Department of Environmental Quality; work group to research rural fill disposal. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to convene a work group to research the practice of rural landowners allowing, or allowing for compensation, the use of their lands as disposal sites for construction fill and debris from road construction and development projects. The work group shall consider recommending regulations for possible adoption by DEQ, including a regulation containing a model ordinance relating to the practice for adoption by localities, and statutory changes, including changes to the practice related to agricultural engineering operations and construction of terraces.
Big game hunting; guaranteed kills prohibited;penalty. Prohibits offering for sale, selling, offering to purchase,purchasing, or guaranteeing a kill of, or charging a fee for killing,a deer, bear, or wild turkey. Such prohibition does not apply tokilling small game or migratory birds. The bill does not preventa landowner from leasing land for hunting, except that a lease ofland for hunting deer, bear, or wild turkey shall not be for a durationof less than three days. A violation is punishable as a Class 1misdemeanor; when the aggregate of such sales or purchases, or anycombination thereof, by any person totals $500 or more during any90-day period, such violation is punishable as a Class 6 felony.
School resource officers and school security officers; training standards. Requires school resource officers and school security officers to receive training specific to the role and responsibility of a law-enforcement officer working with students in a school environment that includes training on (i) relevant state and federal laws; (ii) school and personal liability issues; (iii) security awareness in the school environment; (iv) mediation and conflict resolution, including de-escalation techniques such as physical alternatives to restraint; (v) disaster and emergency response; (vi) awareness of cultural diversity and implicit bias; (vii) working with students with disabilities, mental health needs, substance abuse disorders, or past traumatic experiences; and (viii) student behavioral dynamics, including current child and adolescent development and brain research. This bill is identical to SB 171.
State Board of Elections; increasing membership ; Commissioner of Elections; role and eligibility; report. Increases the membership of the State Board of Elections from three members to five members. Representation is given to each of the political parties having the highest and next highest number of votes in the Commonwealth at the preceding gubernatorial election, with three Board members being of the party of the Governor. Terms are initially staggered. The bill provides that a Commissioner of Elections, who acts as the principal administrative officer of the Department of Elections, shall be appointed by the Governor. Persons engaging in certain partisan activities, persons related to persons engaging in certain partisan activities, and persons related to members of the State Board are prohibited from serving as the Commissioner of Elections. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This bill is identical to HB 236.
Truck Manufacturing Grant Fund; creation. Creates the Truck Manufacturing Grant Fund to make grant payments to an eligible truck manufacturer that makes a capital investment of at least $397 million at a facility in Pulaski County and creates at least 777 new full-time jobs at the facility. The eligible truck manufacturer would be eligible for an aggregate of $16.5 million in grants paid out over a 10-year period if it meets such performance parameters. This bill is identical to HB 1361.
Board of Social Work; reciprocal licensing agreements. Directs the Board of Social Work to pursue the establishment of reciprocal agreements with jurisdictions that are contiguous with the Commonwealth for the licensure of baccalaureate social workers, master's social workers, and clinical social workers. The bill provides that reciprocal agreements shall require that a person hold a comparable, current, unrestricted license in the other jurisdiction and that no grounds exist for denial based on the Code of Virginia and regulations of the Board.
Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge. Designatesthe bridge on Guinea Station Road over Interstate 95 in SpotsylvaniaCounty the Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge.
Public schools; provisional teacher licensure;certain individuals. Permits any school board and division superintendentto extend from three months to six months the period within whichthe provisional license of an individual seeking initial teacherlicensure who has not completed professional assessments will expirefor the purpose of establishing such individual's eligibility forinitial licensure, provided that such individual has received a satisfactorymid-year performance review in the current school year and meetsall other eligibility criteria.
Rental or lease of dog or cat prohibited; civil penalty. Prohibits the rental or lease of a dog or cat to a consumer, including by a purported sale of the animal in a manner that vests less than full equity in the consumer at the time of the purported sale. The bill prohibits the sale of a dog or cat in which the animal is subject to repossession upon default of the agreement and prohibits any financial institution from offering a loan for which the animal is subject to repossession upon default of the loan. The bill provides that the Attorney General may bring a civil action to enforce the bill's provisions and that a violator may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $2,500. A pet shop, commercial dog breeder, dealer, or other business that violates the provisions of the bill also may have its business license, retail license, or local pet shop permit suspended or revoked after a hearing by the issuing authority. The bill exempts certain animals from its prohibitions, including purebred dogs leased for breeding; dogs or cats used in spectator events, motion pictures, racing, or other entertainment; and service dogs, guide or leader dogs, security dogs, law-enforcement dogs, military working dogs, and certified facility dogs. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021.
Prohibition against appointing certain persons as guardian or conservator. Prohibits, except for good cause shown, the court from appointing as guardian or conservator for the respondent an attorney who has been engaged by the petitioner to represent the petitioner within three calendar years of the appointment. The bill also applies such prohibition to other attorneys and employees of the law firm with which such attorney is associated. The bill further provides that, in the case of a petitioner that is a medical care facility, the court may, for good cause shown, order that the reasonable costs for the guardian or conservator be paid by the petitioner during the time the respondent is under the care of such medical care facility.
Prescription drug disposal program; methods to enhance public awareness. Directs the Board of Pharmacy to enhance public awareness of proper drug disposal methods by assembling a group of stakeholders to develop strategies to increase the number of permissible drug disposal sites and options for the legal disposal of drugs, including requirements that pharmacies, or in-house pharmacies of hospitals or clinics, provide such information to customers. The bill directs the Board to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than November 15, 2020.
Political campaign advertisements; disclosures; authorization statement, name of candidate as it appears on the ballot; name of candidate campaign committee as it appears on statement of organization. Requires that when a disclosure statement for any political campaign advertisement includes the candidate's name for the purpose of meeting the disclosure requirement, the name must be the same as it appears on the ballot. When a disclosure statement includes the name of a campaign committee, the name must be the same as it appears on the statement of organization. The bill also requires candidates, when filing a statement of qualification, to state how he would like his name to appear on the ballot; currently, this is optional. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021, and further provides that any print media advertisement paid for or distributed prior to the effective date of the bill shall not be subject to the requirements of the bill.
