Del. Patrick Hope

Sentencing proceeding by the jury after conviction; recommendation of leniency. Provides that a jury may, in ascertainingthe punishment for a person convicted of a felony or Class 1 misdemeanor,recommend that the sentence imposed be suspended in whole or in part,or that sentences imposed for multiple offenses be served concurrently,except where such suspension of sentence or concurrent service is prohibited by law. The bill prohibits the trial court from imposingan active term of incarceration in excess of the active term of incarcerationrecommended by the jury. The bill also allows the jury to recommendthat the defendant be placed on probation, make full or partial restitution,perform community service, or receive mental health or substanceabuse treatment in lieu of incarceration or as a condition of anysuspended sentence, and requires the court to follow such recommendationunless good cause is shown for why the recommendation is inappropriateor unavailable.

Study; JLARC; privately operated prisons; report.Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, in consultationwith the Department of Corrections, to study the use of privatelyoperated prisons in the Commonwealth.

Worker classification; penalties. Prohibits acontractor from classifying an individual who performs delivery services orconstruction labor services for the contractor as the contractor's independentcontractor if he is an employee of the contractor. An individual performingsuch services for a contractor shall be presumed to be an employee of thecontractor unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Laborand Industry that (i) the individual has been and will continue to be free fromcontrol or direction over the performance of the services performed by theindividual for wages, both under his contract of service and in fact; (ii) theservices are either outside the usual course of the business for which suchservices are performed or such services are performed outside of all the placesof business of the enterprise for which such services are performed; and (iii)such individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation,profession, or business. Other factors applicable to such a determination inthe case of an individual performing construction labor services are whetherthe individual maintained a workplace that is subject to inspection pursuant tooccupational safety and health laws and whether the individual has beenassigned an experience rating tax rate for purposes of unemploymentcompensation. Violators are subject to civil penalties and debarment frompublic contracts. The measure requires a contractor entering into a publiccontract to provide an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, attesting that (a)each individual performing delivery services or construction labor services isproperly classified; (b) the contractor has completed a federal I-9 immigrationform and has such form on file for each employee; (c) the contractor hascomplied with requirements for participation with the E-verify program for eachemployee; (d) the contractor has no reasonable basis to believe that anyindividual performing services for such contractor is an undocumented worker;and (e) the contractor is not barred from contracting with the public body.

Hope Card Program; permanent protective orders. Requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Courtof Virginia to develop and implement a Hope Card Program (the Program) for the issuance of a Hope Card to any person who has been issueda permanent protective order by any general district court, juvenileand domestic relations court, or circuit court. The bill states thata Hope Card issued pursuant to the Program shall be a durable, plastic, wallet-sized card containing essential information about the protectiveorder, such as the identifying information and characteristics ofthe person subject to the protective order, the issuance and expirationdate of the protective order, the terms of the protective order,and the names of any other persons protected by the protective order.

Carrying weapon into building owned or usedby the Commonwealth or political subdivision thereof; penalty. Makesit a Class 1 misdemeanor for a first or second offense for a person to transport any (i) gun or other weapon designed or intended topropel a missile or projectile of any kind; (ii) frame, receiver,muffler, silencer, missile, projectile, or ammunition designed foruse with a dangerous weapon; or (iii) other dangerous weapon intoa building owned or used by the Commonwealth or any agency or politicalsubdivision thereof for governmental purposes. The bill providesexceptions for law-enforcement officers, conservators of the peace,magistrates, court officers, judges, city or county treasurers, commissionersor deputy commissioners of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission,authorized security personnel, and active military personnel whilein the conduct of such individuals' official duties. The bill requiresthat notice of the provisions prohibiting the carrying of such weaponsbe posted at each public entrance to all buildings owned or leasedby the Commonwealth or any agency or political subdivision thereof.A third or subsequent offense of this or certain other firearms offensesis punishable as a Class 6 felony.

Assault and battery; animal control officers;penalty. Adds animal control officers and deputy animal control officers to the list of professions against whom committing an assaultor an assault and battery is subject to an enhanced penalty. The bill provides that any person who commits an assault or an assaultand battery against such officer is guilty of a Class 6 felony andthe sentence of such person includes a mandatory minimum term of confinement of six months.

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 expertwitness 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.

Grand larceny; threshold. Increases from$500 to $1,500 the threshold amount of money taken or value of goodsor chattel taken at which the crime rises from petit larceny to grandlarceny. The bill increases the threshold by the same amount forthe classification of certain property crimes.

Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundable income tax credit beginning in taxable year 2020 for expenses incurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member, defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percent of eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver, but shall not exceed $1,000. In order to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) not receive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expenditures and (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than $75,000 for an individual or $150,000 for married persons. Both the caregiver and the eligible family member must be residents of Virginia. The bill requires the Tax Commissioner to establish guidelines for claiming the credit and provides that any unused credit may be carried forward by the taxpayer for five taxable years following the taxable year for which the credit was issued. The credit expires beginning with taxable year 2025.

Development and use of accessory dwelling units.Provides that all localities shall allow for the development anduse of one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per single-family dwelling(SFD), notwithstanding any contrary provision of a zoning ordinance.The bill defines "accessory dwelling unit" or "ADU" as an independentdwelling unit on a single-family lot with its own living, bathroom,and kitchen space that may be within or attached to SFDs or in detachedstructures on lots containing SFDs. ADUs may include basements, attics,flats, guest houses, cottages, and converted structures such as garages and sheds. The bill requires localities to regulate the sizeand design of ADUs through an approval process, as well as regulatefees, parking, and other requirements, provided that the regulations(i) are not so arbitrary, excessive, or burdensome, individuallyor cumulatively, as to unreasonably restrict the ability of propertyowners to utilize or create ADUs and (ii) do not require the propertyowner to occupy the ADU or SFD as his primary residence.