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BILL #

CHAPTER #

ISSUE

BILL DESCRIPTION

HB 113

773

Traffic Offenses

Provides that if a law-enforcement officer pursues a person who has disregarded a law-enforcement officer's signal to stop his motor vehicle and drives in willful and wanton disregard of such signal so as to interfere with or endanger the operation of the law-enforcement vehicle or to endanger people and the law-enforcement officer is killed as a direct and proximate result of the pursuit, the person is guilty of a Class 4 felony. The bill also increases the penalty for disregarding a signal from a law-enforcement officer to stop or attempting to escape or elude a law-enforcement officer from a Class 3 misdemeanor to a Class 2 misdemeanor. This bill is identical to SB 368. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 116

248

Title Insurance

Authorizes foreign title insurance companies to establish and maintain unearned premium reserves on the title insurance policies issued on properties in the state pursuant to the reserving laws of the companies' domiciliary regulator, if the domiciliary regulator is accredited under the National Association of Insurance Commissioner's Financial Regulation Standards and Accreditation Program. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 131

714

Child Restraints

Provides escalating penalties for repeat violators of the child restraint law. First time offenders will still be subject to the current civil penalty of $50, but those convicted of second or subsequent violations on different dates will be subject to a civil penalty of up to $500. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 172

819

Civil Actions

Allows an injured person, or his attorney, to request the disclosure of the liability limits of an insurance policy prior to filing a civil action for personal injuries resulting from a motor vehicle accident. The party requesting this information shall provide the insurer with (i) the date of the accident, (ii) the name and last-known address of the alleged tortfeasor, (iii) a copy of the accident report, if any, (iv) the claim number, if available, and (v) the injured person's medical records, medical bills, and wage-loss determination. The insurer only has to disclose the liability limits if the amount of the injured person's medical bills and wage losses equals or exceeds $12,500. The bill also provides that disclosure of a policy's limits shall not constitute an admission that the alleged injury is subject to the policy. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 298

212

Surplus Lines

Eliminates the requirement that surplus lines brokers make a diligent effort to procure insurance, in a form and at a premium acceptable to the insured, from an insurer licensed in Virginia before he provides a surplus lines policy. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 326

165

Traffic Offenses

Provides for a maximum speed limit of 35 mph on any highway designated a rural rustic road. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 336

249

Market Regulation

Establishes that market analyses concerning insurance companies and documents or information received in the course of a market analysis or market conduct action that are confidential in those jurisdictions shall receive confidential treatment shall not be subject to subpoena, and are not public records; provides that procedures for market conduct examinations shall be subject to provisions regarding confidentiality of ancillary information and immunity from liability. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 349

213

Producer Licensing

Eliminates the requirement that a foreign or domestic business entity first obtain a certificate of authority, including a certificate of registration, certificate of organization, certificate of limited partnership, or charter, from the State Corporation Commission prior to being eligible to obtain a license as an insurance agent, consultant, surplus lines broker, or viatical settlement broker. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 361

484

Towing Issues

Provides that the sales and use tax on motor vehicle repairs in the localities embraced by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority and the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority does not include charges for towing and storage of motor vehicles. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 431

250

Title Insurance

Requires applicants for a resident title insurance agent license to have completed, within the year preceding application and examination, at least 16 hours of instruction through a classroom or distance education. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 501

169

Medical Malpractice

Defines the term "professional services in nursing homes" in the context of medical malpractice actions as services provided to a patient by a health care provider, including psycho-social services, personal hygiene, hydration, nutrition, fall assessments or interventions, patient monitoring, prevention and treatment of medical conditions, diagnosis or therapy. This bill is in response to the Supreme Court decision in Alcoy v. Valley Nursing Homes, Inc., 272 Va. 37, 630 S.E.2d 301 (2006). This bill incorporates HB 1051 and is identical to SB 602. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 534

487

Driver's Licenses

Provides that the Department of State Police transmit information about registered sex offenders to the Department of Motor Vehicles; and requires registered sex offenders to appear in person at the Department of Motor Vehicles for each driver's license renewal. The driver's license of registered sex offenders will be valid for a period not to exceed five years. Effective date: January 1, 2009.

