Virginia Bills

Provides that the Middleburg town council may, notwithstanding any other provision of law, levy a tax on business personal property, as described in the Code of Virginia, without regard to the existence of, or rate of, tax on motor vehicles or any other classification of tangible personal property. This bill is identical to

Provides that the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles (Commissioner) may, in lieu of the requirements established by the Department of Education for driver education instructor qualification, accept 20 years' service as a traffic enforcement officer with patrol experience with any local police department by a law-enforcement officer who (i) retired or resigned while in good standing from such department, (ii) was certified through a criminal justice training academy, and (iii) has been certified to teach driver training by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Current law only allows the Commissioner to accept 20 years' service with the Department of State Police by a person who retired or resigned while in good standing from such department in lieu of such requirements for driver education instructor qualification.

Provides that (i) land devoted to agricultural use includes land devoted to the sale of products made from plants and animals located on the property, (ii) land devoted to horticultural use includes land devoted to plants and the sale of products made from horticultural items, (iii) the agreement pursuant to soil and water conservation programs that qualifies land as devoted to agricultural or horticultural uses may be made with the Commonwealth, (iv) land designated for use value assessment shall not lose such designation solely because of its location in a newly created zoning district that was not requested by the property owner, and (v) if the state uniform standards for eligibility for real estate devoted to agricultural use or horticultural use require a minimum length of time of a specified use, then the use of other similar property by a lessee of the owner shall be included in calculating such time, and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall include in the uniform standards a shorter length of time for real estate with no prior qualifying use, provided that the owner submits a written document of the owner's intent regarding use of the real estate containing elements set out in the uniform standards.

Creates the Henrietta Lacks Commission to establish, through a public-private partnership, the Henrietta Lacks Life Sciences Center in Halifax County as a cancer research and treatment center designed to (i) transform and accelerate cancer research and treatment through the use of biodata tools, (ii) provide tailored cancer treatment medicine to an underserved portion of rural Southside Virginia, and (iii) incubate new biotech businesses across the Southside Virginia region. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2021.

Requires fire departments and emergency medical services agencies to develop curricula for mental health awareness training for their personnel. The bill provides that such personnel who receive the training shall receive appropriate continuing education credits. This bill is identical to

Directs the Department of Planning and Budget (the Department), under the supervision of the Secretary of Finance (the Secretary), to administer a three-year regulatory reduction pilot program aimed at reducing by 25 percent the regulations and regulatory requirements, as defined in the bill, of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and the Department of Criminal Justice Services by July 1, 2021. The bill requires the Secretary to report annually to the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee no later than October 1, 2019, and October 1, 2020, on the progress of the regulatory reduction pilot program. The bill also requires the Secretary to report by August 15, 2021, to the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee (i) the progress toward identifying the 25 percent reduction goal, (ii) recommendations for expanding the program to other agencies, and (iii) any additional information the Secretary determines may be helpful to support the General Assembly's regulatory reduction and reform efforts. The bill provides that if, by October 1, 2021, the program has achieved less than a 25 percent total reduction in regulations and regulatory requirements across both pilot agencies, the Secretary shall report on the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing a 2-for-1 regulatory budget providing that for every one new regulatory requirement, two existing regulatory requirements of equivalent or greater burden must be streamlined, repealed, or replaced for a period not to exceed three years. Lastly, the bill directs all executive branch agencies subject to the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) to develop a baseline regulatory catalog and report such catalog data to the Department, which shall then track and report on the extent to which agencies comply with existing requirements to periodically review all regulations every four years. This bill is identical to

Permits the court to proceed with a hearing for the involuntary commitment of a juvenile in instances where both parents cannot be notified if the court determines that copies of the petition for involuntary commitment and notice of the hearing have been served on at least one parent and a reasonable effort has been made to serve such copies on both parents.

Allows a convicted person's sentence to be reduced if such person provides substantial assistance, defined in the bill, in the furtherance of the investigation or prosecution of another person engaged in an act of violence or for offenses involving the manufacture or distribution of controlled substances or marijuana. Sentence reduction can occur only upon motion of the attorney for the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to

Requires each public institution that makes a loan to a student to (i) include in loan documents for each such loan an individual plan for the repayment of principal and interest and the payment of any late fees and clear and detailed information about the collection process for such loan pursuant to the Virginia Debt Collection Act, including information about the agency or entity that is responsible for collection, and (ii) establish a process for notifying each student or, in the case of an undergraduate student and as appropriate, the student's parent of any loan payment that is past due no later than (a) 30 days after such payment becomes past due and (b) if necessary, the end of the academic term during which such payment becomes past due. The bill permits each such institution, with the consent of the borrower, to modify the terms of any loan for which payments are past due to provide for repayment forbearance on such loan and repayment to commence on a mutually agreed-upon date in the future.

Requires any high school family life education curriculum offered by a local school division to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the prevention of sexual harassment using electronic means. The bill permits any family life education curriculum offered by a local school division to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the prevention, recognition, and awareness of child abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse.

Prohibits the use of any funds appropriated, granted, or awarded by the Commonwealth by any person or entity, public or private, to directly fund medically unnecessary research classified under pain and distress category E by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on animal subjects. The direct funding of research shall not include the appropriation, grant, or award of funds for the construction or maintenance of facilities; the purchase or maintenance of general-use equipment; overhead costs; capital improvements; or faculty or employee salaries.