Oral threats of death or bodily injury to aperson or member of his family or to persons on school property; penalty. Provides that any person who orally threatens another person in person to kill or do bodily injury to such other personor any member of the other person's family, and the threat placessuch other person in reasonable apprehension of death or bodily injuryto himself or his family member, is guilty of a Class 5 felony. Thebill also provides that any person who orally threatens to kill ordo bodily harm to another person in person (i) on the grounds or premises of any elementary, middle, or secondary school property;(ii) at any elementary, middle, or secondary school-sponsored event; or (iii) on a school bus to any person or persons is guilty of aClass 6 felony.
Public utilities; third-party advertising prohibited.Requires the State Corporation Commission to include in its proceduresfor public utilities for services not found to be competitive thata public utility is prohibited from (i) sending by mail or electronicallyto its customers any third-party advertising or other promotionalmaterials or (ii) authorizing a third party to use the public utility'sname, logo, or trademarks in advertising or other promotional materialssent by mail or electronically to the public utility's customers.
Constitution of the United States; Equal RightsAmendment. Ratifies the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitutionof the United States that was proposed by Congress in 1972. The jointresolution advocates the position that the 1972 Equal Rights Amendmentremains viable and may be ratified notwithstanding the expirationof the 10-year ratification period set out in the resolving clause,as amended, in the proposal adopted by Congress.
Virginia State Justice Commission; purpose; membership. Renames the Virginia State Crime Commission as the Virginia State Justice Commission. The bill also expands the purpose of the Commission to include studying, reporting, and making recommendations in the areas of diversion, rehabilitation, reentry, collateral consequences of conviction, and equity and fairness in the criminal legal system. The bill reduces from six to three the number of House of Delegates members and adds to the Commission the executive director of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission or his designee, the Superintendent of State Police or his designee, and one nonlegislative citizen member to be appointed by the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security with an expertise in offender rehabilitation, reform, and reentry.
Study; Secretary of Administration;State Board of Elections; electronic return of voted military-overseasballots; pilot program; report. Requests the Secretary of Administrationto oversee and develop a charter and directives for the State Boardof Elections to form a working group to study implementation of electronicreturn of voted military-overseas ballots. In conducting its study, the State Board of Elections with the working group shall study anddevelop initial instructions and procedures that (i) consider issuesrelated to accessibility, auditability, authentication, verification,and security through encryption, in order to ensure that any processimplemented would guarantee the accuracy and integrity of voted military-overseasballots, and (ii) recommend (a) security measures necessary to reasonablysecure the transmission, processing, and storage of voter data frominterception and unauthorized access; (b) methods for verifying andauthenticating the identity of the voter electronically when registeringto vote and when requesting a ballot from and returning a ballotto the voter's jurisdiction; (c) methods for the encryption of votedballots; and (d) a procedure for security reviews after an election.The study shall focus on implementation of electronic return of votedmilitary-overseas ballots first as a limited pilot program in 2021,and later on a statewide basis.
ABC; work group; tied house provisions; report.Directs the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to convene a work group to study the tied house provisions that prevent(i) a restaurant licensed to sell alcoholic beverages at retail inthe Commonwealth that is under common control or ownership with abrewery, limited brewery, winery, farm winery, distiller, or limiteddistiller licensee from selling alcoholic beverages produced by suchbrewery, limited brewery, winery, farm winery, distiller, or limiteddistiller licensee and (ii) a licensee from employing a person whois also employed by a licensee operating in a different tier of theCommonwealth's three-tier alcoholic beverage control system. The bill requires the Authority to report the findings and recommendationsof the work group to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Rehabilitationand Social Services and the House Committee on General Laws by November30, 2020.
Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Office of the Executive Secretary; creation and implementation of policies for people with developmental disabilities. Requires the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to create and implement policies that recognize and make accommodations for people encountering the criminal justice system with developmental disabilities. The bill also requires the Office of the Executive Secretary to create and implement policies that recognize and make accommodations for people with developmental disabilities, for use by judges in determining case outcomes.
Study; Virginia State Crime Commission; mandatoryminimum sentences; report. Requests the Virginia State Crime Commission to study the use and effectiveness of mandatory minimumsentences.
Alcoholic beverage control; distillers' licenses;remote stores and tasting rooms. Allows a licensed distillerwho operates a government store for the sale of spirits to (i) conducttastings and (ii) sell spirits for off-premises consumption at fouradditional locations designated in the license.
Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverageratio. Provides an alternative to the food-to-beverage ratiofor mixed beverage restaurant licensees by allowing such licenseesto meet applicable food sale requirements by demonstrating at least$10,000 in monthly food sales.
Study; Department of Environmental Quality;Clean Transportation Plan; report. Requests the Department ofEnvironmental Quality to study the impact of electric vehicles anddevelop a Clean Transportation Plan.
Office of Medicaid Fiscal Oversight and Accountability. Creates as an independent state agency the Office of Medicaid FiscalOversight and Accountability and charges the agency with the preparationof the Official Medicaid Forecast for the state, monthly oversightof Medicaid expenditures, review of the fiscal impact of policy changes,and other oversight and accountability responsibilities. The billcreates the position of Director of the Office of Medicaid FiscalOversight and Accountability, to be appointed by the Governor subjectto confirmation by the General Assembly.
