Police (State)

Passed

P HB214

Amber alert system; issuance of alerts. Clarifies that the initial decision to make a local or regional Amber Alert is at the discretion of the local or regional law-enforcement officials, but the local or regional law-enforcement officials must provide information regarding the abducted child to the State Police prior to issuing the alert. The initial decision to make a statewide Amber Alert is at the discretion of the State Police.
Patron - Athey

P HB360

Unclaimed property; sale and disposal by State Police. Allows the State Police to provide for the sale or use of unclaimed personal property that has been in its possession unclaimed for more than 60 days. "Unclaimed personal property" is defined to include any personal property, other than firearms or other weapons, that (i) belongs to another that has been acquired by a law-enforcement officer pursuant to his duties; (ii) is not needed in any criminal prosecution; (iii) has not been claimed by its rightful owner; and (iv) the State Treasurer has indicated will be declined pursuant to the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act. Prior to sale or use of the unclaimed property, the State Police must attempt to notify by mail the rightful owner of the property, receive in writing from the attorney for the Commonwealth that the property is not needed for a criminal prosecution, post on its website for 60 days a description of the property and notice of the time, date, and place of display and sale of the property and publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality where the sale is to be held once a week for two successive weeks prior to the sale, a notice that includes the date, time, place of the sale, general description of items to be sold and the State Police website address. The bill also provides for the disposition of funds from such sale into the Literary Fund. Alternatively, the State Police may retain any unclaimed personal property for its own use, or use of other law-enforcement agencies, if that is a more economical alternative to the purchase of a similar item. No claim may be made or any suit initiated for the recovery of the property or the proceeds after one year from the date of sale. The bill also creates a section that allows the State Police to destroy unclaimed firearms or other weapons if it complies with the notice provisions relating to the disposition of unclaimed personal property set forth above.
Patron - Miles

P HB516

Commercial motor vehicle safety; hours of service. Exempts from hours-of-service requirements operators of vehicles engaging in the provision or restoration of utility services when the loss of such service is unexpected, unplanned or unscheduled. This bill contains an "emergency clause" and becomes effective upon its passage.
Patron - Orrock

P SB608

State Police radio system. Authorizes the Secretary of Public Safety to finalize and implement the Statewide Agencies Radio System (STARS) contract, consistent with the language in the 2003 budget bill. This includes the authority to acquire sites by eminent domain. STARS is a statewide radio and data communication system for law enforcement.
Patron - Stolle

P SB634

Applicant Fingerprint Database. Requires the State Police to develop a separate fingerprint database for use in criminal background checks for the purpose of allowing agencies and entities who require a criminal background check as a condition of licensure, certification, employment or volunteer service to be advised when an individual who is currently licensed, certified, employed or volunteering is arrested for, or convicted of a criminal offense which would disqualify the individual from his current status. The bill also provides that an entity authorized to submit fingerprints to the database shall not be considered negligent per se in a civil action if it elected not to submit fingerprints.
Patron - Saslaw

Failed

F HB611

Virginia State Police; State Police Training and Retention Fund. Establishes the State Police Training and Retention Fund to create and support programs for the training and retention of state police officers.
Patron - Carrico

Carried Over

C HB724

Reporting organized criminal gang membership. Requires that law-enforcement agencies report known members of organized criminal gangs to the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) and the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) as soon as practicable after determining through admission, arrest, incarceration or investigation that a person is a member of an organized criminal gang. Such entries must be validated and maintained pursuant to established VCIN and NCIC policies. The bill also repeals § 16.1-299.2, relating to organized juvenile criminal gang membership.
Patron - Shannon

C SB225

Virginia Racial Profiling and Traffic Statistics Reporting Act. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to require each local and state police officer, during the course of their official duties, to collect certain information pertaining to traffic stops, including the race, ethnicity, color, age and gender of the alleged traffic offender, and to record the specific reason for the stop, whether the person was interrogated, charged or arrested, and whether a written citation or warning was issued. Police officers must also indicate the specific traffic violation committed. Police officers participating in the collection of such traffic data and information have been granted civil immunity for acts and omissions during the performance of their official duties, absent gross negligence or willful misconduct. The bill also requires the development of a statewide database for collecting, correlating, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting data and information generated through such traffic stop reports. The Superintendent may engage any accredited public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth or an independent body with the experience, expertise, and technical capacity to conduct such research to assist in designing the database, and the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data. The Superintendent must report the findings and recommendations annually to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Attorney General and provide copies to each attorney for the Commonwealth. This act expires on July 1, 2008. Previously, this bill was a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee Studying the Status and Needs of African-American Males in the Commonwealth and the House Committee on Transportation's Special Subcommittee on Racial Profiling and Pretextual Traffic Stops.
Patron - Marsh

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