HB 542

357

Producer Appointments

Requires the insurer, rather than the State Corporation Commission, to notify an appointed agent of the status of his appointment. The notice shall be given within five business days of the insurer's receipt of notice from the Commission that the appointment of the agent is valid or invalid. An agent is prohibited from selling or soliciting insurance after receiving notice of an invalid appointment. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 549

216

Financial Regulation

Provides that the assets of a separate account to which an insurer has allocated assets under a funding agreement shall not be chargeable with liabilities arising out of any other business that the insurer conducts; provides that funding agreement assets held in the insurer's general account, and other obligations due under the funding agreement from the general account, will be treated as an insurance contract. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 579

488

Auto Repair Services

Modifies the current formula that compensates dealers with a percentage of the sales and use tax they collect by including the local sales and use tax collected in the Northern Virginia Transportation District and the Hampton Roads Transportation District on motor vehicle repair services. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 616

175

Medical Malpractice

Extends the two-year limitations period for personal injury actions in malpractice cases arising out of the negligent failure to diagnose a malignant tumor or cancer or to communicate such diagnosis to the patient for a period of one year from the date the existence of a malignant tumor or cancer is communicated to the patient. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 633

820

Privacy Issue

Prohibits the dissemination of another person's social security number, regardless of whether such number is obtained from a public or private record. Currently, the prohibition against dissemination only applies to social security numbers obtained from private sources. This bill is a recommendation of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council and the Joint Commission on Technology and Science. Same as SB 133. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 634

840

Privacy Issue

Provides that no agency shall require an individual to furnish or disclose his social security number or driver's license unless the furnishing or disclosure of such number is expressly authorized by state or federal law and essential for the performance of that agency's duties; strengthens the remedies provisions of the GDCDPA by adding civil penalties matching those in the Freedom of Information Act. Effective date: Varies.

HB 655

360

Property Insurance Issue

Provides a court with the authority not to declare a dog to be a dangerous dog for good cause, based on the evidence before it. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 715

363

Bail Bonds

Provides that when the court having jurisdiction of a bail proceeding believes the amount of bond or security set by a judicial officer at initial arrest to be inadequate or excessive, it may after notice to the parties, change the amount of such bond or security, require new and additional sureties, or set other terms of bail as are appropriate to the case, including, but not limited to, drug and alcohol monitoring. Currently, the court is limited to increasing the initial bail and may not impose additional bail requirements such as alcohol and drug monitoring. This bill is identical to SB 506. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 719

729

Teen Drivers

Provides that "zero tolerance" (0.02% BAC) underage drinking and driving is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Currently, the punishment is loss of license for six months and a fine of no more than $500. This bill provides for forfeiture of such person's license to operate a motor vehicle for a period of one year from the date of conviction and either a mandatory minimum fine of $500 or 50 hours of community service. The bill has a sunset date of July 1, 2010, and provides that the Department of Criminal Justice Services will report to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice on the bill's effect on Virginia's participation under the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 831

303

Title Insurance

Authorizes the State Corporation Commission to share any documents, materials, or other information that are furnished by a title insurance company or any other insurer with local law-enforcement authorities, provided the recipient agrees to maintain its confidential and privileged status. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 866

438

Bail Bonds

Allows a spouse or person living in the same household as enumerated persons (e.g. employees of sheriff's offices, regional jails, and police departments, etc.) to be a licensed bail bondsman if the enumerated person is not a sworn officer or has no access to the records of inmates. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 882

219

Civil Procedure

Provides that administrative orders will be able to provide for interest and fix the period at which the interest commences on any principal sum awarded; provides that in the interest context, administrative orders be treated as if they were a verdict judgment or decree. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 914

221

Policy Renewals

Establishes exceptions to prohibitions no the refusal to renew certain liability, fire, and motor vehicle insurance policies. Same as SB 612. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 1012

470

Towing Issues

Requires that a vehicle has insurance providing coverage for towing, recovery, and storage fees in order to be considered insured motor vehicle for the purpose of vehicle registration; allows tow trucks to use crossovers on controlled-access highways when providing a public safety towing and recovery service; allows the Board for Towing and Recovery Operators to promulgate regulations specifying additional training or conditions for individuals seeking tow truck authorization documents. Same as SB 691. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 1152

189

Auto Equipment Issue

Exempts the rear windows or rear side windows of ambulances, rescue squad vehicles, and other emergency medical vehicles used to transport patients from limitations on window tinting. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 1176

516

Unfair Trade Practice

Requires that compensation paid by insurer for repair parts and service not be less than amounts charged to retail customers unless the amounts are not reasonable. Same as SB 697. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 1198

190

Commercial Auto

Brings Virginia law on commercial driver's licenses into conformance with federal requirements. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 1218

447

Wireless Communication Devices

Prohibits use of wireless telecommunications devices by persons operating school buses, except in emergencies, or when the vehicle is lawfully parked and for the purposes of dispatching. Use of two-way radio devices authorized by the school bus owner, however, is permitted. Same as SB 136. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 1243

657

Civil Remedial Fees

The bill provides for the Comptroller to issue a refund to persons who have already paid all or part of the civil remedial fees ordered to be paid by a court. It directs the court clerk of the court that ordered the fees and the Department of Motor Vehicles to credit the accounts of persons who still owe civil remedial fees so as to indicate that the fees have been paid and are no longer outstanding. The Department of Motor Vehicles is also directed to reinstate the driver's license to any person whose license was suspended solely for failure to pay civil remedial fees. Same as SB 1. Effective date: March 27, 2008.

