Del. Patrick Hope

Commending Fairfax County.

Robbery; penalty. Defines "robbery" andcreates degrees of punishment corresponding to the severity of arobbery offense. Any person who commits a robbery by causing seriousbodily injury is guilty of robbery in the first degree, which ispunishable by confinement in a state correctional facility for amaximum term of life. Any person who commits robbery by displayinga firearm in a threatening manner is guilty of robbery in the second degree, which is punishable by confinement in a state correctionalfacility for a maximum term of 20 years. Any person who commits robberyby using physical force not resulting in serious bodily injury, orby displaying a deadly weapon other than a firearm in a threateningmanner, is guilty of robbery in the third degree, which is punishableas a Class 5 felony. Any person who commits robbery by using threator intimidation not involving a deadly weapon is guilty of robberyin the fourth degree, which is punishable as a Class 6 felony. Undercurrent law, any robbery is punishable by confinement in a statecorrectional facility for life or any term not less than five years.

Recognizing that global warming caused by humanactivity has resulted in a climate and ecological emergency.Expresses the sense of the General Assembly in recognizing that global warming caused by human activity that increases emissions of greenhousegases has resulted in a climate and ecological emergency.

Commending the Division of Capitol Police.

Celebrating the life of Samuel Hughes Melton,M.D.

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.

Commending Robert Eugene Foster, Jr.

Celebrating the life of Alan Arnold Diamonstein.

Reading diagnostic tests; intervention. Requireseach student in kindergarten and grade one to participate in readingdiagnostic tests that include a rapid automatized naming test andone or more rapid alternating stimulus tests as follows: (i) forstudents in kindergarten, a rapid automatized naming test and a rapidalternating stimulus test that each include colors and objects and(ii) for students in grade one, a rapid automatized naming test andtwo rapid alternating stimulus tests that each include colors, objects,letters, and numbers. The bill requires any student who enrolls ina public elementary school in the Commonwealth for the first timein grade two or grade three to participate in the reading diagnostic tests required for students in grade one. The bill specifies thatsuch diagnostic tests shall consist of the RAN/RAS tests developedand published by Maryanne Wolf and Martha Bridge Denckla or a substantiallysimilar reading diagnostic tool that is evidence-based, normed, andapproved by the Department of Education. The bill requires, beginningJuly 1, 2021, each local school division to provide evidence-based,structured literacy instruction to students in kindergarten throughgrade three who fall below the benchmark on any such reading diagnostictest and requires that such structured literacy instruction be overseenand monitored by the local school division's advisor on dyslexiaand related disorders, when applicable.

Transit funding. Raises the existing regional transportation fee, a grantor's tax, from $0.15 per $100 to $0.20 per $100 for localities in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority that are also members of the Northern Virginia Transportation District. The bill requires half of the revenues to be deposited in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Fund and half to be deposited in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Capital Fund. The rate of tax in the other localities will remain at $0.15 per $100, with one-third of the revenues to be retained by the locality to be used for transportation purposes and the other two-thirds to be deposited in the Northern Virginia Transportation District Fund. The bill also raises the existing transient occupancy tax in the localities located in the Northern Virginia Transportation District from $2 to $3, with all of the revenues from the tax being used to support WMATA. This bill incorporates HB 977.