Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act; relocation expenses. Provides that if the termination of a manufactured home park rental agreement is due to the sale of the manufactured home park to a buyer that is going to redevelop the park and change its use, the landlord shall provide certain relocation expenses to each manufactured home owner in the park within the 180-day notice period for the purpose of removing the manufactured home from the park.
Definition of birth control. Defines "birth control," for the purposes of the regulation of medicine, as contraceptive methods that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administrationand provides that birth control shall not be considered abortionfor the purposes of Title 18.2 (Crimes and Offenses Generally).
Legal services plans. Authorizes legal services organizations to provide to the Virginia Department of Agricultureand Consumer Services any registration information or fees on behalfof their legal services plan sellers. Currently, sellers are requiredto register with the Department individually. The measure also (i)authorizes a foreign insurer issuing legal services plans to filefinancial statements with the State Corporation Commission in theform used in its state of domicile; (ii) allows legal services plansto be written in Virginia by a foreign insurer that is authorizedto write legal services plans in another jurisdiction; (iii) authorizesa legal services organization to request an exemption from the requirementthat the Commission conduct an examination of it every five yearsif the organization provides an audited financial statement; (iv)allows a legal services organization to seek a waiver of the requirementthat it obtain the Commission's prior approval of policy forms and related documents; (v) eliminates the requirement that legal services organizations file actuarial opinions; and (vi) allows legal services organizations to exclude the management discussion and analysis sectionsof their financial statements filed with the Commission.
Scenic river designation; Maury River. Designates a 19.25-mile segment of the Maury River as a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System. This bill is identical to SB 288.
Alcoholic beverage control; mixed beveragerestaurant license; mini bottles. Allows mixed beverage restaurant licensees located on the premises of and operated by a private, nonprofit,or profit club to sell spirits packaged in original closed containerswith a maximum capacity of two fluid ounces or 50 milliliters foron-premises consumption.
Lawn fertilizer contractor-applicators.Authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Servicesto enter into an agreement with a locality to provide oversight anddata collection assistance related to the requirements of certifiedlawn fertilizer contractor-applicators. Current law prohibits localitiesfrom regulating the registration, packaging, labeling, sale, use,application, storage, or distribution of fertilizers except by ordinancepursuant to certain requirements. The bill also reduces from 100 to50 the total number of acres of nonagricultural land to which a contractor-applicatormay apply lawn fertilizer and lawn maintenance fertilizer annuallywithout submitting an annual report to the Commissioner. The billincreases from $250 to $1,000 the civil penalty imposed on a contractor-applicatorfor a violation of applicable regulations.
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Commission; sunset. Extends the sunset provision of the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Commission from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2023. This bill is identical to SB 256.
Hemp products intended for smoking. Providesthat it shall be legal to produce, distribute, and consume hemp productsintended for smoking. Current law is silent on the legality of suchproducts. The bill prohibits the sale to persons under age 21 ofhemp products intended for smoking.
Administration of government; general provisions; state publications to be made available in electronic format. Requires state publications provided to (i) the General Assembly or any committee, subcommittee, commission, agency, or other body within the legislative branch or (ii) the chairman or agency head of such entity and publications of any agency, institution, collegial body, or other governmental entity to be made available as read-only and text-searchable Portable Document Format (.pdf) files or some other widely used and accessible read-only and text-searchable electronic document format. All requests for such reports or publications shall be made electronically unless expressly requested otherwise.
Conditional zoning for solar photovoltaic projects. Authorizes any locality with a planning commission to include reasonable regulations and provisions for conditional zoning for solar photovoltaic(electric energy) projects of more than five megawatts, as measuredin alternating current (AC) generation capacity. The bill authorizes the governing body of such locality to accept a proffered conditionthat includes (i) dedication of real property of substantial valueor (ii) substantial cash payments for or construction of substantialpublic improvements, the need for which is not generated solely bythe granting of a conditional use permit or a rezoning itself, solong as such proffered conditions are reasonably related to the project.The bill also authorizes a zoning ordinance to include reasonableregulations to implement certain provisions related to conditionalproffers.
Sentencing of juvenile tried as adult. Providesthat a court, in the case of a juvenile tried as an adult and convictedof a felony, may depart from any mandatory minimum sentence requiredby law, suspend any portion of an otherwise applicable sentence,or deal with the juvenile in the same manner as a case in the juvenilecourt if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that thevictim of the felony offense trafficked the juvenile in violationof human trafficking laws, sexually assaulted or abused the juvenilewithin one year of the commission of the felony offense, or sexuallyassaulted or abused the juvenile, causing such juvenile to be anabused or neglected child. The bill also requires the court, whensentencing a juvenile as an adult, to consider the juvenile's exposureto adverse childhood experiences, early childhood trauma, or anychild welfare agency and the differences between juvenile and adultoffenders, including the diminished culpability of juveniles. Afterconsidering such factors, the court may reduce or suspend any mandatory minimum sentence or maximum period of incarceration prescribed bylaw that the juvenile is required to serve by not more than 50 percentif the court determines that such reduction is appropriate in relationto the juvenile's age, the juvenile's prospects for rehabilitation,or any other mitigating factors.
School bus drivers; critical shortages. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the assistance of each school board or division superintendent, to survey each local school division to identify critical shortages of school bus drivers by geographic area and local school division and to report any such critical shortage to each local school division and to the Virginia Retirement System. The bill permits any school bus driver hired by a local school board in any geographic area or school division in which a critical shortage of school bus drivers has been so identified to elect to continue to receive a service retirement allowance during such employment if the driver meets certain other conditions. This bill is identical to HB 351.
