Assault and battery; serious bodily injury; penalty. Creates a Class 6 felony for any person who commits an assault and battery that results in serious bodily injury, as defined in relevant law, but does not rise to the level of the current offenses of unlawful or malicious wounding. The bill adds such new offense to the list of violent felony offenses for the purposes of the discretionary sentencing guidelines.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 9.1-101, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, 18.2-57, 18.2-308.016, 53.1-2, 53.1-5, 53.1-10, 53.1-17.2, and 59.1-148.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to State Board of Local and Regional Jails.
Damage or trespass to public services or utilities or critical infrastructure; penalties. Adds the intentional destruction of or damage to any fixture, equipment, or information technology system that is used to provide, process, transmit, or maintain public services, public utilities, or other critical infrastructure, as defined in relevant law, to the existing offense of damage or trespass to public services or utilities. The bill contains technical amendments.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 16.1-264, 18.2-51.1, 18.2-57, 18.2-60.3, 19.2-152.8, 19.2-249, 19.2-56.2, 19.2-59.1, 19.2-81, 19.2-81.3, and 65.2-102 of the Code of Virginia, relating to authority of fire marshals.
Elections; duties of the Department of Elections; Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE Program). Provides that the Department of Elections' use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE Program) operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is for the sole purpose of individually verifying that voters listed in the Virginia voter registration system are United States citizens. The Department of Elections is prohibited from (i) using information received from the SAVE Program as the sole reason for rejecting a registration application, (ii) uploading lists of registered voters to the SAVE Program for verifying their citizenship status in bulk, or (iii) transferring any information to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or any subdivision thereof beyond the minimum information necessary. This bill was incorporated into HB 972.
Assisted living facilities; resident referral agencies; required disclosures; referral fee limitations; civil penalty. Sets forth requirements for resident referral agencies, defined in the bill as any individual or entity that receives compensation from an assisted living facility, a third party, or a prospective resident for providing resident referrals to an assisted living facility, including required disclosures, referral fee limitations, enforcement, and civil penalties. The bill provides that assisted living facilities and residents are not obligated to participate with any resident referral agency and specifies that residents may opt out at any time in writing. The bill also specifies the minimum services a resident referral agency must provide before becoming eligible to receive a referral fee.
Public institutions of higher education; financial aid and assistance; transition and postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities; eligibility for state-supported financial aid programs. Extends eligibility for any state-supported financial aid program or other higher education program to any individual who (i) is enrolled in an eligible transition and postsecondary education program, defined by the bill as any program offered by a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to students with intellectual disabilities attending such institution that meets the criteria for and is federally designated as a comprehensive transition and postsecondary program; (ii) is a student with an intellectual disability, as defined by the bill; and (iii) meets the other eligibility requirements for such program, except for certain enumerated eligibility requirements from which the bill exempts such individuals or for which the bill directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to establish alternative, equivalent standards for students with intellectual disabilities.
Health insurance; pharmacies; freedom of choice; delivery of prescription drugs; penalties. Prohibits an insurer, health maintenance organization, corporation providing preferred provider subscription contracts, or pharmacy benefits manager from imposing upon any person receiving pharmaceutical benefits any policy or practice requiring or incentivizing certain provisions relating to the delivery of prescription drugs. A violation of the bill's provisions constitutes an unfair trade practice under existing law and is subject to injunctive, penalty, and enforcement provisions in existing law.
Solar energy facilities; prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements; state and local tax exemption; report; civil penalties. Requires each solar developer, including its contractors and subcontractors, to ensure payment at the prevailing wage rate set by the Department of Labor and Industry for any mechanic, laborer, or worker employed, retained, or otherwise hired to perform construction, maintenance, or repair work for certain electricity generating sources. The bill requires each solar developer to (i) ensure that a percentage of the total labor hours of such work is performed by qualified apprentices and (ii) employ at least one qualified apprentice if four or more individuals are employed to perform such work. Under the bill, a solar developer that fails to meet the requirements of its provisions is required to make penalty payments to the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. Additionally, the bill provides that any certified solar generation facility, as defined in the bill, is declared a separate class of property and shall be classified for local taxation separately from other classifications of real or personal property. Such facilities shall be wholly exempt from state and local taxation under the Constitution of Virginia.
Elections; absentee voting; accessibility; ballots received, marked, and cast electronically through the internet. Requires the Department of Elections to make available to all localities a tool to allow a voter with a visual impairment or print disability or a covered voter to receive, mark, and return his absentee ballot electronically through the internet. The bill makes the tool available through the internet in lieu of other currently available assistive technologies.
Virginia National Guard; deployment to active duty combat. Prohibits the Virginia National Guard from being deployed into active duty combat, defined in the bill, unless Congress has made an official declaration of war, defined in the bill, or has taken an official action as authorized by the Constitution of the United States for the purposes of expressly executing the laws of the United States, repelling invasion, or suppressing an insurrection.
Elections; Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act; restrictions on ballot eligibility; repeal. Repeals provisions of the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act that require the application of an overseas voter who has given up his place of abode in Virginia to show that the applicant is employed overseas or the spouse or dependent of a person employed overseas in order to vote in state and local elections. Such repeal obviates the need for an official paper ballot for voting only in federal elections.
