Sen. Joe Morrissey

Commending the Patrick Henry School of Scienceand Arts.

Abolition of the death penalty. Abolishes the death penalty, including for those persons currently under a death sentence. This bill was incorporated into HB 2263.

Study; Secretary of Health and Human Resources; pharmaceutical distribution payment system; report. Requeststhe Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work groupto examine the pharmaceutical distribution payment system in the Commonwealth and innovative solutions to address the cost of prescriptiondrugs to Virginians at the point of sale.

Constitutional amendment (first reference);legislative compensation; Legislative Compensation Commission.Establishes the Legislative Compensation Commission, charged withdetermining the salaries, allowances, and retirement benefits ofthe members of the General Assembly. Members would receive no compensationfrom the Commonwealth other than the compensation determined by theCommission. The Commission is established by appointment of the GeneralAssembly every four years beginning July 1, 2026.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable BernardS. Cohen.

Constitutional amendment (first reference);marriage; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; recognition ofsame-sex marriages. Repeals the constitutional provision definingmarriage as only a union between one man and one woman, as well asthe related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of theUnited States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges,576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the Commonwealthand its political subdivisions and its agents are required to issuemarriage licenses, recognize marriages, and treat all marriages equallyunder the law, regardless of the gender of the two parties to themarriage. The amendment further provides that religious organizationsand clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuseto perform any marriage.

Auxiliary grants; assisted living facilities.Directs the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Servicesto adopt regulations that allow an assisted living facility in which30 percent or more of the residents are auxiliary grant recipientsto receive 200 percent of the auxiliary grant rate.

Expungement of emergency and preliminary protectiveorders. Provides that a person against whom an emergency or preliminaryprotective order has been issued may petition to have police andcourt records relating to such order expunged if the order expires,is dissolved by the issuing court, or if a hearing for the issuanceof a permanent protective order is scheduled or held and such permanentprotective order is subsequently not issued.

Automatic expungement of criminal records.Establishes a process for the automatic expungement of criminal recordsfor misdemeanors, certain felony convictions, deferred dispositions,and acquittals and for offenses that have been nolle prossed or otherwise dismissed. The bill also provides a process for the automatic expungementof criminal records for charges arising from mistaken identity orthe unauthorized use of identifying information. The bill has staggereddelayed effective dates in order to develop systems for implementingthe provisions of the bill.

Application of parole statutes for juvenilesand persons committed upon felony offenses committed on or afterJanuary 1, 1995. Repeals the abolition of parole. The bill requires the Virginia Parole Board to establish procedures for considerationof parole for persons who were previously ineligible for parole becauseparole was abolished and to allow for an extension of time for thescheduling of a parole interview for reasonable cause.