Sen. Lionell Spruill

Prohibits any person from importing, selling, bartering, or transferring a firearms magazine designed to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. A violation is a Class 6 felony. The bill prohibits a person from carrying semi-automatic center-fire firearms with more than 10 rounds of ammunition in a public place; under existing law, this prohibition applies only in certain localities and only to such firearms if the firearm holds more than 20 rounds of ammunition. The bill also increases from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for carrying a semi-automatic center-fire firearm and 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. The bill redefines "assault firearm" by reducing from more than 20 to more than 10 the number of rounds of ammunition that a firearms magazine will hold in order to be defined as an "assault firearm" and prohibits a dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from his inventory such an assault firearm to any person. The bill also reduces from more than 20 to more than 10 the number of rounds of ammunition that a firearms magazine will hold in order to be defined as an "assault firearm" for purposes of possession or transportation by a person younger than 18 years of age and increases the penalty from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony for a person younger than 18 years of age to possess or transport a handgun, an assault firearm, or a shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered, with some exceptions.

Creates the Virginia Casino Gaming Commission (the Commission) as the licensing body for casino gaming. The bill specifies the licensing requirements for casino gaming and imposes penalties for violations of the casino gaming law. Casino gaming shall be limited to localities that have passed a referendum on the question of allowing casino gaming in the locality. The bill also requires the Commission to establish a voluntary exclusion program allowing persons to voluntarily exclude themselves from the gaming areas of facilities under the jurisdiction of the Commission. In addition, the bill establishes the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund administered by the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to provide counseling and other support services for compulsive and problem gamblers, develop problem gambling treatment and prevention programs, and provide grants to supporting organizations that provide assistance to compulsive gamblers. The bill requires proceeds of the gross receipts tax and admission tax imposed on casino gaming operators to be paid as follows: (i) one percent into the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund, (ii) 10 percent to the locality in which the casino gaming operation is located, and (iii) 89 percent into the Toll Mitigation Fund, which shall be used to mitigate the tolls established to support construction and maintenance of the Dominion Boulevard Bridge and Roadway Improvement Project and the Downtown Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel/Martin Luther King Freeway Extension Project.

Provides that a registered sex offender who enters an emergency shelter designated by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof and operated in response to a declared state or local emergency shall, as soon as practicable after entry, notify a member of the shelter's staff who is responsible for providing security of such person's status as a registered sex offender. The bill provides that the shelter's staff may access the publicly available information on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry regarding such person and use such information in making reasonable accommodations to ensure the safety of all persons in the shelter; however, no person shall be denied entry solely on the basis of his status as a sex offender unless such entry is otherwise prohibited by law. The bill also requires that such person register with the local law-enforcement agency where the shelter is located within three days of entering the shelter if such person continues to reside in the shelter at that time. This bill was incorporated into