Requires the Department of Health to make information about and resources on palliative care available to the public, health care providers, and health care facilities on its website. This bill is identical to
Separates Code provisions regarding water and sewer services provided to lessees or tenants of real property from Code provisions regarding water and sewer services provided to owners of real property. The bill removes a locality's authority to waive a required written authorization by an owner for water or sewer services provided by a locality to a lessee or tenant. A copy of the lease between the lessee or tenant and the owner is acceptable authorization.
Establishes requirements for the procurement of construction using the construction management and design-build procurement methods by state and local public bodies and covered institutions of higher education, as defined in the bill, and the conditions under which such methods may be used. Public bodies must comply with procedures adopted by the Secretary of Administration for construction management or design-build projects. State public bodies and covered institutions must adopt procedures that include, among other things, a requirement that the state public body or covered institution make a written determination in advance that competitive sealed bidding is not practicable or fiscally advantageous and document the basis for the determination to use the construction management or design-build procurement method. The bill requires the Department of General Services (DGS) to evaluate the proposed procurement method of state public bodies and covered institutions and provide a recommendation regarding the procurement method within five days of receipt of the written determination. If a state public body or covered institution elects to proceed with the project using a construction management or design-build contract despite a DGS recommendation to the contrary, the state public body or covered institution must provide to DGS in writing its reasons for doing so. For local public bodies, construction management contracts may be used for projects whose cost is expected to be less than $10 million, provided that the project is a complex project and the project procurement method is approved by the local governing body. The bill also requires DGS to report to the Governor and certain General Assembly committees annually by December 1 information pertaining to (i) the agency's evaluation of projects submitted by state public bodies and covered institutions and (ii) all completed capital projects in excess of $2 million. This bill is identical to
Establishes the Online Virginia Network Authority (the Authority) as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth for the purpose of establishing the Online Virginia Network to coordinate the online delivery of courses that facilitate the completion of degrees at George Mason University and Old Dominion University. The bill requires the Authority to be governed by a 15-member board that consists of four members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, three members of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, three nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Governor, one nonlegislative citizen member appointed by the board of visitors of George Mason University, one nonlegislative citizen member appointed by the board of visitors of Old Dominion University, the President of George Mason University, the President of Old Dominion University, and the Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The bill sets forth several duties of the Authority and grants the Authority operational flexibility in the areas of procurement and information technology, provided that the Authority adopts and complies with certain policies.
Requires the Department of General Services to maintain records relating to all property interests held by the Commonwealth and under the control of or occupied by any of its departments, agencies, or institutions, with the exception of records relating to (i) real estate or rights-of-way acquired by the Department of Transportation for the construction of highways; (ii) ungranted shores of the sea, marsh, and meadowlands as defined in § 28.2-1500; or (iii) real estate or rights-of-way acquired by the Department of Rail and Public Transportation for the construction of railway lines or rail or public transportation facilities or the retention of rail corridors for public purposes. The bill also provides for the Department to submit a quarterly report, in electronic form, to the General Assembly that includes renewal and termination dates for inventoried property pursuant to the lease, license, permit, or other agreement administered by the Department. The information will include property that serves as a branch office of a state agency and all renewals and terminations scheduled to occur within 90 days of the report date.
Approved by Governor-Chapter 763 (effective 7/1/17)
Changes the effective date for the creation of the ABC Authority from July 1, 2018, to January 15, 2018. The bill creates a transition period from January 15, 2018, until December 31, 2018, during which time the current Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will coexist with the ABC Authority to facilitate an orderly and efficient transition and to ensure the continuation of operations during the transition. The bill provides that during the transition period the current ABC Board will be the Board of Directors of the ABC Authority. The bill grants to the ABC Authority the authority to implement and maintain independent payroll and nonpayroll disbursement systems, which are subject to review and approval by the State Comptroller and which include travel reimbursements, revenue refunds, disbursements for vendor payments, petty cash, and interagency payments. The bill also (i) streamlines the suspension and revocation process to encourage settlement of cases before reaching the appeal level to the Board of Directors, (ii) exempts the ABC Authority from mandatory procurement provisions, and (iii) authorizes the Board of Directors to delegate or assign to any officer or employee of the ABC Authority any duties or tasks required to be performed by the ABC Authority but provides that the Board of Directors remains responsible for the performance of any such duties or tasks. The bill contains numerous technical amendments.
Provides that the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (§ 55-248.2 et seq.) (the Act) shall apply to all residential tenancies; however, a landlord who is a natural person, an estate, or a legal entity that owns no more than two single-family residential dwelling units in its own name subject to a rental agreement may opt out of the Act by stating so in the rental agreement. The bill conforms general landlord and tenant law relating to residential tenancies to the Act, including the security deposits, lease terms, notice, and disclosure provisions. The bill also allows the landlord, for unclaimed security deposits, to submit such funds to the State Treasurer rather than the Virginia Housing Trust Fund and changes the requirement that a landlord make reasonable efforts to advise the tenant of the right to be present at the landlord's inspection to a requirement that written notice of the right be provided. The bill provides for a landlord to provide a tenant with a written statement of charges and payments over the previous 12 months rather than an accounting as required under current law. In addition, the bill includes any activity that involves or constitutes a criminal or willful act that also poses a threat to health and safety by the tenant or authorized occupants, guests, or invitees as an immediate nonremediable violation for which the landlord may terminate the tenancy. The bill also authorizes a landlord to dispose of the property of a deceased tenant if a personal representative has not been appointed by the circuit court. The landlord may proceed with the disposal after providing 10 days' notice. The bill (i) provides that authorized occupants, guests, or invitees must vacate the dwelling unit after the death of a sole tenant; (ii) allows a landlord to request during the pendency of an unlawful detainer action an order requiring the tenant to provide the landlord with access to the dwelling unit; (iii) adds oil to the utilities that may be included in ratio utility billing; (iv) requires the landlord to provide a written security deposit disposition statement following a move-out inspection and provides for the landlord to seek recovery for additional damages discovered after the security deposit disposition has been made, provided, however, that the tenant may present evidence of the move-out report to support the tenant's position that such additional damages did not exist at the time of the move-out inspection; and (v) authorizes a landlord to retain an attorney to prepare or provide any required written notice and permits the use of an electronic signature or an electronic notarization.
Requires the Board of Education, in establishing graduation requirements, to provide for the award of verified units of credit for a satisfactory score, as determined by the Board, on the Preliminary ACT (PreACT) or the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) examination.
Approved by Governor-Chapter 755 (effective 7/1/17)
Modifies the licensure exemption requirements for certified preschool programs operated by a private school that is accredited by an organization recognized by the Board of Education. The bill removes the list of accrediting associations from the licensure exemption language and provides a reference to the Code section that establishes the process for recognition of accrediting organizations by the Board of Education. The bill removes certain licensure exemption requirements that such preschool programs must meet and modifies others, including (i) increasing the amount of time children may attend such programs per day from four hours to five hours and (ii) lowering the minimum age of children permitted to attend the programs from age four to age three. The bill also allows the Commissioner of Social Services to inspect such preschool programs to ensure compliance with applicable requirements, either annually or in response to a complaint, and requires such schools to report all incidents involving serious injury to or death of a child attending the school.
Requires the Commissioner of Social Services and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to consider, in allocating credits under the Neighborhood Assistance Act tax credit program, the past performance of organizations requesting credits, pursuant to accountability measures established in regulations and guidelines.
