We’ll be posting more information as we have it.
Update for September 28 - October 2, 2020
Special session is still going (even if the House and Senate are meeting less consistently than they were early on.) Of JFV’s 5 priority bills, Jury Sentencing reform is the legislation we are focused most on.
Jury sentencing update! Good news: SB 5007 passed the House on Friday on a bi-partisan vote. Bad news: it passed with the reenactment clause that would require another vote in the GA in 2021 before the bill can become law. A re-enactment clause is like when you’re a kid and your parents say, “We’ll see.” At best, it’s a maybe, but it’s definitely not a yes.
But, wait, good news again: the reenactment clause can be removed in conference committee, where representatives from the House and Senate will reconcile the two different versions of the legislation for final passage. Here are more details on how to help.
The pretextual policing bill (SB 5029) which was amended by the House earlier was adopted by the Senate (53-Y 41-N) today. There was already general agreement by the House and Senate, but they have now both passed the same version. Now on to the Governor’s desk!
The Earned Sentence bill (SB 5034) passed the House with a substitution today (54-Y 42-N). The Earned Sentence bill that originated in the House (HB 5148) was passed by the Senate with a substitution yesterday (21-Y 19-N), but the substitution was rejected by the House. This one is heading for a conference committee.
The final bills for Expungement reform (HB 5146 and SB 5043) are still being worked out. The House and Senate have passed different versions of the bill and the House rejected the Senate substitution, so it looks like this one will require a conference committee too.
Status of Priority Legislation
Jury Sentencing Reform
House Bill 5084 - Criminal cases; sentencing, jury trial. J. Cole
Status: Referred to the Committee for Courts of Justice
Senate Bill 5007 – Criminal cases; sentencing reform. J. Morrissey
Status: Passed the Senate 22-18. Reported out of House Courts of Justice 11-9, and referred to House Appropriations. Appropriations reported the bill to the House floor, but with a reenactment clause amendment that requires the bill be voted on again in the next General Assembly session. House passed it with the reenactment clause on October 2nd. The bill now goes to conference committee. See our Take Action page to help make sure the reenactment clause is removed in committee!
Currently, prosecutors can force the accused to have a trial by jury in any case, which means a sentence from a jury if convicted. Numerous offenses require a jury to impose a minimum sentence that would not be imposed if a judge did the sentencing. Letting the accused decide who will sentence them allows the accused to have a trial by jury without the fear of a harsher sentence merely because they exercised their constitutional rights
The House version of this bill hasn’t been voted on in committee. We expect the House will take up the Senate version after the full Senate votes on it.
One problem with this current bill is that it imposes notice requirements on the accused, requiring them to tell the court 30 days before trial whether they want to forgo jury sentencing. This is problematic because juries sometimes convict on lesser offenses (think: simple possession rather than possession with intent to distribute) or sometimes convict on some charges while finding the accused not guilty on other charges. Asking the accused to decide whether they want a jury to sentence them before they know what (if anything) they’ve been convicted of does not make sense, and undercuts the purpose of the bill.
Racial Profiling and Pretext Searches
House Bill 5058 – Marijuana and certain traffic offenses; issuing citations, etc, P. Hope
Senate Bill 5029 – Marijuana and certain traffic infractions; possession, issuing citations. L. Lucas
Status: The Senate bill was amended to by the House to include some of House language (B. No law-enforcement officer, as defined in § 9.1-101, shall stop a motorcycle, moped, motorized skateboard, or scooter for a violation of this section. No evidence discovered or obtained as the result of a stop in violation of this subsection, including evidence discovered or obtained with the operator's consent, shall be admissible in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding.)
SB 5029 was then passed in the House (51-Y 45-N) on September 25, 2020. This same version then passed in the Senate (21-Y 17-N) on October 2, 2020. Now that both chambers have passed the same version, this bill is on its way to the Governor’s Desk!
Current law gives police nearly unlimited power to pull over people’s cars and, in many cases, search those cars. This power is used disproportionately to harass and invade the privacy of Black and brown Virginians. Delegate Hope’s bill would significantly limit the police’s ability to pull a car over for minor equipment violations, a major source of pretext stops in the Commonwealth. Additionally, this bill would ban vehicle searches based on the odor of marijuana - an excuse that is routinely abused by police and is almost impossible to challenge in court.
