Commonwealth Public Safety

Passed

P HB23

Public Safety; motor vehicle carriers. Removes obsolete provisions in the Code that reference certain agents, inspectors or investigators that were appointed by the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to enforce motor vehicle carrier laws. The authority for the appointment by the SCC of such individuals was repealed in 1995 when the enforcement of motor vehicle carrier laws was transferred to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Patron - Landes

P HB291

Sex offender registration procedures. Clarifies the manner in which a registered sex offender must register if he changes his address. If his new residence is within the Commonwealth, the person must register in person with the local law-enforcement agency where his new residence is located within 10 days following his change in residence. If the new residence is located outside of the Commonwealth the person must register in person with the local law-enforcement agency where he previously registered within 10 days prior to his change of residence. The bill also clarifies that persons required to register who have been in a state civil commitment program for sexually violent predators must do so within 10 days of release from the program.
Patron - Griffith

P HB759

Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry Act. Adds to the list of those required to register under the Act, any person who has solicited or has attempted to solicit, by use of a communications system, certain acts that constitute violations of the taking indecent liberties with children statute. This bill is identical to SB 575.
Patron - Hurt

P HB1057

Bail bondsmen. Provides for licensure and regulation of property and surety bail bondsmen by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Surety bail bondsmen will continue to be licensed as property and casualty insurance agents by the State Corporation Commission also. A bail bondsman is added to the membership of the Private Security Services Advisory Board. The bill is the result of a study by the Virginia State Crime Commission and is scheduled to become effective July 1, 2005.
Patron - Melvin

P HB1116

Public safety; crime prevention specialists. Requires the chief law-enforcement officer of the locality or campus police wherein the candidate for certification serves to approve the certification prior to the person serving as a crime prevention specialist.
Patron - Weatherholtz

P HB1193

Certified detector canine handlers. Includes certified detector canine handlers in the field of private security services professionals. The bill includes definitions of detector canines, etc. The bill also adds a definition of "legal permanent resident" for the purposes of certification as a private security employee.
Patron - Scott, J.M.

P SB308

Community criminal justice boards. Authorizes an officer of the court appointed by a local governing body to serve on a community criminal justice board to designate a member of his staff approved by the governing body to represent him at meetings of the board.
Patron - Blevins

P SB334

Bail enforcement agents. Provides for the licensure and regulation of bail enforcement agents by the Board and Department of Criminal Justice Services. The regulatory scheme is effective October 1, 2005, but a provision that a felon may not engage in bail recovery is effective July 1, 2004. The bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Patron - Stolle

Failed

F HB399

Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act; review of records. Provides that a law-enforcement officer shall have access to records of any inquiry or complaint relating to him that has been closed, except for records of founded inquiries or complaints. The bill allows a governing body to redact personal or identifying information from any inquiry or complaint before giving the law-enforcement officer access, and may take a reasonable amount of time to do so before allowing access.
Patron - Amundson

F HB803

Law-enforcement officers; overtime compensation. Grants state and local law-enforcement officers the same overtime compensation protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act as firefighters.
Patron - Petersen

F HB810

Local criminal justice academy training fund; local fees. Allows a county with a population of less than 86,000 but more than 84,500 (Roanoke County) that is in the same judicial circuit as a city running a local training academy (Roanoke City) to charge a special court fee if the county participates in the city's local training academy. Any funds collected from the court fee must be used to support the city's local training academy.
Patron - Ware, O.

