Absentee voting; emergency voting. Providesa process by which a qualified voter is permitted to vote by absenteeballot when an emergency either prevented him from applying for an absentee ballot by the deadline or will prevent him from voting inperson on election day. The bill also provides for the Commissionerof Elections to take administrative action to facilitate absenteevoting by those persons providing emergency or other services inan area in which a state of emergency has been declared. The billcontains technical amendments that consolidate current Code sectionsregarding emergency absentee voting.
Workers' compensation; occupational disease presumptions. Adds correctional officers and full-time sworn members of the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles to the list of public safety employees who are entitled to a presumption that certain infectious diseases are compensable occupational diseases. The presumption does not apply to correctional officers and full-time sworn members of the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles who were diagnosed with such infectious diseases before July 1, 2020.
Voter identification; accepted forms of identification; student identification card issued by out-of-state institution ofhigher education. Adds to the list of acceptable forms of voteridentification a valid student photo identification card issued byany institution of higher education located in any other state orterritory of the United States. Current law allows students fromany institution of higher education located in the Commonwealth touse their student photo identification cards for purposes of voting.
Workers' compensation; occupational disease presumption; correctional officers. Adds correctional officers and full-time sworn members of the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles to the list of public safety employees who are entitled to a presumption that certain infectious diseases are compensable occupational diseases.
Capital outlay plan. Updates the six-yearcapital outlay plan for projects to be funded entirely or partially from general fund-supported resources.
Discovery in criminal cases; penalties. Establishesrequirements and procedures for discovery by an accused and by the Commonwealthin a criminal case. The bill requires a party requesting discovery to requestthat the other party voluntarily comply with such request prior to filing anymotion before a judge. Upon receiving a negative or unsatisfactory response, orupon the passage of seven days following the receipt of the request withoutresponse, the party requesting discovery may file a motion for discovery withthe court. The bill details information that is subject to discovery andprovides a mechanism for redaction of certain personal identifying information.The bill also creates a procedure whereby the parties may conduct depositionsof witnesses prior to trial and use statements obtained during such depositionsfor impeachment at trial as a prior inconsistent statement. The bill creates aprocedure for either party to move the court to enter a protection order withregard to discovery and, if granted, the court may order any conditionlimiting, but not preventing, disclosure, so long as the condition is necessaryto the orderly adjudication of the case or to the fair administration ofjustice. Finally, the bill (i) makes it a Class 6 felony for any person towillfully omit or misrepresent evidence or information required to be disclosedto the accused, (ii) makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to willfullyomit or misrepresent any other evidence of information required to bedisclosed, and (iii) grants the court the ability to impose additional remediesit deems just if a party fails to comply with any of the requirements.
Local governing body meetings; public comment.Requires a governing body to provide members of the general public with the opportunity for public comment during at least half of the regular meetings held each fiscal year.
Historical designation for historical motorracing locations in Virginia. Directs the Department of HistoricResources to convene a group of stakeholders to initiate the creation,design, and implementation of a historical designation of historic NASCAR and other motor vehicle racing tracks and related real propertyin the Commonwealth for the promotion of tourism and economic developmentin Virginia.
Abandoned and stolen shopping carts; local regulation. Provides that any locality with a County Manager Plan or Urban County Executive form of government may, by ordinance, provide that it is unlawful for any person to place, leave, or abandon on any real property in the locality, or within specified districts within the locality, any shopping cart. The bill requires such ordinance to provide that any such shopping cart that remains on the real property at least 15 days after a notice of violation is given to the owner of such shopping cart shall be presumed to be abandoned and subject to removal from the real property by the county or its agents without further notice. In the event that any such shopping cart is so removed, the cost of removal, including the cost of disposal, but not to exceed $300 per cart, shall be charged to the owner of the shopping cart. The bill also authorizes such ordinance to prohibit possession of a shopping cart outside of the designated premises when the owner has posted notice of such prohibition. Such ordinance may provide for a civil penalty of not more than $500.
Elections; same-day registration; in-personabsentee and election day voting. Provides an exception to theclosing of registration records for any person who (i) is qualifiedto register to vote, (ii) is unregistered or registered in a localityin which the person no longer resides but is otherwise entitledto vote by absentee ballot, (iii) desires to vote absentee in personat the time that they present themselves to be registered, and (iv) provides proof of residency. The bill also permits same-day registrantsto vote absentee and provides an excuse for election day absentee voting for such voters. The bill requires all voters who registerto vote under the provisions of this bill to fill out an absenteeapplication, including the required oath, in order to vote. Thisbill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
Alcoholic beverage control; cocktail supplyshop license. Creates a cocktail supply shop license, which (i)may be granted to a retail establishment in which at least 75 percentof its annual sales come from the sale of cocktail-related suppliesother than spirits and (ii) authorizes the licensee to sell or givesamples of spirits, subject to quantity limits set forth in the bill.The bill establishes state and local license fees for such license.
Minimum wage; pay based on work done. Eliminatesthe exemption to Virginia's minimum wage requirements for personswho normally work and are paid based on the amount of work done.
