Support orders; retroactivity; arrearages; party's incarceration. Makes various changes to provisions of law related to child and spousal support orders, including (i) providing that in cases in which jurisdiction over child support or spousal support has been divested from the juvenile and domestic relations district court and no final support order has been entered, any award for child support or spousal support in the circuit court shall be retroactive to the date on which the proceeding was commenced by the filing of the action in the juvenile and domestic relations district court and (ii) specifying that prejudgment interest on child support should be retroactive to the date of filing.The bill provides that a party's incarceration alone for 180 or more consecutive days shall not ordinarily be deemed voluntary unemployment or underemployment for the purposes of calculating child support and imputing income for such calculation. The bill further provides that a party's incarceration for 180 or more days shall be a material change of circumstances upon which a modification of a child support order may be based. The provisions of the bill related to imputation of income apply only to petitions for child support and petitions for a modification of a child support order commenced on or after July 1, 2022, and do not create a material change in circumstances for the purposes of modifying a child support order if a parent was incarcerated prior to July 1, 2022, and the incarcerated party cannot establish a material change in circumstances other than incarceration.
Sponsored bills
Workers' compensation; permanent and total incapacity; subsequent accident. Requires compensation for permanent and total incapacity to be awarded for the loss of both hands, both arms, both feet, both legs, both eyes, or any two thereof either from the same accident or a compensable consequence of an injury sustained in the original accident. Under current law, compensation for permanent and total incapacity is required only when such loss occurs in the same accident.
Misuse of power of attorney; financial exploitation; incapacitated adults; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for an agent under a power of attorney to knowingly or intentionally engage in financial exploitation of an incapacitated adult who is the principal of that agent. The bill also provides that the agent's authority terminates upon such conviction. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference. This bill incorporates SB 10 and SB 690 and is identical to HB 497.
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; common interest communities; standards for structural integrity and reserves for capital components; work group; report. Directs the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (the Department) to establish a work group to study the adequacy of current laws addressing standards for structural integrity and for maintaining reserves to repair, replace, or restore capital components in common interest communities. The bill directs the Department to report the work group's findings and provide recommendations, including any legislative recommendations, to the Chairs of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology no later than April 1, 2023.
Division of marital property; Virginia RetirementSystem managed defined contribution plan; calculation of gains andlosses. Provides that if the court enters an order to distributeany Virginia Retirement System managed defined contribution plan,the Virginia Retirement System shall, if ordered by the court, calculategains and losses from the valuation date through the date of distributionof the benefits.
Sexual abuse of animals; penalty. Providesthat any person who knowingly (i) engages in sexual contact withan animal; (ii) causes another person by force, threat, or intimidationto engage in sexual contact with an animal; (iii) advertises, solicits,offers, sells, purchases, or possesses an animal with the intentthat the animal be subject to sexual contact; (iv) permits sexualcontact with an animal to be conducted on any premises under hisownership or control; (v) produces, distributes, publishes, sells,transmits, finances, possesses with the intent to distribute, publish,sell, or transmit, or makes any attempt to produce, distribute, publish,sell, transmit, or finance an obscene item depicting a person engagedin sexual contact with an animal is guilty of a Class 6 felony. Thebill also provides that any person convicted of sexual abuse of ananimal may be prohibited from possessing, owning, or exercising controlover any animal for a period of up to five years and may be orderedto attend an appropriate treatment program or obtain psychiatricor psychological counseling.
Workers' compensation; time period for filing claim; certain cancers. Provides that the time period for filing a workers' compensation claim for certain cancers is two years after a diagnosis of the disease is first communicated to the employee or within 10 years from the date of the last injurious exposure in employment, whichever first occurs. The bill provides, however, that such claim for benefits shall be barred if an employee is 65 years of age or older, regardless of the date of diagnosis, communication, or last injurious exposure in employment. This bill is identical to HB 1042.
Receipt of critically missing adult reports; Virginia Critically Missing Adult Alert Program; definition. Expands the definition of "critically missing adult" to include any missing adult, including an adult who has a developmental disability, intellectual disability, or mental illness, 18 years of age or older for the purpose of receipt of critically missing adult reports by a police or sheriff's department and the Virginia Critically Missing Adult Alert Program administered by the Department of State Police and removes from the Program the eligibility requirement that the adult is believed to have been abducted. This bill is identical to HB 1060.
Careless driving; vulnerable road users. Provides that a person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if he operates a vehicle in a careless or distracted manner and causes the death or serious bodily injury of a vulnerable road user. Current law only imposes the penalty if such careless or distracted operation causes serious bodily injury to the vulnerable road user. The bill also allows a court to suspend the driver's license or restrict the driver's license of a person convicted of careless driving for up to six months. This bill is identical to HB 920.
Search warrants; copy of search warrant and affidavit given to occupants. Clarifies that if the owner of the place to be searched is not present, a copy of the search warrant and affidavit shall be given to at least one adult occupant of the place to be searched.