Criminal Justice

Court fines and fees; indigent defendant; waiver of fees. Provides that in any criminal or traffic case, the court may waive the assessment of certain fees specified in the bill, either wholly or in part, if the court determines the defendant to be indigent pursuant to the financial criteria set forth in relevant law and unable to pay such fee. The bill provides that the court may make such determination sua sponte or upon motion of the defendant at any time prior to the entry of an order for which such fee is assessed or the final order has been entered.

Underage consumption or possession of alcoholic beverage or marijuana or marijuana products; consequences; procedures. Reduces the penalties for underage consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages or marijuana or marijuana products to a written warning for a first violation, a written warning and the provision of informational materials about how to access community services for a second violation, and a write-up and an optional referral for accessing community services for a third or subsequent violation. Under current law, underage consumption, purchase, or possession of alcoholic beverages is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor with a period of license suspension and an option for a deferred dismissal in certain circumstances. The current penalties for underage consumption or possession of marijuana or marijuana products is a civil penalty of $25 and an order to enter a substance abuse treatment or education program. The bill also provides that such underage persons are not capable of giving lawful consent to a search and that the unconcealed possession of an alcoholic beverage or marijuana or marijuana products shall not constitute probable cause to initiate a search of a person or that person's personal property to determine any further violations of law. The bill specifies that such underage persons shall not be subject to arrest or otherwise detained or taken into custody by a law-enforcement officer and that a law-enforcement officer's body-worn camera system shall be activated during any encounter involving an underage person suspected to be in violation of such provisions. The bill also puts limits on the dissemination and retention of any law-enforcement records related to violations of such provisions.

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, general election to approve or reject an amendment that would provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. This bill is identical to SB 6.

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, general election to approve or reject an amendment that would provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. This bill is identical to HB 963.