Del. Don Scott

Child support obligations; party's incarcerationnot deemed voluntary unemployment or underemployment. Providesthat a party's incarceration for 180 or more consecutive days shallnot be deemed voluntary unemployment or underemployment for the purposesof calculating child support and imputing income for such calculation.The bill further provides that a party's incarceration for 180 ormore consecutive days shall be a material change of circumstancesupon which a modification of a child support order may be based.

Magistrates; appointment and supervision.Gives supervisory control over the magistrate system to the chiefcircuit court judge and the Committee on District Courts and abolishesmagisterial regions. Under current law, the Executive Secretary ofthe Virginia Supreme Court exercises such authority with a provisionfor consultation with the chief judges of the circuit courts in theregion where the appointment is made.

Nolle prosequi or dismissal without prejudiceprior to preliminary hearing; subsequent indictment; depositions.Provides that if the district court enters a nolle prosequi orgrants a dismissal without prejudice upon motion of the attorneyfor the Commonwealth on a misdemeanor or felony warrant prior toconducting a preliminary hearing and the defendant is subsequentlyindicted by a grand jury for the same offense, then (i) on the defendant'smotion, the case shall be remanded to the district court for a preliminaryhearing or (ii) the court may, with the consent of the defendant, direct that the depositions of any witnesses whose testimony wouldhave been relevant in determining probable cause be taken. The billprovides that such depositions shall be taken before a judge of the circuit court in which such indictments were returned, and the judgeshall rule upon all questions of evidence and otherwise control thetaking of the same as though it were taken in open court.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;terms and conditions of rental agreement; automatic renewal; noticeof rent increase. Requires a landlord that owns more than fourrental dwelling units to, in the case of any rental agreement thatprovides for automatic renewal of such agreement, provide separatewritten notice to the tenant notifying the tenant of any increasein rent. The bill provides that such notice shall be provided tothe tenant no less than 30 days before the automatic renewal takeseffect.

Emergency Shelters Upgrade Assistance GrantFund. Allows funds in the Emergency Shelters Upgrade AssistanceGrant Fund to be paid to entities outlined in local shelter plansto install, maintain, or repair infrastructure for backup energygeneration for emergency shelters, including solar energy generators,and improve the hazard-specific structural integrity of shelter facilitiesowned by a locality or identified in the shelter plan of a locality.

State Corporation Commission; electric vehiclecharging infrastructure and rooftop solar energy collection deviceinstallation; report. Directs the State Corporation Commissionto evaluate by locality the availability and accessibility of electricvehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and rooftop solar energy collectiondevice installation to residents of the Commonwealth. The Commissionshall report the findings of its evaluation and analysis by December1, 2022, to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Commerce and Energyand the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor.

Charter; City of Portsmouth; city council; noninterference.Provides that any member of the Portsmouth City Council who violatescertain charter provisions related to noninterference in appointmentsor removals of officers and employees of the city, upon motion ofanother member of the City Council and a majority vote of all membersof the City Council, shall be subject to public censure and a finenot to exceed $100.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;landlord obligations; tenant safety. Requires a landlord whoowns more than four rental dwelling units, or more than a 10 percentinterest in more than four rental dwelling units, to require allemployees and applicants for employment to submit to fingerprintingand provide personal descriptive information to be forwarded alongwith the employee's or applicant's fingerprints through the CentralCriminal Records Exchange and the Federal Bureau of Investigationfor the purpose of obtaining criminal history record informationregarding such employee or applicant. The bill allows a landlordto disqualify from employment any person who has been convicted ofor found guilty of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendereto, regardless of adjudication, a violent crime committed in anyjurisdiction. The bill also provides that a landlord must (i) establishwritten policies and procedure for the storage and management of,access to, and return of all keys for each rental dwelling unit;(ii) regulate the secure storage of and access to unissued keys;and (iii) maintain a written log for the issuance and return of allkeys. Finally, pursuant to the bill, all relevant landlords must submit certain information on a quarterly basis to the Department of Housingand Community Development to prove compliance with the provisionsoutlined in the bill.

Concealed handgun permits; penalties. Changesthe penalty for a first violation of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a civil penalty ofnot more than $100, a second violation from a Class 6 felony to acivil penalty of not more than $500, and a third or subsequent violationfrom a Class 5 felony to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000.The bill also provides that a person, unless otherwise disqualified,shall not be precluded from applying for a concealed handgun permitduring the pendency of the proceedings for a violation. If such personis issued a valid concealed handgun permit while a charge is pending,he may offer such permit to the court and the court may dismiss thecharge.

Celebrating the life of Mildred Fayette OdomGraves.