Bill Text: VA HB5104 | 2020 | 1st Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Law-enforcement officers, deputy sheriff, etc.; minimum qualifications, disclosure of information.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 25-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-10-28 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0032) [HB5104 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-HB5104-Introduced.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§15.2-1705 and 15.2-1709 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§15.2-1705. Minimum qualifications; waiver.
A. The chief of police and all police officers of any
locality, all deputy sheriffs and jail officers in this Commonwealth, and all
law-enforcement officers as defined in §9.1-101 who enter upon the duties of
such office after July 1, 1994, are required to meet the following minimum
qualifications for office. Such person shall (i) be a citizen of the United
States,; (ii) be required to undergo a background investigation
including fingerprint-based criminal history records inquiries to both the
Central Criminal Records Exchange and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,; (iii) have a high school education or have passed a high
school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education,; (iv) possess a valid driver's license if required by the
duties of office to operate a motor vehicle,; (v)
undergo a physical examination, subsequent to a conditional offer of
employment, conducted under the supervision of a licensed physician,; (vi) be at least eighteen years of age,; (vii) not have been convicted of or pled guilty or no
contest to a felony or any offense that would be a felony if committed in the
Commonwealth,; and
(viii) not have produced a positive result on a pre-employment drug screening,
if such screening is required by the hiring law-enforcement agency or jail,
where the positive result cannot be explained to the law-enforcement agency or
jail administrator's satisfaction. In addition, all such officers who enter
upon the duties of such office on or after July 1, 2013, shall not have been
convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to (a) any misdemeanor involving
moral turpitude, including but not limited to petit larceny under §18.2-96, or
any offense involving moral turpitude that would be a misdemeanor if committed
in the Commonwealth,; (b)
any misdemeanor sex offense in the Commonwealth, another state, or the United
States, including but not limited to sexual battery under §18.2-67.4 or
consensual sexual intercourse with a minor 15 or older under clause (ii) of §
18.2-371,; or (c) domestic assault under §18.2-57.2 or any offense
that would be domestic assault under the laws of another state or the United
States.
B. In addition, if the police officer, deputy sheriff, or jail officer had been employed at any time by another law-enforcement agency or jail, the hiring law-enforcement agency or jail shall request from all prior employing agencies or jails any information (i) related to an arrest or prosecution of a former police officer, deputy sheriff, or jail officer, including any expunged arrest or criminal charge that would otherwise be prohibited from disclosure in accordance with §19.2-392.4; (ii) related to a civil suit regarding a former police officer's, deputy sheriff's, or jail officer's employment or performance of his duties; (iii) obtained during the course of any internal investigation related to a former police officer's, deputy sheriff's, or jail officer's alleged criminal conduct, use of excessive force, or other official misconduct in violation of the state professional standards of conduct adopted by the Criminal Justice Services Board; and (iv) related to a former police officer, deputy sheriff, or jail officer's job performance that led to dismissal, demotion, suspension, or transfer. The hiring agency or jail may request this information subsequent to a conditional offer of employment; however, no police officer, deputy sheriff, or jail officer may be employed in such position until the requested information is received from all prior employing agencies in the Commonwealth. Any sheriff or chief of police in the Commonwealth, any director or chief executive of any law-enforcement agency or jail in the Commonwealth, and the Director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services or his designee shall disclose any information requested in accordance with the provisions of this subsection to any hiring agency or jail that requests such information.
C. Upon
request of a sheriff or chief of police, or the director or chief executive of
any agency or department employing law-enforcement officers as defined in §
9.1-101, or jail officers as defined in §53.1-1, the Department of Criminal
Justice Services is hereby authorized to waive the requirements for
qualification as set out in subsection A of this section
for good cause shown.
§15.2-1709. Employer immunity from liability; disclosure of information regarding former deputy sheriffs and law-enforcement officers.
Any sheriff or chief of police, the director or chief
executive of any agency or department employing deputy sheriffs or
law-enforcement officers as defined in
§9.1-101, or jail officers as defined
in §53.1-1, and the Director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services or
his designee who discloses information about a former deputy sheriff's or
law-enforcement officer's or jail officer's job performance or
information requested pursuant to subsection B of §
15.2-1705 to a prospective law-enforcement or jail employer
of the former appointee or employee is presumed to be
acting in good faith and, unless lack of good faith is shown by clear and
convincing evidence, is immune from civil liability for
such disclosure or its consequences. For purposes of
this section, the presumption of good faith is rebutted upon a showing that unless the information
disclosed by the former employer was knowingly false or deliberately
misleading, was rendered with malicious purpose, or violated any civil right of
the former employee or appointee.