HB 1311

496

Security Freeze

Authorizes any consumer to freeze access to his credit report; imposes penalties for violation. Same as SB 576. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 1469

801

Identity Theft

Requires an individual or entity that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information to disclose any breach of the security of the system following discovery or notification of the breach to the Office of the Attorney General and any affected resident of the Commonwealth whose unencrypted and unredacted personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been accessed and acquired by an unauthorized person. A breach is defined as the unauthorized access and acquisition of unencrypted and unredacted computerized data that compromises the security or confidentiality of personal information maintained by an individual or entity as part of a database of personal information regarding multiple individuals and that causes, or the individual or entity reasonably believes has caused, or will cause, identity theft or other fraud to any resident of the Commonwealth. Violations by a state-charted or licensed financial institution shall be enforceable exclusively by the financial institution's primary state regulator. Violations by an entity regulated by the State Corporation Commission shall be enforceable exclusively by the Commission. All other violations shall be enforced by the Office of the Attorney General, which may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $150,000 per breach or series of breaches of a similar nature that are discovered in a single investigation. The bill specifies that its provisions do not limit an individual from recovering direct economic damages. Same as SB 307. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

HB 1480

335

Requires a locality to allow a deputy sheriff injured in the line of duty to use accrued vacation, compensatory, and sick leave to supplement his workers' compensation allowance, so as to receive 100 percent compensation; requires the locality to continue to pay any employer's share of health insurance coverage for the injured deputy and his dependents, regardless of the length of disability. Effective date:

SB 113

684

Traffic Offenses

Provides that a court may suspend the driving privileges of a person convicted of driving without a license for a period not to exceed 90 days. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

SB 182

93

Financial Regulation

Revises the rating criteria stated for preferred stock in which a domestic insurer may invest; provides that references to specific rating categories of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Securities Valuation Office are deleted, and in their place are added the categories of highest quality, high quality, and medium quality. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

SB 207

95

Industrial Insured

Revises the criteria for qualifying as an industrial insured; allows the insured to procure insurance by using a licensed insurance consultant; increases the required amount of annual insurance premiums; does not include life or annuity contracts and aggregate annual premiums do not include premiums from life, annuity, and accident and sickness insurance. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

SB 362

617

Property Insurance

Prohibits removal or tampering by a tenant of a carbon monoxide detector installed by a landlord. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

SB 393

411

Catastrophe-Related Legislation

Provides that a zoning ordinance shall permit the owner of any residential or commercial building damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster or other act of God to repair, to rebuild, or replace such building to eliminate or reduce the nonconforming features to the extent possible, without the need to obtain a variance. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

SB 593

626

Privacy

Allows the discussion or consideration of confidential proprietary records provided by a private business to certain state, local, or regional industrial or economic development authorities or organizations for business, trade and tourism development to be conducted in meetings not open to the public. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

SB 607

414

Towing Issue

Excludes a franchised motor vehicle dealer using a tow truck owned by a dealer when transporting a vehicle to or from a repair facility owned by the dealer when the dealer does not receive compensation from the vehicle owner for towing of the vehicle or when transporting a vehicle in which the dealer has an ownership or security interest from the definition of "towing and recovery operator." Effective date: July 1, 2008.

SB 615

109

Worker's Compensation - Benefits

Expands the definition of law-enforcement officer to include members of the Capitol Police for the purpose of providing that a claim for workers' compensation benefits incurred by such a person while undertaking a law-enforcement or rescue activity in an off-duty capacity or outside an assigned shift or work location is deemed to be in the course of employment. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

SB 707

836

Towing Issues

Provides that in even-numbered years, the chairman of the Board of Towing and Recovery Operators will be a licensed Class A operator and the vice-chairman a licensed Class B operator, and in odd-numbered years, the chairman will be a licensed Class B operator and the vice-chairman a licensed Class A operator. The bill also extends the effective date for Board regulations pertaining to public safety towing and recovery services to July 1, 2010, and extends the effective date of other Board regulations to January 1, 2009. Any violation of § 46.2-2812 on or after January 1, 2009, will constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor. Prior to drafting any public safety towing regulations, the Board will hold four public meetings to receive comments and recommendations regarding the appropriate equipment, standards, training, safety, and other factors related to providing public safety towing and recovery services. Effective date: July 1, 2008.

SB 773

769

Identity Theft

Allows prosecutions for misdemeanor identity theft to be commenced within the same limits as computer crimes. Those limits are the earlier of (i) five years after the commission of the last illegal act or (ii) one year after the existence of the illegal act and the identity of the offender are discovered. Effective date: July 1, 2008.