Virginia Bills

Affirms the rights of localities to regulate the short-term rental of property, defined as the provision of space suitable for sleeping or lodging for fewer than 30 days. If a locality allows short-term rentals, the locality shall require that the person offering property for rental notify adjacent landowners in writing, obtain local permission to offer the property for rental, and carry a minimum of $500,000 of commercial premises liability insurance. If a locality prohibits short-term rentals, any person or entity, including an online hosting platform, that advertises the availability of a short-term rental in the locality shall be subject to a $10,000 fine per violation. This bill was incorporated into

Requires certain call centers that intend to relocate operations from the Commonwealth to a foreign country to give the Commissioner of Labor and Industry at least 120 days' prior notice. An employer that fails to do so is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed an amount of $10,000 for each day of the violation. The measure requires the Commissioner to compile a semiannual list of all employers that relocate a call center from the Commonwealth to a foreign country and to distribute the list to state agencies. Subject to exceptions, an employer that appears on the list is (i) ineligible for five years for any direct or indirect grants of state funds, any loans guaranteed by the state, or any tax credit or reduction in tax liability and (ii) required to remit the unamortized value of such grants, loans, or tax benefits, or any other governmental support the employer has previously received, to the Secretary of Commerce and Trade. The measure requires new state agency contracts for the performance of state business-related call center and customer service work to provide that such work shall be performed entirely within the Commonwealth. Finally, the measure requires that, to the extent permitted, (a) state contractors who perform state business-related call center and customer service work outside the Commonwealth under an existing contract perform such work entirely within the Commonwealth by July 1, 2019, and (b) any new customer service employees hired to work under an existing contract be employed within the Commonwealth.

Creates a new limited mixed beverage license for retail cigar shops for the sale or service of alcoholic beverages. The bill sets out the privileges of this new license, including a requirement that at least 60 percent of the licensee's annual gross revenue be from the sale of premium tobacco products. The bill also defines cigar shop and sets out the state and local license taxes for this license. The bill provides that a cigar shop licensed by the ABC Board shall not be deemed a restaurant for the purposes of the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act.

Requests the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to study the long-term economic viability of working waterfronts, including a projection of the economic viability of preserving waterfront locations for new and existing water-dependent uses, and restoring working waterfront structures.