Del. Michael P. Mullin

Department of Health; H-2B employer-providedhousing; registry. Requires every H-2B employer, as defined inthe bill, to report to the Commissioner of Health the physical addressof every unit of employer-provided housing, also defined in the bill,provided to an H-2B employee, together with the number of H-2B employeesresiding at each such housing unit and the number of beds at eachsuch housing unit. The bill requires the Department of Health to establish, maintain, and make available on a website a registryof H-2B employer-provided housing in the Commonwealth that includesthe information H-2B employers are required by the bill to report.

Commending Daphne Tamara Fulson.

Commending The Arc of Northern Virginia.

Commending the Honorable M. Kirkland Cox.

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.

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.

Juvenile offenders; youth justice diversion programs. Authorizes any jurisdiction to establish a youth justice diversion program, defined in the bill as a diversionary program that (i) is monitored by a local youth justice diversion program advisory committee; (ii) uses juvenile volunteers as lawyers, jurors, and other court personnel; (iii) uses volunteer attorneys as judges; (iv) conducts peer trials, subject to the juvenile and domestic relations court's jurisdiction, of juveniles who are referred to the program by an intake officer; and (v) imposes various sentences emphasizing restitution, rehabilitation, accountability, competency building, and education, but not incarceration. The bill provides that a jurisdiction may establish a youth justice diversion program upon establishment of a local youth justice diversion program advisory committee and approval of the program by the chief judge of the juvenile and domestic relations court that serves such jurisdiction The bill requires each local youth justice diversion program advisory committee to establish criteria for the eligibility and participation of juveniles alleged to have committed a delinquent act other than an act that would be a felony or a Class 1 misdemeanor if committed by an adult, with the consent of the juvenile's parent or legal guardian, and to establish policies and procedures for the operation of such program. The bill provides that whenever an intake officer takes informal action on a complaint alleging that a child committed a delinquent act other than an act that would be a felony or a Class 1 misdemeanor if committed by an adult, the intake officer may refer the juvenile to a youth justice diversion program. The bill also adds provisions that the Department of Juvenile Justice shall develop a statewide evaluation model and conduct ongoing evaluations of the effectiveness and efficiency of youth justice diversion programs and report these evaluations to the General Assembly by December 1 of each year.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; law-enforcementcriminal incident information; criminal investigative files. Adds criminal investigative files, defined in the bill, relatingto a criminal investigation or proceeding that is not ongoing, alsodefined in the bill, to the types of law-enforcement and criminalrecords required to be released in accordance with the provisionsof the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Under current law, therelease of criminal investigative files is discretionary. The billalso provides that the mandatory release of criminal incident informationrelating to felony offenses and criminal investigative files shallbe enjoined if a court finds by a preponderance of the evidence thatthe release of such information would likely effect certain results,outlined in the bill. The bill contains technical amendments. Thisbill is a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information AdvisoryCouncil.

Homicides and assaults and bodily woundings; certain matters not to constitute defenses. Provides that the discovery of, perception of, or belief about another person's actual or perceived sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation, whether or not accurate, is not a defense to any charge of capital murder, murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, voluntary manslaughter, or assault and bodily wounding-related crimes and is not provocation negating or excluding malice as an element of murder.