Sen. Amanda Chase

Commending The American Legion Auxiliary.

School holidays; certain election days.Prohibits local school boards from requiring students to attend schoolon the second Tuesday in June or the Tuesday after the first Mondayin November. The bill also prohibits parent-teacher conferences andmeetings from being held on those dates.

Commending the Norfolk Police Department.

Capital murder; punishment. Provides thatany person convicted of capital murder involving the willful, deliberate,and premeditated killing of more than one person as part of the sameact or transaction or more than one person within a three-year period,and who was 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense,shall be sentenced to no less than a mandatory minimum term of confinementfor life.

Apprentice agreements; ratio of journeymen toapprentices. Prohibits the Apprenticeship Council from adoptingstandards for apprenticeship agreements governing the numeric ratioof journeymen to apprentices that require more than one journeymanper two apprentices. Under the bill, this limit on the ratio of journeymento registered apprentices does not apply to work performed underthe federal Davis-Bacon Act.

Issuance of warrants by magistrates. Providesthat a magistrate may not issue an arrest warrant for a misdemeanoroffense where the accused is a law-enforcement officer and the allegedoffense arises out of the performance of his public duties upon thebasis of a complaint by a person other than a law-enforcement officeror an animal control officer without prior authorization by the attorneyfor the Commonwealth or by a law-enforcement agency. The bill providesfor the appointment of an attorney for the Commonwealth from outsidethe jurisdiction if a conflict of interest exists for the attorneyfor the Commonwealth having jurisdiction.

Department of General Services; guidance tostate public bodies regarding purchases of materials made in theUnited States. Directs the Department of General Services to developand maintain a guidance document assisting state public bodies topurchase (i) iron and steel that are made in the United States and (ii) manufactured goods with at least 50 percent of the constituentparts and materials originating in the United States.

Electoral college; allocation of electoral votes.Revises the process by which the Commonwealth's electoral votes areallocated among the slates of presidential electors. The bill providesthat a voter will vote for two electors for the Commonwealth at largeand one elector for the congressional district in which he is qualifiedto vote. The candidates for President and Vice President receivingthe highest number of votes cast statewide are allocated the twoelectoral votes for the Commonwealth at large, and the candidatesfor President and Vice President receiving the highest number ofvotes cast in each congressional district are allocated the one electoralvote for that congressional district. Currently, the candidates for President and Vice President receiving the highest number of votescast statewide are allocated the total number of the Commonwealth'selectoral votes.