Promises to appear after the issuance of a summons.Eliminates the requirement that a promise to appear be completedafter the issuance of a summons for a misdemeanor offense or an administrativeviolation. The bill provides that an accused shall be released fromcustody after a summons has been issued.
Vehicle registration fees; Public Safety TrustFund. Imposes an additional $4 vehicle registration fee to bedeposited into the Public Safety Trust Fund, established by the bill.The moneys in the Public Safety Trust Fund are to be used to eliminate barriers to an inclusive, diverse, and well-qualified workforce byaddressing compensation issues related to staffing, retention, andpay compression at the Department of State Police.
Virginia Public Procurement Act; public workscontracts; subcontractor workforce requirements. Requires allpublic bodies and covered institutions, defined in the bill, to include in every public works contract of more than $250,000 certainprovisions related to the outsourcing of subcontracted work, whicha contractor shall agree to during the performance of such contract.Such provisions mandate that a contractor shall only utilize subcontractorsthat certify in writing to the contract that they will outsourceno more than 10 percent of the cost of the work subcontracted for,excluding the provision of materials, with specified exceptions.The bill provides that any contractor that violates the provisionsof the bill may be debarred for up to one year or disqualified fromthe project and may be responsible for liquidated damages for anyrelated delays in the project.
Public School Assistance Fund and Program created. Creates the Public School Assistance Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Education, for the purpose of providing grants to school boards to be used for the purposes of repairing or replacing the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, or plumbing systems or the roofs of public elementary and secondary school buildings in the local school division, including financing costs for such repairs and replacements. The bill permits any school board in the Commonwealth to apply for Program grants but requires the Department of Education to give priority in the award of grants to school boards that demonstrate the greatest need based on the condition of existing school building roofs and the ability to pay for the repair or replacement of such roofs.
Voter referendum; issuance of state generalobligation bonds for school facility modernization. Providesfor a statewide referendum on the question of whether the GeneralAssembly shall issue state general obligation bonds in the amountof $3 billion for the purpose of K-12 school building construction,repair, or other capital projects related to the modernization ofschool facilities. The results would be advisory only and are intendedonly to demonstrate the preference of the citizens of the Commonwealthon the issuance of such bonds. The bill provides that the referendumbe held at the November 2021 general election.
Will contest; presumption of undue influence.Provides that in any case contesting the validity of a decedent'swill where a presumption of undue influence arises, the burden ofproducing evidence and the burden of persuasion as to the factualissue that undue influence was exerted over the testator shall beon the party against whom the presumption operates.
Absentee voting; mandatory processing of returned absentee ballots before election day; central absentee voter precinct in the office of the general registrar. Requires certain actions to be taken to process absentee ballots that are returned by mail before election day. The general registrar is required to (i) examine the ballot envelopes to verify completion of the required voter affirmation; (ii) mark the pollbook, or the absentee voter applicant list if the pollbook is not available, that the voter has voted; and (iii) direct the officers of election at a central absentee precinct to open the sealed ballot envelopes and insert the ballots in optical scan counting equipment or other secure ballot container without initiating any ballot count totals. Under current law, the general registrar is required to conduct preprocessing of absentee ballots before election day only as needed. To facilitate preprocessing as provided in the bill, the bill requires a central absentee voter precinct to be established and maintained in each locality. Additional central absentee voter precincts may be established at the discretion of the governing body.
