Study; JLARC; Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to, by November 30, 2022, (i) review general operations of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission, including (a) procedures and persons responsible for reviewing complaints received and determining whether to dismiss or investigate such complaints, (b) processes for determining whether to conduct informal or formal hearings, and (c) any informal or established rules used to determine disciplinary action imposed on a judge or justice; (ii) consider the requirements for election of members of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission and determine whether (a) the current number of members and (b) the qualifications of members elected are adequate to ensure proper judicial oversight and accountability; (iii) identify areas of weakness and potential areas of improvement; (iv) research best practices for judicial accountability and discipline; (v) provide recommendations to increase transparency, eliminate actual or perceived bias, increase efficiency and establish deadlines or specific timeframes for resolving complaints, provide effective interventions prior to the need for disciplinary action, and establish rules surrounding the types of disciplinary actions taken and when to take specific disciplinary action; and (vi) keep confidential all records, transcripts, papers, investigatory notes, files, or other confidential information provided by the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
Sponsored bills
Workers' compensation; anxiety disorder or depressive disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters.Provides that an anxiety disorder or depressive disorder, as both are defined in the bill, incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter is compensable under the Virginia Workers' CompensationAct on the same basis as post-traumatic stress disorder. The billprovides that a mental health professional must diagnose the law-enforcementofficer or firefighter as suffering from anxiety disorder or depressivedisorder as a result of a qualifying event, as defined in the Code,and includes other conditions for compensability.
Prohibition of deceptive tactics during thecustodial interrogation of a minor. Provides that any confessionof a minor, made as a result of a custodial interrogation conductedat a place of detention on or after July 1, 2022, shall be presumedto be inadmissible as evidence against such minor making such confessionin any adjudication of delinquency or criminal proceeding for anact that if committed by an adult would be a criminal offense if,during the custodial interrogation, a law-enforcement officer knowingly engages in deception, as defined in the bill. The bill provides thatthe presumption of inadmissibility for such confession of a minormay be overcome if the confession was voluntarily given.
Breeding of dogs and cats for research; reporting. Requires any person who or entity that breeds dogs and cats for animal testing facilities to report certain information to the State Veterinarian on a monthly basis. The report shall include information regarding the birth, acquisition, death, sale, transfer, or other disposition of a dog or cat in the prior month.
Administration of government; language accessequity; report. Establishes the Interagency Language Access WorkingGroup in the Office of the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusionwith the following membership: the Director of Diversity, Equity,and Inclusion, the Director of the Office of the Children's Ombudsman,the Governor's Secretaries, and six nonlegislative citizen membersrepresenting organizations that represent individuals with languageaccess needs. The Working Group is established for the purpose ofmaximizing state policies, resources, technical assistance, and procurementpractices to further language access and equity in the Commonwealthand its state government agencies. The bill also requires each stateagency to designate a language access coordinator who will be responsiblefor the agency's annual language access report, the requirementsof which are set out in the bill. The Secretary of Administrationis directed to establish criteria for state agencies to procurelanguage interpretation and translation services and to establisha policy for compensating multilingual state employees who are requiredas part of their job to provide interpretation, translation, or other bilingual skills at least once a month.
Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Week.Designates May 4 through 10, in 2022 and in each succeeding year,as Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Week in Virginia.
Constitutional amendment (second reference); qualifications of voters and the right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished.
Constitutional amendment (second reference);marriage; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative rightto marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriageas only a union between one man and one woman as well as the relatedprovisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United StatesSupreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644(2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamentalright inherent in the liberty of persons and requires the Commonwealthand its political subdivisions and agents to issue marriage licenses,recognize marriages, and treat all marriages equally under the law,regardless of the sex or gender of the parties to the marriage. Religiousorganizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.
Celebrating the life of J. Kenneth Klinge.
Celebrating the life of Naval Air Crewman 2ndClass James P. Buriak, USN.