Sen. Bill Stanley

Property; landlord and tenant; noncomplianceas defense to action for possession for nonpayment of rent. Removesprovisions limiting the discretion of the court in actions for possessionbased upon nonpayment of rent and actions for rent by a landlordwhen the tenant is in possession. The bill simplifies the law; statingonly that, in such cases, a tenant may assert as a defense the landlord'sviolation of his duty to maintain a fit and habitable premises.

Deferred dispositions; property crimes; larceny and receiving stolen goods. Provides that a court, upon such plea if the facts found by the court would justify a finding of guilt, without entering a judgment of guilt and with the consent of the accused, may defer further proceedings and place him on probation subject to terms and conditions for a first offense misdemeanor larceny provided such person has not previously been convicted of any felony or had a prior deferred disposition for the same offense. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference. This bill was incorporated in SB 286.

Health insurance; payment to out-of-networkproviders. Provides that when a covered person receives coveredemergency services from an out-of-network health care provider or receives out-of-network services at an in-network facility, the coveredperson is not required to pay the out-of-network provider any amountother than the applicable cost-sharing requirement. The measure alsoestablishes a standard for calculating the health carrier's requiredpayment to the out-of-network provider of the services, which standardis the lower of the market-based value for the service or 125 percentof the amount that would be paid under Medicare for the service.If such provider determines that the amount to be paid by the healthcarrier does not comply with the applicable requirements, the measure requires the provider and the health carrier to make a good faitheffort to reach a resolution on the appropriate amount of the reimbursementand, if a resolution is not reached, authorizes either party to request the State Corporation Commission to review the disputed reimbursement amount and determine if the amount complies with applicable requirements.The measure provides that such provisions do not apply to an entitythat provides or administers self-insured or self-funded plans; however, such entities may elect to be subject such provisions. Themeasure requires health carriers to make reports to the Bureau ofInsurance and directs the Bureau to provide reports to certain committeesof the General Assembly.

Constitutional amendment (first resolution);immunity of legislators. Limits the immunity of legislators byallowing the arrest of a member of the General Assembly during thesessions of the respective houses upon issuance of process for arrestby a judge with authorization of the attorney for the Commonwealthor the law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the offense.

Authorization of volunteer school security officers by local school boards and private or religious schools. Authorizes volunteer school security officers to carry firearms at schools in performance of their duties.

Commending William H. Goodwin, Jr.

Accounts filed by fiduciaries and reports filed by guardians; perjury; penalty. Provides that any account filed by a fiduciary with the commissioner of accounts and annual report filed by a guardian with the local department of social services shall be signed under oath under penalty of perjury, the punishment for which is a Class 5 felony. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference. This bill was incorporated into SB 261.

Custodial interrogations; recording. Provides that any law-enforcement officer shall, if practicable, make an audiovisual recording of any custodial interrogation of a person conducted in a place of detention. The bill provides that if an audiovisual recording is unable to be made, the law-enforcement officer shall make an audio recording of the custodial interrogation. The bill provides that the failure of a law-enforcement officer to make such a recording shall not affect the admissibility of the statements made during the custodial interrogation, but the court or jury may consider such failure in determining the weight given to such evidence. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference. This bill was incorporated into SB 730.

Animal testing; breeding. Prohibits anyperson from breeding a dog or cat for the express purpose of producingoffspring for (i) use in research, experimentation, or testing thatis not required pursuant to federal law or regulation or (ii) saleto a manufacturer, institution of higher learning, or contract testingfacility outside the United States.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable Mary T.Christian.