Sen. Adam Ebbin

Expands the definition of "assault firearm" and prohibits any person from importing, selling, transferring, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing, or transporting an assault firearm. A violation is a Class 6 felony. The bill prohibits a dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from his inventory an assault firearm to any person. The bill also prohibits a person from carrying a shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered in a public place; under existing law, this prohibition applies only in certain localities. The bill makes it a Class 6 felony to import, sell, transfer, manufacture, purchase, possess, or transport large-capacity firearm magazines, silencers, and trigger activators, all defined in the bill. Any person who legally owns an assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator on November 1, 2019, may retain possession until July 1, 2020. During that time, such person shall (i) render the assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator inoperable; (ii) remove the assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator from the Commonwealth; (iii) transfer the assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator to a person outside the Commonwealth who is not prohibited from possessing it; or (iv) surrender the assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator to a state or local law-enforcement agency. The bill establishes an appropriation for the fiscal impact of the bill and authorizes the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget to allocate such appropriation among the agencies and programs impacted by the bill.

Requires a background check for any firearm transfer and directs the Department of State Police (the Department) to establish a process for transferors to obtain such a check from licensed firearms dealers. A transferor who sells a firearm to another person without obtaining the required background check is guilty of a Class 6 felony. The bill also provides that a transferee who receives a firearm from another person without obtaining the required background check is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill exempts transfers (i) between immediate family members; (ii) that occur by operation of law; (iii) by the executor or administrator of an estate or by the trustee of a testamentary trust; (iv) at firearms shows in accordance with law; (v) that are part of a buy-back or give-back program; (vi) of antique firearms; (vii) that occur at a shooting range, shooting gallery, or any other area designed for the purpose of target shooting, for use during target practice, a firearms safety or training course or class, a shooting competition, or any similar lawful activity; or (viii) that are temporary transfers that (a) occur within the continuous presence of the owner of the firearm or (b) are necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. The bill removes the provision that makes background checks of prospective purchasers or transferees at firearms shows voluntary. The bill also provides that the Department shall have three business days to complete a criminal history record information check before a firearm may be transferred. The bill establishes an appropriation for the fiscal impact of the bill and authorizes the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget to allocate such appropriation among the agencies and programs impacted by the bill.

Requires the Department of Corrections to report to the General Assembly and the Governor on or before October 1 of each year certain population statistics of persons incarcerated in state correctional institutions, including certain statistics regarding offenders placed in and released from restrictive housing and Shared Allied Management Units. This bill is identical to

Prohibits school employees from opening or closing an electronic room partition in any school building except under certain limited circumstances. The bill requires any annual safety review or exercise for school employees in a local school division to include information and demonstrations, as appropriate, regarding the operation of such partitions. The bill also requires the Department of Education to make available to each school board model safety guidance regarding the operation of such partitions.

Requires counties, cities, and towns to adjust local election district lines to coincide with congressional or state legislative district lines established by the General Assembly. Precincts are required to be wholly contained within a single congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, or local election district, and local governing bodies are directed to establish precinct boundaries immediately after the completion of the General Assembly's decennial redistricting so that each precinct is so wholly contained. The bill provides that if a locality is unable to comply with this requirement it shall apply to the State Board of Elections for a waiver to administer a split precinct and the State Board may grant that waiver or direct the locality to create a precinct with fewer than the required number of registered voters, as it deems appropriate.

Provides that when a defendant charged with capital murder is determined to be unrestorably incompetent, the court may order that the defendant receive continued treatment to restore competency provided that hearings be held at yearly intervals for five years and at biennial intervals thereafter, or at any time that the director of the treating facility or his designee submits a competency report to the court that the defendant's competency has been restored. Under current law, hearings are held every six months for an incompetent defendant receiving treatment to restore competency. The bill also provides that no unrestorably incompetent defendant charged with capital murder shall be released except pursuant to a court order.

Provides that in order to meet the requirement that an animal be given adequate space, a tether must be at least three times the length of the animal or 10 feet in length, whichever is greater, and not cause injury or pain, weigh more than one-tenth of the animal's body weight, or have weights or heavy objects attached to it. Current law requires that the tether be at least three times the length of the animal. The bill exempts agricultural animals from provisions of the law related to tethering. The bill defines "adequate shelter" to mean the provision of shelter that, during hot weather, is shaded and does not readily conduct heat and, during cold weather, has a windbreak at its entrance and provides sufficient bedding material.