Del. Alfonso Lopez

School boards; student member required.Requires each school board to establish a method for the selectionof a student to serve as a member of the school board, subject tothe following conditions: (i) the student is enrolled in a publichigh school in the local school division; (ii) any such student iseligible to be selected as a member of the school board without regardto such student's age or citizenship status, provided, however, thatin the event that the method for selection of the student member is election, the student meets the qualifications to hold electiveoffice set forth in Article II, Section 5 of the Constitution ofVirginia; (iii) the school board establishes detailed policies, procedures,and timelines relating to such selection method, including policiesthat establish term length, eligibility to serve with or withoutvoting privileges, eligibility for a salary, eligibility for selectionto subsequent terms, and grounds for removal; and (iv) each studentselected to serve as a member of the school board serves in additionto and not as a replacement for any member duly authorized and selectedto serve on the school board in accordance with relevant law, andeach such student member factors into the calculation of a quorum.

Limited-duration licenses and driver privilege cards and permits; expiration. Extends the validity of limited-duration licenses, driver privilege cards and permits, and identification privilege cards, other than REAL ID credentials and commercial driver's licenses and permits, to a period of time consistent with the validity of driver's licenses, which, under current law, is a period not to exceed eight years or, for a person age 75 or older, a period not to exceed five years, and permits and special identification cards. The bill directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to implement the extended validity periods for such documents upon reissuance. This bill is identical to SB 246.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act; retaliatory conduct prohibited.Adds numerous actions to the list of prohibited retaliatory actionsby a landlord against a tenant under the Virginia Residential Landlordand Tenant Act and Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act and specifiesactions by a tenant for which a landlord may not retaliate. The billmodifies and expands the list of actions a landlord may take withoutviolating the prohibition on retaliation. The bill allows a tenant,when the landlord has unlawfully retaliated, to recover actual damages,court costs, and reasonable attorney fees and to assert retaliationas a defense in any action brought against him for possession.

Voter registration; list maintenance; data sharing; requiring membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Requires the Commissioner of Elections to apply for, enter into, and maintain membership for the Commonwealth in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). This bill is identical to SB 606.

Unemployment insurance; benefit eligibility conditions; lockout exception to labor dispute disqualification. Amends the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act's labor dispute disqualification to provide that a lockout by an employer shall not constitute a labor dispute and that locked-out employees who are otherwise eligible for benefits shall receive such benefits unless (i) the recognized or certified collective bargaining representative of the locked-out employees refuses to meet under reasonable conditions with the employer to discuss the issues giving rise to the lockout, (ii) there is a final adjudication under the federal National Labor Relations Act that such representative has refused to bargain in good faith with the employer, or (iii) the lockout is the direct result of such representative's violation of an existing collective bargaining agreement. This bill is identical to SB 542.

Unpaid family bereavement leave; required; remedies. Requires that an employer that employs 50 or more employees provide eligible employees, defined in the bill, with up to 10 days of unpaid family bereavement leave in any 12-month period to (i) attend the funeral or funeral equivalent of a covered family member; (ii) make arrangements necessitated by the death of a covered family member; (iii) grieve the death of a covered family member; or (iv) be absent from work due to (a) a miscarriage, (b) an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure, (c) a failed adoption match or an adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party, (d) a failed surrogacy agreement, (e) a diagnosis that negatively impacts pregnancy or fertility, or (f) a stillbirth. The bill requires the employee to provide notice of his intent to take the leave if reasonable and practicable and provides that an employer may require reasonable documentation of the death or event. The bill requires the employer to restore the employee's position following the leave, to continue to provide coverage for the employee under any health benefit plan, and to pay the employee any commission earned prior to the leave. The bill prohibits the employer from taking retaliatory action against the employee for taking family bereavement leave and provides that, if an employer fails to provide unpaid family bereavement leave or engages in such prohibited retaliatory action, an employee may bring an action against the employer in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Home-based firearms dealers; prohibited nearschools; penalties. Provides that no home-based firearms dealer,as defined in the bill, shall be engaged in the business of selling,trading, or transferring firearms at wholesale or retail within 1.5miles of any elementary or middle school, including buildings andgrounds. The bill provides that any person who willfully violatessuch prohibition is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor for a first offenseand guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense.

Purchase of certain firearms; age requirement; penalty. Prohibits any person under 21 years of age from purchasing a handgun or assault firearm, with exceptions for the purchase of an assault firearm by a law-enforcement officer, correctional officer, jail officer, or member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the Virginia National Guard, or the National Guard of any other state. Accordingly, the bill prohibits a licensed dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from his inventory a handgun or assault firearm to any person under 21 years of age. A violation of either prohibition is a Class 6 felony. The bill also expands the definition of "assault firearm" as the term applies to criminal history record information checks. This bill is identical to SB 327.

Additional local sales and use tax to support schools; referendum. Authorizes all counties and cities to impose an additional local sales and use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent with the revenue used only for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools if such levy is approved in a voter referendum. The bill removes the requirement that such a tax must have an expiration date on either (i) the date of the repayment of any bonds or loans used for such capital projects or (ii) a date chosen by the governing body. Under current law, only Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville are authorized to impose such a tax. This bill incorporates HB 60, HB 193, HB 458, HB 600, HB 616, HB 1159, and HB 1437 and is identical to SB 14.

Policies on parental notification of instructional material that includes sexually explicit content; scope and use. Provides that nothing in the law requiring the Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board model policies for ensuring parental notification of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content and requiring each school board to adopt policies that are consistent with but may be more comprehensive than such model policies or that is in such model policies or school board policies shall be construed to permit the censoring of books in any public elementary or secondary school. This bill is identical to SB 235.