Rep. Robert B. Bell

Admission to bail; rebuttable presumptions againstbail. Creates a rebuttable presumption against bail for certaincriminal offenses enumerated in the bill and for persons identifiedas being illegally present in the United States by U.S. Immigrationand Customs Enforcement who are charged with certain offenses. Thebill also requires the court to consider specified factors when determiningwhether the presumption against bail has been rebutted and whetherthere are appropriate conditions of release.

Commending Keswick Hunt Club.

Absentee voting; deadline for returning absenteeballot. Requires that an absentee ballot be received before the closing of the polls on election day in order to be counted. Currently,an absentee ballot that is received after the closing of the pollsbut before noon on the third day after the election is counted ifit is postmarked on or before the date of the election.

Celebrating the life of Ronald Bowen Watson.

Killing the fetus of another; manslaughter;penalties. Provides that any person who kills the fetus of anotherby an intentional act committed while in the sudden heat of passionupon reasonable provocation is guilty of voluntary manslaughter, which is punishable as a Class 5 felony. The bill also provides that anyperson who kills the fetus of another accidentally, contrary to theintention of the parties and while engaged in conduct so gross, wanton,and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life, is guiltyof involuntary manslaughter, which is also punishable as a Class5 felony.

Commending Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University.

Photo speed monitoring devices; locality-designatedhighway segments. Authorizes localities to, by ordinance, authorizetheir local law-enforcement agency to place and operate photo speedmonitoring devices in certain locations named in the ordinance, providedthat (i) the highway has a posted speed limit of 35 miles per houror greater; (ii) the ordinance identifies the locality-designated speeding offense to be enforced by the photo speed monitoring device;(iii) speeding, crash, or fatality data support the need for strongerenforcement against speeding; (iv) in counties and towns whose roadsare subject to the control and jurisdiction of the Department ofTransportation, the locality-designated highway segment is in thesecondary state highway system; and (v) the Superintendent of StatePolice, upon request of the chief law-enforcement officer for thelocality, annually certifies that the speed limit on the locality-designatedhighway segment cannot be safely enforced without the use of a photospeed monitoring device. The bill directs the locality to also identifythe speeding violations that may be enforced by a photo speed monitoringdevice. Current law authorizes the use of photo speed monitoringdevices in highway work zones and school crossing zones.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; amendwaivers providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities;greater financial flexibility for certain services; report. Directsthe Department of Medical Assistance Services to (i) take steps toamend the Family and Individual Supports, Community Living, and BuildingIndependence waivers to combine the maximum annual allowable amount for assistive technology, electronic home-based support services,and environmental modifications for an individual receiving waiverservices, for an annual total of $15,000, to provide for greaterflexibility and better meet the needs of individuals receiving servicesand (ii) report on its progress to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2022.

Temporary detention; alternative custody.Provides that if the facility indicated on a temporary detentionorder is a state facility, no bed for the person detained or in custodypursuant to the temporary detention order is immediately availableat such state facility, and an employee or designee of such statefacility is available to take custody of such person, such employeeor designee of the state facility may assume custody of such personwherever such person is located and maintain custody of such personand transport such person to such state facility or to an alternativefacility of temporary detention. The bill also provides that a personwho is an inmate who is subject to an order authorizing treatmentshall remain in law-enforcement custody at all times prior to admissionto the facility designated for treatment of the person pursuant tosuch order.

Workers' compensation; anxiety disorder or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters.Provides that an anxiety disorder or depressive disorder, as both are defined in the bill, incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter is compensable under the Virginia Workers' CompensationAct on the same basis as post-traumatic stress disorder. The billprovides that a mental health professional must diagnose the law-enforcementofficer or firefighter as suffering from anxiety disorder or depressivedisorder as a result of a qualifying event, as defined in the Code,and includes other conditions for compensability.