Greetings from the Capitol from Sen. Stuart - August 27, 2009
As promised, this report deals
exclusively with the results of the special session on Wednesday, August, 19,
2009, to deal with the United States Supreme Court in Melendez-Diaz vs. Massachusetts.
The bill that was presented to
the legislature had two major components.
The first is that the bill now conforms Virginia’s law Notice and Demand
statute more closely to the laws which were specifically approved in Melendez-Diaz vs. Massachusetts.
Under the bill, a Commonwealth’s
Attorney will now send a copy of a certificate of analysis to the defense
counsel or defendant at least 28 days prior to trial. This notice will apprise the defendant that he has 14 days
to object to the introduction of the certificate and effectively demand that
the Commonwealth produce at trial the person who conducted the analysis. If the defendant does not object, his
or her right to confront this witness at trial is waived and the certificate is
admissible so long as it meets all other statutory requirements.
The second major component is the
addition of a tolling provision to Virginia’s speedy trial requirement. Compared to other states’ laws and to
the Constitutional requirement of speedy trial, Virginia law requires that the
accused be tried in a very short time frame – 5 months for an incarcerated
person and 9 months for a person out on bond.
CBHS Visits with Senator Stuart and Delegate Pollard
February 11, 2009, the National Honor Society and the Academic Team from Colonial Beach High School met with Senator Stuart and Delegate Pollard at the General Assembly Building.
Greetings from the Capitol from Sen. Stuart - Feb. 6, 2009
As we approach crossover, time is getting tight and everybody is working hard to get various pieces of legislation through. I have had many of my bills pass the full Senate, including quite a few bills that I am co-sponsoring with other Senators.
I thought I would highlight a few of my bills that have passed the Senate this past week. First is Senate Bill 907 which gives the authority to fiduciaries or executors of someone’s estate under a will the ability to place an open space easement on property passing under the will. This, of course, would require consent of the beneficiary, but could allow the estate to receive the beneficial tax advantages from an open space easement. We all know the benefits that open space easements give us.
Second, Senate Bill 952 is a bill that makes it a class 1 misdemeanor for school children to sell any over-the-counter medicine containing dextromethorphan on school grounds. This has become a very serious matter with school children. Many are now purchasing this anti-tussive medication and using it for its hallucinogenic affect. Some are developing complications and even death as a result of that. I was very pleased that this measure passed the full Senate and look forward to its full passage in the House.
Greetings from the Capitol from Sen. Stuart - Feb. 1, 2009
Things are extremely busy in Richmond these days as we continue to move legislation through the process. Given that this is a short session, things are compacted into a much shorter period of time. Last year in my first session, which was a long session, I had the time to meet with constituents and groups on a regular basis. This year, because the session is so compacted, I find myself in committee meetings or on the floor of the Senate almost all of the hours during the day.
As things continue to go forward, I was pleased this week that my Senate Bill 910 passed the Senate. This bill is a reform measure on what we call robo-calls. Many of you know that there are computerized mechanisms which can dial fifty to five hundred people at a time. When you answer you either don’t get anything or you would get a recorded message. The most aggravating thing about this is it always happens at dinner time. Senate Bill 910 was introduced to stop this. It passed out of the Senate with almost unanimous support. This seems to me that people should not have to be subjected to this sort of thing. As we all know, with computer technology, they can bombard us with these calls whether we want them or not.
The General Assembly is in full swing now and we are busy greeting constituents and working legislation through committees. Quite a few of my bill were heard in committee this past week. Most of them are finding their way through successfully. Some are charter amendments for counties or cities that I represent while others are specific laws that I think will improve the life of our citizens.
One of my bills of particular interest is Senate bill (SJ304) to give disabled veterans real estate tax relief. That bill made it through the subcommittee, has been sent on to the full committee, and I have had two democrat senators join in that bill. That bill should move forward through the process.
One of my other bills, SB908, was a bill that would preclude public utilities from condemning land that has been preserved through a conservation easement. The Courts Committee voted to send that to a working group which has been formed by the Secretary of Natural Resources, specifically to deal with this controversial issue.
