Employment; disclosure of terms. Requires every employer of employees who are 18 years of age or older who work for daily wages or are employed to work on a project for a total of 10 days or less, with some exceptions specified in the measure, to furnish to such employees, at the time of the employee's hiring, a written disclosure of information regarding the terms of employment, including the name and address of the employer, the rate of pay and basis thereof, and the regular payday. The measure also requires employers to notify its employees in writing of any changes to this information.
Mortgage brokers; prohibition on dual compensation. Clarifies the existing provisions that prohibit a licensed mortgagebroker from negotiating, placing, or finding a mortgage loan thatwill be used to finance the purchase of residential property if themortgage broker or its affiliate is acting as a real estate broker,agent, salesman, or firm in connection with the sale of the propertythat will secure the loan and receiving a commission or other thingof value for such services. Mortgage brokers who were licensed by the State Corporation Commission as of February 25, 1989, remainexempt from the prohibition if they furnish the prescribed writtennotice to the borrower.
Involuntary commitment; notice and participation;family members. Clarifies the role of family members and otherindividuals authorized to receive medical records and informationabout a person who is involved in the involuntary commitment process,including the family member or other person's right to receive medicalrecords, notice of hearings, and copies of orders and to participatein hearings and the discharge planning process.
Virginia Energy and Economy Transition Council established. Establishes the Virginia Energy and Economy Transition Council, consisting of 30 members, to develop plans to assist the Commonwealth in transitioning from the use of fossil fuel energy to renewable energy by 2050. The bill provides that the Council sunsets on July 1, 2023.
Prohibiting sale, transport, etc., of assault firearms,certain firearm magazines, silencers, and trigger activators; penalties.Expands the definition of "assault firearm" and prohibits any personfrom importing, selling, transferring, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing,or transporting an assault firearm. A violation is a Class 6 felony. The billprohibits a dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from hisinventory an assault firearm to any person. The bill also prohibits a personfrom carrying a shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven roundsof the longest ammunition for which it is chambered in a public place; underexisting law, this prohibition applies only in certain localities. The billmakes it a Class 6 felony to import, sell, transfer, manufacture, purchase,possess, or transport large-capacity firearm magazines, silencers, and triggeractivators, all defined in the bill. Any person who legally owns an assaultfirearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator onJuly 1, 2020, may retain possession until January 1, 2021. During that time,such person shall (i) render the assault firearm, large-capacity firearmmagazine, silencer, or trigger activator inoperable; (ii) remove the assaultfirearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator fromthe Commonwealth; (iii) transfer the assault firearm, large-capacity firearmmagazine, silencer, or trigger activator to a person outside the Commonwealthwho is not prohibited from possessing it; or (iv) surrender the assaultfirearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator to astate or local law-enforcement agency.The bill further states that any person who legally owns anassault firearm on July 1, 2020, may retain possession of such assault firearmafter January 1, 2021, if such person has obtained a permit from the Departmentof State Police to possess an assault firearm in accordance with proceduresestablished in the bill. A person issued such permit may possess an assaultfirearm only under the following conditions: (a) while in his home or on hisproperty or while on the property of another who has provided prior permission,provided that the person has the landowner's written permission on his personwhile on such property; (b) while at a shooting range, shooting gallery, orother area designated for the purpose of target shooting or the target range ofa public or private club or organization whose members have organized for thepurpose of practicing shooting targets or competing in target shooting matches;(c) while engaged in lawful hunting; or (d) while surrendering the assaultfirearm to a state or local law-enforcement agency. A person issued such permitmay also transport an assault firearm between any of those locations, providedthat such assault firearm is unloaded and secured within a closed containerwhile being transported. The bill also provides that failure to display thepermit and a photo identification upon demand by a law-enforcement officershall be punishable by a $25 civil penalty, which shall be paid into the statetreasury. The bill also requires the Department of State Police to enter thename and description of a person issued a permit in the Virginia CriminalInformation Network (VCIN) so that the permit's existence and current statuswill be made known to the law-enforcement personnel accessing VCIN forinvestigative purposes.
Supplementing compensation of public defender.Requires the governing body of any county or city that electsto supplement the compensation of the attorney for the Commonwealth,or any of their deputies or employees, above the salary of any suchofficer, deputy, or employee, to supplement the compensation of thepublic defender, or any of his deputies or employees, in the sameamount as the supplement to the compensation of the attorney for the Commonwealth, or any of his deputies or employees.
Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices. Prohibits any locality, its employees, or its appointed commissions from discriminating (i) in the application of local land use ordinances or guidelines, or in the permitting of housing developments, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, elderliness, familial status, or handicap or (ii) in the permitting of housing developments because the housing development contains or is expected to contain affordable housing units occupied or intended for occupancy by families or individuals with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income of the area where the housing development is located or is proposed to be located, unless at the time of the municipal decision, a proposed development will be located in a census tract wherein more than 50 percent of the units serve families or individuals at or below 80 percent of the median income of the area. The bill also requires the Fair Housing Board, after determining the existence of an unlawful discriminatory housing practice and after consultation with the Attorney General, to immediately refer the matter to the Attorney General for civil action.
Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearms following conviction for assault and battery of a family or household member; permit to restore rights; penalties. Prohibits a person who has been convicted of stalking, sexual battery, assault and battery of a family or household member, or assault and battery when the person intentionally selects the person against whom a simple assault is committed because of his race, religious conviction, color, or national origin from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. A person who violates this provision is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill provides for a process by which a person convicted of such crime may petition the circuit court for a reinstatement of his right to possess or transport a firearm and the factors a court shall consider in determining such reinstatement. This bill incorporated HB 78, HB 459, and HB 900.
Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known as the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United States gives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A state may withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring within six months of the end of a President's term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term. This bill incorporates HB 199.
Infected sexual battery. Provides that,in order for a person to be convicted of infected sexual battery,such person (i) knew that he was infected at the time of the offensewith HIV, syphilis, or hepatitis B and (ii) knew that his infectionwas currently detectable and transmittable, and committed the offensewithout using a prophylactic barrier, including a condom or dentaldam.
Virginia Urban Agriculture Advisory Councilcreated; report. Creates the Virginia Urban Agriculture AdvisoryCouncil as an advisory council in the legislative branch of stategovernment to encourage urban agriculture and contribute to buildinga local food economy. The bill has an expiration date of July 1,2023.
Policies against workplace harassment; legislative branch. Requires each legislative branch agency to adopt and implement the Commonwealth Workplace Harassment Policy established by the Department of Human Resource Management. The bill provides that the Policy applies to legislative branch employees, including General Assembly members and members-elect, when undertaking meetings with other state employees, contract employees, applicants for employment, customers, vendors, members of the media, members of the public, volunteers, or lobbyists or when conducting or performing election activities in the scope of official duties.Under the bill, a victim of alleged workplace harassment will be able to file a complaint against a legislative branch employee, other than a member of the General Assembly, in accordance with the procedures of the Policy or with the Division of Human Rights in the Office of the Attorney General. The Division of Human Rights is authorized to investigate the complaint and use any other powers with regard to the complaint granted to it under law. The bill requires each house of the General Assembly to adopt rules governing procedures and disciplinary sanctions for General Assembly members and members-elect violating policies against workplace harassment.The 2018 Session of the General Assembly enacted legislation requiring full-time legislative branch employees to complete a sexual harassment training course once every two calendar years beginning January 1, 2020. In addition to other differences, this bill broadens the scope of training for legislative branch employees and provides for punitive damages if a party complaining of workplace harassment demonstrates that the defendant engaged in a discriminatory practice with malice or reckless indifference. The bill contains a reenactment clause and has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.
