Virginia Opioid Use Reduction and Jail-Based Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Transition Fund; grant procedures. Requires the grant procedure to govern funds awarded to local and regional jails for the planning or operation of substance use disorder treatment services and transition services for persons with substance use disorder who are incarcerated in local and regional jails to include requirements that (i) any grant awarded shall be made for up to three years and (ii) an applicant for a grant submit a plan demonstrating how such applicant will become independently financially viable within the time period for which the grant is awarded. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care and is identical to HB 455.
Powers and duties for operation of local and regional correctional facilities and courthouse security; attorney access to courthouses and communication and visitation with incarcerated clients; penalty. Provides that if a sheriff allows courthouse employees or law-enforcement officers to bypass any security screening required to enter a courthouse, such sheriff shall also exempt from the security screening any attorney who displays a valid Virginia State Bar-issued bar card and a government-issued identification. The bill creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any attorney who has had his license to practice law in the Commonwealth suspended or revoked and who displays a Virginia State Bar-issued bar card in an effort to be exempt from the security screening. The bill also requires any telephonic, electronic, or web-based communication system for prisoners that is offered by a sheriff or jail superintendent who operates a local or regional correctional facility to include a confidential means for a prisoner to communicate with his attorney at regular and reasonable times.
Storage of firearms in a residence where a minor or person prohibited from possessing a firearm is present; penalty. Provides that any person who possesses a firearm in a residence where such person knows that a minor or a person who is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm is present shall store such firearm and the ammunition for such firearm in a locked container, compartment, or cabinet that is inaccessible to such minor or prohibited person. Under the bill, any person who violates this provision is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. The bill also requires any dealer, as that term is defined in current law, to post a written notice informing the public of the penalty imposed for failure to comply with the bill's provisions.
Carrying assault firearms in public areas prohibited in the Commonwealth; penalty. Prohibits the carrying of certain semi-automatic center-fire rifles, pistols, and shotguns or any firearm modified to be operable as an assault firearm on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, or public right-of-way or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public, with certain exceptions. Under current law, the prohibition on carrying certain shotguns and semi-automatic center-fire rifles and pistols applies to a narrower range of firearms, only in certain localities, and only when such firearms are loaded. A violation of this prohibition is a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill incorporates SB 312.
Possession, transportation, or purchase of certain firearms by certain persons; penalty. Provides additional exceptions, outlined in the bill, for persons younger than 18 years of age to possess or transport handguns or assault firearms anywhere in the Commonwealth. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for persons younger than 21 years of age to purchase a handgun or assault firearm anywhere in the Commonwealth.
Home/electronic incarceration program. Provides that any court having jurisdiction for the trial of a pregnant person or a postpartum person who still has contact with their infant child and is charged with certain offenses shall assign the offender to a home/electronic incarceration program unless there is probable cause to believe that (i) the offender will not appear for trial or hearing or at such other time and place as may be directed or (ii) the offender's liberty will constitute an unreasonable danger to such person, such person's family or household members, or the public. The bill also provides that a pregnant or postpartum person assigned to home/electronic incarceration shall remain eligible for bond.
Virginia Opioid Use Reduction and Jail-Based Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Transition Fund; grant procedures. Requires the grant procedure to govern funds awarded to local and regional jails for the planning or operation of substance use disorder treatment services and transition services for persons with substance use disorder who are incarcerated in local and regional jails to include requirements that (i) any grant awarded shall be made for up to three years and (ii) an applicant for a grant submit a plan demonstrating how such applicant will become independently financially viable within the time period for which the grant is awarded. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care and is identical to SB 599.
Interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements; behavioral health co-response teams. Provides that interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements may allow for the development of co-response teams staffed by one or more law-enforcement agencies that respond to behavioral health-related calls in multiple jurisdictions. This bill is a recommendation of the Behavioral Health Commission. This bill is identical to HB 248.
Interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements; behavioral health co-response teams. Provides that interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements may allow for the development of co-response teams staffed by one or more law-enforcement agencies that respond to behavioral health-related calls in multiple jurisdictions. This bill is a recommendation of the Behavioral Health Commission. This bill is identical to SB 317.
Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearm; assault and battery of a family or household member or intimate partner; penalty. Adds to the definition of "family or household member," as such definition relates to juvenile and domestic relations district court, a person's intimate partner, defined in the bill as an individual who, within the previous 12 months, was in a romantic, dating, or sexual relationship with the person as determined by the length, nature, frequency, and type of interaction between the individuals involved in the relationship. The bill also adds to the definition of "family or household member," as such definition relates to a person's purchase, possession, or transportation of a firearm following an assault and battery of a family or household member, any individual who cohabits or who, within the previous 12 months, cohabitated with the person. Finally, the bill provides that any person who knowingly and intentionally purchases, possesses, or transports any firearm following a misdemeanor conviction for an offense that occurred on or after July 1, 2026, for the offense of assault and battery against an intimate partner or an offense substantially similar under the laws of any other state or of the United States is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
