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.
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Public defender offices; County of Henrico.Establishes a public defender office for the County of Henrico.
Juvenile offenders; parole eligibility. Providesthat any person who has active sentences that total more than 20years for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committedwhile that person was a juvenile and who has served the lesser ofat least 20 years of such sentences or 30 percent of the term ofimprisonment imposed for such sentences shall be eligible for parole.Under current law, such person must have served at least 20 yearsbefore becoming parole eligible.
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act; penalty.Creates the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The Act prohibitsan abortion after 20 weeks gestation unless, in reasonable medicaljudgment, the mother has a condition that so complicates her medicalcondition as to necessitate the abortion to avert her death or toavert serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairmentof a major bodily function. When an abortion is not prohibited post-20weeks' gestation, the physician or authorized nurse practitioner is required to terminate the pregnancy in a manner that would providethe unborn child the best opportunity to survive. The bill punishes performance of an abortion in violation of the Act as a Class 6felony. The bill also provides for civil remedies against a physicianor authorized nurse practitioner who performs an abortion in violationof the Act.
Possession of controlled substances; penalties. Reduces the penalty for possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance from a Class 5 felony to a Class 1 misdemeanor and the penalty for possession of a Schedule IV or V controlled substance from a Class 2 misdemeanor and a Class 3 misdemeanor, respectively, to a Class 4 misdemeanor. Consequently, the bill removes felony violations of possession of a controlled substance from the definition of barrier crime related to criminal history checks for eligibility for various types of employment, to volunteer or provide certain services, or to establish or operate certain types of regulated businesses.The bill also limits the previous convictions that make a person ineligible for disposition under the first offender statute to a previous conviction for possession of a controlled substance or manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance. Under current law, a previous conviction for any drug-related criminal offense or for an offense under any statute of the United States or of any state relating to narcotic drugs, marijuana, or stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic drugs makes a person ineligible for such disposition. The bill also amends the required conditions of probation under the first offender statute.The bill changes the penalty for an attempt to commit a felony drug offense from imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 10 years to a Class 6 felony and removes the felony offenses for a prisoner to secrete or have in his possession any chemical compound that he has not lawfully received, any Schedule III controlled substance, or marijuana. The bill makes secreting or possessing a controlled substance or marijuana by a prisoner punishable the same as possession of such controlled substances or marijuana by a person who is not in prison. Lastly, the bill provides that the definition of "controlled substance" for purposes of the Drug Control Act shall not include mere residue of any drug, substance, or immediate precursor in Schedules I through VI that is not a countable dosage unit. The bill contains technical amendments.
Casino gaming; eligible host cities; limitson local referendums. Adds Petersburg to the list of cities eligibleto host a casino in the Commonwealth. The bill also provides thatthe governing body of any eligible host city that holds a local referendumon the question of whether casino gaming should be permitted in suchcity that subsequently fails shall be prohibited from holding anotherlocal referendum on the same question for a period of five yearsfrom the date of the last referendum.
Custody and visitation; grandparents; mediation. Requires any case in which a grandparent petitions the court forcustody or visitation of a minor grandchild to be referred by thecourt to mediation. The bill requires the petitioning party to paythe fee of the mediator.
Termination of parental rights; murder of child.Requires the court to terminate the parental rights of a parent uponfinding, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that terminationof parental rights is in the best interests of the child and thatthe parent has been convicted of an offense under the laws of theCommonwealth or a substantially similar law of any other state, theUnited States, or any foreign jurisdiction that constitutes murderor voluntary manslaughter, or a felony attempt, conspiracy, or solicitationto commit any such offense, and the victim of the offense was thechild of the parent over whom parental rights would be terminated.The bill also requires local boards of social services to file apetition to terminate parental rights in such instances.
Uniform Statewide Building Code; lead-saferental housing. Provides that the local governing body of a localitymay adopt an ordinance that requires the inspection and certificationof a residential rental dwelling unit built prior to 1986 for the purpose of ensuring the absence of lead hazards in such dwellingunit. The bill requires any such inspection and certification tobe completed by a person licensed and qualified pursuant to appropriatestate and federal laws and regulations and prohibits the rental ofany residential dwelling unit that does not receive a satisfactorypost-inspection certification based on certain factors outlined inthe bill. Pursuant to the provisions of the bill, any locality thatadopts an ordinance shall establish a fund to pay for the cost of remediation or require the landlord to pay for remedying the leadhazard. Finally, the bill allows a locality to waive inspection requirementsfor certain reasons and permits the local governing body of a localityto adopt additional lead-safe and lead-free inspection and certificationrequirements or higher standards for inspection and certification,if it so chooses.