Definition of birth control. Defines "birth control," for the purposes of the regulation of medicine, as contraceptive methods that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administrationand provides that birth control shall not be considered abortionfor the purposes of Title 18.2 (Crimes and Offenses Generally).
Sentencing of juvenile tried as adult. Providesthat a court, in the case of a juvenile tried as an adult and convictedof a felony, may depart from any mandatory minimum sentence requiredby law, suspend any portion of an otherwise applicable sentence,or deal with the juvenile in the same manner as a case in the juvenilecourt if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that thevictim of the felony offense trafficked the juvenile in violationof human trafficking laws, sexually assaulted or abused the juvenilewithin one year of the commission of the felony offense, or sexuallyassaulted or abused the juvenile, causing such juvenile to be anabused or neglected child. The bill also requires the court, whensentencing a juvenile as an adult, to consider the juvenile's exposureto adverse childhood experiences, early childhood trauma, or anychild welfare agency and the differences between juvenile and adultoffenders, including the diminished culpability of juveniles. Afterconsidering such factors, the court may reduce or suspend any mandatory minimum sentence or maximum period of incarceration prescribed bylaw that the juvenile is required to serve by not more than 50 percentif the court determines that such reduction is appropriate in relationto the juvenile's age, the juvenile's prospects for rehabilitation,or any other mitigating factors.
Tax credit for participating landlords; eligible housing areas. Expands the definition of "eligible housing area" for the housing choice voucher tax credit to include Virginia census tracts in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area in which less than 10 percent of the population lives below the poverty level. Landlords who rent qualified housing units within such areas are eligible for an income tax credit. Current law only applies to such areas within the Richmond and Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News Metropolitan Statistical Areas.The bill establishes a 2025 sunset date on the credit. The bill incorporates HB 1014 and is identical to SB 200.
Offenses requiring registration under the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry Act; unlawful dissemination or sale of images of another. Adds a third or subsequent conviction of unlawful dissemination or sale of images of another to the list of offenses requiring registration under the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry if the offense was committed on or after July 1, 2020. The bill contains technical amendments.
Eligibility for food stamps and TANF; drug-related felonies. Provides that a person who is otherwise eligible to receive food stamp benefits shall not be denied such assistance solely because he has been convicted of a drug-related felony. Under current law, such individuals may not be denied food stamp benefits based on a felony conviction of possession of a controlled substance in violation of § 18.2-250, provided that such person is complying with, or has already complied with, all obligations imposed by the criminal court, is actively engaged in or has completed a substance abuse treatment program, participates in periodic drug screenings, and meets any other obligations as determined by the Department of Social Services. The bill also provides that a person who is otherwise eligible to receive TANF benefits shall not be denied such assistance solely because he has been convicted of a drug-related felony. This bill incorporates HB 391, HB 786, HB 814, and HB 1130 and is identical to SB 124.
Virginia Human Rights Act; discrimination onthe basis of sex; sexual harassment. Creates a cause of actionagainst any employer employing more than five but fewer than 15 personswho engages in an unlawful discriminatory act against any employeeon the basis of sex. Under current law, an employee who has beendiscriminated against on the basis of sex may only file an actionagainst his employer if the employee is discharged by the employeron the basis of sex. The bill permits a court, in cases where the employee prevails, to award compensatory or punitive damages andattorney fees not to exceed 25 percent of the amount awarded. Thebill also clarifies that for purposes of the cause of action, discriminationon the basis of sex includes harassment on the basis of sex. The bill defines the types of conduct that amount to harassment on thebasis of sex. The bill contains technical amendments.
Prohibited discrimination; public accommodations, employment, credit, and housing: causes of action; sexual orientation and gender identity. Creates explicit causes of action for unlawful discrimination in public accommodations and employment in the Virginia Human Rights Act. Currently, under the Act there is no cause of action for discrimination in public accommodations, and the only causes of action for discrimination in employment are for (i) unlawful discharge on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, including lactation, by employers employing more than five but fewer than 15 persons and (ii) unlawful discharge on the basis of age by employers employing more than five but fewer than 20 persons. The bill allows the causes of action to be pursued privately by the aggrieved person or, in certain circumstances, by the Attorney General. The bill prohibits discrimination in public and private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also codifies for state and local government employment the current prohibitions on discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran. Additionally, the bill (a) prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran; (b) prohibits discrimination in credit on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, disability, and status as a veteran; and (c) adds discrimination on the basis of an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran as an unlawful housing practice. The bill makes technical amendments. This bill incorporates HB 3, HB 21, HB 23, HB 217, HB 1050, HB 1200, and HB 1512.
