Approved by Governor-Chapter 625 (effective 7/1/17)
Authorizes the governing body of a county or city to provide for a lifetime dog or cat license. The bill removes the minimum annual tax for a dog or cat, sets the maximum tax for a lifetime license at $50, and limits the fee for a duplicate dog or cat tag to $1. This bill is identical to
Approved by Governor-Chapter 593 (effective 7/1/17)
Provides that members of the Chesapeake Economic Development Authority, Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Chesapeake Airport Authority, and Chesapeake Hospital Authority shall be limited to two terms. The bill provides that members of such authorities serve at the pleasure of the city council and that no member shall work for an authority within one year of serving as a member of that authority. This bill is identical to
Provides that when there is no amount actually paid or payable by a health insurer, health services plan, or health maintenance organization to a provider for the services provided, the insurer, health services plan, or health maintenance organization shall use such insurer's, health services plan's, or health maintenance organization's pre-established allowed amount to calculate the amount payable by the insured for such services.
Increases from one to three the number of times per calendar year that a qualified organization qualified as a tax-exempt organization pursuant to § 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code may conduct a raffle for a prize consisting of a lot improved by a residential dwelling where 100 percent of the moneys received from such a raffle, less deductions for the fair market value for the cost of acquisition of the land and materials, are donated to lawful religious, charitable, community, or educational organizations specifically chartered or organized under the laws of the Commonwealth and qualified as a § 501(c) tax-exempt organization. The bill also provides that no more than one such raffle shall be conducted in any one geographical region of the Commonwealth.
Extends the jurisdiction of the Office of the State Inspector General by amending the definition of "state agency" to include any local department of social services.
Imposes a 48-month moratorium on the repayment of funds allocated to a locality for a bonded project pursuant to the Economic Development Access Program, provided that the conditions of the Commonwealth Transportation Board's economic development access policy are met. The bill has an emergency clause and is identical to
Prohibits certain farms from violating the federal regulations that set minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables. The bill authorizes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt regulations to carry out the purposes of the law and gives the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services free access at reasonable hours to certain farms to inspect the farms and take samples. The Commissioner also is authorized to seize certain produce if he believes it is being grown, kept, or exposed for sale or held in violation of federal regulations or state law, and the bill provides a court process by which the seizure may be contested. The bill authorizes the Board to levy a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, to be deposited in the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund. The bill includes provisions that would cause it to expire upon the repeal of the relevant federal law, the granting of an exemption under such federal law, or the cessation of federal funding.
Requires the Board of Education to develop guidelines for training school counselors, school nurses, and other relevant school staff on the prevention of trafficking of children.
Requires all comprehensive agreements originally entered into on or after July 1, 2017, resulting in privately funded roads open for public transportation to include a provision requiring funding for adequate staffing, defined in the bill, for general law-enforcement services by the Virginia State Police.
Declares that the replacement of any subset of an investor-owned electric utility's existing overhead distribution tap lines that have, in the aggregate, an average of nine or more total unplanned outage events-per-mile over a preceding 10-year period with new underground facilities in order to improve electric service reliability is in the public interest. The measure also provides that there shall be a rebuttable presumption that (i) the conversion of such facilities will provide local and system-wide benefits, (ii) the new underground facilities are cost beneficial, and (iii) the costs associated with the new underground facilities are reasonably and prudently incurred. An enactment clause provides that the measure shall apply to any applications pending with the Commission regarding new underground facilities on or after January 1, 2017. Another enactment clause directs an investor-owned incumbent electric utility to provide written notice to any cable operator of a cable television system that has attached its facilities to its poles that will be replaced in a project to underground existing overhead distribution tap lines not less than 90 days prior to relocating the utility's overhead distribution lines. The clause also establishes a procedure for negotiating a common shared underground easement.
