Law-enforcement Officers
Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-enforcement officers, certain; universal certification, necessary training. [SB-207]
[Crime ]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Public Safety ]
[Criminal Justice ]
Universal certification for certain law-enforcement officers. Provides that any sworn law-enforcement officer with at least one year of experience (i) whose training qualifications meet or exceed current training standards established by the Board of Criminal Justice Services and who is in compliance with the minimum qualifications, (ii) who has not had a break in service of more than 24 months, and (iii) who is leaving the transferring agency in good standing with no pending investigations or disciplinary actions shall be eligible for employment
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Sponsored by: Sen. Dave Marsden
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0581) on 04/05/2024
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Gettr Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-enforcement officers; training standards. [HB-586]
[Crime ]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Public Safety ]
[Overdose Prevention ]
[Public Health ]
[Criminal Justice ]
Training standards for law-enforcement officers; drug use. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish training standards and publish and periodically update model policies for law-enforcement personnel on the use of naloxone or other opioid antagonists to prevent opioid overdose deaths, in coordination with statewide naloxone training programs developed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Virginia Department of Health. Training standards for law-enforcement officers; drug use. Requires
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Sponsored by: Rep. Betsy Carr
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0141) on 03/26/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-enforcement officers; protected personal information. [HB-546]
[Crime ]
[Public Safety ]
[Data Privacy ]
Law-enforcement officers; protected personal information. Provides that any law-enforcement officer who provides information relative to a criminal investigation or in proceedings preliminary to a criminal prosecution may refuse, unless ordered by a court, to disclose his residence address, home telephone number, or any personal information concerning his family. The bill also provides that any law-enforcement officer who testifies as a witness in a criminal case may refuse to disclose personal information concerning his family unless it is determined
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Sponsored by: Rep. Wendell Walker
Left In Courts Of Justice on 02/13/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-enforcement officers; prohibits Internet publication of personal information. [HB-545]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Data Privacy ]
[Cybersecurity ]
[Public Safety ]
[Crime ]
Law-enforcement officers; Internet publication of personal information; exemption. Prohibits publication of the personal information of active and retired law-enforcement officers on the statewide geographic information system (GIS) if a request to redact such information is made by the officer to the entity that manages the GIS in the officer's locality. Current law prohibits the Commonwealth from publishing personal information on the Internet of public officials only if a petition has been granted by the circuit court.
Sponsored by: Rep. Wendell Walker
Left In Courts Of Justice on 02/13/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-enforcement officers; exposure to bodily fluids, petition to the general district court. [HB-435]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Public Health ]
[Public Safety ]
[Healthcare ]
[Crime ]
[Criminal Justice ]
Law-enforcement officers; exposure to bodily fluids; petition to the general district court by local attorney for the Commonwealth. Allows a local attorney for the Commonwealth in the county or city in which such exposure occurred to file a petition for an order requiring testing and disclosure of test results on behalf of a law-enforcement officer when a law-enforcement officer is directly exposed to the bodily fluid of a person in a manner that may, according to the then-current guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, transmit
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Sponsored by: Rep. Jonathan Arnold
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0190) on 03/28/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Assault or assault and battery; affirmative defense, penalty. [HB-267]
[Crime ]
[Mental Health ]
[Disabilities ]
[Criminal Justice ]
[Public Safety ]
Assault and battery; affirmative defense; penalty. Provides an affirmative defense to prosecution of an individual for assault or assault and battery of certain specified individuals for which the enhanced Class 6 felony and six month mandatory minimum apply if such individual proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that at the time of the assault or assault and battery (i) the individual's behaviors were a result of (a) mental illness or (b) a neurocognitive disorder, including dementia, or a neurodevelopmental disability, including a developmental
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Sponsored by: Rep. Vivian Watts
House Sustained Governor's Veto on 04/17/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-enforcement officers; interrogation practices. [HB-250]
[Crime ]
[Criminal Justice ]
[Public Safety ]
Department of Criminal Justice Services; law-enforcement officers; interrogation practices. Provides that the Department of Criminal Justice Services shall have the power and duty to establish a comprehensive framework for the custodial and noncustodial interrogation of adults and juveniles by law-enforcement officers within the Commonwealth, which shall include (i) developing policies and procedures for interrogation practices, including guidance on when the use of the following is considered lawful: (a) false promises of leniency, (b) misleading
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Sponsored by: Rep. Jackie Glass
House Sustained Governor's Veto on 04/17/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Assault firearms; carrying in public areas prohibited, penalty. [SB-99]
[Firearms/Gun Control ]
[Crime ]
[Public Safety ]
[Law Enforcement ]
Carrying assault firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty. Prohibits the carrying of certain semi-automatic center-fire rifles and shotguns on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, or public right-of-way or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public, with certain exceptions. Under current law, the current prohibition on carrying certain shotguns and semi-automatic center-fire rifles and pistols applies to a narrower range of firearms, only in certain localities, and only when such firearms are loaded.
