Sentencing in a criminal case; bifurcated jurytrial. Provides that in cases of trial by jury in which the chargedoffense is not punishable by death and in which a defendant has testifiedin his case-in-chief, a jury shall render its verdict and its recommendedsentence, if applicable, at the same time.
Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices. Provides that it is an unlawful discriminatory housing practice for any political jurisdiction or its employees or appointed commissions to discriminate in the application of local land use ordinances or guidelines, or in the permitting of housing developments, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, or handicap. The bill also provides that it is an unlawful discriminatory housing practice for any political jurisdiction or its employees or appointed commissions to discriminate in the application of local land use ordinances or guidelines, or in the permitting of housing developments, because a housing development contains or is expected to contain affordable housing units occupied or intended for occupancy by families or individuals with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income of the area where the housing development is located or is proposed to be located, unless the location of a development or proposed development is, at the time of municipal decision, within a census tract wherein more than 50 percent of the residential units house families or individuals at or below 80 percent of the area median income. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Definition of law-enforcement officer; certain employees of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Adds special agents employed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Office of the Inspector General to the definition of law-enforcement officer. The bill also grants such individuals the same authority and power as sheriffs to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth. Such individuals shall not be eligible for Line of Duty Act benefits.
Dairy Producer Margin Coverage Premium AssistanceProgram. Directs the Commissioner of Agriculture and ConsumerServices to establish and administer the Dairy Producer Margin CoveragePremium Assistance Program (the Program). The bill provides that anydairy farmer that has a resource management plan or nutrient managementplan and participates in the federal margin coverage program fordairy producers at the Tier 1 level as contained in the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 is eligible to participate in the Program.Under the bill, each year a Program participant will receive a refundof its annual premium payment paid into the federal program.
Limitations period; previously time-barred actions;sexual abuse; two-year time period to file. Creates a two-yeartime period, on or after July 1, 2020, but before July 1, 2022, within which persons previously time-barred from filing an action for injuryto such person for sexual abuse occurring during the infancy or incapacityof such person due to the expiration of the statute of limitationsmay file such an action.
Guardianship and conservatorship; supported decision-making alternative. Requires a guardian ad litem in a proceeding for the appointment of a guardian or conservator to include in his report to the court information as to whether a supported decision-making agreement, as defined in the bill, is a viable option in lieu of guardianship or conservatorship.
Alcoholic beverage control; online sales ofspirits by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority.Allows the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic BeverageControl Authority to establish an online sales platform for the saleand delivery of (i) alcoholic beverages other than beer and winenot produced by farm wineries, (ii) mixers, and (iii) certain productslicensed by the Virginia Tourism Corporation to persons located within the Commonwealth.
Study; Virginia State Crime Commission; effectof abolishing jury sentencing on the justice system; report.Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission to (i) identify the mostcommon charges tried before juries within the Commonwealth and determinethe average sentence per charge as recommended by a jury; (ii) comparethe jury-recommended sentence to the average sentence for each identifiedcharge, factoring in alternative sentences and suspended time, asdetermined by a judge during a bench trial; (iii) identify any perceived negative impacts to the judicial system associated with abolishingthe practice of jury sentencing and make recommendations as to howthese potential negative impacts could be avoided; and (iv) determinethe feasibility of abolishing jury sentencing for noncapital offenseswithin the Commonwealth.
Health insurance; coverage for prosthetic devices.Requires health insurers, corporations providing health care coveragesubscription contracts, health maintenance organizations, and the Commonwealth's Medicaid program to provide coverage for prostheticdevices, including myoelectric, biomechanical, or microprocessor-controlledprosthetic devices that have a Medicare code. The measure repealsthe existing requirement that coverage for prosthetic devices beoffered and made available. The measure has a delayed effective dateof January 1, 2021.
School Divisions of Innovation; local assessments. Allows a local school board, when applying for its school division to be designated as a School Division of Innovation, to apply to the Board of Education to replace the Virginia Studies and Civics and Economics Standards of Learning assessments with local assessments that include performance-based assessments. The bill requires any such application to (i) demonstrate that the proposed local assessment requires that students demonstrate the knowledge and skills required by the relevant Standards of Learning and that students demonstrate one or more of the skills and qualities of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, or citizenship and (ii) provide evidence of the local school board's capacity to administer and score performance-based assessments.
Common-law crime of suicide. Abolishes thecommon-law crime of suicide. Suicide is currently a common-law crimein Virginia, although there is no statutorily prescribed punishment.
Deeds of trust; fiduciary duties. Specifies that a trustee under a deed of trust has only the duties, rights, and obligations imposed and conferred on it by the deed of trust or by statute. The bill further requires that a trustee shall comply with all restrictive covenants regarding the affordability of the property and that a trustee under a deed of trust is a fiduciary for both the debtor and the creditor. This bill is in response to Crosby v. ALG Trustee, LLC, 296 Va. 561 (2018).