Redistricting; Virginia Redistricting Advisory Commission; standards and criteria. Establishes the Virginia Redistricting Advisory Commission (the Commission), a statutory legislative commission tasked with proposing districts for the United States House of Representatives and for the Senate and the House of Delegates of the General Assembly that adhere to certain constitutional and statutory criteria and that will be submitted for consideration and adoption by the General Assembly. The Commission will consist of eight legislative commissioners and eight citizen commissioners. The legislative commissioners consist of four members of the Senate of Virginia and four members of the House of Delegates, with equal representation given to the political parties having the highest and next highest number of members in their respective houses. The citizen commissioners are chosen by a selection committee consisting of five retired judges of the circuit courts of Virginia, from lists submitted to the selection committee by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the leader in the House of Delegates of the political party having the next highest number of members in the House of Delegates, the President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia, and the leader in the Senate of the political party having the next highest number of members in the Senate. The bill contains eligibility requirements for the citizen commissioners, including restrictions on holding or having held partisan national or state public office. As part of the application process for service on the Commission, the Division of Legislative Services acts as a repository for applications submitted by interested persons and is tasked with screening out applicants who are ineligible or submit incomplete applications. The applications of the citizen candidates selected by political leadership and submitted for consideration to the selection committee are public records.The bill also directs the Division of Legislative Services to provide staff support to the Commission in the redistricting of congressional and state legislative districts. The Commission is required to submit to the General Assembly plans of districts within certain time periods, and the bill sets out criteria by which the districts are to be drawn, including equal population, racial and ethnic fairness, communities of interest, contiguity, and compactness. The bill prohibits a map of districts from unduly favoring or disfavoring any political party when considered on a statewide basis.The bill provides for the preparation and use of adjusted population data for redistricting and reapportionment purposes to reflect the reallocation of persons incarcerated in federal, state, and local correctional facilities. Persons incarcerated in such a facility whose address at the time of incarceration was in the Commonwealth are to be counted at that address and persons incarcerated in such a facility whose address at the time of incarceration was outside of the Commonwealth or cannot be determined are to be counted at the facility.Provisions to ensure public participation in the redistricting process are included, including requirements that meetings are video recorded and transcribed and the archived videos and transcripts be made available on the Commission's website. The bill also requires a series of public hearings to be conducted prior receipt of Census data and at least public hearings to be held prior to voting to submit any plan to the General Assembly. The General Assembly may reject initial plans developed by the Commission and provide information to the Commission regarding the reasons for rejecting such plans. The General Assembly is limited in its ability to amend plans until multiple plans have been submitted and rejected.
Reporting of payments by third-party settlement organizations. Requires third-party settlement organizations (TPSOs) to report to the Tax Department the gross amount of payments made to any participating payee, a person who receives payment from a TPSO. Generally speaking, a TPSO is a company that provides a platform for buyers and sellers to transact goods or services and settles transactions between those parties. Examples of TPSOs would be marketplace facilitators and "gig economy" platforms. Under federal law, payments by TPSOs to participating payees need not be reported unless they exceed $20,000 and there are more than 200 transactions between the TPSO and the participating payee. The bill instead requires use of the standard 1099 reporting threshold of $600 for non-TPSO income as the level at which TPSO income must be reported to the Tax Department. The requirements of the bill apply only to payments to participating payees with a Virginia address. This bill is identical to SB 211.
Conformity to Internal Revenue Code. Advances the date by which Virginia conforms to the Internal Revenue Code from December 31, 2018, to December 31, 2019. However, the bill deconforms from a provision of federal law that temporarily reduces the medical expense deduction floor from 10 percent to 7.5 percent. The bill includes an emergency clause and applies to taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2018. This bill is identical to SB 582.