Pretext searches help drive racial disparities in our jails and prisons and create more opportunities for the police to use force against Black people. This reform would strike a major blow against racial profiling in Virginia and is one of the top criminal justice reform priorities in the special session.
Assault on Law Enforcement (Eliminating Mandatory Minimum)
Senate Bill 5032 – Assault and battery; penalty. S. Surovell
Status: Passed the Senate 21-15 on August 26. House Courts of Justice voted to “pass by indefinitely” and refer for study.
Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer is a felony offense with a six-month mandatory minimum. The vast majority of these charges are not for legitimate attacks on police that result in real harm or injury to the officer. Where assaults on law enforcement result in serious injury, they can be charged as Malicious Wounding, which carries elevated penalties. Most Assault on LEO charges under the current law are cases in which the accused was disrespectful to the officer or struggled against the police as the police were using force against them. The Assault on LEO charge is often used to cover up police violence against Virginians, particularly against Black and brown communities. This bill would eliminate the mandatory minimum, and only make these offenses felonies if the officer suffered a visible bodily injury.
Release of Prisoners
House Bill 5148 - Earned sentence credits; establishes a four-level classification system for awarding & calculation. D. Scott.
Status: Passed the House 54-41 on September 10th. The Senate passed a substitute bill (21-Y 19-N) on October 1, 2020, but the House rejected the substitute on October 2, 2020
Senate Bill 5034 - Prisoners; conditional release. J. Boysko & L. Lucas
Status: Passed the Senate on September 16th. The House offered a substitute which the House passed on October 2nd. The Senate can either consider the House substitute or this will head to a conference committee.
This bill codifies the system for earned sentence credits that already exists in Department of Corrections policy and incentivizes good behavior. Texas and South Carolina, among other states, have made reforms to reduce prison populations over the past several years. Both have not seen any public safety issues from these changes, and both have seen significant savings in the state budget. Research also shows that long sentences do not deter crime, but allowing people to reduce their sentence by improving themselves will actually increase public safety. This bill can also help address the disproportionate incarceration of Black men in the Commonwealth.
Other Policing and Criminal Justice Reform Bills of Interest
Senate Bills
SB 5002 - Law-enforcement officers; prohibition on the use of neck restraints
SB 5003 - Civil Rights and Policing, Commission on; established, report, sunset provision
SB 5005 - Criminal justice training academies; adds to the powers and duties of DCJS regarding academies
SB 5006 - Police and court records; expungement of certain records, pardons (rolled into SB 5043)
SB 5009 - Alcohol-related offenses; expungement of certain offenses (rolled into SB 5043)
SB 5010 - Assault and battery; penalty
SB 5013 - Marijuana; summons for violation of possession shall contain an option for person charged to prepay
SB 5014 - Law-enforcement officers; officers to complete crisis intervention team training
SB 5016 - Parole statutes; application for juveniles and persons committed upon certain felony offenses
SB 5017 - Correctional facility, local; clarifies definition
SB 5018 - Geriatric, terminally ill, or permanently physically disabled prisoners; conditional release
SB 5024 - Law-enforcement; Attorney Gen. authorized to file civil suit or inquire into any unlawful practice
SB 5030 - Policing reform; acquisition of military property, training of officers in de-escalation techniques
SB 5033 - Court authority in criminal cases; prosecutorial discretion to dispose of a criminal case
SB 5034 - Prisoners; conditional release
SB 5035 - Law-enforcement civilian review boards; locality authorized to establish
SB 5037 - Criminal Justices Services Board; changes membership of the Committee on Training
SB 5038 - Mobile crisis co-response team programs; DCJS & DBHDS to establish throughout the Commonwealth
SB 5040 - Attorney General; criminal cases involving certain felonies committed by law-enforcement officers
SB 5043 - Police and court records; expungement of certain records
SB 5045 - Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission; required to prepare fiscal impact statements
SB 5046 - Mandatory minimum punishment; limitation
SB 5049 - Law-enforcement officers; prohibition on the use of neck restraints
SB 5065 - Law-enforcement officer; civil action for deprivation of rights
SB 5084 - Mental health awareness response & community understanding serv. (Marcus) alert syst.; establishes
SB 5110 - Expungement of certain charges and convictions (rolled into SB 5043)