Post-conviction relief; previously admitted scientific evidence. Provides that a person who was convicted of certain offenses, upon a plea of not guilty or an Alford plea, or who was adjudicated delinquent, upon a plea of not guilty or an Alford plea, by a circuit court of an offense that would be a covered offense if committed by an adult may petition the Court of Appeals to have his conviction vacated. The petition shall allege (i) the covered offense for which the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated delinquent; (ii) that the petitioner did not commit the covered offense for which the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated delinquent, nor engage in conduct that would support a conviction for a lesser offense or any other crime arising from, or reasonably connected to, the facts supporting the indictment or information upon which he was convicted or adjudicated delinquent; (iii) an exact description of the forensic scientific evidence and its relevance in demonstrating that the petitioner did not commit the covered offense; (iv) specific facts indicating that relevant forensic scientific evidence was not available or could not have been obtained in the exercise of diligence before the expiration of 21 days following entry of the final order of conviction or adjudication of delinquency or that discredited forensic scientific evidence was admitted at the petitioner's trial or adjudication of delinquency; and (v) that the admission of the discredited forensic scientific evidence or the absence of the newly available forensic scientific evidence was not harmless. The bill provides that if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the admission of the discredited forensic scientific evidence or the absence of the newly available forensic scientific evidence was not harmless, the court may grant the petition and vacate the petitioner's conviction, subject to retrial in the discretion of the Commonwealth. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022, and an expiration date of July 1, 2026.
Correctional facilities; use of isolated confinement. Prohibits the use of isolated confinement in state correctional facilitiesand juvenile correctional centers. Isolated confinement is definedin the bill as confinement of a prisoner or juvenile to a cell, alone or with another prisoner or juvenile, for 20 hours or more per dayfor an adult or for 17 hours or more per day for a juvenile, otherthan for the purpose of providing medical or mental health treatment.The bill provides for exceptions for when isolated confinement maybe permitted in state correctional facilities and juvenile correctionalcenters. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
Cats; trap, neuter, and return programs; civil penalty. Authorizes any public or private animal shelter, releasing agency, or hospital or clinic that is operated under the immediate supervision of a duly licensed veterinarian to operate a trap, neuter, and return program, as defined in the bill. The bill exempts volunteers of such program from provisions related to abandonment and licensing of animals and exempts the operator from general requirements of shelters related to holding periods, release of animals, and recordkeeping. A person who violates certain required provisions for such a program is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 brought by any animal control officer, humane investigator, releasing agency, or the State Veterinarian or State Veterinarian's representative.
Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; definitions; small business. Redefines "small business" for the purpose of programs for the Department of Small Business and SupplierDiversity to allow a cooperative association organized pursuant toChapter 3 (Cooperative Associations) of Title 13.1 as a nonstockcorporation to qualify as a small business if it is at least 51 percentindependently controlled by one or more members who are U.S. citizensor legal resident aliens and, together with affiliates, has 250 orfewer employees or average annual gross receipts of $10 million orless averaged over the previous three years. The bill also redefines "small business" for the purpose of programs for the Virginia Public Procurement Act to allow a cooperative association organized pursuantto Chapter 3 (Cooperative Associations) of Title 13.1 as a nonstockcorporation to qualify as a small business if it is controlled byone or more members who are U.S. citizens or legal resident aliensand, together with affiliates, has 250 or fewer employees or averageannual gross receipts of $10 million or less averaged over the previousthree years.
Assault and battery; penalty. Eliminates the mandatory minimum term of confinement of six months for an assault and battery committed against a judge, magistrate, law-enforcement officer, correctional officer, person directly involved in the care, treatment, or supervision of inmates, firefighter or volunteer firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel. The bill removes simple assault from enhanced punishment and provides that the enhanced punishment applies for assault and battery only when it results in bodily injury. The bill also provides that a jury or the court may find any person charged with such offense (i) whose physical or mental capacity is diminished to the extent that he needs counseling or supervisory assistance or assistance with activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living or (ii) who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disability, or an intellectual disability, not guilty of such offense but guilty of a simple assault or assault and battery, punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also provides that before any arrest, indictment, or service of a petition in the case of a juvenile is made for an alleged assault and battery against a law-enforcement officer, (a) such alleged assault and battery shall be investigated by another law-enforcement officer who was not the subject of such alleged assault and battery and (b) the arrest, indictment, or service of a petition shall be approved by the attorney for the Commonwealth.
