Sen. Bill Stanley

Declawing cats; prohibition; civil penalty.Makes unlawful the practice of declawing cats except as necessaryfor a therapeutic purpose, as defined in the bill, and creates acivil penalty of $500 for the first violation, $1,000 for the secondviolation, and $2,500 for the third or any subsequent violation. The bill also entitles any animal control officer, humane investigator,or state or local law-enforcement officer to bring a civil actionfor a violation of this section.

Manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, etc., of fentanyl, heroin, or related controlled substances; Task Force on Fentanyl and Heroin Enforcement established; penalties. Provides that a person is guilty of felony homicide, which constitutes second degree murder and is punishable by confinement of not less than five nor more than 40 years, if the underlying felonious act that resulted in the killing of another involved the manufacture, sale, gift, or distribution of a Schedule I or II controlled substance to another and (i) such other person's death results from his use of the controlled substance and (ii) the controlled substance is the proximate cause of his death. The bill provides that venue for a prosecution of this crime shall lie in the locality where the underlying felony occurred, where the use of the controlled substance occurred, or where death occurred. The bill also provides that if a person gave or distributed a Schedule I or II controlled substance only as an accommodation to another individual who is not an inmate in a community correctional facility, local correctional facility, or state correctional facility, or in the custody of an employee thereof, and not with intent to profit thereby from any consideration received or expected nor to induce the recipient of the controlled substance to use or become addicted to or dependent upon such controlled substance, he is guilty of a Class 5 felony. The bill also requires the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to investigate the cause and manner of a death in any case where the attorney for the Commonwealth or the investigating law-enforcement agency has probable cause to believe that the death resulted from such felony homicide. The bill also adds mandatory minimum fines for manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with the intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, heroin, or carfentanil based on the weight of such mixtures or substances. Additionally, the bill creates the Task Force on Fentanyl and Heroin Enforcement whose purpose is to study ways to enhance the ability of law-enforcement officers throughout the Commonwealth to combat the illegal manufacturing, importation, and distribution of fentanyl, heroin, and other similar controlled substances. The bill requires the Task Force to meet at least annually and to report to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1 of each year regarding its activities and any recommendations.

Motor sports facilities; local incentives. Allows a locality that is home to a motor sports facility, as defined in relevant law, in the Commonwealth to propose local incentives that address the economic conditions within such locality and will help stimulate real property improvements and new job creation. The bill allows a locality to establish eligibility criteria for local incentives that are different from the current criteria required by relevant law.

Controlled substances; manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, etc.; adulterated or misbranded drugs; penalties. Makes it a Class 6 felony for any person, except for permitted manufacturers, to possess, purchase, sell, give, distribute, or possess with intent to sell, give, or distribute an encapsulating machine or a tableting machine that manufactures, compounds, converts, produces, processes, prepares, or otherwise introduces into the human body a controlled substance. The bill makes it a Class 5 felony if such person knows, intends, or has reasonable cause to believe that such action will result in the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance that contains (i) a controlled substance classified in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Drug Control Act; (ii) cocaine, coca leaves, or any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation thereof as described in Schedule II of the Drug Control Act; or (iii) a controlled substance analog as defined in relevant law.The bill also makes it a felony punishable by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 40 years for any person 18 years of age or older to knowingly allow a minor or a mentally incapacitated or physically helpless person of any age to be present during the manufacture or attempted manufacture of any substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.The bill also increases from a Class 2 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for violations related to adulterated or misbranded drugs and cosmetics.

Alcoholic beverage control; public consumption;exemption. Provides that the prohibition on drinking or offeringto another an alcoholic beverage in public shall not apply when suchacts are conducted on the premises of a campground located on privateproperty at which a majority of the campers use travel or tent trailers,pickup campers, or motor homes or similar recreational vehicles.

Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin and prohibits such discrimination. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin. This bill incorporates SB 120 and is identical to HB 18.

Tow truck drivers and towing and recovery operators; prohibited acts; certain solicitation and offering of services; penalty. Prohibits tow truck drivers and towing and recovery operators from causing any other person to solicit or offer towing services in any manner, directly or indirectly, at the scene of any wrecked or disabled motor vehicle upon a highway when such wrecked or disabled motor vehicle reasonably necessitates removal by a tow truck. The bill provides that a violation of such prohibition constitutes a Class 3 misdemeanor for the first offense and a Class 2 misdemeanor for any subsequent offense.

Health insurance; coverage for colorectal cancer screening. Requires health insurers to provide coverage for examinations and laboratory tests related to colorectal cancer screening in accordance with the most recently published recommendations established by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for colorectal cancer screening for which a rating of A or B is in effect with respect to the individual involved. The bill requires such coverage to include coverage of a follow-up colonoscopy after a positive noninvasive stool-based screening test or direct visualization screening test. The bill prohibits such coverage from being subject to any deductible, coinsurance, or any other cost-sharing requirements for services received from participating providers. The provisions of the bill apply to individual or group accident and sickness insurance policies, individual or group accident and sickness subscription contracts, or health care plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the Commonwealth on and after January 1, 2025.

STEM+C Competition Team Grant Program and Fund;established. Establishes the Science, Technology, Engineering,Mathematics, and Computing (STEM+C) Competition Team Grant Programand Fund to encourage interest in STEM+C-related subject areas andsupport STEM+C-related extracurricular team-building activities inpublic schools in the Commonwealth by providing grants to qualifiedschools, as defined in the bill, for use in establishing or supportingSTEM+C competition teams.

Rental conveyances; leases; assignments. Relocates certain provisions of Title 55.1 (Property and Conveyances) of the Code of Virginia related to assignments of rent from a chapter related to nonresidential tenancies to a chapter related to leases. The bill corrects a technical error from the 2019 recodification of Title 55 of the Code of Virginia. This bill is identical to HB 312.