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.
Authorizes the Charitable Gaming Board to grant special permits to qualified organizations to replace (i) an approved game that falls on a legal holiday or (ii) an approved game that has been canceled by the qualified organization on account of severe weather conditions in the locality in which the approved game was scheduled to occur, provided that the qualified organization notifies the Department within 24 hours of the canceled approved game and the Department is satisfied that the severe weather conditions warranted cancellation. The special permit shall designate a date for the replacement game to occur within 90 days before or after the legal holiday or within 90 days after the date of the canceled approved game for which the special permit is requested. The bill also allows a qualified organization to reimburse volunteers who are nonmembers of the qualified organization up $50 per game session for reasonable travel expenses.
Waives any penalties related to taxes administered by the Department of Taxation for a small business during its first two years of operation as long as the business enters into an installment agreement with the Tax Commissioner for the payment of taxes. However, the bill provides that the Department of Taxation shall not be required to waive penalties for conversion of trust taxes or failure to remit state sales or withholding taxes.
Directs the court to reimburse a plaintiff for the costs of an inverse condemnation proceeding for "damaging" property if a judgment is entered for the plaintiff. Under current law, the court is directed to award costs only for the "taking" of property. The amendment in this bill corresponds with the language of amendments to Article I, Section 11 of the Constitution of Virginia, which became effective on January 1, 2013, and applies to declaratory judgment proceedings filed on or after July 1, 2017.
Provides that any driver's license suspension imposed upon a person for the failure to pay court-ordered fines and costs shall run concurrently with any other period of license suspension, revocation, or forfeiture imposed upon such person. The bill also provides that in the event that a person whose license has been suspended for the failure to pay court-ordered fines and costs is convicted of driving on a suspended or revoked license, the additional period of license suspension imposed as a result of that conviction runs concurrently with the underlying suspension for the failure to pay court-ordered fines and costs. Under current law, such additional suspension period does not commence until the expiration of the previous suspension or revocation.
Provides that the Department of Medical Assistance Services shall require all individuals who administer preadmission screenings for long-term care services to receive training on and be certified in the use of the Uniform Assessment Instrument; requires the Department to develop a program for the training and certification of preadmission screeners, develop guidelines for a standardized preadmission screening process, and strengthen oversight of the preadmission screening process to ensure that problems are identified and addressed promptly. The bill requires the Department to make a number of changes to contracts for long-term care services provided by managed care organizations; directs the Department to impose additional requirements related to submission of data and information by managed care organizations; and requires the Department to implement a number of spending and utilization control measures in conjunction with managed care organizations.
Updates the six-year capital outlay plan for projects to be funded entirely or partially from general fund-supported resources. This bill is identical to
Removes the requirement that a transportation network company (TNC) partner register his personal vehicle for use as a TNC partner vehicle with the Department of Motor Vehicles. The bill allows the Department of State Police to recognize another state's annual motor vehicle safety inspection in lieu of a Virginia inspection and clarifies that a TNC partner can keep proof of inspection in or on the vehicle. The bill contains an emergency clause. This bill is identical to
Provides for the Secretary of the Commonwealth, in cooperation with the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, to develop standards for the use of digital signatures by government agencies on electronic records generated by such agencies. The bill further provides that such agencies may provide copies of digital records, via a website or upon request, and may charge a fee of $5 for each digitally certified copy of an electronic record. Any digitally certified record submitted to a court in the Commonwealth shall be deemed to be authenticated by the custodian of the record. The bill defines "agency" to include all state agencies and local government entities, including constitutional officers, except circuit court clerks.
Revises the existing provision that a person loses his driver's license for six months when convicted of or placed on deferred disposition for a drug offense to provide that the provision does not apply to deferred disposition of simple possession of marijuana. The exception applies only to adults; juveniles will still be subject to license suspension. The bill provides that a court retains the discretion to suspend or revoke the driver's license of a person placed on deferred disposition for simple possession of marijuana and must suspend or revoke for six months the driver's license of such person who was operating a motor vehicle at the time of the offense. The bill also requires that such a person whose driver's license is not suspended or revoked perform 50 hours of community service in addition to any community service ordered as part of the deferred disposition. The provisions of the bill are contingent upon written assurance from the U.S. Department of Transportation that Virginia will not lose any federal funds as a result of implementation of the bill. This bill is identical to
Approved by Governor-Chapter 669 (effective 7/1/17)
Provides relief in the amount of $1,548,439 to Keith Allen Harward, who was incarcerated from 1983 until 2016 after being convicted of first degree murder. In 2016 he was granted a Writ of Actual Innocence by the Supreme Court of Virginia based upon DNA evidence that excluded Mr. Harward as the perpetrator of the crime. Mr. Harward's relief would be paid as follows: (i) an initial lump sum of $309,688 to be paid within 60 days immediately following the execution of a release by Mr. Harward from any present or future claims he may have and (ii) the sum of $1,238,751 to purchase an annuity before October 1, 2017, for the primary benefit of Mr. Harward with the terms structured in his best interests. In addition, the bill entitles Mr. Harward to receive up to $10,000 for tuition for career and technical training within the Virginia Community College System. This bill is identical to
