Provides an exemption from the Administrative Process Act for the Department of Veterans Services when promulgating rules and regulations pertaining to the real property tax exemption for surviving spouses of members of the armed forces killed in action.
Defines "beneficial use," "beneficiation facility," and "recycling center" and provides that a beneficiation facility or recycling center shall be considered a manufacturer for the purpose of any state or local economic development incentive grant. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) to encourage and support beneficial use; current law requires the Department to encourage and support litter control and recycling. The bill also directs the Department to provide to the General Assembly by November 1, 2019, an evaluation of Virginia's solid waste recycling rates and a set of recommendations for improving the reliability of the supply of recycled materials during the next 10 years in order to provide for beneficial use.
Clarifies that when determining the number of assistant registrars to serve in the office of the general registrar, the electoral board may include any to serve full-time. Currently, Russell County is required to have at least one full-time assistant registrar; counties and cities with populations exceeding 15,500 are required to have at least one part-time assistant registrar; and counties and cities with populations less than 15,500 are required to have at least one substitute registrar. The bill does not amend any of those mandates.
Removes the prohibition on hunting or killing raccoons after 2:00 a.m. on Sunday. This bill is identical to
Requires the board of directors of the New College Institute to seek opportunities to collaborate with local comprehensive community colleges to meet specialized noncredit workforce training needs identified by industry. However, if the local comprehensive community colleges are unable to meet such needs, the board may seek to collaborate with other education providers or other public or private organizations to provide specialized noncredit workforce training.
Requires that judges and substitute judges seeking reelection submit to a central registry records check for any founded complaint of child abuse or neglect. The bill also requires that any candidate seeking election to judicial office submit to a central registry records check and provide a written statement of economic interests.
Prohibits child restraint devices from being forward-facing until, at least, the child reaches two years of age or until the child reaches the minimum weight limit for a forward-facing child restraint device as prescribed by the manufacturer of the device. The bill expands the reasons that a physician may determine that it is impractical for a child to use a child restraint system to include the child's height. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2019.
Expands the responsibilities of the Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment of the Secretary of Transportation (Office). The bill clarifies the residency requirements for the urban and rural at-large members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board (Board) and provides that no member of a governing body of a locality is eligible to be appointed to the Board during his term of office. The bill provides that the Board's Six-Year Improvement Program shall only commit funds from the State of Good Repair Program, the High Priority Projects Program, or the Highway Construction District Grant Programs to a project or program if such commitment is sufficient to complete the project or program. The bill changes the timing of reports from annually to biennially, expands the requirements of the biennial report provided by the Commissioner of Highways, and requires the Office to submit a biennial report as described in the bill. The bill decreases the maximum matching allocation that the Board may make to a locality from $10 million to $5 million and provides that no more than $2.5 million of such funds can be used for the maintenance of highway systems. The bill changes the amount of Commonwealth funds allocated to the Board for revenue-sharing from no less than $15 million and no more than $200 million to not in excess of $100 million or seven percent of funds available for distribution by the Board from all funds made available for highway purposes, whichever is greater.
Decreases from five days to four days the minimum length of time for which failing to provide the elements of basic care constitutes abandonment of an animal. The bill increases from a Class 3 misdemeanor to a Class 1 misdemeanor the penalty for abandonment of an animal.
Authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) to issue grants from the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund for water quality improvements, including cost effective technologies to reduce loads of total phosphorus, total nitrogen, or nitrogen-containing ammonia, in order to meet certain requirements of ammonia-related regulations that are more stringent than those adopted by the State Water Control Board (the Board). The bill also requires the Department to prepare a preliminary estimate of the amount and timing of Water Quality Improvement Grants required to fund projects to reduce loads of nitrogen-containing ammonia at certain levels based on an estimate of the anticipated range of costs for all publicly owned treatment works if the Board were to adopt the 2013 Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Ammonia published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This bill is identical to
Requires each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education that leads to a degree, concentration, or certificate for reading specialists to include a program of coursework or other training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder. The bill requires such programs to (i) include coursework in the constructs and pedagogy underlying remediation of reading, spelling, and writing and (ii) require reading specialists to demonstrate mastery of an evidence-based, structured literacy instructional approach that includes explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction. This bill is identical to
Directs the Marine Resources Commission to develop a fast-track regulatory permitting program for the selection and use of appropriate sites in Tidewater Virginia for the disposal of material dredged in such region, to be effective no later than July 1, 2019.
