration card, learner's permit, ortemporary driver's permit for the purpose of establishing his identityupon being advised of the purpose of the stop within a reasonabletime by the law-enforcement officer. Current law requires that suchmaterials be exhibited upon the law-enforcement officer's request.
Consumer protection; online marketplace; high-volume third-party sellers. Establishes requirements for high-volume third-party sellers, defined in the bill as participants in an online marketplace that have entered into at least 200 discrete sales or transactions for 12 continuous months during the past 24 months resulting in accumulation of an aggregate total of $5,000 or more in gross revenues. The bill requires an online marketplace to (i) require high-volume third-party sellers to provide identifying and contact information to the online marketplace; (ii) verify the information provided by a high-volume third-party seller within 10 days of receipt; and (iii) require that high-volume third-party sellers make certain conspicuous disclosures to consumers on their product listing pages, with certain limited exceptions. The bill provides that the Attorney General has the exclusive authority to enforce its provisions and that any violation of its provisions is a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
Juvenile and domestic relations district courts; Department of Juvenile Justice; extending jurisdiction in delinquency matters to persons 18 years of age or older but less than 21 years of age. Raises the maximum age for delinquency matters in juvenile and domestic relations district courts from persons under 18 years of age to persons under 21 years of age. The bill defines "underage person" as an individual who is 18 years of age or older but less than 21 years of age. The bill adds underage persons to all provisions regarding delinquency proceedings in juvenile and domestic relations district courts, the transfer of delinquency matters to circuit courts, and criminal procedure as currently applies to juveniles only. The bill differentiates between juveniles and underage persons in specific circumstances, including consent for medical or mental health records or procedures, mental health screenings in secure detention facilities, and provisions regarding release on bail or recognizance. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024, and provides that the provisions of the bill shall apply prospectively and only to conduct or an offense that occurs on or after January 1, 2024. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Public institutions of higher education; debtcollection; transcripts and diplomas. Prohibits public institutionsof higher education from (i) refusing to provide a transcript ordiploma for a current or former student on the grounds that the studentowes a debt; (ii) conditioning the provision of a transcript or diplomafor a current or former student on the payment of a debt, other thana fee charged to provide the transcript or diploma; (iii) charginga higher fee to a current or former student for obtaining a transcript or diploma, or providing less favorable treatment of a transcriptor diploma request because a current or former student owes a debt;or (iv) using transcript or diploma issuance as a tool for debt collection.The bill states that any violation of these provisions constitutesa prohibited practice and is subject to any and all of the enforcementprovisions of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
Additional local sales and use tax; use of revenuesfor construction or renovation of schools. Allows any countyor city to levy a local general retail sales tax and a local usetax at a rate not to exceed one percent as determined by its governingbody to provide revenues solely for capital projects for the constructionor renovation of schools if such levy is approved in a voter referendum.Under current law, the power to levy such local sales and use taxesfor the construction or renovation of schools is limited to the qualifyinglocalities of Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville.
County manager plan of government; independentpolicing auditor. Allows the governing body of any county withthe county manager plan of government (Arlington County) to appointan independent policing auditor. The independent policing auditorshall support any law-enforcement civilian oversight body createdby the governing body and shall have all the powers of the law-enforcementcivilian oversight body, to the extent such powers are delegatedto the independent policing auditor by the oversight body. The independentpolicing auditor shall serve at the pleasure of the governing body.
Breeding of dogs and cats for research; reporting. Requires any person who or entity that breeds dogs and cats for animal testing facilities to report certain information to the State Veterinarian on a monthly basis. The report shall include information regarding the birth, acquisition, death, sale, transfer, or other disposition of a dog or cat in the prior month.
Administration of government; language accessequity; report. Establishes the Interagency Language Access WorkingGroup in the Office of the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusionwith the following membership: the Director of Diversity, Equity,and Inclusion, the Director of the Office of the Children's Ombudsman,the Governor's Secretaries, and six nonlegislative citizen membersrepresenting organizations that represent individuals with languageaccess needs. The Working Group is established for the purpose ofmaximizing state policies, resources, technical assistance, and procurementpractices to further language access and equity in the Commonwealthand its state government agencies. The bill also requires each stateagency to designate a language access coordinator who will be responsiblefor the agency's annual language access report, the requirementsof which are set out in the bill. The Secretary of Administrationis directed to establish criteria for state agencies to procurelanguage interpretation and translation services and to establisha policy for compensating multilingual state employees who are requiredas part of their job to provide interpretation, translation, or other bilingual skills at least once a month.
Payment of prevailing wage; certified payroll; penalties. Requires employers that are subject to prevailing wage provisions for work done on public contracts to furnish the Commissioner of Labor and Industry within 30 days after issuance of its first payroll, and every 30 days thereafter, a certified payroll that consists of a complete copy of certain records accompanied by a statement signed by the employer that indicates that (i) such records are true and accurate, (ii) the hourly rate paid to each worker is not less than the general prevailing rate of hourly wages required by law; and (iii) the contractor or subcontractor is aware that filing a certified payroll that he knows to be false is a Class 6 felony. The bill provides civil penalties not to exceed $1,000 for each violation for violations of prevailing wage provisions for any contractor or subcontractor that (a) knowingly fails to provide the certified pay scale for each craft or trade employed on the project, (b) knowingly fails to provide the certified payroll required by the bill, and (c) fails to post the general prevailing wage rate for each craft and classification involved in a contract in prominent and easily accessible places at the site of the work and a civil penalty not to exceed $10 per calendar day that required records have not been received. The bill also provides that any contractor or subcontractor who knowingly files false records or willfully fails to file records is guilty of a Class 6 felony.
