Del. Vivian Watts

Causing or encouraging acts rendering childrensexually abused; penalty. Provides that any person 18 yearsof age or older who (i) (a) has physical custody of a minor, (b)allows a minor to reside at his residence, (c) is in a position oftrust or authority over a minor, or (d) is the temporary caretakerof a minor; (ii) is more than three years older than such minor;and (iii) willfully contributes to, encourages, or causes any act, omission, or condition that results in any sexual act upon the minorin violation of the law is guilty of a Class 4 felony.

Corporate income tax; combined reporting requirements. Requires, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2021,unitary combined reporting for Virginia corporate income tax purposes.

Temporary detention; evaluation; who may perform. Expands the category of individuals who may evaluate a person whois the subject of an emergency custody order to determine whetherthe person meets the criteria for temporary detention to includeany person described in the definition of "mental health professional"in § 54.1-2400.1 who (i) is skilled in the diagnosis and treatmentof mental illness, (ii) has completed a certification program approvedby the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services,and (iii) complies with regulations of the Board of Behavioral Healthand Developmental Services related to performance of such evaluations.

Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known as the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United States gives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A state may withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring within six months of the end of a President's term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term. This bill was incorporated into HB 177.

Elections; same-day registration; in-person absentee and election day voting. Provides an exception to the closing of registration records for any person who (i) is qualified to register to vote, (ii) is unregistered or registered in a locality in which the person no longer resides but is otherwise entitled to vote by absentee ballot, (iii) desires to vote absentee in person at the time that they present themselves to be registered, and (iv) provides proof of residency. The bill also permits same-day registrants to vote absentee and provides an excuse for election day absentee voting for such voters. The bill requires all voters who register to vote under the provisions of this bill to fill out an absentee application, including the required oath, in order to vote. This bill was incorporated into HB 201.

Petition for vacatur and expungement of convictionsand police and court records of victims of human trafficking.Allows any person who was a victim of human trafficking at the timeof an offense that led to a criminal charge or conviction of certaincrimes to petition the court to vacate such conviction and expungethe police and court records related to such conviction or to expungethe police and court records related to such charge. The bill provides that there is a rebuttable presumption that a person's participationin an offense was a result of having been a victim of human traffickingif there is official documentation, defined in the bill, of the petitioner'sstatus as a victim of human trafficking at the time of the offense.

Juvenile offenders; parole. Provides thatany person sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person wasa juvenile and who has served at least 25 years of such sentenceand any person who has active sentences that total more than 25 yearsfor a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committedwhile that person was a juvenile and who has served at least 25 yearsof such sentences shall be eligible for parole.

Right to reproductive choice. Provides thatevery individual has a fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptionand that a pregnant person has a fundamental right to choose to carrya pregnancy to term, give birth to a child, or terminate a pregnancy.The bill states that the Commonwealth shall not, in the regulationor provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information, denyor interfere with an individual's fundamental rights, including individualsunder state control or supervision. The bill states that any stateor local official who is charged with violating provisions of thissection shall be subject to an action in federal or state court forinjunctive relief and damages. Such action may be brought by any person or entity that may be aggrieved by such official's actions.

Estate tax; reinstatement. Reinstatesthe estate tax for persons dying on and after July 1, 2020. No estatetax shall be imposed on a gross estate if the majority of the assetsof the estate are an interest in a closely held business or a workingfarm. The bill designates revenues from the estate tax to be usedfor health care purposes.

Open captioning at movie theaters. Requires all movie theaters that have four or more screens and are open to the general public to provide open captioning at least twice per week on any film that is regularly shown, provided that open captioning is available for such film. The bill requires such movie theaters to provide notice to the general public regarding the availability of open captioning and schedule at least one viewing during peak viewing time.