Sponsored by: Sen. Adam Ebbin
Senate Sustained Governor's Veto on 04/17/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Motor vehicles; improper tinting films, signs, decals, and stickers, issuing citations. [SB-97]
[Transportation and Motor Vehicles ]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Public Safety ]
[Crime ]
Motor vehicles; improper tinting films, signs, decals, and stickers; issuing citations. Removes the provisions that prohibit a law-enforcement officer from lawfully stopping a motor vehicle for violations related to improper tinting films, signs, decals, and stickers on such motor vehicle's windows. The bill increases from 35 percent to 50 percent the minimum percentage of total light transmittance required for tinting the rear and rear side windows of any motor vehicle. The bill increases from 35 percent to 50 percent the authorized reduction of
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Sponsored by: Sen. Mark Peake
Failed To Report (defeated) In Courts Of Justice (6-y 8-n) on 02/12/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-enforcement and jail officers; various changes to provisions related to decertification. [SB-88]
[Crime ]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Public Safety ]
[Criminal Justice ]
Decertification of law-enforcement officers and jail officers. Makes various changes to the provisions related to decertification of law-enforcement officers and jail officers. The bill provides that the Department of Criminal Justice Services may conduct decertification review hearings in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Process Act. The bill provides that the findings and decision of the Department may be appealed to the Board and that the final administrative decision of the Board may be then appealed and reviewed by a court.
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Sponsored by: Sen. Mamie Locke
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0494) on 04/04/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Special grand juries; circuit court to impanel when an unarmed person is killed by law enforcement. [HB-167]
[Crime ]
[Criminal Justice ]
[Public Safety ]
Special grand juries. Directs a circuit court to impanel a special grand jury when an unarmed person is killed by a law-enforcement officer or a correctional officer, as those terms are defined in relevant law, to investigate and report on any condition that involves or tends to promote criminal activity and consider bills of indictment to determine whether there is sufficient probable cause to return each such indictment as a "true bill." The bill requires the court to appoint a special prosecutor for such special grand jury who may be present
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Sponsored by: Rep. Nadarius Clark
Left In Courts Of Justice on 02/13/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Virginia Retirement System; return to work for law-enforcement officers. [HB-99]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Pensions ]
[Retirement ]
[Labor, Jobs, Employment ]
[Veterans ]
Virginia Retirement System; return to work for law-enforcement officers. Allows a retired law-enforcement officer to return to work full time as a law-enforcement officer and continue to receive his pension under the Virginia Retirement System. Such person shall be required to have a break in service of at least six calendar months before reemployment. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025. Virginia Retirement System; return to work for law-enforcement officers. Allows a retired law-enforcement officer to return to work full time
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Sponsored by: Rep. Michael Webert
Left In Appropriations on 02/13/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Issuing citations; defective and unsafe equipment. [SB-65]
[Transportation and Motor Vehicles ]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Public Safety ]
[Crime ]
Issuing citations; vehicle equipment. Removes the provisions that provide that no law-enforcement officer may lawfully stop a motor vehicle for operating with defective and unsafe equipment and removes the accompanying exclusionary provisions.
Sponsored by: Sen. Tara Durant
Passed By Indefinitely In Courts Of Justice (9-y 6-n) on 02/12/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Photo-monitoring system for traffic signals; retired law-enforcement officials to review violations. [SB-73]
[Transportation and Motor Vehicles ]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Public Safety ]
[Criminal Justice ]
Photo-monitoring system for traffic signals; proof of violation; retired law-enforcement officials. Allows a locality to employ a retired sworn law-enforcement officer, as defined in the bill, to review photographs, microphotographs, videotape, or other recorded images produced by the locality's traffic light signal violation monitoring system or traffic control device violation monitoring system. The bill allows such review to serve as prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.
