Rep. Tim Griffin

Line of Duty Act; campus police officers; privatepolice officers. Provides employees of contributing nonprofitprivate institutions of higher education, defined in the bill, andcontributing private police departments, defined in the bill, withthe benefits granted to employees of participating employers underthe Line of Duty Act. The bill clarifies that the Line of Duty Actshall not apply to any private institution of higher education orprivate police department that is not a contributing nonprofit private institution of higher education or contributing private police department, respectively.

Elections; election reform. Requires that the general register of each locality publish on the official website of the locality (i) monthly, a list of all registered voters added to or removed from each precinct in the locality including a reason for each change; (ii) on the first day on which the registration records are closed for any election, a list of all the qualified voters registered to vote in each precinct participating in the election; (iii) after the election, a list of all persons who voted for each precinct participating in the election; and (iv) within seven days of any application for or receipt or use of any money, grants, property, or services given by a private individual, nongovernmental entity, or federal government entity, a notice of such activity. The bill requires a registered voter to provide a reason for being absent or unable to vote at his polling place on election day in order to receive an absentee ballot to vote by mail. Registered voters offering to vote absentee in person are similarly required by the bill to provide a reason. The bill provides that an applicant for an absentee ballot is required to receive an absentee ballot by mail and to vote absentee in person before the second Saturday immediately preceding an election. The bill also repeals the permanent absentee voter list and limits the special annual application to those voters with an illness or disability. Provisions of the Code providing for the establishment of drop-off locations for the return of absentee ballots are repealed. The bill requires that all absentee ballots sent in compliance with applicable state and federal law be received by the close of polls on election day. The bill provides that only members of a uniformed service, as defined in relevant law, persons who are residing temporarily outside of the United States, and spouses or dependents of such members or persons are entitled to register to vote after the close of registration records in person up to and including the day of the election. Under current law, any person who is qualified to register to vote is entitled to register to vote after the close of registration records up to and including the day of the election. The bill also requires presentation of a form of identification containing a photograph in order to vote. The bill repeals the provisions of law permitting a voter who does not have one of the required forms of identification to vote after signing a statement, subject to felony penalties for false statements, that he is the named registered voter he claims to be. Instead, the bill provides that such voter is entitled to cast a provisional ballot. The bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide voter photo identification cards containing the voter's photograph and signature free of charge to those voters who do not have another valid form of identification. The bill eliminates provisions allowing for the use of ranked choice voting in the Commonwealth. The use of central absentee precincts is also eliminated. All returned absentee ballots are required to be held in their return envelopes until they are distributed on election day to the precinct in which the absentee voter resides for counting.

State Air Pollution Control Board; motor vehicleemissions standards. Repeals the requirement that the State AirPollution Control Board implement a low-emissions and zero-emissionsvehicle program for motor vehicles with a model year of 2025 andlater. The bill prohibits the Board from adopting or enforcing anymodel year standards related to control of emissions from new motorvehicles or new motor vehicle engines, including low-emission vehicleand zero-emission vehicle standards pursuant to the federal CleanAir Act and prohibits the Commonwealth from requiring any new motorvehicle or new motor vehicle engine to be certified as compliantwith model year standards related to the control of emissions adoptedby California for which a waiver has been granted pursuant to thefederal Clean Air Act.

Capital murder; death penalty. Authorizespunishment by death for capital murder. The bill also provides thatthe Supreme Court of Virginia shall give priority to the review ofcases in which the sentence of death has been imposed over othercases pending in the Court, and that the provisions of the bill areseverable.

Enhanced concealed handgun permit. Providesthat any person 21 years of age or older who applies for a concealedhandgun permit may elect to apply for an enhanced concealed handgunpermit. The bill provides that such permit would allow a person whohas been issued an enhanced concealed handgun permit to carry a firearmany place a law-enforcement officer may carry a firearm. The billprovides that to obtain such enhanced concealed handgun permit, aperson must demonstrate competence with a handgun and such demonstrationshall include a live fire shooting exercise conducted on a rangewith the expenditure of a minimum of 100 rounds of ammunition.

