Virginia National Guard; power of Governor to summon in certain circumstances.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§
18.2-410
,
44-75.1
, and
44-78.1
of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered
44-15.1
and
44-75.1:2
, relating to Virginia National Guard; power of Governor to summon in certain circumstances; mobilization under federal authority; annual report.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§
18.2-410
,
44-75.1
, and
44-78.1
of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding sections numbered
44-15.1
and
44-75.1:2
as follows:

§
18.2-410
. Power of Governor to summon law-enforcement agencies, National Guard, etc., to execute process or preserve the peace.

If

Subject to the provisions of subsections B and C of §
44-75.1
and except
as provided in §
44-75.1:2
, if
it appears to the Governor that the power of the locality is not sufficient to enable the sheriff or other officer to execute process delivered to him or to suppress riots and to preserve the peace, he may order law-enforcement agencies,
national guard
the

V
irginia
National Guard
, militia
,
or other agencies of the Commonwealth or localities as may be necessary to execute such process and to preserve the peace. All persons so ordered or summoned by the Governor are required to attend and act. Any person who, without lawful cause, refuses or neglects to obey the command
, shall be

is
guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

§
44-15.1
. Reports to the General Assembly.

The Adjutant General shall submit an annual report to the
Chairs of the
House Committee on Public Safety and the
Senate
Committee on
General Laws and Technology

detailing
:

1.
A
ll federal and state deployments of the National Guard
since the last day of the period covered by the previous annual report, including the date
the deployment began, th
e end date or anticipated end date of such deployment, circumstances,
scope, legal authority, goals, cost to the Commonwealth, and cost to the federal government;

2.
R
etention and readiness within the National Guard
and the impact on readiness of federal deployments;

3.
Any shortfall or misuse of federal funding; and

4. Use of National Guard resources by federal authorities.

The Adjutant General shall submit the init
ial annual report as required by this section no later than July 1, 2026
. The second and subsequent annual reports shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of this section no later than the first day of each
r
egular
s
ess
ion of the General Assembly.

§
44-75.1
. Militia state active duty.

A.
The

Except as provided in §
44-75.1:2
, the
Governor or his designee may call forth the militia or any part thereof to state active duty for service in any of the following circumstances:

1. In the event of invasion or insurrection or imminent threat of either;

2. When any combination of persons becomes so powerful as to obstruct the execution of laws in any part of this Commonwealth;

3. When the Governor determines that a state agency or agencies having law-enforcement responsibilities are in need of assistance to perform particular law-enforcement functions, which functions he shall specify in his call to the militia;

4. In the event of flood, hurricane, fire or other forms of natural or man-made disaster wherein human life, public or private property, or the environment is imperiled;

5. In emergencies of lesser magnitude than those described in subdivision 4, including
but not limited to
the disruption of vital public services, wherein the use of militia personnel or equipment would be of assistance to one or more departments, agencies, institutions, or political subdivisions of the Commonwealth;

6. When the Governor determines that the National Guard and its assets would be of valuable assistance to state, local
,
or federal agencies having a drug law-enforcement function to combat the flow of or use of illegal drugs in the Commonwealth, he may provide for the National Guard or any part thereof to support drug interdiction, counterdrug
,
and demand reduction activities within the Commonwealth, or outside the Commonwealth under the National Guard Mutual Assistance Counterdrug Activities Compact. In calling forth the National Guard under this section, the Governor shall specify the type of support that the National Guard shall undertake with state, local
,
or federal law-enforcement agencies. Once called forth by the Governor, the National Guard is also specifically authorized to enter into mutual assistance and support agreements with any law-enforcement agencies, state or federal, operating within or outside this Commonwealth so long as those activities are consistent with the Governor's call.

