Alcoholic beverage control; license and fee reform. Reorganizes all alcoholic beverage control licenses pursuant to the three-tier structure and license privileges, consolidates many licenses with common privileges, aligns license fee amounts with enforcement demands, and standardizes quantity limits on alcohol samples. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021. This bill incorporates SB 447 and is identical to HB 390.
Best interests of the child; act of violence,force, or threat against an intimate partner or the intimate partner'schild; history of child abuse. Provides that any act of violence,force, or threat against an intimate partner or the intimate partner'schild or any history of child abuse shall be considered by a court in determining the best interests of a child for the purposes ofa custody or visitation arrangement.
Unrestorably incompetent defendant; competency report. Provides that in cases where a defendant is likely to remain incompetent for the foreseeable future due to an ongoing and irreversible medical condition and prior medical or educational records are available to support the diagnosis, a competency report may recommend that the court find the defendant unrestorably incompetent to stand trial, and the court may proceed with the disposition of the case based on such recommendation. Under current law, the defendant is required to undergo treatment to restore his competency before the court can find a defendant unrestorably incompetent to stand trial. The bill also provides that such person who is found unrestorably incompetent to stand trial shall be prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. This bill is identical to SB 670.
Field investigations permit; archaeologist qualifications; penalty. Establishes standards for education, experience, ability, and other factors for a field supervisor who is identified in an application to the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation for a permit to conduct a field investigation, exploration, or recovery operation involving any object of antiquity on state-controlled land or on a state archaeological site or zone. The bill provides that the Director may consider the field supervisor's performance on any prior permitted investigation in determining whether the person meets such standards. The bill provides that conducting an investigation without a permit or willfully misrepresenting information (i) on a permit application or (ii) collected during a permitted field investigation is a crime punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Institutional racial segregation and discrimination. Repeals several Acts of Assembly from 1901 to 1960 that contain provisions that implemented and enforced racial segregation and discrimination in public facilities and common carriers, on public documents, and within the office of the State Registrar. This bill is identical to SB 722.
Voter identification; repeal of photo identification requirements; additional forms of identification accepted; signed statement in lieu of required form of identification; penalty. Removes the requirement that voters show a form of identification containing a photograph in order to be allowed to vote. The bill requires a voter to show either his voter registration confirmation documents; his valid Virginia driver's license, his valid United States passport, or any other identification issued by the Commonwealth, one of its political subdivisions, or the United States; any valid student identification card issued by any institution of higher education located in the Commonwealth or any private school located in the Commonwealth; any valid student identification card issued by any institution of higher education located in any other state or territory of the United States; any valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the voter and issued by an employer of the voter in the ordinary course of the employer's business; or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. The bill also provides that the expiration date on a Virginia driver's license is not considered when determining the validity of a driver's license offered for voter identification purposes. A voter who does not show one of the required forms of identification when offering to vote is required to sign a statement that he is the named registered voter he claims to be in order to be permitted to cast a ballot. Such statement is signed subject to felony penalties for making false statements, punishable as a Class 5 felony. A voter who does not show one of the required forms of identification and does not complete or sign the statement shall be offered a provisional ballot according to the provisions of current law. The bill adds language regarding identification requirements for certain voters pursuant to the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002. This bill incorporates HB 190 and HB 878.
Virginia Tourism Authority; Governor's New Airline Service Incentive Fund. Creates the Governor's New Airline Service Incentive Fund to be administered by the Virginia Tourism Authority to support the local, regional, national, and international airports in Virginia by providing the means for attracting new passenger air service routes by advertising and promoting new air service routes that would commence in Virginia. The bill provides that expenditures must be consistent with the commercial air service plan adopted by the Virginia Aviation Board. The bill requires that a grant from the Fund shall not be awarded if it can be reasonably anticipated to result in the reduction of existing commercial air service at another airport located within the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to SB 990.
Virginia Public Procurement Act; determinationof nonresponsibility; local option to include criteria in invitationto bid. Allows any locality to include in the invitation to bidcriteria that may be used in determining whether a bidder possessesthe moral and business integrity and reliability that will assuregood faith performance that is required of a responsible bidder.Such criteria may include a history or good faith assurances of (i)completion by the bidder and any potential subcontractors of specifiedsafety training programs established the U.S. Department of Labor,Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (ii) participationby the bidder and any potential subcontractors in apprenticeship training programs approved by state agencies or the U.S. Departmentof Labor; or (iii) maintenance by the bidder and any potential subcontractorsof records of compliance with applicable local, state, and federallaws.
Medical assistance services; managed care organization contracts with pharmacy benefits managers; spread pricing. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to require a managed care organization with which the Department enters into an agreement for the delivery of medical assistance services to include in any agreement between the managed care organization and a pharmacy benefits manager provisions prohibiting the pharmacy benefits manager or a representative of the pharmacy benefits manager from conducting spread pricing with regard to the managed care organization's managed care plans. The bill defines "spread pricing" as the model of prescription drug pricing in which the pharmacy benefits manager charges a managed care plan a contracted price for prescription drugs, and the contracted price for the prescription drugs differs from the amount the pharmacy benefits manager directly or indirectly pays the pharmacist or pharmacy for pharmacist services. The bill applies to agreements entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2020. This bill is identical to SB 568.
Veterans Services Foundation. Provides that the board of trustees of the Veterans Services Foundation may be assisted in the administration of the Foundation by volunteers and staff members employed by the Executive Director. The bill also (i) adds agents and advisors to the composition of the Foundation membership; (ii) allows ex officio members who do not serve as the chairman of another board to serve as chairman of the board of trustees; (iii) specifies that individuals appointed to perform the duties of treasurer and secretary are ex officio, nonvoting officers of the board of trustees; (iv) provides that employment of agents, advisors, volunteers, or employees by the Executive Director is subject to the approval of the board of trustees; and (v) clarifies that the members of the board of trustees and employees of the Foundation are subject to the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act (§ 2.2-3100 et seq.).
Custodial interrogations; recording. Provides that any law-enforcement officer shall, if practicable, make an audiovisual recording of the entirety of any custodial interrogation of a person conducted in a place of detention. The bill provides that if an audiovisual recording is unable to be made, the law-enforcement officer shall make an audio recording of the entirety of the custodial interrogation. The bill provides that the failure of a law-enforcement officer to make such a recording shall not affect the admissibility of the statements made during the custodial interrogation, but the court or jury may consider such failure in determining the weight given to such evidence. As introduced, the bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.
Elections administration; Department of Elections; position of Director of Operations. Directs the Department of Elections to employ a Director of Operations, who will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations at the Department and ensuring (i) fulfillment of the Department's mission and responsibilities; (ii) compliance with state and federal election laws and regulations; and (iii) compliance with the Department's business, administrative, and financial policies. The bill provides that the Director of Operations position is a full-time classified position subject to the Virginia Personnel Act. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
