Del. Marcus Simon

Appeals of right in general district court;order or judgment altering prior final orders or judgments; separatenotices of appeal. Provides that there shall be an appeal ofright to a court of record from any order entered or judgment renderedin a general district court that alters, amends, overturns, or vacatesany prior final order entered or judgment rendered on any issuespreviously adjudicated on the merits in the prior proceeding. Thebill further provides that a party to an action in general districtcourt may file a separate notice of appeal relating to any other final order or judgment entered in an action by filing a notice of appealwithin the 10-day appeal of right time period, or within five businessdays after such notice of appeal is filed, whichever is later. Thisbill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

Drinking water supplies; maximum contaminant levels. Directs the State Board of Health to adopt regulations establishing maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in public drinking water systems for (i) perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, and for such other perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances as the Board deems necessary; (ii) chromium-6; and (iii) 1,4-dioxane. The bill requires such MCLs to be protective of public health, including the health of vulnerable subpopulations, and to be no higher than any MCL or health advisory adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the same contaminant. The bill directs the Department of Health to report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions on the status of research related to MCLs by November 1, 2020, and submit a final report by October 1, 2021, detailing the MCL regulations established by the Department of Health. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.

Unrestorably incompetent defendant; competency report. Provides that in cases where a defendant is likely to remain incompetent for the foreseeable future due to an ongoing and irreversible medical condition and prior medical or educational records are available to support the diagnosis, a competency report may recommend that the court find the defendant unrestorably incompetent to stand trial, and the court may proceed with the disposition of the case based on such recommendation. Under current law, the defendant is required to undergo treatment to restore his competency before the court can find a defendant unrestorably incompetent to stand trial. The bill also provides that such person who is found unrestorably incompetent to stand trial shall be prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. This bill is identical to SB 670.

Veterans Services Foundation. Provides that the board of trustees of the Veterans Services Foundation may be assisted in the administration of the Foundation by volunteers and staff members employed by the Executive Director. The bill also (i) adds agents and advisors to the composition of the Foundation membership; (ii) allows ex officio members who do not serve as the chairman of another board to serve as chairman of the board of trustees; (iii) specifies that individuals appointed to perform the duties of treasurer and secretary are ex officio, nonvoting officers of the board of trustees; (iv) provides that employment of agents, advisors, volunteers, or employees by the Executive Director is subject to the approval of the board of trustees; and (v) clarifies that the members of the board of trustees and employees of the Foundation are subject to the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act (§ 2.2-3100 et seq.).

Virginia Health Benefit Exchange. Creates the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange, which will be established and operated by a new division within the State Corporation Commission (SCC). The Exchange shall facilitate the purchase and sale of qualified health plans and qualified dental plans to qualified individuals and qualified employers. The Exchange shall make qualified plans available to qualified individuals and qualified employers by July 1, 2023, unless the SCC postpones this date. The measure authorizes the SCC to review and approve accident and sickness insurance premium rates applicable to health benefit plans in the individual and small group markets and health benefit plans providing health insurance coverage in the individual market through certain non-employer group plans. The Exchange will be funded by an assessment on health insurers, which is limited to three percent of total monthly premiums, except the SCC may, after a public hearing, adjust the rate as necessary to ensure the Exchange is fully funded. A health plan will not be required to cover any state-mandated health benefit if federal law does not require it to be covered as part of the essential benefits package. The essential health benefits are items and services included in the benchmark health insurance plan, which is the largest plan in the largest product in the Commonwealth's small group market as supplemented in order to provide coverage for the items and services within the statutory essential health benefits categories. The SCC may contract with other eligible entities and enter into memoranda of understanding with other agencies of the Commonwealth to carry out any of the functions of the Exchange, including agreements with other states or federal agencies to perform joint administrative functions. Such contracts are not subject to the Virginia Public Procurement Act (§ 2.2-4300 et seq.). The measure repeals a provision enacted in 2013 that prohibits an agent, employee, officer, or agency of the Commonwealth from taking any action to establish a health benefit exchange.The measure requires the Department of Taxation to include on the appropriate individual tax return forms a checkoff box or similar mechanism for indicating whether the individual, or spouse in the case of a married taxpayer filing jointly, or any dependent of the individual (i) is an uninsured individual at the time the return is filed and (ii) voluntarily consents to the Department of Taxation providing the individual's tax information to the Department of Medical Assistance Services for purposes of affirming that the individual, the individual's spouse, or any dependent of the individual meets the income eligibility for medical assistance. Finally, the measure requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group that includes representatives from the SCC, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Taxation and a consumer advocate to develop systems, policies, and practices to leverage state income tax returns to facilitate the enrollment of eligible individuals in insurance affordability programs through the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange established in this measure. The Secretary shall report the work group's recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by September 15, 2020. This measure is identical to SB 732.