Sponsored by: Sen. Christie New Craig
Left In Transportation on 03/04/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Firearm or explosive material; carrying within Capitol Square & surrounding area, etc., exceptions. [SB-56]
[Firearms/Gun Control ]
[Crime ]
[Public Safety ]
Carrying a firearm or explosive material within Capitol Square and the surrounding area, into a building owned or leased by the Commonwealth, etc.; exceptions for law-enforcement officers. Adds an exception for off-duty law-enforcement officers to the prohibition of carrying a firearm within any building owned or leased by the Commonwealth or any agency thereof or any office where employees of the Commonwealth or any agency thereof are regularly present for the purpose of performing their official duties.
Sponsored by: Sen. Bill DeSteph
Passed By Indefinitely In Courts Of Justice (9-y 6-n) on 01/31/2024
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Virginia 2024 Regular Session
Law-enforcement officers; minimum qualifications for positions of chief of police, etc. [SB-69]
[Crime ]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Immigration ]
[Public Safety ]
Minimum qualifications for law-enforcement officers; citizenship; waiver. Allows individuals who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to qualify for the positions of chief of police, police officer of a locality, deputy sheriff, jail officer, and law-enforcement officer. Current law allows only citizens of the United States to qualify for the named positions.
Sponsored by: Sen. Jennifer Boysko
Senate Sustained Governor's Veto on 04/17/2024
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Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Driver training instructors; hiring active law-enforcement officers. [HB-2404]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Transportation and Motor Vehicles ]
[Education ]
[Public Safety ]
Driver training instructors; active law-enforcement officers. Authorizes the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles to, in lieu of the requirements established by the Department of Education for driver education instructor qualification, accept an active law-enforcement officer in good standing who otherwise meets the same training and years of service standards as those retired or resigned law-enforcement officers eligible for such qualification under current law. Driver training instructors; active law-enforcement officers. Authorizes
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Sponsored by: Rep. James Morefield
Left In Transportation on 02/07/2023
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Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Civil disturbance; local curfew, penalty. [SB-1455]
[Crime ]
[Public Safety ]
[Criminal Justice ]
Civil disturbance; local curfew; penalty. Enables the chief law-enforcement officer of a locality to enact a curfew under certain circumstances during a civil disturbance. The bill clarifies that such action in cities shall be in concurrence with the city manager and the mayor. The bill requires that such action specify the hours of the curfew and the geographic area to which the curfew applies and provide for various specified exceptions. The action authorizing the curfew shall provide for reasonable efforts to inform the public in advance of the
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Sponsored by: Sen. Thomas Norment
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0360) on 03/23/2023
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Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Administration of state government; prohibited applications and websites. [SB-1459]
[Cybersecurity ]
[Technology and Innovation ]
[Data Privacy ]
[Telecommunications ]
[National Security ]
Administration of state government; prohibited applications and websites. Prohibits any employee or agent of any public body or person or entity contracting with any such public body from downloading or using any application, including TikTok or WeChat, or accessing any website developed by ByteDance Ltd. or Tencent Holdings Ltd. (i) on any government-issued device or government-owned or government-leased equipment, including mobile phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, or other devices capable of connecting to the Internet, or (ii)
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Sponsored by: Sen. Emmett Hanger
Bill Text As Passed Senate And House Reprinted (sb1459er2) on 04/12/2023
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Virginia 2023 Regular Session
Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder, etc., incurred by law-enforcement officers. [HB-2322]
[Workers' Compensation ]
[Law Enforcement ]
[Mental Health ]
[Public Safety ]
[Labor, Jobs, Employment ]
[Healthcare ]
Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depressive disorder' law-enforcement officers, firefighters, and dispatchers. Provides that an anxiety disorder or depressive disorder, as both are defined in the bill, incurred by a law-enforcement officer, correctional officer, firefighter, or dispatcher is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act on the same basis as post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill adds dispatchers and correctional officers to the list of individuals for whom the workers' compensation
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Sponsored by: Rep. Ellen Campbell
Tabled In Commerce And Energy (21-y 0-n) on 01/19/2023