Virginia Bills

Eliminates the criminal penalties for refusing to submit to a blood test to determine the alcohol or drug content of a defendant's blood upon arrest for a DUI-related offense under the law on implied consent. The bill also increases to a Class 1 misdemeanor the criminal penalty for refusing to submit to a breath test under the law on implied consent for an offense committed within 10 years of a prior offense of refusal or of another DUI-related offense. The bill also extends to blood tests performed by the Department of Forensic Science pursuant to a search warrant the rebuttable presumption that a person is intoxicated based on the person's blood alcohol level demonstrated by such tests. The bill also provides that an application for a search warrant to perform a blood test on a person suspected of committing a DUI-related offense shall be given priority over other matters pending before the judge or magistrate. Finally, the bill establishes a rebuttable presumption applicable in a civil case for punitive damages for injuries caused by an intoxicated driver that a person who has consumed alcohol knew or should have known that his ability to drive was or would be impaired by such consumption. This bill is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in

Amends several size and weight provisions to comply with the federal Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (the FAST Act). The bill (i) allows automobile and watercraft carriers to backhaul general cargo; (ii) permits the commercial delivery of towaway trailers within limits prescribed by the FAST Act; (iii) increases the weight limits of certain emergency vehicles, natural gas vehicles, and emergency towing vehicles as required by the FAST Act; (iv) increases the weight at which a vehicle must be inspected at a permanent weighing station; (v) makes overweight permits available for tank vehicles hauling fluid milk; and (vi) permits contractors of a Medicaid Managed Care Organization to obtain a certificate of fitness as a nonemergency medical transportation carrier.

Requires the Department of Planning and Budget to revise and reissue its economic impact analysis on proposed regulations of any agency subject to the Administrative Process Act within the time limits set forth in the Department's review of regulations at the final stage pursuant to the Governor's executive order for executive branch review if certain conditions are present that would materially change the Department's analysis. The bill also establishes certain requirements related to notice to stakeholders and opportunity for comment when the Department of Medical Assistance Services or the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services posts a new regulation or final stage of a regulation to the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall, proposes a change to a provider manual, or proposes a change to guidance documents related to licensure requirements.

Increases the Class 1 misdemeanor computer trespass crimes to a Class 6 felony if the computer affected is one that is exclusively for the use of, or used by or for, the Commonwealth, a local government within the Commonwealth, or certain public utilities.

Authorizes the governing body of a county or city to provide for a lifetime dog or cat license. The bill also removes the minimum annual tax for a dog or cat, sets the maximum tax for a lifetime license at $50, and limits the fee for a duplicate dog or cat tag to $1. This bill is identical to

Establishes the parameters of a program under which small agricultural generators may sell the electricity generated from a small agricultural generating facility to its utility. Effective July 1, 2019, enrollment by eligible agricultural customer-generators in an existing net energy metering program conducted by an electric cooperative will cease, though a cooperative's customers who were participating as eligible agricultural customer-generators before that date are allowed to remain in the net metering program for not more than 25 years. A small agricultural generator is defined in this measure as a customer who operates an electrical generating facility as part of an agricultural business, which generating facility, among other conditions, has a capacity of not more than 1.5 megawatts, uses renewable energy as its total source of fuel, has a capacity that does not exceed 150 percent of the customer's expected annual energy consumption based on the previous 12 months of billing history, uses not more than 25 percent of contiguous land owned or controlled by the agricultural business for purposes of the renewable energy generating facility, and is a PURPA qualifying small power production facility. The program for small agricultural generators requires the generator to enter into a power purchase agreement with its supplier to sell all of the electricity generated at a rate not less than the supplier's State Corporation Commission-approved avoided cost tariff for energy and capacity. The program also provides for utilities to recover distribution service costs and costs incurred to purchase electricity, capacity, and renewable energy certificates from the small agricultural generator through its Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) rate adjustment clause if the utility has a Commission-approved RPS plan and rate adjustment clause or, if the utility does not have a Commission-approved RPS rate adjustment clause, then the costs shall be recoverable through the supplier's fuel adjustment clause or through the utility's cost of purchased power. Finally, the measure directs the Commission to conduct a single docketed proceeding to implement the provisions of this measure. The bill incorporates

Designates "Song of the Mountains" as the state television series. This bill is identical to

Requires the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to use certain funds to purchase nutrient credits for point or nonpoint sources that achieve reductions beyond the requirements of state or federal law or the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan. The bill directs DEQ to establish procedures for distributing moneys from the Nutrient Offset Fund with certain requirements. The bill requires the Director of DEQ to consider the recommendations of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade and the requirements of the State Water Control Law (§ 62.1-44.2 et seq.) in the sale of nutrient credits to new or expanding private facilities. The bill also removes the priority given to nutrient offsets produced from facilities that generate electricity from animal waste. The bill renames nutrient offsets as nutrient credits.

Extends the maximum period that the State Corporation Commission is authorized to suspend the implementation of a proposed rate increase rates from 150 to 180 days. The measure applies only to certain investor-owned water utilities.

Allows any motor vehicle inspection station to accept appointments for safety inspections in addition to accepting vehicles on a first-come, first-served basis, so long as at least one lane is reserved for the sole purpose of first-come, first-served safety inspections.