Sen. Scott Surovell

Celebrating the life of the Honorable RobertLathan Calhoun.

Celebrating the life of Michael Wayne Woods.

Celebrating the life of Frederick Cameron.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable RobertS. Bloxom, Sr.

Commending Edwin C. Roessler, Jr.

Practice of medicine and other healing arts;provision of litigation assistance. Requires practitioners ofmedicine and other healing arts to provide litigation assistanceto treated patients and their attorneys. Such litigation assistanceincludes providing a legal consult fee schedule upon request, schedulingand participating in meetings with a treated patient's attorney uponrequest, participating in trial or de bene esse depositions as needed,and providing a written estimate of the cost of the patient's medical services related to the litigation.

Constitutional amendment (first reference);Governor's term of office. Permits a Governor elected in 2025and thereafter to succeed himself in office. The amendment allowstwo four-year terms (either in succession or not in succession) butprohibits election to a third term. Service for more than two yearsof a partial term counts as service for one term.

Court of Appeals; jurisdiction; number of judges. Expands the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals of Virginia by providing for an appeal of right in every civil case and provides that the granting of further appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia shall be within the discretion of the Supreme Court. The bill provides for an appeal of right in criminal cases by a defendant, but leaves unchanged the current requirement that in criminal cases the Commonwealth must petition the Court of Appeals for granting of an appeal. The bill increases from 11 to 15 the number of judges on the Court of Appeals. The bill also (i) provides jurisdiction to the Court of Appeals over interlocutory appeals and petitions for review of injunctions; (ii) allows for oral arguments to be dispensed with if the panel of judges makes a unanimous decision that the appeal is frivolous or that the dispositive issues on appeal have already been authoritatively decided; (iii) creates a process by which the Attorney General will be notified of any criminal appeal and has the opportunity to intervene as counsel of record by filing a notice of appearance, and allows the Commonwealth's attorney to be counsel of record provided the Attorney General has not filed such notice of appearance; (iv) eliminates the requirement for an appeal bond in criminal appeals; (v) requires the clerk of the circuit court to prepare a transcript of any trial for which an appeal is noticed to him; and (vi) requires an expedited review of appeals of permanent protective orders and of bond validation proceedings.

Virginia Law Enforcement Professional StandardsCommission Accreditation Grant Fund and Program. Establishesthe Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission AccreditationGrant Fund (the Fund) and the Virginia Law Enforcement ProfessionalStandards Commission Accreditation Grant Program (the Program). TheFund and Program shall be overseen by the Department of CriminalJustice Services. Disbursements from the Fund shall be made to law-enforcementagencies to pursue accreditation from the Virginia Law EnforcementProfessional Standards Commission.

Creation of regional transportation authorities. Authorizes two or more adjacent counties or cities to form a regional transportation authority to engage in regional transportation projects.The bill sets forth the procedures for forming such authority anddetermining the membership of its governing board. Ordinances adoptedby each member of such authority would set forth the local taxes,fees, and revenues to be contributed by each locality to such authority.