Notwithstanding
the provisions of §
44-75
.1:1, t
he National Guar
d's role is limited to support operations, and
it
shall not participate
in direct enforcement of the law, including conducting arrests, serving warrants, or detaining suspects.
The

National Guard, operating in support
of
another state's counterdrug objectives
under the National Guard Mutual Assistance Counterdrug
Activities
Compact
,
shall
not
be deployed outside of United St
ates territory, including territorial waters of the United States.
All activities undertaken by the National Guard in the areas of drug interdiction, counterdrug
,
and drug demand reduction shall be reported by the Adjutant General's office to the Governor and reviewed by the Governor no less frequently than every three months; and

7. When the Governor or his designee, in consultation with the Adjutant General, determines that the militia or any part thereof is in need of specific training to be prepared for being called forth for any of the circumstances expressed in subdivisions 1 through 6 above. Such training may be conducted with a state or federal agency or agencies having the capability or responsibility to coordinate or assist with any of the circumstances set forth in subdivisions 1 through 6 above.

B.
Notwithstanding
circumstances as described in sub
divisions
A
4 and 5,
the Governor shall inform, in writing, the Speaker of the House
of Delegates
, the Senate
Committee on Rules
, and the Chair
s
of the House Committee on Public Safety and the Senate
Committee on
General Laws and Technology

o
f
his

calling forth the National Guard
within 48 hours of issuing such an order
. The Governor shall provide all parties information regarding the circumstances, scope, duration, legal authority, and goals for such
a call to active duty
.
As soon as practicable, t
he Governor shall also provide all parties with a plan for the restoration of local authority in the aftermath of such
a call to active duty
.

C.
Notwithstanding circumstances as
described in sub
divisions
A 4 and 5,
if the Governor wishes to continue
active duty
for longer than two weeks, he shall summon the General Assembly
within two weeks of
initially issuing the
call to active duty
. Such
active duty
may only be continued upon passage of a joint resolution by simple majority. If
a
joint resolution is not passed by simple majority by the start of the third week of
active duty
, the Governor's authority over the
call to active duty
will cease, as will the
active duty
itself and any operations supporting such
call to active duty
.

Upon
calling forth the National Guard to active duty
, the Governor shall not order a subsequent deployment to the same location within a period of one year, absent a joint resolution as passed by the General Assembly.

D
.
The Virginia National Guard shall be designated as a state law-enforcement agency for the sole purpose of receiving property and revenues pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981 (e) (2), 19 U.S.C. § 1616a, and 21 U.S.C. § 881 (e) (1) (A).

E
.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to
authorize the
Governor to
call forth the
National Guard for the purpose of intimidating, threate
ning
,
or
coercing, or attemp
ting to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any person
(i)
in giving his vote or ballot or
(ii)
to deter or prevent
such
person from voting
in violation of §
24.2-1005
.

§ 44-
75.1
:2
.
National Guard;
mobilization under federal
authority
.

A. For purposes of this section, "mobilization" means
the deployment, transfer,
or assignment of the National Guard or its members
by federal authority
pursuant to 10 U.S.C. §
12406
.

B
. Upon
mobilization of the National Guard under
federal
authority
within the Commonwealth
:

1.

T
he General Assembly shall convene an emergency session within 72 hours of
such order. If an invasion, insurrection, or imminent threat of either event makes such a convention
impossible, the
Joint Committee on Ru
les
shall issue temporary rules and procedures to enable
meeting and voting
in remote locations and
on virtual channels
. At the request of the Speaker of the House
of Delegates
and the President
pro tempore
of the Senate, the National Guard shall support
the General Assembly's ability to convene by providing security
;

2
. The Adjutant General shall seek from the
U.S.
Department of Defense a written report
containing information regarding such a
call to active duty
, and such report shall include the circumstances, scope, duration, legal authority,
objectives for active duty
, and funding for
active duty
. The Adjutant General shall make such report available to the Speaker of the House
of Delegates
, the Senate
Committee on Rules
, and the Chair
s
of
the House Committee on Public Safety and the Senate

Committee on
General Laws and Technology
;

