Sen. Scott Surovell

Copies of orders to counsel. Provides thatthe clerk of the court shall provide a copy of the appointment orderof a qualified expert to an indigent defendant or his attorney andto the appointed expert. The bill also provides that the chief judgeof each juvenile and domestic relations district court may provide for an alternative means of copying and distributing certain juvenileinvestigative reports or evaluations to counsel.

Proceeds of compromise agreements; minors; investmentin college savings trust accounts. Permits a court to directthe payment of the proceeds of an approved compromise agreement,in the case of damage to the person or property of a minor, by investmentin a college savings trust account for which the minor is the beneficiarypursuant to a college savings trust agreement with the Virginia CollegeSavings Plan, provided that (i) the investment options pursuant tosuch agreement are restricted to target enrollment portfolios; (ii)the order or decree approving and confirming the compromise requiresthe minor beneficiary's parent, as that term is defined in relevantlaw, to act as the custodian of the account; and (iii) except inthe case of a distribution from the account to be applied towardthe minor beneficiary's qualified higher education expenses, as that term is defined in relevant federal law, the order or decree approvingand confirming the compromise prohibits the minor beneficiary's parentfrom making any transfer, withdrawal, termination, or other accounttransaction unless the court provides prior approval pursuant toa written order.

Retired circuit and district court judges underrecall; evaluation; qualification by the Senate Committee on theJudiciary and the House Committee for Courts of Justice. Requiresthat retired district court judges sitting as substitutes be foundqualified every three years by the Senate Committee on the Judiciaryand House Committee for Courts of Justice instead of authorized bythe Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. The bill alsorequires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Courtof Virginia to prepare and distribute an evaluation form for eachcircuit and district court retired judge who has requested to becalled upon to sit in recall during his final year of the three-year period following qualification. The bill further requires that theOffice of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginiaannually prepare and transmit a report including such evaluationsconducted that year to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary andthe House Committee for Courts of Justice by the first day of thenext regular session of the General Assembly.

Maximum number of judges in each judicial circuit. Increases from six to seven the maximum number of authorized judges in the Thirty-first Judicial Circuit. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council of Virginia and is identical to HB 821.

Scenic river designation; North Fork of theShenandoah River. Designates an 8.8-mile portion of the NorthFork of the Shenandoah River as the North Fork of the ShenandoahState Scenic River.

Charter; Town of Occoquan. Establishes a new charter for the Town of Occoquan in Prince William County and repeals the current charter, which was created in 1930. The proposed charter sets out the organization of the town's government and contains powers typically granted to towns. Changes from the current charter include (i) updating the description of the Town's boundary, (ii) changing the election dates for councilmembers and the mayor from May to November, (iii) changing the mayor's and councilmembers' terms of office from two years to four years, (iv) eliminating provisions that duplicate provisions in the Code of Virginia, and (v) deleting outdated provisions. This bill is identical to HB 822.

Campaign finance; record retention requirements and reviews of campaign finance disclosure reports. Requires campaign committee treasurers to retain certain records that may be used in reviews of campaign committee accounts. The bill gives the Department of Elections the authority and duty to conduct reviews of a percentage of campaign committees and to report the results of such reviews annually to the State Board of Elections, the Governor, and the General Assembly and make such report available on the Department's website. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024, and provides that campaign finance reports filed prior to January 1, 2024, are not subject to the provisions of the bill.

Study; joint subcommittee to study pandemic response and preparedness in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint subcommittee to study pandemic response and preparedness in the Commonwealth. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee is tasked with examining existing laws in the Commonwealth and developing recommendations regarding the pandemic response and future needs of the Governor, the General Assembly, local governments, public and private health care systems and other facilities and providers, health districts, the judicial system, K-12 and higher education systems, and the business regulatory system.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable JohnWilliam Warner III.

Commending Harry Wason.