Public institutions of higher education; admissions applications; criminal history. Prohibits each public institution of higher education, with the exception of the Virginia Military Institute, from (i) utilizing an institution-specific admissions application that contains questions about the criminal history of the applicant or (ii) denying admission to any applicant on the basis of any criminal history information provided by the applicant on any third-party admissions application accepted by the institution. The bill permits each public institution of higher education to inquire into the criminal history of any individual who has been admitted to but has yet to enroll at the institution and withdraw an offer of admission to any individual whom the institution subsequently determines to have a criminal history that poses a threat to the institution's community. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.
Sponsored bills
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies; landlord's acceptance of rent with reservation; tenant's right of redemption. Prohibits a landlord from accepting full payment of rent, as well as any damages, money judgment, award of attorney fees, and court costs, from a tenant and receiving an order of possession pursuant to an unlawful detainer action and proceeding with eviction, unless there are bases for the entry of an order of possession other than nonpayment of rent stated in the unlawful detainer action filed by the landlord. Under current law, a landlord may accept full or partial payment of all rent and receive an order of possession pursuant to an unlawful detainer action and proceed with eviction, provided that he has stated in a written notice to the tenant that any and all amounts owed to the landlord by the tenant, including payment of any rent, damages, money judgment, award of attorney fees, and court costs, would be accepted with reservation and would not constitute a waiver of the landlord's right to evict the tenant from the dwelling unit. The bill provides specific language that must be included within such notice, and requires a landlord who elects to seek possession of the dwelling unit to provide a copy of the notice to the court for service to the tenant along with the summons for unlawful detainer. The bill also allows tenants to exercise the right of redemption in unlawful detainer actions an unlimited number of times. Under current law, tenants may only exercise the right of redemption once during any 12-month period of continuous residency in the dwelling unit, regardless of the term of the rental agreement or any renewal term of the rental agreement. The bill directs the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development (Director) to develop a sample termination notice to be maintained on the Department of Housing and Community Development's (Department) website that includes language referencing acceptance of rent with reservation by a landlord following a breach of a lease by a tenant, and requires the Department to convene a stakeholder group to provide input to the Director regarding the development of such sample termination notice.
U.S. Route 1; "Emancipation Highway." Renames any section of U.S. Route 1 in Virginia that is designated as "Jefferson Davis Highway" to "Emancipation Highway." The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.
Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases. Provides that the occupational disease presumption for death caused by hypertension or heart disease will apply for salaried or volunteer emergency medical services personnel who have at least five years of service and are operating in a locality that has legally adopted a resolution declaring that it will provide one or more of such presumptions. This bill incorporates HB 2080.
Study; gold mining; prohibition on permitting;report. Directs the Secretary of Natural Resources, the Secretaryof Health and Human Resources, and the Secretary of Commerce andTrade to conduct a study of the mining of gold in the Commonwealth.The bill requires that the study be conducted in consultation withthe Virginia Council on Environmental Justice and appropriate stakeholders,including experts in mining, hydrology, toxicology, and other fields;environmental organizations; representatives of potentially affectedcommunities in localities with significant deposits of gold; and residentsof Native American communities in such counties. Thebill provides that the study shall evaluate the impacts of gold miningon public health, safety, and welfare; evaluate whether existing air and water quality regulations are sufficient; consider which processingand beneficiation techniques, including cyanide heap leaching andcyanide vat leaching, should be permitted; consider whether the dewateringof an open pit mine should be permitted; make a recommendation asto whether the issuance of any permit to operate a gold mine shouldbe prohibited; and report its findings to the General Assembly byJuly 1, 2023. The bill also prohibits the issuance of any permitby the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to operate a goldmine of an area larger than 10 acres until July 1, 2024.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; tenant remedies for exclusion from dwelling unit, interruption of services, or actions taken to make premises unsafe. Provides that a general district court shall enter an order upon petition by a tenant that his landlord has (i) removed or excluded the tenant from the dwelling unit unlawfully, (ii) interrupted or caused the interruption of an essential service to the tenant, or (iii) taken action to make the premises unsafe for habitation. The bill allows entry of a preliminary order ex parte to require the landlord to allow the tenant to recover possession of the dwelling unit, resume any such interrupted essential service, or fix any willful actions taken by the landlord or his agent to make the premises unsafe for habitation if there is good cause to do so and the tenant made reasonable efforts to notify the landlord of the hearing. The bill requires that any ex parte order entered shall further indicate a date for a full hearing on the petition that is no later than 10 days from the initial hearing date. Finally, the bill provides that, at a full hearing on such petition, the tenant shall recover actual damages, the greater of $5,000 or four months' rent, and reasonable attorney fees.
Rappahannock State Scenic River designation.Adds a 79-mile portion of the Rappahannock River located in Caroline,King George, Westmoreland, Essex, and Richmond Counties to the RappahannockState Scenic River, a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System.
Comprehensive plan; transit-oriented development.Adds reducing, modifying, or waiving local parking requirements orratios to the strategies that may be included when certain largerlocalities consider incorporating strategies to promote transit-orienteddevelopment in reviews of their comprehensive plans. The bill removesfrom the existing strategy of increasing development density in certainareas to reduce density in others the phrase "to reduce density inothers."
Paid sick leave. Requires employers to provide certain employees paid sick leave. An employee is eligible for paid sick leave under the bill if the employee is an essential worker and works on average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month. The bill provides for an employee to earn at least one hour of paid sick leave benefit for every 30 hours worked. An employee shall not use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick leave in a year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. The bill provides that earned paid sick leave may be used for (i) an employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an employee's need for preventive medical care or (ii) care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or care of a family member who needs preventive medical care. The bill prohibits employers from taking certain retaliatory actions against employees related to leave. The bill provides for a hardship waiver for employers that demonstrate that providing paid sick leave threatens the financial viability of the employer, jeopardizes the ability of the employer to sustain operations, significantly degrades the quality of the employer's business operations, or creates a significant negative financial impact on the employer. The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to promulgate regulations that (a) identify workers as essential based on the categories listed in the bill; (b) include reasonable requirements for recordkeeping, confidentiality, and notifying employees of their rights under provisions of the bill; (c) establish complaint, investigation, and enforcement procedures that include fines, not to exceed $500, for violations of provisions of the bill; (d) establish requirements for compensation and accrual of paid sick leave for employees employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis; and (e) include procedures and requirements for an employer to qualify for a hardship waiver. The provisions of the bill do not apply to a retail business with fewer than 25 employees.
Department of Housing and Community Development; stakeholder advisory group; accessory dwelling units. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development (Department) to convene a stakeholder advisory group to evaluate the construction of internal, attached, and detached accessory dwelling units as a strategy to address the Commonwealth's growing demand for affordable and market-rate housing. The bill requires the stakeholder advisory group to report its findings and recommendations, including any legislative recommendations, to the Director of the Department, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, the commissioners of the Virginia Housing Development Authority, and the Virginia Housing Commission no later than November 1, 2021.