Most laws in Virginia become effective on July 1 of each year.  There are some exceptions for laws that the Legislature considered to be so important that they became effective earlier.  In some cases, the laws are published in one year and don't become effective until the next year.  However, the vast majority of laws that are passed in a session of the Virginia Legislature become effective on July 1 of that same year.

A summary of the new laws can be found here.

This summary is presented by the Virginia Division of Legislative Services in a document entitled "In Due Course".

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Here are just a few of these laws that you might find interesting.  Note that these are just summaries of the laws and not the official language.

Synthetic marijuana.

The law outlaws the use of
synthetic marijuana, also known as "spice" and "K2."  The law makes possession a Class 1 misdemeanor and
possession with intent to distribute and manufacturing felonies. The first offender statute applies as it does to marijuana and controlled substances. The law criminalizes privately compounding with the specific intent to circumvent the criminal penalties for synthetic cannabinoids.  The law also allows restitution for cleaning up sites
where the drug is made and adds chemicals known as "bath salts" to Schedule I of the Drug Control Act. This
law became effective March 23, 2011.

Consumption of lawfully acquired wine.
The law allows restaurants to permit
patrons of restaurants to bring their own
alcohol that they purchased someplace
other than the restaurant itself with them to
drink while they eat dinner.

Military parents; delegation of visitation rights.

This law allows a court to delegate the visitation rights of a military parent who has been deployed on active duty to a
family member.

Jurisdictional limits of courts.

This law increases from  $15,000 to $25,000 the maximum civil jurisdictional limit of general district courts.

Want some additional information?  Check out our blog for posts about new laws.

Contact Kristina Beavers, Attorney at Law to schedule an appointment to discuss your legal situation.

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Fertilizer; regulation of application and labeling.

The law prohibits the sale, distribution, and use of lawn
maintenance fertilizer containing phosphorus beginning December 31, 2013, with certain exceptions. Also,
beginning on December 31, 2013, it will be unlawful to offer for sale any deicing agent containing urea, nitrogen, or phosphorus intended for application on parking lots,
roadways, and sidewalks, or other paved surfaces.  However, retailers are allowed to sell their existing inventory of lawn maintenance fertilizer and deicing agents.  The law addresses several other issues related to fertilizer use.

Traffic lights; motorcycles, mopeds, and bicycles.

The law allows motorcycles, mopeds, and bicycles, in certain situations, to proceed through intersections controlled by traffic lights showing steady red signals.