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2010 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Courts of Justice

Chairman: Henry L. Marsh III

Clerk: Angi Murphy
Date of Meeting: January 18, 2010
Time and Place: 9:00 a.m., Senate Room A
UPDATED 1/15/2010 @ 9:14 a.m.

S.B. 22

Patron: Locke

Assault and battery; fire marshals; penalty.  Adds fire marshals and assistant fire marshals who have police powers to the definition of law-enforcement officer in the assault and battery criminal provision, which means that the punishment for committing an assault and battery on such a person who is engaged in the performance of his public duties is elevated from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony, with a six-month mandatory minimum term of confinement.

S.B. 42

Patron: Stuart

Purchase of service handguns.  Allows a law-enforcement officer who retires at or after age 70 with at least 10 years of service to purchase his service handgun for $1.

S.B. 43

Patron: Stuart

Testamentary trustees. Provides that any trustee under a will of a decedent, whenever probated, shall be relieved of the duty to file an inventory or annual accounts with the commissioner of accounts if the trustee (i) obtains the written consent of all adult beneficiaries, other than the trustee, to whom income or principal of the trust could be currently distributed, after providing those beneficiaries with certain documents and information; and (ii) files those consents with the commissioner on or before the date on which the inventory or next required accounting would otherwise be due. Under current law, however, such trustee is relieved of such duty only if the will of the decedent contains the requisite waiver of the obligations of the testamentary trustee nominated therein to account.

S.B. 68

Patron: McEachin

Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians Procedural Guarantee Act; conduct of interrogations.  Provides that firefighters or emergency medical technicians may have a witness of their choice present during an interrogation, as long as the interview is not unduly delayed. The bill specifies that the observer cannot participate or represent the employee. In addition the bill provides that all interrogations should be conducted with at least 24 hours' notice, unless the nature of the investigation requires immediate.

S.B. 69

Patron: McEachin

Surrogacy contracts.  Permits a surrogacy contract to be entered into by an unmarried person, a surrogate, and the surrogate's husband, if any. Upon expiration of three days following birth of any resulting child, the surrogate may relinquish her parental rights to the intended parents, if at least one intended parent is the genetic parent of the child, by signing a surrogate consent and report form naming the intended parents as the parents of the child. Under current law, the surrogate may relinquish such parental rights to the intended parents upon expiration of 25 days following birth of any resulting child. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to accept compensation for otherwise arranging or inducing intended parents and surrogates to enter into surrogacy contracts in this Commonwealth. Under current law, to otherwise arrange or induce intended parents and surrogates to enter into surrogacy contracts in this Commonwealth is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

S.B. 72

Patron: Reynolds

Unexecuted warrants.  Allows an attorney for the Commonwealth to move the court in which the warrant or summons would be returnable for the dismissal of any unserved warrant or summons issued by a magistrate. Dismissal would be without prejudice. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.

S.B. 89

Patron: Stuart

Petition to restore right to possess, etc., firearm; notice to attorney for the Commonwealth.  Provides that if a person files a petition to restore his right to possess or carry a firearm, a copy of the petition shall be served on the attorney for the Commonwealth who shall be entitled to respond and represent the interests of the Commonwealth. The court shall hold a hearing on the petition if requested by either the petitioner or the attorney for the Commonwealth.

S.B. 98

Patron: Quayle

Preliminary removal order hearings.  Provides that a court shall not accept any waiver by a parent, guardian, legal custodian, or other person standing in loco parentis of a child alleged to have been abused or neglected of his right to participate in a full evidentiary hearing or an adjudicatory hearing unless the court first ascertains, by oral examination, that such waiver is voluntary and intelligently made. If the court makes such ascertainment, it shall provide such parent, guardian, legal custodian, or other person with a statement to be executed by him in court and under oath to document his waiver. The statement shall be in a form designed and provided by the Supreme Court.

S.B. 105

Patron: McDougle

Mechanics' and materialmen's liens.  Removes the definitional requirement that one must give consent in writing in order to be a "mechanics' lien agent." The bill also authorizes any person entitled to claim a lien to notify the mechanics' lien agent that he seeks payment for labor performed or material furnished if the building permit contains the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the mechanics' lien agent. Current law provides that any person entitled to claim a lien may notify the mechanics' lien agent that he seeks payment for labor performed or material furnished only if, at the time of issuance, the building permit contains the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the mechanics' lien agent.

S.B. 124

Patron: Petersen

Electronic summons system; fees. Allows cities and counties to assess a fee not to exceed $3 as part of the costs in each criminal or traffic case to be used solely for an electronic summons system.

S.B. 125

Patron: Petersen

Grand larceny; threshold amount.  Increases from $200 to $210 the threshold amount of money or the value of the goods or chattel that the defendant must take before the crime rises from petit larceny to grand larceny.  The same threshold is increased for certain property crimes.

S.B. 126

Patron: Marsh

Waiver of payment of interest on fines and costs; incarcerated defendant.  Provides for the purging of interest on fines and costs for an incarcerated defendant when such fines and costs have accrued on cases other than the one for which the defendant is incarcerated. Current law provides for the interest waiver only for the case for which the defendant is incarcerated.

S.B. 127

Patron: Marsh

Declaration of judicial emergency.  Sets out a procedure for the Supreme Court to follow in entering an order declaring a judicial emergency when there is a disaster as defined in the Commonwealth's Emergency Services and Disaster Law. The judicial emergency order may suspend, toll, extend, or otherwise grant relief from time limits or filing requirements in any court affected by the order and allows designation of a neighboring jurisdiction as proper venue for civil and criminal proceedings. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.

S.B. 146

Patron: Puller

District court; acting chief judge. Provides a procedure for the assumption of the duties of a chief judge of a district court and notification of other judges in the event the chief judge is unable to perform his duties. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.

S.B. 154

Patron: Edwards

Increasing various costs, fees, penalties, etc.  Increases the amounts of various costs, fees, potential damages, jurisdictional amounts, and other dollar-based provisions in the Virginia Code to account for the effect of inflation. The bill also increases the threshold amount for when a contract must be in writing under statute of frauds contained in the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) as adopted in Virginia to match the current UCC amount. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

S.B. 157

Patron: Edwards

Preliminary removal orders.  Requires preliminary removal orders to specify the frequency, location, and duration of the visitation allowed between the child and his parents and to further state who is responsible for providing transportation of the child or parents, or both, to and from the visits.

S.B. 161

Patron: Edwards

Divorce proceedings; service requirements and waiver of notice of further proceedings. Provides that, in divorce cases, when the defendant has been served with the complaint by personal or substituted service, and the defendant fails to answer, plead, or otherwise appear within 21 days of such service, the defendant shall be deemed to have waived notice of further proceedings in the case and no further service of process upon him shall be required.

S.B. 177

Patron: McDougle

Juvenile court docket; family assault. Requires cases of assault and battery against a family or household member to be advanced on the docket and heard within 30 days of arrest or service of a summons or as soon thereafter as practicable.

S.B. 183

Patron: Wampler

Malicious injury; search and rescue personnel.  Adds search and rescue personnel who are members of an organization that has a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to the definition of search and rescue personnel so that the enhanced penalty will apply if they are the victims of malicious or unlawful wounding. Malicious wounding is a Class 3 felony (five to 20 years); the penalty for malicious wounding of search and rescue personnel is five to 30 years, with a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of two years. Unlawful wounding of search and rescue personnel is a Class 6 felony (one to five years), with a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of one year.