Del. Kathy Tran

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.

Department of Health; Department of Health Professions Medical Excellence Zone Program; telemedicine; reciprocal agreements. Directs the Department of Health to determine the feasibility of establishing a Medical Excellence Zone Program to allow citizens of the Commonwealth living in rural underserved areas to receive medical treatment via telemedicine services from providers licensed or registered in a state that is contiguous with the Commonwealth and directs the Department of Health Professions to pursue reciprocal agreements with such states for licensure for certain primary care practitioners licensed by the Board of Medicine. The bill requires the Department of Health to set out the criteria that would be required for a locality or group of localities in the Commonwealth to be eligible for the designation as a medical excellence zone and report its findings to the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions by November 1, 2020. The bill states that reciprocal agreements with states that are contiguous with the Commonwealth for the licensure of doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathic medicine, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners shall only require that a person hold a current, unrestricted license in the other jurisdiction and that no grounds exist for denial based on the acts of unprofessional conduct. The Department of Health Professions is required to report on its progress in establishing such agreements to the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions by November 1, 2020. The bill requires the Board of Medicine to prioritize applications for licensure by endorsement as a doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine, a physician assistant, or a nurse practitioner from such states through a streamlined process with a final determination regarding qualification to be made within 20 days of the receipt of a completed application. This bill is identical to SB 757.

State income tax; amended return notice;interest accrual period. Provides that any taxpayer who is requiredto file an amended federal income tax return shall receive writtennotice from the Department of Taxation whether such requirement alsorequires the taxpayer to file an amended state tax return with the corresponding updated information. This written notice shall detailthe amount of additional taxes owed by the taxpayer, if any, as aresult of the amended federal filing and the amount of overpaymentthat shall be refunded to the taxpayer, if any, or a request forthe taxpayer's information needed by the Department to compute theamount of additional taxes owed or to be refunded. The bill shortensthe interest accrual period for good faith state income tax returnfilings with understatements of the amount owed to the period fromthe time a bill and notice of additional tax assessment is mailedby the Department of Taxation to a taxpayer until such assessmentis paid. Current law defines the interest accrual period as fromthe time the return was required by law to be filed until paid.

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.

Absentee voting; deadline for returning absentee ballot. Provides that any absentee ballot that is returned to the general registrar after the closing of the polls on election day but before noon on the third day after the election and postmarked on or before the date of the election shall be counted if the voter is found entitled to vote. This bill contains technical amendments and is identical to SB 455.

Officers of election; timing of additional training following change in law or regulation. Requires the additional training for officers of elections occurring after a change in an election law or regulation to take place not less than three days prior to the first election occurring in the locality after the law or regulation has taken effect. Under current law, such training is required to take place not later than three days prior to the November general election following the enactment of the law or regulation.

Employee misclassification; retaliatory actions prohibited; civil penalty. Prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, threatening, discriminating against, or penalizing an employee or independent contractor because the employee or independent contractor reported or plans to report that an employer or any officer or agent has failed to properly classify an individual as an employee and failed to pay required benefits or other contributions. The measure also prohibits such actions against an employee or independent contractor who is requested or subpoenaed by an appropriate authority to participate in an investigation, hearing, or inquiry by an appropriate authority or in a court action. These prohibitions apply only if an employee or independent contractor acts in good faith and upon a reasonable belief that the information is accurate. The measure authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to institute proceedings against an employer who has taken such prohibited retaliatory action. Available remedies include reinstatement of the employee and recovery of lost wages. An employer that violates these provisions is subject to a civil penalty equal to the employee's lost wages. This bill is identical to SB 662.

Commending the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable CharlesHenry Duff, Jr.

Commending Rosa B. Price.