Transportation (Roads & Highways)

Tort claims against the Commonwealth; liability for dangerous condition on public roadway. Provides that the Commonwealth or a transportation district of the Commonwealth shall be liable for injury or death caused by a dangerous condition on a public roadway that the Commonwealth or transportation district had knowledge of and negligently or wrongfully failed to remedy or maintain. Current law immunizes the Commonwealth or a transportation district against such liability.

Photo speed monitoring devices; reduced-speed segments. Authorizes a locality without its own law-enforcement agency to, by ordinance, place and operate a photo speed monitoring device at a reduced-speed segment, defined in the bill, located within the locality for the purpose of recording violations resulting from the operation of a vehicle in excess of the speed limit. The bill requires any such locality to, by ordinance, authorize officers of the law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction within such locality or retired sworn law-enforcement officers employed by the locality to issue the summons and to swear to or affirm the certificate stating that the information produced by such photo speed monitoring device shows evidence of a vehicle speed violation. The bill provides the same requirements for such devices, information collected from such devices, and any enforcement actions resulting from information collected from such devices as current law applies to the use of such devices in school crossing zones, highway work zones, and high-risk intersection segments.

Commissioner of Highways; certain agreements with the U.S. Department of Transportation; National Environmental Policy Act. Authorizes the Commissioner of Highways to enter into agreements for a term of five years with the U.S. Department of Transportation, as provided for in federal law, regarding state assumption of responsibility for categorical exclusions and the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program. The bill authorizes the Department of Transportation to assume certain responsibilities of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation pursuant to such agreement. Under the bill, the Commonwealth waives its immunity from civil suit in a federal court under certain circumstances. The bill contains an expiration date of five years after the date on which the first agreement is entered into. This bill is identical to HB 411.

Green warning lights; certain farm vehicles. Authorizes the use of green warning lights on vehicles displaying a permanent farm use placard, farm vehicles, farm tractors, and farm utility vehicles while operating on or along a highway.

Photo speed monitoring devices; placement and operation. Authorizes the governing body of any locality to provide by ordinance for the placement and operation of a photo speed monitoring device by a law-enforcement agency in a safety red zone, defined in the bill, for the purpose of recording vehicle speed violations in such safety red zone. The bill directs the Supreme Court of Virginia to develop a summons for vehicle speed violations captured by photo speed monitoring devices and requires summonses issued for such vehicle speed violations to be such summons. The bill makes various changes to the requirements for the use of photo speed monitoring devices, including the use of funds from collected civil penalties, signage, data retention and storage, photo speed monitoring device calibration, making certain information available to the public, requirements for private vendors, and reporting. The bill establishes civil penalties for violations of requirements and provides that for any summons issued, failure to comply with the requirements for the operation of photo speed monitoring devices renders such summons invalid.The bill also limits the use of photo speed monitoring devices in highway work zones to when workers are present, as defined in the bill, and provides that a certificate sworn to or affirmed by a law-enforcement officer or a retired sworn law-enforcement officer is not prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein for a photo speed monitoring device placed in a highway work zone unless the operator of the photo speed monitoring device provides a sworn certification verifying that workers were present at the time of the vehicle speed violation.The bill directs the Commissioner of Highways to develop criteria for designating a highway segment as a high-risk pedestrian corridor for purposes of identifying safety red zones.The bill contains delayed effective dates for certain provisions.

Highway rights-of-way; invasive species. Prohibits the Commonwealth Transportation Board (the Board) and Commissioner of Highways from planting or causing or suffering to be planted any invasive plant on the list of invasive plants created by the Department of Conservation and Recreation on the right-of-way of any state highway. Current law prohibits the planting of three listed plants if the governing body of the locality declares such weeds or plants to be injurious and requires the Board to remove such plants. The bill removes such requirement for the Board to remove such plants and requires the Department of Transportation to conduct a review of the processes and resources that are necessary and appropriate to (i) determine the prevalence of invasive plants on the list of invasive plant species created by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and develop options for establishing and implementing a plan to remove or control such plants and manage such plants on an ongoing basis.

Department of Transportation; rest areas and welcome centers; adult changing stations. Requires the Department of Transportation to provide at least one adult changing station at all rest areas on interstate highways and welcome centers operated by the Virginia Tourism Authority in the Commonwealth, with such changing station being either (i) in a single-stall family restroom or (ii) one adult changing station in both the men's and women's restrooms, and provides that such requirement may be satisfied by retrofitting or renovating existing restroom facilities or family restrooms. The bill provides that the Department of Transportation is not required to complete the installation, retrofitting, or provision of such an adult changing station at existing rest areas and welcome centers prior to such a time at which other renovations to such a rest area or welcome center are conducted.

All-terrain vehicles and off-road motorcycles; operation in the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority. Expands the authorized operation of all-terrain vehicles to include (i) operation on highways in all localities embraced by the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority, in addition to Buchanan County and Tazewell County, which are already authorized under current law, provided that certain conditions are met, and (ii) operation on public highways or other public property by employees of the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority conducting official business. The bill also authorizes any locality embraced by the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority to provide for the lawful seizure, impounding, and disposition of an unlawfully operated all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle operated on a highway or sidewalk within the boundaries of such locality.

Hampton Roads Interstate Highway Corridor Improvement Program and Fund; Hampton Roads Highway Coastal Resilience Program and Fund; Planning District 23. Creates (i) the Hampton Roads Interstate Highway Corridor Improvement Program and Fund for the purpose of planning, developing, financing, building, constructing, and otherwise making infrastructure and safety improvements to and maintaining the infrastructure of certain new or existing highway corridors, highways, bridges, and tunnels in Planning District 23 (Hampton Roads) and (ii) the Hampton Roads Highway Coastal Resilience Program and Fund for the purpose of planning, developing, financing, building, constructing, and maintaining infrastructure to address transportation infrastructure that is at risk due to recurrent and coastal flooding in Planning District 23.

Releasing of hunting dogs; state or local roadway; hunting, fishing, and trapping special license; penalty. Creates a Class 3 misdemeanor for the release of hunting dogs on or within 15 feet of the edge of a roadway owned or maintained by the Department of Transportation or a locality and provides that a second or subsequent offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill allows a court to prohibit any person who released hunting dogs on or within 15 feet of the edge of a roadway owned or maintained by the Department or locality from hunting, trapping, or fishing in the Commonwealth for a period of up to five years. The bill permits the stopping of a vehicle on a highway for the retrieval of a companion animal from a highway or area adjacent to a highway. The bill allows certain people such as a landowner and other people associated with such landowner, stockholder, tenant, or guest of the landowner in certain circumstances, to apply for a special license to hunt, fish, and trap exclusively on a landowner's property in lieu of other hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses required by state law.