Department of Planning and Budget; RegulatoryBudget Program; report. Directs the Department of Planning andBudget, under the direction of the Secretary of Finance, to establisha continuous Regulatory Budget Program with the goal of setting atarget for each executive branch agency subject to the AdministrativeProcess Act to (i) reduce regulations and regulatory requirements,(ii) maintain the current number of regulations and regulatory requirements,or (iii) allow regulations and regulatory requirements to increaseby a specific amount over a two-year period. The bill requires the Secretary of Finance to report to the Speaker of the House of Delegatesand the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules on the status ofthe Program no later than October 1 of each odd-numbered year. Finally,the bill provides that the Department, in consultation with the Officeof the Attorney General, shall, by October 1, 2024, issue guidancefor agencies regarding the Program and how an agency can comply withthe requirements of the Program.
Real property taxes; rate of increase. Requires the governing body of a locality to hold a referendum before makingmost increases in their real property tax rate. Under current law,the governing body of a locality is required to limit their realproperty tax rate to a rate that would collect no more than 101 percentof the amount of real property taxes collected for the previous year.Increases above this rate may only be imposed if the locality holdsa public meeting. The bill replaces the public meeting requirementwith a requirement that any such increase be approved in a referendum.
Campaign finance; prohibited contributionsto candidates; civil penalty. Prohibits any public utility frommaking any contribution to any committee or otherwise provide anymoney any other thing of value, given, advanced, loaned, or in anyother way provided to any person or committee for the purpose ofinfluencing the outcome of an election. The bill creates a civilpenalty for violation of the prohibition of three times the amountof the contribution or $10,000, whichever is greater, payable to theState Treasurer for deposit to the general fund. The bill providesthat any registered voter of the Commonwealth may file a petitionwith an appropriate circuit court for enforcement of these provisions.
Virginia Retirement System; retired law-enforcement officers employed as school security officers. Provides thatif a retired law-enforcement officer was employed by a local schooldivision as a school security officer on January 1, 2020, and hada bona fide break in service of at least one month between retirementand employment as a school security officer, such person is not requiredto establish a 12-month break in service that would otherwise berequired by law.
Elections; conduct of election; election results; post-election forensic audits. Provides for the conduct of aforensic audit of an election in a county or city upon the requestof certain officials or upon the petition of a group of residentsof the locality in question. The purpose of an audit is to determinethe accuracy and legality of the election in question. The bill provides that an audit includes a review of all materials, equipment, and procedures used during any part of the election, including ballots,pollbooks, voting machines, and routers. The bill requires that theaudit be open to the public and states that the auditing processmay include participation by residents. The results of the auditare to be presented to a jury of local residents who have to powerto declare the election valid or invalid. The bill also gives theState Inspector General the power and duty to conduct an audit ofthe 2020 general election and requires him to produce a report ofhis finding.
Elections; voter registration; lists of registeredvoters; provided to registered voters. Provides that the Departmentof Elections must provide the lists for their districts to any registeredvoter of the Commonwealth for a reasonable charge not to exceed itsactual cost incurred in supplying the requested records.
Campaign finance; prohibited contributionsto candidates. Prohibits candidates, campaign committees, andpolitical committees from soliciting or accepting contributions fromany public utility, as defined in the bill, and prohibits any publicutility or any political committee established by such public utilityfrom making any such contribution.
Elections; conduct of elections; annual post-electionaudits. Requires that each local electoral board and generalregistrar conduct a post-election audit annually of at least one fifth of all ballot scanner machines in use in the locality such thatall ballot scanner machines in use in the locality are audited atleast once every five years. The bill requires the local electoralboard and general registrar to submit a report on the results ofeach audit to the State Board of Elections. The bill removes therequirement that annual audits be risk-limiting audits.
Distribution of recordation tax to cities andcounties. Reestablishes the distribution of $20 million of state recordation tax revenue to counties and cities to be used for transportationor public education purposes. Legislation in 2020 dedicated the $20million to the Hampton Roads Regional Transit Program.
Possession of psilocybin; civil penalty. Provides that any person 21 years of age or older who knowingly or intentionally possesses psilocybin or psilocyn shall be punished by a civil penalty of no more than $100 and such civil penalties shall be deposited into the Drug Offender Assessment and Treatment Fund. Under current law, a person who knowingly or intentionally possesses psilocybin or psilocyn is guilty of a Class 5 felony.
Trespass by hunters; penalty. Increasesfrom a Class 4 misdemeanor to a Class 1 misdemeanor the penalty forthe crime of trespassing while hunting, and increases from a Class3 misdemeanor to a Class 1 misdemeanor the penalty for a first violationof the crime of trespassing while hunting with dogs.
Public employees; labor union dues deductionauthorization. Requires consent by public employees authorizedto engage in collective bargaining before union or employee associationdues are deducted from the employees' pay directly by their employers.The bill allows public employees to stop paying union or employee association dues at any time and gives public employees an annual opportunity to reconfirm that they want to continue union or employeeassociation membership and pay such dues. The bill provides thatif an employee does not reconfirm then the dues deduction must cease.
