Provides that (i) land devoted to agricultural use includes land devoted to the sale of products made from plants and animals located on the property, (ii) land devoted to horticultural use includes land devoted to plants and the sale of products made from horticultural items, (iii) the agreement pursuant to soil and water conservation programs that qualifies land as devoted to agricultural or horticultural uses may be made with the Commonwealth, (iv) land designated for use value assessment shall not lose such designation solely because of its location in a newly created zoning district that was not requested by the property owner, and (v) if the state uniform standards for eligibility for real estate devoted to agricultural use or horticultural use require a minimum length of time of a specified use, then the use of other similar property by a lessee of the owner shall be included in calculating such time, and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall include in the uniform standards a shorter length of time for real estate with no prior qualifying use, provided that the owner submits a written document of the owner's intent regarding use of the real estate containing elements set out in the uniform standards.
Sponsored bills
Requires each school board to adopt policies to (i) prohibit abusive work environments in the school division, (ii) provide for the appropriate discipline of any school board employee who contributes to an abusive work environment, and (iii) prohibit retaliation or reprisal against a school board employee who alleges an abusive work environment or assists in the investigation of an allegation of an abusive work environment.
Creates the Henrietta Lacks Commission to establish through a public-private partnership the Henrietta Lacks Life Sciences Center in Halifax County as a cancer research and treatment center designed to (i) transform and accelerate cancer research and treatment through the use of biodata tools, (ii) provide tailored cancer treatment medicine to an underserved portion of rural Southside Virginia, and (iii) incubate new biotech businesses across the Southside Virginia region. The bill requires the Commission to annually submit a report on its interim activity and work to the Governor and General Assembly. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2021.