Admissibility of statements of a deceased orincompetent party; hearsay exception. Provides that statements made by a deceased or incompetent party when such party was competentshall not be excluded as inadmissible hearsay, provided that suchstatements are relevant and otherwise admissible. Under current law,such statements are admissible provided that they are relevant. Thisbill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.
Division of Human Rights; duties. Clarifiesthat the duties of the Division of Human Rights shall include receivingand investigating all complaints alleging unlawful discriminatorypractices that are filed within the applicable statute of limitationsperiod and allege a wrongdoing covered under applicable federal orstate law.
Public school buses; seat belts. Requiresthe Board of Education to make regulations to require each new publicschool bus purchased for the transportation of students to be equippedwith a seat belt consisting of a lap belt and shoulder strap or harnessin every seat. The bill requires each school board to ensure thatno later than July 1, 2038, each school bus that it uses for thetransportation of students is equipped with a seat belt in every seat.
Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural GuaranteeAct. Makes several changes to the process and procedures affordedto law-enforcement officers under the Law-Enforcement Officers ProceduralGuarantee Act, clarifying several existing rights and setting forthspecific procedures for the questioning of officers and the conductof a disciplinary hearing.
Zoning; development approvals. Providesfor the transition of certain existing development approvals whena subject property shifts from one jurisdiction to another due toannexation, boundary adjustment, or other cause. The bill containsa grandfather clause for certain existing provisions.
Solid waste management facility; permit forlandfill with capacity of more than 35 million tons. Prohibitsthe Virginia Waste Management Board from issuing (i) a permit fora new solid waste management facility or (ii) an amendment to a permitallowing the expansion of a facility or an increase in capacity,where such permit or amendment is likely to result in the creationof a landfill whose capacity exceeds 35 million tons. For the Boardto issue such a permit or amendment, the bill requires the Directorof the Department of Environmental Quality to determine that theamount of capacity in excess of 35 million tons will serve a public interest that outweighs any additional harms to human health andsafety and the environment caused by such capacity in excess of 35million tons.
Threats and harassment of certain officialsand property; venue. Provides that certain crimes relating tothreats and harassment may be prosecuted in the City of Richmondif the victim is the Governor, Governor-elect, Lieutenant Governor,Lieutenant Governor-elect, Attorney General, or Attorney General-elect,a member or employee of the General Assembly, a justice of the SupremeCourt of Virginia, or a judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia.In addition, threats to damage property may be prosecuted in theCity of Richmond if the property is owned by the Commonwealth andlocated in the Capitol District.
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.
Telephone privacy protection. Requires a telephone solicitor to immediately disclose who is calling and what property, good, or service is being offered. The measure also prohibits caller ID spoofing, which is defined in the measure as causing any caller identification service to transmit caller identification information that represents or states that the call originates from a telephone with an area code assigned to an area in the Commonwealth or from a location in the Commonwealth if the person on whose behalf the telephone solicitation call is being made does not conduct business from a location in the Commonwealth.The measure prohibits a telephone solicitor from making a telephone solicitation call or the use of an automatic dialing-announcing device in connection with making a call to any subscriber who has registered with the Virginia Do Not Call Registry. The measure requires the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to set up by January 1, 2021, the Virginia Do Not Call Registry for subscribers who wish to block all solicitation calls and calls that use or are made in connection with automatic dialing-announcing devices. The measure becomes effective three months after the Virginia Do Not Call Registry is established by the Department.
Electric utilities; retail competition. Shortens fromfive years to three years the period that a customer who switches from aninvestor-owned electric utility to a licensed competing supplier is barred fromreturning as a customer of the utility. The measure provides that if a singleperson purchases electric energy from a licensed supplier and such electricenergy is composed of a percentage of renewable energy equal to or greater thanthe percentage of renewable energy that the licensed supplier is required toprovide pursuant to any renewable energy portfolio standard, such person willconstitute a single retail customer, notwithstanding that service is providedto noncontiguous sites. Under current law, for the purposes of purchasingenergy from a licensed competing supplier, noncontiguous sites are consideredindividual retail customers and cannot be aggregated to meet the energy demandthreshold regardless of common ownership or control. The measure provides thatfor cooperative customers the lockout period remains five years andnoncontiguous sites are still considered individual retail customers. Themeasure also allows individual retail customers of an electric utility topurchase electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy from anylicensed supplier. The measure eliminates the condition that permits suchpurchases only if the electric utility serving the applicable exclusive serviceterritory does not offer a tariff for 100 percent renewable energy. Finally,the measure directs the State Corporation Commission to update its consumerprotection regulations relating to the availability of service through licensedsuppliers.
Fair share fees. Authorizes an employer, pursuant to an agreement between the employer and a labor union or labor organization, to require as a condition of employment any employee who is not a member of such labor union or labor organization and is a member of a collective bargaining unit, where the labor union or labor organization is the exclusive representative of the members of the collective bargaining unit, to pay a fair share fee to compensate the labor union or labor organization for the costs of representing the nonmember employee. The bill defines a "fair share fee" as the pro rata share of the portion of a labor union's or labor organization's dues attributable to activities stemming from its duty to represent all employees in a collective bargaining unit without regard to membership in the labor union or labor organization, including (i) the cost of all activities germane to collective bargaining, administration, and enforcement of collective bargaining agreements; (ii) representation of employees before public bodies in matters that are germane to either collective bargaining agreements or employer-employee relations; (iii) representation of employees during grievance procedures; and (iv) labor union or labor organization governance and administration. Under the bill, a fair share fee does not include the cost of any political activities, lobbying, organizing, charity, donations, or community service activities undertaken by the labor union or labor organization, and in no case will the fair share fee exceed 60 percent of dues required of a similarly situated member of such labor union or labor organization.
Electric utilities; retail competition; renewableenergy. Allows individual retail customers of an electric utilityto purchase electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energyfrom any licensed supplier. The measure eliminates (i) provisionsthat prohibit such a purchase from a licensed supplier that is anincumbent electric utility that is not the incumbent electric utilityserving the exclusive service territory in which the customer islocated and (ii) a condition that permits such purchases only if the electric utility serving the applicable exclusive service territorydoes not offer a tariff for 100 percent renewable energy.
