Rep. Mark H. Levine

Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearms following conviction for assault and battery of a family or household member; penalties. Prohibits a person who has been convicted of assault and battery of a family or household member, as defined in the bill, from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. A person who violates this provision is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Sunset of coal tax credits. Sunsets the Coal Employment and Production Incentive Tax Credit and Coalfield Employment Enhancement Tax Credit after tax year 2021 and prohibits the allocation of such credits on and after January 1, 2022. The bill provides that if credits were earned prior to January 1, 2022, the credit holder may claim the credits in subsequent tax years pursuant to the applicable carryover requirements of current law; however, such credit holders would be limited to claiming $1 million in carryover credits per taxable year.

Unemployment compensation; failure to respond; continuation of benefits; repayment of overpayments. Provides that an employer shall be deemed to have established a pattern of failing to respond timely or adequately to written requests for information relating to claims if the Virginia Employment Commission determines that the employer has failed to respond timely or adequately to a written request for information relating to a claim on two or more occasions within a 48-month window and requires such employer to pay a penalty upon his second such failure to respond timely or adequately. Under current law, such pattern is established after four failures, and the penalty is assessed after the third failure. The bill provides that if an employer fails to respond timely or adequately to a written request by the Commission for information relating to a claim, the employer forfeits any appeal rights to that claim. The bill provides that when a claimant has begun receiving unemployment benefits, such benefits shall continue to be paid under a presumption of continuing entitlement unless or until a deputy determines, in a process providing notice and opportunity to be heard to the claimant, that the claimant is ineligible or disqualified. The bill provides that an individual who receives an overpayment of unemployment benefits is not liable to repay the overpayments to the Commission if the Commission determines that (i) the overpayment was not due to fraud, misrepresentation, or willful nondisclosure on the part of the recipient and its recovery would be against equity and good conscience; (ii) the overpayment was a direct result of inducement, solicitation, or coercion on the part of the employer; or (iii) the overpayment occurred due to administrative error. The bill requires the Commission to waive an overpayment of benefits under a federal unemployment benefit program if the program authorizes the waiver. The bill provides that any person who receives an overpayment of benefits is not required to repay such overpayment if the Commission determines that the overpayment was made because the employer failed to respond timely or adequately to a written request by the Commission for information relating to the claim. Finally, the bill prohibits a determination with respect to benefit overpayments to be issued until after a determination or decision that finds a claimant ineligible or disqualified for benefits previously paid has become final.

Carrying a firearm within Capitol Square and the surrounding area, into building owned or leased by the Commonwealth, etc.; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for a person to carry any firearm within (i) the Capitol of Virginia; (ii) Capitol Square and the surrounding area, as described in the bill; (iii) any building, parking lot, or parking structure owned or leased by the Commonwealth or any agency thereof; (iv) any building owned or leased by the Commonwealth where employees of the Commonwealth perform their official duties; or (v) any building where the General Assembly meets or conducts its business. The bill provides exceptions for law-enforcement officers, court officers, authorized security personnel, and active military personnel while in the conduct of such person's official duties; any retired law-enforcement officer who is visiting a gun range owned or leased by the Commonwealth; and any state employee of a state or juvenile correctional facility who is authorized to carry a firearm while in the conduct of such employee's official duties. The bill provides that an individual who lawfully possesses a firearm may keep such firearm in his locked vehicle in a parking lot or parking structure described in clause (iii) so long as the firearm is (a) secured, (b) not visible, and (c) in a container or compartment inside of the vehicle. The bill requires that notice of the provisions prohibiting the carrying of such firearms be posted at each of the public entrances to Capitol Square and such buildings, parking lots, and parking structures. The bill also provides that any firearm carried in violation of these provisions is subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer and forfeiture to the Commonwealth.

Foster care; termination of parental rights; relatives and fictive kin. Requires local departments of social services and licensed child-placing agencies to involve in the development of a child's foster care plan the child's relatives and fictive kin who are interested in the child's welfare. The bill requires that a child 12 years of age or older be involved in the development of his foster care plan; under current law, a child's involvement is mandatory upon reaching 14 years of age. The bill contains other amendments to provisions governing foster care and termination of parental rights that encourage the placement of children with relatives and fictive kin.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; requirement to pay prevailing wage; transportation infrastructure projects. Clarifies, for purposes of the requirement under certain circumstances to pay the prevailing wage rate for work performed on public works contracts, that public works includes transportation infrastructure projects..

Criminal proceedings; consideration of mental condition and intellectual and developmental disabilities. Permits the admission of evidence concerning a defendant's mental condition at the time of an alleged offense, including expert testimony, if such evidence (i) tends to show the defendant did or did not have the specific mental state required for the offense charged and (ii) is otherwise admissible pursuant to the general rules of evidence. The bill provides that to establish a mental condition for such purposes, the defendant must show that his condition existed at the time of the offense and that such condition satisfies the diagnostic criteria for (a) an autism spectrum disorder as defined in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association or (b) an intellectual or developmental disability. If a defendant intends to present such evidence, the bill requires him or his counsel to give notice in writing to the attorney for the Commonwealth within specified time periods. The bill also clarifies that a diagnosis of an intellectual or developmental disability shall be considered by a judicial officer for the purpose of rebuttal of a presumption against bail and that a court may order that a sentencing report prepared by a probation officer contain any diagnosis of an intellectual or developmental disability. The bill also adds to the requirements to be met for qualification as a court-appointed attorney two hours of continuing legal education, which shall cover the representation of individuals with behavioral or mental health disorders and individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Robbery; penalties. 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.

Probation, revocation, and suspension of sentence; limitations. Limits the amount of active incarceration a court can impose as a result of a revocation hearing for a probation violation. The bill provides that if the court finds the basis of a violation of the terms and conditions of a suspended sentence or probation is that the defendant was convicted of a criminal offense or violated another condition other than a technical violation, the court may pronounce whatever sentence might have been originally imposed. The bill defines "technical violation" and provides specific limitations on the sentence a court may impose depending on whether the violation is a first, second, or third or subsequent technical violation. The bill also provides that a court may fix the period of probation for up to the statutory maximum period for which the defendant might originally have been sentenced to be imprisoned and any period of supervised probation shall not exceed five years from the release of the defendant from any active period of incarceration. The bill also provides that a court must measure any period of suspension of sentence from the date of entry of the original sentencing order.

Issuance of writ of vacatur for victims of commercial sex trafficking. Establishes a procedure for victims of sex trafficking to file a petition of vacatur in circuit court to have certain convictions vacated and the police and court records expunged for such convictions. The bill requires the court to grant the writ and vacate a qualifying offense if it finds the petitioner (i) was convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a qualifying offense and (ii) committed the qualifying offense as a direct result of being a victim of sex trafficking, as defined in the bill. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.