Provides that when a landlord as plaintiff requests that an initial hearing on a summons for unlawful detainer be set on a date later than 21 days from the filing of such summons, the initial hearing shall not be set on a date later than 30 days after the date of the filing. The bill further provides that an order of possession for the premises in an unlawful detainer action shall not be entered unless the landlord or the landlord's attorney or agent has presented a copy of a proper termination notice that the court admits into evidence. The bill allows a landlord to amend the amount alleged to be due and owing in an unlawful detainer action to request all amounts due and owing as of the date of a hearing on the action and to further amend such an amount to include additional amounts that become due and owing prior to the final disposition of a pending unlawful detainer action. The bill prohibits a landlord from filing a subsequent and additional unlawful detainer summons for such additional amounts. The bill also (i) requires a landlord to offer the tenant a written rental agreement and sets forth terms and conditions that will be applicable by operation of law if the landlord does not offer a written rental agreement; (ii) provides that a tenant is entitled to reasonable attorney fees when an action brought by a landlord to enforce the terms of a rental agreement is dismissed at the request of the tenant or tenant's attorney or judgment is entered in favor of the tenant; (iii) extends the "pay or quit" provision from five days to 14 days; (iv) prohibits a landlord from terminating a rental agreement solely because a tenant owes fees due to late payment of rent, provided that such tenant is current on all rental payments; and (iv) extends the amount of time that a tenant may have an unlawful detainer dismissed to two days before a writ of eviction is delivered to be executed if the tenant pays all amounts claimed on the summons in unlawful detainer to the landlord, the landlord's attorney, or the court.
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Creates a procedure by which any attorney for the Commonwealth or any law-enforcement officer may apply to a general district court, circuit court, or juvenile and domestic relations district court judge or magistrate for an emergency substantial risk order to prohibit a person who poses a substantial risk of injury to himself or others from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. If an emergency substantial risk order is issued, a judge or magistrate may issue a warrant to remove firearms from such person. An emergency substantial risk warrant shall expire on the fourteenth day following issuance of the order. The bill requires a court hearing in the circuit court for the jurisdiction where the person is subject to the order resides within 14 days from issuance of an emergency substantial risk order to determine whether a substantial risk order should be issued. Seized firearms shall be retained by a law-enforcement agency for the duration of an emergency substantial risk order or a substantial risk order or, with court approval, may be transferred to a third party 21 years of age or older chosen by the person from whom they were seized. The bill allows the complainant of the original warrant to file a motion for a hearing to extend the substantial risk order prior to its expiration. The court may extend the order for a period not longer than 180 days. The bill provides that persons who are subject to a substantial risk order, until such order has been dissolved by a court, are guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm; are disqualified from having a concealed handgun permit; and may not be employed by a licensed firearms dealer. The bill also provides that a person who transfers a firearm to a person he knows has been served with a warrant or who is the subject of an order is guilty of a Class 4 felony.
Provides for the establishment of the Virginia Citizens Redistricting Commission (the Commission), a 10-member commission responsible for establishing legislative and congressional districts following a decennial census. A selection committee consisting of five retired judges of a circuit court in Virginia, selected by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the minority leader in the House of Delegates, and the majority and minority leaders in the Senate from a list compiled by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, is tasked with adopting a process by which registered Virginia voters may apply to serve on the Commission and selecting from the applicants a list of 22 candidates. The amendment requires five of the candidates to be voters who affiliate with the political party receiving the highest number of votes for governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial election, five candidates to be voters who affiliate with the political party receiving the next highest number of votes for governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial election, and 12 candidates to be voters who do not affiliate with any political party. The Speaker of the House of Delegates, the minority leader in the House of Delegates, and the majority and minority leaders in the Senate then strike names from the list until there is the final list of 10 Commission members, three of whom affiliate with the political party receiving the highest number of votes for governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial election, three of whom affiliate with the political party receiving the next highest number of votes for governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial election, and four of whom do not affiliate with any political party. Final approval or adoption of a redistricting plan requires an affirmative vote of seven of the 10 Commission members, including at least one vote from each of the political parties represented. The amendment also contains criteria for the Commission to adhere to when drawing the legislative and congressional districts and imposes certain requirements on the Commission's activities to ensure accessibility by the public.
Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters and certain employees develop the cancer. The measure removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. The bill was incorporated into