Nonpayment of wages; discriminatory actions prohibited. Prohibits an employer from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding related to the failure to pay wages, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding. The measure authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to institute proceedings against an employer who has taken such prohibited discriminatory action. Available remedies include reinstatement of the employee, recovery of lost wages, and liquidated damages. This bill is identical to SB 48.

Forfeiture of property used in connection with the commission of crimes; finding of guilt required. Requires that any action for the forfeiture of property used in connection with the commission of a crime be stayed until the person whose property is the subject of the forfeiture action has been found guilty of the crime authorizing the forfeiture, regardless of whether he has been sentenced. The bill provides that property may be forfeited even though no finding of guilt is made if (i) the forfeiture is ordered by the court pursuant to a plea agreement or (ii) the owner has not submitted a written demand for the return of the property within 21 days from the date the stay terminates. This bill incorporates HB 225.

Gender-neutral terms; prohibitions on same-sexmarriage and civil unions removed from Code; certain gender-specificcrimes; penalty. Replaces the terms "husband" and "wife" as wellas related terms with gender-neutral terms throughout the Code tocomport with the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefellv. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (June 26, 2015). The bill also repealsthe statutory prohibitions on same-sex marriages and civil unionsor other arrangements between persons of the same sex purportingto bestow the privileges and obligations of marriage, and it makesconforming changes to various laws involving married individualsand their rights stemming from marriage. Further,the bill makes applicable to all persons, regardless of the genderof the victim, the crimes of (i) assisting or aiding in the abductionof or threatening to abduct a female under 16 years of age for the purpose of concubinage or prostitution; (ii) placing or leavingone's wife in a bawdy place; and (iii) defaming the chaste characterof a female. The bill provides that a defendant placed on probationmay be ordered to provide support for the defendant's spouse; currently,the law only provides for support of a defendant's wife. The billalso amends various criminal and criminal procedure laws to make them applicable to both same-sex and opposite-sex married couples. Finally,the bill repeals the crime of adultery.

Notaries; satisfactory evidence of identity;persons in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Allowsexpired state issued driver's licenses or state issued identificationcards and expired passports to be used as a means of identificationfor notarial purposes for individuals residing in nursing homes orassisted living facilities, provided such expired documents expiredwithin five years of the date of use for such identification purposes.

Suspension of driver's license for nonpayment of fines or costs. Removes the requirement that a court suspend the driver's license of a person convicted of any violation of the law who fails or refuses to provide for immediate payment of fines or costs. The bill provides that the fine for any moving violation while operating a motor vehicle in a designated highway safety corridor shall be no more than $500 for any violation that is a traffic infraction and not less than $200 for any violation that is a criminal offense. The bill repeals the Nonresident Violator Compact of 1977. The bill also provides that the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles shall reinstate a person's privilege to drive a motor vehicle that was suspended prior to July 1, 2019, solely pursuant to § 46.2-395 of the Code of Virginia and shall waive all fees relating to reinstating such person's driving privileges. Nothing in this act shall require the Commissioner to reinstate a person's driving privileges if such privileges have been otherwise lawfully suspended or revoked or if such person is otherwise ineligible for a driver's license. This bill incorporates HB 17.