Sen. Emily Jordan

Celebrating the life of Edwin Francis Little.

Special license plates; NOT FORGOTTEN. Authorizesthe issuance of revenue-sharing special license plates for supportersof Americans listed as prisoners of war or missing in action bearingthe legend NOT FORGOTTEN. The bill requires that the design of suchplate incorporate the POW/MIA Flag as designated by the federal NationalPOW/MIA Flag Act. The bill exempts these special license plates fromthe requirement to obtain 450 prepaid applications for such plate.The bill provides that some of the license plate fees will be depositedin the POW/MIA Fund, established within the Department of Accounts,and paid annually to the National League of Families of American Prisonersand Missing in Southeast Asia and used to support its operation andprograms in Virginia.

Felony homicide; certain drug offenses; penalty. Provides that a person is guilty of felony homicide, punishable byconfinement for not less than five nor more than 40 years, if theunderlying felonious act that resulted in the accidental killingof another person involved the manufacture, sale, gift, or distributionof a Schedule I or II controlled substance and (i) such other person'sdeath results from his use of the controlled substance and (ii) the controlled substance is the proximate cause of the person's death.The bill provides that the venue for prosecution is the locality wherethe felony violation occurred, where the use of the controlled substanceoccurred, or where the death occurred. The bill serves to overrulethe decision of the Court of Appeals of Virginia in Woodard v.Commonwealth, 61 Va. App., 567, 739 S.E.2d 220 (2013),aff'd, 287 Va. 276, 754 S.E.2d 309 (2014).

Golf carts and utility vehicles; Town of Ivor.Adds the Town of Ivor to the list of towns that may authorize theoperation of golf carts and utility vehicles on designated publichighways despite not having established their own police departments.

Golf carts and utility vehicles; Town of Smithfield. Authorizes the governing body of the Town of Smithfield to, by ordinance, authorize a golf cart or utility vehicle to be operated on a designatedpublic highway where the posted speed limit is 35 miles per houror less. The bill authorizes a golf cart or utility vehicle in theTown of Smithfield to cross any highway marked as a golf cart crossingby the Department of Transportation.

Commonwealth Broadband Chief Advisor; broadbandservice territory maps. Requires the Commonwealth Broadband ChiefAdvisor to develop and maintain a map of private broadband providerservice territories, including accurate average broadband speeds insuch territories. The map shall be updated yearly and be made availableto the public.

Elections; offenses; intimidation of or interferencewith authorized representatives of party or candidate; penalty.Makes willfully interfering, or attempting to interfere, with anauthorized representative of a party or candidate in his lawful observationof an election a Class 3 misdemeanor.

Absentee voting; definition of postmark; legibility requirement. Requires an absentee ballot returned to the generalregistrar after the closing of the polls on election day to be legiblypostmarked on or before the date of the election in order to be counted.Current law does not specify that the postmark must be legible. Thebill defines postmark, for purposes of absentee ballots returnedafter the closing of the polls on election day, to mean (i) an officialUnited States Postal Service imprint indicating the date of mailingor any other official indicia of the United States Postal Serviceused to identify the date of mailing or (ii) the mailing confirmationdata of a commercial delivery service.

Condition of parole; Sex Offender and CrimesAgainst Minors Registry; penalty. Requires any person released on parole who was convicted of murder or any Tier I, Tier II, orTier III offense prior to July 1, 1994, who is not required to beregistered in the Commonwealth with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry to register, reregister, and verify his registration information with the Registry as a condition of his parole. The billprovides that the provisions and procedures of the Sex Offender andCrimes Against Minors Registry Act shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Celebrating the life of Annie Jane Boothe.