Promises to appear after the issuance of a summons.Eliminates the requirement that a promise to appear be completedafter the issuance of a summons for a misdemeanor offense or an administrativeviolation. The bill provides that an accused shall be released fromcustody after a summons has been issued.
Absentee voting; mandatory processing of returned absentee ballots before election day; central absentee voter precinct in the office of the general registrar. Requires certain actions to be taken to process absentee ballots that are returned by mail before election day. The general registrar is required to (i) examine the ballot envelopes to verify completion of the required voter affirmation; (ii) mark the pollbook, or the absentee voter applicant list if the pollbook is not available, that the voter has voted; and (iii) direct the officers of election at a central absentee precinct to open the sealed ballot envelopes and insert the ballots in optical scan counting equipment or other secure ballot container without initiating any ballot count totals. Under current law, the general registrar is required to conduct preprocessing of absentee ballots before election day only as needed. To facilitate preprocessing as provided in the bill, the bill requires a central absentee voter precinct to be established and maintained in each locality. Additional central absentee voter precincts may be established at the discretion of the governing body.
Assault and battery; penalty. Eliminates the mandatory minimum term of confinement of six months for an assault and battery committed against a judge, magistrate, law-enforcement officer, correctional officer, person directly involved in the care, treatment, or supervision of inmates, firefighter or volunteer firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel. The bill removes simple assault from enhanced punishment and provides that the enhanced punishment applies for assault and battery only when it results in bodily injury. The bill also provides that a jury or the court may find any person charged with such offense (i) whose physical or mental capacity is diminished to the extent that he needs counseling or supervisory assistance or assistance with activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living or (ii) who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disability, or an intellectual disability, not guilty of such offense but guilty of a simple assault or assault and battery, punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also provides that before any arrest, indictment, or service of a petition in the case of a juvenile is made for an alleged assault and battery against a law-enforcement officer, (a) such alleged assault and battery shall be investigated by another law-enforcement officer who was not the subject of such alleged assault and battery and (b) the arrest, indictment, or service of a petition shall be approved by the attorney for the Commonwealth.
Virginia Public Procurement Act; local arbitration agreements. Allows a participating locality, for any procurement solicitation or contract exceeding $10,000 for goods and services,to require the bidder or offeror to disclose certain informationregarding pre-dispute arbitration clauses, defined in the bill, in employment, civil rights, and consumer disputes, and provides thata locality may consider the policies and practices related to arbitrationof each bidder and offeror. The bill also provides that a participatinglocality shall require the bidder or offeror to provide written orelectronic submissions to allow the locality to ascertain (i) whetherthe bidder or offeror requires persons with whom it is in a work relationshipor prospective work relationship to sign or otherwise enter intoa contract containing a pre-dispute arbitration clause that wouldcover an employment or civil rights dispute and (ii) whether thebidder or offeror requires consumers to sign or otherwise enter intoa contract containing a pre-dispute arbitration clause that wouldcover a consumer or civil rights dispute as a condition of purchasingproducts or services, downloading mobile applications, or using websites.The bill authorizes a participating locality to cancel, terminate,or suspend, in whole or in part, the contract of any contractor thathas violated a provision of the bill and to declare the contractorineligible for further contracts with such locality for up to fiveyears.
Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act; license plate readers. Prohibits law-enforcement and regulatory agencies from using license plate readers to collect and maintain personal information on individuals without a warrant. The bill provides that license plate data may be collected if intended for prompt evaluation and potential use in investigating suspected criminal activity, civil or regulatory violations, or terrorism, or in support of the Department of Motor Vehicle's (DMV) emissions inspection program. The data may only be retained for 30 days and shall not be subject to any outside inquiries or internal usage except for the investigation of a report of a missing person, suspected criminal activity, civil or regulatory violations, or terrorism by any person. The bill also prohibits an agency from acquiring personal information collected from license plate readers from a third-party private vendor if the agency would not have been permitted to collect or retain the information on its own, unless such license plate reader technology is being utilized as part of the DMV's emissions inspection program.
Parole; notice and certification; monthly reports. Provides that the Department of Corrections shall release a prisoner no sooner than 21 business days after the date of notification by the Virginia Parole Board (the Board) to the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth of the decision to grant parole. The bill authorizes the Board to make such notification electronically and by certified mail; under current law only certified mail may be used. The bill requires that the monthly reports issued by the Board regarding actions taken on the parole of prisoners (i) be published on the last day of the month and (ii) include the offenses of which prisoners considered for parole were convicted, the jurisdictions in which such offenses were committed, and the amount of time served by such prisoners. However, a prisoner's name shall be included on report only if the attorney for the Commonwealth and any victims have been notified; otherwise, inclusion on the report is delayed to the following month. The bill requires that when notice is sent to a victim of the victim's right to present evidence to the Board of the impact that the release of a prisoner will have on the victim, such notice shall also be sent to the attorney for the Commonwealth and the director of the victim/witness program of the jurisdiction in which the prisoner's offense occurred. This bill incorporates SB 1293.
Elections; absentee voting; ballots to be sortedand results to be reported by precinct. Provides that absenteeballots processed at a central absentee precinct must be sorted bythe precinct to which the voter who cast the absentee ballot is assignedand that the resulting vote totals from such ballots must be reportedseparately for each voter precinct.
Motor vehicle insurance; underinsured motor vehicle. Provides that a policy or contract of bodily injury and property damage liability insurance for the use of a motor vehicle shall contain an endorsement or provisions obligating the insurer to make payment for injury or damage caused by an underinsured vehicle without any credit, set-off, or reduction for the available bodily injury and property damage coverage. The bill provides that a motor vehicle is underinsured when the total amount of bodily injury and property damage coverage applicable to the operation or use of the motor vehicle and available for payment for such bodily injury or property damage, is less than the total amount of damages sustained up to the total amount of uninsured motorist coverage afforded any person inured.
