Virginia National Guard; state active duty for emergency response; pay and allowances for members. Establishes rates of pay and allowances for members of the Virginia National Guard and Virginia Defense Force.
Virginia taxable income; subtractions; volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency medical services personnel.Provides a state income tax subtraction of $20 per hour, up toa maximum of 300 hours per taxable year, for bona fide volunteerswho perform qualifying services, defined in the bill as volunteerfirefighting and fire prevention services, emergency medical services,ambulance services, emergency rescue services, and all training andtraining-related activities required by law.
Possession, purchase, and transport of certainfirearms in certain localities; withholding state funds. Allowsa person to lawfully possess, purchase, or transport a firearm orfirearms magazine that he would otherwise be lawfully permitted to possess, purchase, or transport on January 1, 2020, while he isin a locality that has adopted or enforced any ordinance, resolution,or motion that declares such locality a sanctuary for Second Amendmentrights. The bill also provides that no funds payable by the Commonwealthto a locality for any and all purposes shall be withheld from a localitysolely on the basis of such locality adopting or enforcing any ordinance,resolution, or motion that declares such locality a sanctuary for Second Amendment rights.
Mountain ridges; prohibition on construction;local ordinance. Prohibits the construction of any building morethan 50 feet tall at any elevation within 100 feet of the crest ofa vulnerable mountain ridge, as defined in the bill. The bill providesan exception for construction that complies with a county or cityordinance adopted to mitigate the effect of such structures on viewsof the ridge. The bill also authorizes any city or county to optout of the prohibition on construction by referendum if the petitionfor such referendum is made prior to January 1, 2022. The bill directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to produce maps showing vulnerable mountain ridges in Virginia and authorizes the Departmentto develop a model ridge conservation ordinance.
Prescribing of opioids; required patient disclosures. Requires prescribers to discuss with a patient or the patient'sparent or guardian prior to prescribing an opioid information regardingthe prescribed opioid, including the risks of addiction and overdoseassociated with opioids; the dangers of taking opioids with alcohol,benzodiazepines, and other central nervous system depressants; thereasons why the prescription is necessary; and alternative treatmentsthat may be available. The bill also requires the prescriber to includea notation in the patient's medical record indicating that theserequired patient disclosures were discussed.
General Assembly meetings; streaming and recording. Requires the Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of theSenate to ensure that every (i) subcommittee or committee meetingof a standing committee of the General Assembly, regardless of meetingdate, and (ii) floor session of the House of Delegates or the Senate,including any joint session of the houses, is streamed with closedcaptioning, recorded and archived. The bill defines "stream" and specifiesthat a qualifying meeting is one the date and time of which havebeen scheduled on a public website of any agency of the General Assemblyfor at least one hour prior to the meeting and that takes place inthe State Capitol, the Pocahontas Building, or the General AssemblyBuilding in Richmond. The bill has a delayed effective date of October1, 2020.
Veterans and active duty members of the ArmedForces; teachers; credit for service. Requires each local schoolboard to give any veteran or active duty member of any of the ArmedForces of the United States or the Commonwealth who it employs asa teacher in the local school division credit for any time servedin any such forces in determining such teacher's step on the localschool division's teacher salary scale.
Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); personal property tax exemption; motor vehicle owned by a veteran who is disabled. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2020, election to approve or reject a personal property tax exemption for a motor vehicle that is owned and used primarily by or for a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Virginia National Guard who has a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability.
Individual and corporate income tax credit;employers of military spouses. Provides for taxable years 2020through 2024 a nonrefundable tax credit against individual and corporate income taxes for (i) wages paid by an employer to the spouse of an active member of the United States armed forces or (ii) income ofa self-employed spouse of an active member of the United States armedforces. The amount of the credit shall be 25 percent of such wagesor income. The bill allows a taxpayer to carry unused credits overfor up to five taxable years.
Income tax; subtraction for low-income military veterans with a permanent service-connected disability. Provides an income tax subtraction for the military retirement income received by a veteran who has been rated with a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability. The bill provides that the subtraction is available only to those taxpayers whose federal adjusted gross income is no greater than 150 percent of the federal poverty level for a four-person household.
