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Courts of Record

P Passed

P HB215

Technology Trust Fund; parcel identification numbers; use of land record cover sheets. Provides for the expiration on July 1, 2002, of the additional fee collected by the circuit courts for the Technology Trust Fund. For those localities with a unique parcel identification system, the bill requires the use of such unique parcel identification numbers on land instruments in clerks' offices. The bill also allows the use of land record cover sheets statewide. Identical to SB 375.

Patron - Phillips

P HB624

Courts of record; clerk's office. Allows a circuit court clerk's office to be open on Saturdays for the limited purposes of receiving applications, granting licenses and examination and copying of records. This bill is identical to SB 249.

Patron - Dickinson

P HB724

Number of circuit court judges. Increases from four to five the number of circuit court judges in the 12th (Chesterfield, Colonial Heights) and 27th (Galax, Radford, Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Pulaski, Wythe) circuits.

Patron - Almand

P HB725

Electronic filing of documents. Makes technical changes in the procedures regarding documentation of electronic filings, the use of affidavits of authenticity, and the authenticity of signatures of notaries. The bill also codifies the existing sunset clause, which calls for the laws relating to electronic filing of documents in the clerks' offices to expire on July 1, 2004.

Patron - Rust

P HB1128

Appeals in abuse and neglect cases. Requires the circuit court, in cases involving child abuse and neglect pursuant to § 63.1-248.6:1 (appeals from administrative proceeding), to close the proceedings and seal the record in the case. The court may, for good cause shown, unseal the record.

Patron - McDonnell

P HB1160

Local electronic device fund. Provides that in any court in which electronic devices are used for recording testimony a fee of not more than $20 shall be paid by the clerk on each day of the trial from the court reporter fund into a special local fund to repair and purchase such electronic devices.

Patron - Jackson

P SB249

Courts of record; clerk's office. Allows a circuit court clerk's office to be open on Saturdays for the limited purposes of receiving applications, granting licenses and examination and copying of records. Identical to HB 624.

Patron - Houck

P SB370

Court of Appeals; judges. Increases the number of judges on the Court of Appeals of Virginia from 10 to 11.

Patron - Stolle

P SB375

Technology Trust Fund; parcel identification numbers; use of land record cover sheets. Provides for the expiration on July 1, 2002, of the additional fee collected by the circuit courts for the Technology Trust Fund. The bill allows the use of parcel identification numbers on land instruments in clerks' offices using such systems and allows the use of land record cover sheets statewide. Identical to HB 215.

Patron - Wampler

P SB597

Circuit court fees. Provides for a flat fee of $50 dollars for a petition seeking court approval of a settlement where no action has yet been filed.

Patron - Stolle

F Failed

F HB381

Sentencing guidelines. Provides that the midpoint of the sentencing range for possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance is increased to eight months if the defendant has been previously convicted one or two times of a felony involving the possession or sale of a Schedule I or II controlled substance and to 12 months if there are three or more convictions. The bill also requires that the sentencing guidelines for these cases provide for either detention center/boot camp incarceration or incarceration corresponding to the midpoint and range.

Patron - McDonnell

F SB254

Restoration of voting rights to former felons. Adds a procedure for the restoration of the rights to register to vote and to vote to any person convicted of a nonviolent felony in Virginia, upon completion of sentence, probation, and parole. Completion of sentence, probation, and parole may be evidenced by the instrument discharging the person from prison or supervision. A copy of the discharge instrument shall be filed with the clerk of the court which imposed the sentence. Presently, a person who has been convicted of any felony in Virginia applies to the Governor for restoration of his civil rights. The bill does not preclude any application to the Governor for restoration of civil rights. The bill contains findings by the General Assembly that address the constitutional questions raised by the legislation.

Patron - Marsh

C Carried Over

C HB609

Supreme Court; Chief Justice. Requires that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia be elected by the majority of the members of the Court as opposed to appointing the Justice who has served the longest. The bill does not apply to the current Chief Justice.

Patron - Kilgore

C HB723

Court of appeals; filing of notice. Eliminates a provision that the Court of Appeals may grant a 30-day extension for filing a petition for appeal in order to attain the ends of justice. This statutory provision is inconsistent with a recent change to the Rules of the Supreme Court. The rule change provides that, "A single extension not to exceed thirty days may be granted if [at least two judges of the Supreme Court (rule 5:5(a))] or [at least three judges of the Court of Appeals (rule 5A:3(a))] concur in a finding that an extension for papers to be filed is warranted by the intervention of some extraordinary occurrence or catastrophic circumstance which was unpredictable and unavoidable." The rule change was prompted by HB 2359 (1999, Delegate Almand), which allowed the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals to grant a 30-day extension under certain circumstances. The bill also directed the Judicial Council to study the issue of granting extensions. HB 2359 was passed by the 1999 General Assembly with a reenactment clause; it will not become effective unless reenacted by the 2000 General Assembly.

Patron - Almand

C HB929

Judicial Nominations Commission; local judicial nominations committees. Creates a 15-member (with a minimum of one member from each congressional district) statewide Judicial Nominations Commission, elected by the General Assembly, to recommend appellate judicial candidates to the General Assembly and the Governor. The bill requires that five members be attorneys and 10 members be citizens who have never been licensed to practice law. Initially staggered, the terms of members will be four years. The Commission's recommendations are nonbinding. The local judicial nominations committees are established in each circuit through appointment by the General Assembly members who represent each circuit. The number of attorneys may not exceed 30 percent of the entire panel. The committees are required to maximize public input into their review process. The committees' recommendations of up to three candidates for each vacancy are not binding on the General Assembly. A delegation may opt out of this process by certifying to the clerks of each house that the delegation has in place a process that ensures participation of each delegation member and participation by the general public in the nomination process.

Patron - Deeds

C HB1058

Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. Creates a pilot project to determine the efficacy of direct appeals from the juvenile and domestic district relations court to the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Patron - McClure

C SB92

Sentencing guidelines. Provides that the midpoint of the sentencing range for possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance is increased to eight months if the defendant has been previously convicted one or two times of a felony involving the possession or sale of a Schedule I or II controlled substance and to 12 months if there are three or more convictions. The bill also requires that the sentencing guidelines for these cases provide for either detention center/boot camp incarceration or incarceration corresponding to the midpoint and range.

Patron - Lambert

C SB760

Legal services for the indigent. Provides, with certain limited exceptions, that the same restrictions that exist in federal law regarding the use of federal funds for civil legal services to the indigent apply to programs which use state funds appropriated to the Legal Services Corporation of Virginia for the provision of legal services to the indigent. These include restrictions on or prohibitions against: political redistricting litigation and lobbying, representation of drug dealers in drug-related evictions, legal assistance to prisoners, abortion-related litigation, representation of illegal aliens, challenges to welfare reform, attorney's fees, class action suits and representation of aliens not in the United States. The bill also requires disclosure of the style of each case and the court in which it was filed in court.

Patron - Forbes