F HB1114

Department of Criminal Justice Services; powers. Provides that notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, fees and other moneys collected by the Department shall be used exclusively by the Department in carrying out its duties under this chapter and shall not be diverted for any other purpose.
Patron - Weatherholtz

F SB28

Line of Duty Act; definition of disabled employee. Amends the definition of "disabled employee" under the Line of Duty Act to include any person who has become mentally or physically incapacitated on or after April 8, 1972, as a direct or proximate result of the performance of his duty. Any such employee mentally or physically incapacitated between April 8, 1972, and July 1, 2000, shall receive health insurance coverage payments, which shall be retroactive to July 1, 2000. Such health insurance coverage shall be the same plan of benefits that such incapacitated person was entitled to on the last day of his active duty. Employees covered under the Line of Duty Act mentally or physically incapacitated prior to July 1, 2000, currently are not provided health insurance coverage by the Commonwealth. Health insurance coverage currently is only afforded to employees incapacitated on or after July 1, 2000. This bill is incorporated into SB 284.
Patron - Potts

F SB100

Criminal Justice Services Board; membership. Increases the membership of the Criminal Justice Services Board from 27 to 28 by adding an active duty law-enforcement officer.
Patron - Devolites

Carried Over

C HB435

Overtime compensation for law-enforcement employees. Expands the current overtime compensation provisions for fire protection employees to law-enforcement employees. Under the bill certain law-enforcement employees shall be required to be paid overtime at a rate of not less than one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours of work between the statutory maximum permitted under 29 U.S.C. 207 (k) and the hours for which an employee receives his salary, or if paid on an hourly basis, the hours for which the employee receives hourly compensation. A law-enforcement employee who is paid on an hourly basis shall have paid leave counted as hours of work in an amount no greater than the numbers of hours counted for other law-enforcement employees working the same schedule who are paid on a salaried basis in that jurisdiction. For purposes of computing law-enforcement employees' entitlement to overtime compensation for regularly scheduled work hours, all hours in which an employee works or is in a paid status shall be counted as hours of work.
Patron - Suit

C HB616

Definition of law-enforcement officer; entitlement to counsel during investigation. Changes the definition of law-enforcement officer to include deputy sheriffs, investigators with the State Lottery Department and conservation officers with the Department of Conservation and Recreation within the protections of the Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act. The bill also requires that prior to an officer being questioned, he shall be given an opportunity to be assisted by counsel, at his own expense.
Patron - Carrico

C HB636

Line of Duty Act; definitions. Adds coverage under the Line of Duty Act to fire department chaplains.
Patron - O'Bannon

C HB762

Line of Duty Act; definition of disabled employee. Amends the definition of "disabled employee" to include any individual who has become mentally or physically incapacitated on or after April 8, 1972, as a direct or proximate result of the performance of his duty. The health care claim payments for such disabled employee or his qualifying dependents will be retroactive to the first date of the disability or July 1, 2000, whichever is later.
Patron - Hurt

C SB46

Line of Duty Act; definitions. Adds coverage under the Line of Duty Act to booking technicians.
Patron - Martin

C SB284

Line of Duty Act. Provides for funding of continued health insurance and death payment benefits under the Line of Duty Act from employer contributions to a Line of Duty Act Fund administered by the Virginia Retirement System. The Retirement System shall set the rate of annual employer contributions. All payments for continued health insurance and death benefit payments shall be made from the Fund. Most persons will be allowed to make an election for continued health insurance coverage. The election shall be to receive (i) such coverage under the same plan of benefits in effect at the time of the law-enforcement officer's death or disability or (ii) coverage under the basic health insurance plan established and administered by the Department of Human Resource Management for state employees or a comparable plan. Persons electing to receive coverage under the health insurance plan in effect at the time of the law-enforcement officer's death or disability shall be reimbursed only up to the amount that would have been paid in the respective year to provide coverage for such persons under the basic health insurance plan established and administered for state employees or a comparable plan. In general, persons disabled on or before July 1, 2000, and their spouses and dependents shall receive continued health insurance coverage beginning July 1, 2004, under the basic health insurance plan established and administered for state employees or a comparable plan. The bill provides that a local government may elect not to participate in continued health insurance coverage under the Line of Duty Act if it notifies the Virginia Retirement System that it provides health insurance coverage comparable to that under the Line of Duty Act.
Patron - Wampler

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