Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; contractors; boiler and pressure vessel operator license. Creates a two-tiered category of licensure administered by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation's Board for Contractors for any person who has primary responsibility for maintaining boiler, unfired pressure vessel, and water heater operations in a multifamily dwelling unit.
Virginia Minimum Wage Act; exclusions. Eliminatesthe exclusion in the Virginia Minimum Wage Act for persons whoseemployment is covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of1938 (FLSA) and for persons whose earning capacity is impaired byphysical deficiency, mental illness, or intellectual disability.The measure also exempts, until July 1, 2024, from the Virginia MinimumWage Act any person who is paid pursuant to a special certificatethat provides for the employment of individuals whose earning orproductive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency,or injury at wages lower than the minimum wage otherwise requiredby the FLSA.
Bail; data collection and reporting standards;report. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to (i) collect data relating to bail determinations for any person whois held in custody pending trial or hearing for an offense, civilor criminal contempt or otherwise, in every locality; (ii) createa uniform reporting mechanism for criminal justice agencies to submitsuch data; and (iii) submit an annual report on the data collectedto the Governor and the General Assembly, as well as publish theannual report on the Department's website. The bill also providesthat the law addressing bail is to be construed so as to give effect to a general presumption in favor of pretrial release. The bill alsorequires the Department to report to the House Committee for Courtsof Justice by January 1, 2021, on the development and application of the uniform reporting mechanisms. The bill has a delayed effectivedate of July 1, 2021, for provisions related to the creation ofuniform reporting mechanisms and data collection by the Department.
Release of balloons; prohibition.Reduces the number of balloons per hour that a person may releasewithout penalty from 49 to one.
Alcoholic beverage control; distiller licenses;Internet orders and shipments. Allows the Virginia AlcoholicBeverage Control Authority to include provisions in its agency agreementswith licensed distillers operating government stores that allow such distillers to sell spirits and low alcohol beverage coolers throughInternet orders and ship such orders directly to consumers withinthe Commonwealth for personal consumption. The bill also clarifiesthe power of the Board of Directors of the Authority to sell alcoholicbeverages through Internet orders and to ship such orders directlyto consumers or licensees within the Commonwealth.
Certain early childhood care and education programs; parents of enrolled children; car seats for field trips. Requiresthe Department of Social Services to adopt regulations to requirethe parent of any child who attends any certified preschool, childday center, child day home, or family day home, including any registeredfamily day home, to provide an age-appropriate and developmentallyappropriate car seat for his child on any day on which the childattends a field trip that requires the use of such a car seat. Thebill requires the Board of Education to adopt the same regulations for any Virginia Preschool Initiative program or early childhoodspecial education program licensed by the Board of Education anddirects any Head Start program offered in the Commonwealth to adoptthe same requirement.
Certificate of public need; definition of "medical care facility." Adds to the list of medical care facilities for which a certificate of public need is required any facility located in Planning District 20 that has common ownership with an affiliated licensed hospital located within 35 miles of the facility and that includes, as part of the facility, a dedicated emergency department as defined in 42 C.F.R. § 489.24(b) that is subject to the requirements of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.
Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; Small Business Procurement Enhancement Program established; report. Establishes the Small Business Procurement Enhancement Program (the Program) with a statewide goal of 42 percent of small business utilization in all discretionary spending by state agencies in procurement orders, prime contracts, and subcontracts. In addition, the bill (i) provides for a small business set-aside for competition among all small businesses for state agency purchases of up to $100,000 for goods, nonprofessional services, and construction and up to $80,000 for professional services and (ii) establishes certification criteria for participation in the Program by business operations on the basis of the total number of employees or annual gross receipts, averaged over the previous three years.
Compensation of experts in criminal cases. Increases from $750 to $1,200 the maximum fee that the court may pay for professional services rendered by each psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, or other expert appointed by the court to render professional service in a criminal case other than capital murder. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Transit funding. Raises the existing regional transportation fee, a grantor's tax, from $0.15 per $100 to $0.20 per $100 for localities in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority that are also members of the Northern Virginia Transportation District. The bill requires half of the revenues to be deposited in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Fund and half to be deposited in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Capital Fund. The rate of tax in the other localities will remain at $0.15 per $100, with one-third of the revenues to be retained by the locality to be used for transportation purposes and the other two-thirds to be deposited in the Northern Virginia Transportation District Fund. The bill also raises the existing transient occupancy tax in the localities located in the Northern Virginia Transportation District from $2 to $3, with all of the revenues from the tax being used to support WMATA. This bill incorporates HB 977.
Robbery; penalty. Defines "robbery" andcreates degrees of punishment corresponding to the severity of arobbery offense. Any person who commits a robbery by causing seriousbodily injury is guilty of robbery in the first degree, which ispunishable by confinement in a state correctional facility for amaximum term of life. Any person who commits robbery by displayinga firearm in a threatening manner is guilty of robbery in the second degree, which is punishable by confinement in a state correctionalfacility for a maximum term of 20 years. Any person who commits robberyby using physical force not resulting in serious bodily injury, orby displaying a deadly weapon other than a firearm in a threateningmanner, is guilty of robbery in the third degree, which is punishableas a Class 5 felony. Any person who commits robbery by using threator intimidation not involving a deadly weapon is guilty of robberyin the fourth degree, which is punishable as a Class 6 felony. Undercurrent law, any robbery is punishable by confinement in a statecorrectional facility for life or any term not less than five years.
State, regional, and local planning; climatechange. Establishes a policy of the Commonwealth to prevent andto minimize actions that contribute to the detrimental effects ofanthropogenic climate change in the Commonwealth. The bill requiresany state agency to examine any new regulation or policy involvingstate action or funds in relation to its impact on climate changeand its effects thereof prior to adopting or implementing such regulationor policy. The bill requires local and regional planning commissionsto consider the impacts from and causes of climate change in adoptinga comprehensive plan, regional strategic plan, or zoning ordinance.