Probation, revocation, and suspension of sentence;repeal. Repeals the limitations on the amount of active incarcerationa court can impose as a result of a revocation hearing for a probationviolation or violation of the terms and conditions of a suspendedsentence. Under current law, there are limitations on the amountof active incarceration a court can impose for defined technicalviolations. The bill also removes limitations on the lengths of aperiod of probation and a period of suspension of a sentence thatmay be fixed by the court. Under current law, a court may fix theperiod of probation for up to the statutory maximum period for which the defendant might originally have been sentenced to be imprisonedand any period of supervised probation shall not exceed five yearsfrom the release of the defendant from any active period of incarceration,with some exceptions. The bill also makes changes to the time periodswithin which a court must issue process to notify the accused ofa revocation hearing.

Carrying concealed handguns; protective orders. Authorizes any person 21 years of age or older who is not prohibitedfrom purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm and is protectedby an unexpired protective order to carry a concealed handgun for45 days after the protective order was issued. The bill providesthat if the person issued the protective order applies for a concealedhandgun permit during such 45-day period, such person will be authorizedto carry a concealed handgun for an additional 45 days and be givena copy of the certified application, which shall serve as a de factoconcealed handgun permit. The bill requires such person to have the order or certified application and photo identification on his personwhen carrying a concealed handgun and to display them upon demandby a law-enforcement officer; failure to do so is punishable by a$25 civil penalty.

Regulation of electric utilities; developmentof renewable energy facilities; powers of State Air Pollution ControlBoard; powers of State Corporation Commission. Repeals provisions(i) requiring the State Air Pollution Control Board to adopt regulationsto reduce carbon dioxide emissions from any electricity generatingunit in the Commonwealth and authorizing the Board to establish anauction program for energy allowances; (ii) prohibiting the StateCorporation Commission from approving any new utility-owned generation facilities that emit carbon dioxide as a by-product of energy generation,in certain circumstances; (iii) declaring that statutory allowancesfor energy derived from sunlight, onshore wind, offshore wind, andstorage facilities are in the public interest; and (iv) relatingto the development of solar and wind generation and energy storagecapacity, development of offshore wind capacity, and generation ofelectricity from renewable and zero carbon sources. The bill provides that planning and development activities for new nuclear generationfacilities are in the public interest.

K-12 schools and institutions of higher education; student participation in women's sports; civil cause of action. Requires each interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public school, or any other school that is a member of the Virginia High School League, or by a public institution of higher education to be expressly designated as one of the following based on the biological sex of the students who participate on the team or in the sport: (i) males, men, or boys; (ii) females, women, or girls; or (iii) coed or mixed if participation on such team or sport is open to both males and females. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill also provides that in the event of a dispute as to the biological sex of any student seeking to participate on any interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport that is expressly designated for males or females, such student may establish biological sex by presenting to the school or institution a signed physician's statement that attests to such student's biological sex based solely on (a) the student's internal and external reproductive anatomy; (b) the student's normal endogenously produced levels of testosterone; and (c) an analysis of the student's genetic makeup. The bill prohibits any government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking any other adverse action against any such school or institution of higher education based on a violation of the provisions of the bill and creates a cause of action for any school or institution of higher education that suffers harm as a result of a violation of the bill. Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for any student who suffers harm as a result of a knowing violation of a provision of the bill by a school or institution or as a result of the student's reporting a violation of a provision of the bill by a school, institution, athletic association, or organization.

Abortion; use of public funds prohibited.Provides that no agency of the Commonwealth shall enter into anycontract with or make any grant of public funds, as defined in thebill, to any entity or any affiliate of any entity that providesabortion services or operates a facility at which abortion servicesare provided. The bill also repeals provisions authorizing the Boardof Health to use state general funds appropriated to the Department of Health to pay the cost of abortions for women who otherwise meetthe financial eligibility criteria for services through the stateplan for medical assistance services in cases in which (i) a pregnancyoccurs as a result of rape or incest that is reported to a law-enforcementor public health agency or (ii) a physician certifies in writingthat he believes the fetus will be born with a gross and totallyincapacitating physical deformity or with a gross and totally incapacitatingmental deficiency.