Del. Kaye Kory

Admission to bail; presumption of release on recognizance. Provides that a judicial officer shall release any person taken into custody by an arresting officer for any misdemeanor violation committed in such arresting officer's presence, except for violations of driving or operating a motor vehicle, watercraft, or motorboat while intoxicated, offenses that give rise to a rebuttable presumption against bail, or as otherwise provided in Title 46.2 (Motor Vehicles).

Prohibited pesticides; chlorpyrifos. Prohibitsthe manufacture, distribution, sale, offer for sale, use, or offerfor use of any pesticide containing chlorpyrifos, defined in thebill, as an active ingredient. The bill requires the Virginia Departmentof Agriculture and Consumer Services to seize any such pesticidein lieu of any other penalty imposed under current law for a violationof Chapter 39 (Pesticide Control) of Title 3.2.

Campaign finance; disbursement of surplus funds;prohibited conversion to personal use. Amends the current lawsregarding the disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution ofa campaign or political committee so that such restrictions wouldapply throughout the life of a campaign or political committee. Suchrestrictions include the prohibition against the conversion of anymoney, securities, or like intangible personal property that hasbeen contributed to a campaign or political committee to the personaluse of any person.

Marijuana; legalization of simple marijuanapossession; penalty. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessionof marijuana for persons who are 21 years of age or older. The bill also decriminalizes marijuana possession for persons under 21 yearsof age and provides a civil penalty of no more than $50 for a firstviolation, $100 for a second violation, and $250 for a third or subsequentviolation. Under current law, a first offense is punishable by amaximum fine of $500 and a maximum jail sentence of 30 days, and subsequent offenses are a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also modifies severalother criminal penalties related to marijuana. The bill establishesa regulatory scheme for the regulation of marijuana cultivation facilities,marijuana manufacturing facilities, marijuana testing facilities,and retail marijuana stores by the Board of Agriculture and ConsumerServices. The bill imposes a tax on retail marijuana and retail marijuanaproducts sold by a retail marijuana store at a rate of 9.7 percent(for a total sales tax of 15 percent) and provides that 67 percentof the revenues collected from the tax be deposited into the generalfund and 33 percent of the revenues be deposited into a "Retail MarijuanaEducation Support Fund" to be used solely for purposes of public education.

Chesapeake Bay; Resource Protection Areas; treeremoval. Directs the State Water Control Board, when developingcriteria for use by localities in addressing Resource ProtectionAreas (RPAs) under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, to requirethat any local ordinance addressing permitted modifications of thebuffer area include specific penalties for the removal of trees froman RPA without the prior approval of the locality.

Health care; decision making; end of life; penalties.Allows an adult diagnosed with a terminal condition to request and an attendinghealth care provider to prescribe a self-administered controlled substance forthe purpose of ending the patient's life in a humane and dignified manner. Thebill requires that a patient's request for a self-administered controlledsubstance to end his life must be given orally on two occasions and in writing,signed by the patient and one witness, and that the patient be given an expressopportunity to rescind his request at any time. The bill makes it a Class 2felony (i) to willfully and deliberately alter, forge, conceal, or destroy apatient's request, or rescission of request, for a self-administered controlledsubstance to end his life with the intent and effect of causing the patient'sdeath; (ii) to coerce, intimidate, or exert undue influence on a patient torequest a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending hislife or to destroy the patient's rescission of such request with the intent andeffect of causing the patient's death; or (iii) to coerce, intimidate, or exertundue influence on a patient to forgo a self-administered controlled substancefor the purpose of ending the patient's life. The bill also grants immunityfrom civil or criminal liability and professional disciplinary action to anyperson who complies with the provisions of the bill and allows health careproviders to refuse to participate in the provision of a self-administeredcontrolled substance to a patient for the purpose of ending the patient's life.

Certain early childhood care and education programs; parents of enrolled children; car seats for field trips. Requiresthe Department of Social Services to adopt regulations to requirethe parent of any child who attends any certified preschool, childday center, child day home, or family day home, including any registeredfamily day home, to provide an age-appropriate and developmentallyappropriate car seat for his child on any day on which the childattends a field trip that requires the use of such a car seat. Thebill requires the Board of Education to adopt the same regulations for any Virginia Preschool Initiative program or early childhoodspecial education program licensed by the Board of Education anddirects any Head Start program offered in the Commonwealth to adoptthe same requirement.

Constitutional amendment (first resolution);qualifications of voters and the right to vote. Establishes thatthe only qualifications to vote in the Commonwealth are United States citizenship, being at least 18 years of age, residency in the Commonwealth,and registration to vote in accordance with the requirements setout in the Constitution of Virginia. The amendment further providesthat any person who meets those qualifications has the right to voteand that such right cannot be abridged by law. The bill removes fromcurrent constitutional qualifications to vote not having been convictedof a felony and not having been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent.

Constitutional amendment (first resolution);marriage. Proposes the repeal of the constitutional amendment dealing with marriage that was approved by referendum at the November2006 election. That amendment to the Bill of Rights (i) defines marriageas "only a union between one man and one woman"; (ii) prohibits theCommonwealth and its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing"a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intendsto approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects ofmarriage"; and (iii) prohibits the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing "another union, partnership, or otherlegal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations,qualities, or effects of marriage." The provisions of this section of the Constitution of Virginia are no longer valid as a result ofthe United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges,576 U.S. ___ (June 26, 2015).

Health insurance; mandated coverage for hearing aids for minors. Requires health insurers, health maintenance organizations, and corporations providing health care coverage subscription contracts to provide coverage for hearing aids and related services for children 18 years of age or younger when a licensed audiologist prescribes such hearing aids and related services. The coverage includes one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear, up to a cost of $1,500, every 24 months. The measure applies to policies, contracts, and plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2021.