Commending Sherman P. Lea.
Ex parte requests for investigative services or expertassistance in noncapital cases. Allows a defendant or his attorney, whensuch defendant is charged with a noncapital offense and is financially unableto pay for investigative services or expert assistance, to move a court toconduct an ex parte hearing on a request for such services or assistance. For amotion for investigative services, the bill requires a defendant or hisattorney to state under oath or in a sworn declaration that a need forconfidentiality exists regarding the request for investigative services and,after a hearing upon the motion, the court shall authorize the defendant or hisattorney to obtain investigative services upon a showing that the requestedservices would materially assist the defendant and are necessary in order toguarantee an adequate defense and that the lack of such confidential serviceswould result in a fundamentally unfair trial. For a motion for expertassistance, the bill requires a defendant or his attorney to show, in anadversarial proceeding before the trial judge, a particularized need forconfidentiality of the request for expert assistance. Upon a finding, by clearand convincing evidence, that a particularized need for confidentiality of theexpert services exists, the court shall hold an ex parte hearing and may orderthe appointment of a qualified expert upon a showing that the provision of therequested expert services would materially assist the defendant in preparinghis defense and the lack of such confidential assistance would result in afundamentally unfair trial.
Congressional and legislative district boundaries;alignment with boundaries of counties and cities; review of a voter'sregistration. Provides that, for purposes of congressional, Senate, and Houseof Delegates districts, if a boundary of such a district virtually coincideswith the boundary between two or more localities, the boundary of the districtshall conform to the boundary between the localities that has been (i) agreedupon by those localities, (ii) adopted in ordinances by those localities, (iii)reported by those localities to the United States Bureau of the Census, and(iv) the population of the district as a result of the boundary adjustment iswithin the allowable deviation for that type of district. The bill requires theState Board of Elections to review any change of boundary to determine whetherthere is evidence that the change was made with fraudulent intent, and if itappears there was fraudulent intent, to refer the matter to a circuit court toapprove or deny the change. If two or more localities sharing a boundary cannotagree on the true boundary line between them, the boundary shall be that whichwas in existence on April 1, 2011, and was reported by the United States Bureauof the Census in the 2010 Census reports provided pursuant to United StatesPublic Law 94-171. The bill provides a process by which a voter who believes hehas been incorrectly assigned to an election district or precinct may requestand have his assignment reviewed by the general registrar and, if necessary,the governing body of the county or city.
Standards of Quality; work-based learning; teacher leaders and mentors; principal mentors; certain personnel positions and initiatives. Makes several changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishment of a unit in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning statewide in Standard 1 and requiring the Board of Education to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leader and teacher mentor programs and the establishment of a unit in the Department of Education to oversee principal mentorship statewide in Standard 5. The bill also makes several changes relating to school personnel in Standard 2, including (i) establishing schoolwide ratios of students to teachers in certain schools with high concentrations of poverty and granting flexibility to provide compensation adjustments to teachers in such schools; (ii) requiring each school board to assign licensed personnel in a manner that provides an equitable distribution of experienced, effective teachers and other personnel among all schools in the local school division; (iii) requiring each school board to employ teacher leaders and teacher mentors at specified student-to-position ratios; (iv) requiring state funding in addition to basic aid to support at-risk students and granting flexibility in the use of such funds by school boards; (v) lowering the ratio of English language learner students to teachers; (vi) requiring each school board to employ reading specialists and establishing a student-to-position ratio for such specialists; (vii) requiring school boards to employ one full-time principal in each elementary school; (viii) lowering the ratio of students to assistant principals and school counselors in elementary, middle, and high schools; and (ix) requiring each school board to provide at least four specialized student support positions, including school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Health insurance; narrow network plans.Prohibits a health carrier from offering more than one narrow networkplan, as defined in the bill, in a geographic region if any two narrownetwork plans offered by the health carrier would have the two lowest monthly premiums of any silver-level plans offered by the healthcarrier in the geographic region.
Bicycles; signage and road markings. Requiresthe Department of Transportation to erect and maintain signs in highpedestrian, Segway, bicycle, moped, animal, and animal-drawn vehicletraffic volume areas signs that say "Share the Road" and that noteexisting law requiring passing motor vehicles to pass at least threefeet to the left of such vehicles. The bill prohibits the driverof a motor vehicle from using a bicycle lane to pass or attempt to pass another vehicle.
Health insurance; catastrophic health plans. Authorizes health carriers to offer catastrophic plans on the individual market and to offer such plans to all individuals. The measure provides that a catastrophic plan is deemed to provide an essential health benefits package and to meet certain requirements of federal law. A catastrophic plan is a high-deductible health care plan that provides essential health benefits and coverage for at least three primary care visits per policy year. Under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended, catastrophic plans satisfy requirements that health benefit plans provide minimum levels of coverage only if they cover individuals who are younger than 30 years of age or who qualify for a hardship exemption or affordability exemption. The measure requires the Commissioner of Insurance to apply to the federal government for a state innovation waiver allowing the implementation of the provision allowing catastrophic plans to be offered on the individual market to all individuals. The provision will become effective 30 days after the Commissioner notifies certain persons that the request has been approved.
Changing the Commonwealth's biennial appropriations to begin in odd-numbered years. Provides that the Commonwealth's biennial appropriations start on July 1 of odd-numbered years beginning with the biennial appropriation act for the period July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025. The bill requires that the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, would not be a part of any biennial appropriation act (i.e., it would be a single-year transitional budget).
Eminent domain; remnants and remainders. Repeals the provision of the Code of Virginia declaring that the acquisition of residual parcels when acquiring land for highway rights-of-way is in the public interest and is a public use. The bill provides that, upon petition of either party, the court may determine whether property remaining after a partial taking is an uneconomic remnant prior to the trial on just compensation. The bill further provides that if the court rules in favor of the owner, it may award costs and fees to be paid by the condemnor.
Carnal knowledge of an inmate, parolee, probationer, arrestee, detainee, or pretrial defendant or posttrial offender; local or state law-enforcement officer; penalty. Adds law-enforcement officers to those persons who are guilty of a Class 6 felony if they are in a position of authority over and carnally know without force, threat, or intimidation any inmate, parolee, probationer, arrestee, detainee, or pretrial or posttrial offender, including those in the custody of a private, local, or state law-enforcement agency. In addition, the bill adds arrestees to the list of those persons for whom it is unlawful for a person in such authority to commit the offense of carnal knowledge. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Death penalty; severe mental illness. Providesthat a defendant in a capital case who had a severe mental illness,as defined in the bill, at the time of the offense is not eligiblefor the death penalty. The bill establishes procedures for determiningwhether a defendant had a severe mental illness at the time of theoffense and provides for the appointment of expert evaluators. Thebill provides that when the defendant's severe mental illness isat issue, a determination will be made by the jury or by the judgein a bench trial as part of the sentencing proceeding, and the defendantbears the burden of proving his severe mental illness by a preponderanceof the evidence. The bill also provides that in the event the defendantfails to provide notice that he will offer testimony by an expert witness at such sentencing proceeding, the court may either allowthe Commonwealth a continuance or, where the defendant is unableto show good cause for untimely notice, bar the defendant from presentingsuch evidence.
Alternative and efficient energies; subsidies and rebates. Creates incentive programs relating to the adoption of alternative and efficient energies. The bill establishes the Energy Efficiency Subsidy Program to fund grants to subsidize residential energy efficiency measures and directs the Department of Taxation to study the possibility of incorporating an electric vehicle rebate into the Program. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