3
.
The Attorney General shall
assess the legality of the
call to active duty
and shall make a written report detailing such an assessment available to the Speaker of the House
of Delegates
, the Senate
Committee on Rules
, and the Chair
s
of the House Committee on Public Safety and the Senate
Committee on
General Laws and Technology.
In
the event the Attorney General determines such a
call to active duty
is illegal, he shall bring suit in an effort to
challenge, prevent, or cease such a
ctive duty operations
;

4
.
The Governor shall
provide, in writing,
h
i
s
support or dissent of such
active duty operations
t
o the General Assembly
;

5
.
If the Attorney General provides an opinion
providing that
the
federal order calling the National Guard to active duty
is illegal, or if the Governor
informs the General Assembly that he is opposed to such
call to active duty
, the National Guard and federal forces shall be prohibited from using any state-owned facility and no state funding shall be
used to support such deployment, absent a joint resolution as passed by the General Assembly. No person operating under state funding may provide any manner of support to
ac
tive duty operations
; and

6
. The Governor may pursue mutual compacts with governors of other states that would mutually prohibit use of state resources for a
ny
federal deployme
nt of the National Guard against the will of those governors.

C. Upon
mobilization of the National Guard under
federal
authority
outside of the Commonwealth:

1
. The Adjutant General shall seek from the
U.S.
Department of Defense a written report containing information regarding such
active duty operations
, and such report shall include the circumstances, scope, duration, legal authority,
objectives for active duty operations
, and funding for the deployment. The Adjutant General shall make such report available to the Speaker of the House
of Delegates
, the

Senate
Committee on Rules
, and the Chair
s
of the House Committee on Public Safety and the Senate
Committee on
General Laws and Technology;

2. The Attorney General shall assess the legality of the
active duty operations
and shall make a written report detailing such an assessment available to the Speaker of the House
of Delegates
, the Senate
Committee on Rules
, and the Chair
s
of the House Committee on Public Safety and the Senate
Committee on
General Laws and Technology. In the event the Attorney General determines such a
ctive duty operations

are
illegal, he shall bring suit in an effort to challenge, prevent, or cease such a
ctive duty operations
;

3. The Governor shall provide, in writing,
h
i
s
support or dissent of such
active duty operations
to the General Assembly;

4.
If the Attorney General provides an opinion providing that federal order calling the National Guard to active duty is illegal
, or if the Governor informs the General Assembly that he is opposed to such
active duty operations
, the National Guard and federal forces shall be prohibited from using any state-owned facility and no state funding shall be used to support such deployment, absent a joint resolution as passed by the General Assembly. No person operating under state funding may provide any manner of support to the
active duty operations
; and

5. The Governor may pursue mutual compacts with governors of other states that would mutually prohibit use of state resources for any federal deployment of the National Guard against the will of those governors.

D. If
f
ederal
t
raining
f
unds for the Virginia National Guard are being used for the deployment of
members of the Virginia National Guard on non-training missions, the Attorney General shall pursue all legal remedies to recover such funds from the federal government
.

E
.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit or limit the
Governor's authority to deploy the
Virginia
National Guard into active duty for the purpose
s
of providing defense support for civil authority missions in a foreign state or elsewhere within the
United S
t
ates.

§
44-78.1
. Request for assistance by localities.

In

Subject to the provisions of subsections B
and C of
§

44-75.1
and e
xcept as provided in §
44-75.1:2
, in
the event
of
that
the circumstances described in subdivision A 2, 4
,
or 5 of §
44-75.1
arise within a county, city
,
or town of the Commonwealth, either the governing body or the chief law-enforcement officer of the county, city
,
or town may call upon the Governor for assistance from the militia. The Governor may call forth the militia or any part thereof to provide such assistance as he may deem proper in responding to such circumstances, but in all instances the militia shall remain subject to military command and not to civilian authorities of the county, city
,
or town receiving assistance.

2. That this act shall be referred to as the Virginia National Guard Integrity and Democracy Protection Act.