Del. Kathleen Murphy

Tax Commissioner; waiver of accrual of interest in the event that the Governor declares a state of emergency. Authorizes the Tax Commissioner to waive interest for any class of taxpayers when he finds that imposing interest has caused, or would cause, undue hardship to such class of taxpayers because of a natural disaster or other reason. The bill allows the Tax Commissioner to grant such waiver only if the Governor declares a state of emergency in the Commonwealth with respect to such natural disaster or other reason.

Issuance of writ of vacatur for victims of commercial sex trafficking. Establishes a procedure for victims of sex trafficking to file a petition of vacatur in circuit court to have certain convictions vacated and the police and court records expunged for such convictions. The bill requires the court to grant the writ and vacate a qualifying offense if it finds the petitioner (i) was convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a qualifying offense and (ii) committed the qualifying offense as a direct result of being a victim of sex trafficking, as defined in the bill. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; preference for energy-efficient and water-efficient goods. Provides that in the course of procuring goods, if a public body receives two or more bids for products that are Energy Star certified, meet Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) designated efficiency requirements, appear on FEMP's Low Standby Power Product List, or are WaterSense certified, such public body may only select among those bids.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); franchise and officers; felon disenfranchisement; automatic restoration of political rights. Provides that no person who has been convicted of a felony shall be qualified to vote until the completion of his sentence of imprisonment, at which time, without further action required of him, his political rights, including the right to vote, shall be restored. A person convicted of a felony may also have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. This resolution incorporates HJ 546.

Electric vehicle rebate program; creation andfunding; report. Creates a rebate program for the purchase or lease of new and used electric vehicles, to be administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. A purchaser or lesseeof an electric vehicle would receive a $2,500 rebate at the timeof purchase, and a purchaser or lessee with an annual household incomethat does not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level wouldbe entitled to an additional $2,000 rebate. The motor vehicle dealerwhere the vehicle is purchased or leased would receive a refund forthe amount of the rebate and a $50 incentive payment for each rebateprocessed. Funds would be allocated from the revenues generated bythe sunset of the Virginia Coal Employment and Production IncentiveTax Credit and the Coalfield employment enhancement tax credit andprohibit the allocation of new credits on and after January 1, 2021.The bill also establishes an Electric Vehicle Rebate Advisory Councilto oversee the Electric Vehicle Rebate Program and to make recommendationsregarding its implementation. The Director of the Department of Mines,Minerals and Energy is required to report annually to the Governorand the General Assembly regarding the Program. The Program will expire on September 1, 2026.

Virginia Human Rights Act; definition of employer;person employing one or more domestic workers. Expands the definitionof "employer" for all purposes of the Virginia Human Rights Act toinclude a person employing one or more domestic workers, as definedin the bill.

Polling places; prohibited activities; unlawfulpossession of a firearm; penalty. Prohibits any person from knowingly possessing a firearm within 40 feet of any building, orpart thereof, used as a polling place, including one hour before andone hour after its use as a polling place, except for (i) a qualifiedlaw-enforcement officer or retired law-enforcement officer, (ii)any person occupying his own private property that falls within40 feet of the polling place, or (iii) a licensed armed securityofficer whose employment or performance of his duties occurs within40 feet of the polling place. The bill further provides that no personshall knowingly possess a firearm within 40 feet of a meeting placefor the local electoral board while the electoral board meets to ascertainthe results of an election or any place used as the setting for arecount. A violation of the provisions of the bill is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; law-enforcementcriminal incident information; criminal investigative files. Adds criminal investigative files, defined in the bill, relatingto a criminal investigation or proceeding that is not ongoing, alsodefined in the bill, to the types of law-enforcement and criminalrecords required to be released in accordance with the provisionsof the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Under current law, therelease of criminal investigative files is discretionary. The billalso provides that the mandatory release of criminal incident informationrelating to felony offenses and criminal investigative files shallbe enjoined if a court finds by a preponderance of the evidence thatthe release of such information would likely effect certain results,outlined in the bill. The bill contains technical amendments. Thisbill is a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information AdvisoryCouncil.

Homicides and assaults and bodily woundings; certain matters not to constitute defenses. Provides that the discovery of, perception of, or belief about another person's actual or perceived sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation, whether or not accurate, is not a defense to any charge of capital murder, murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, voluntary manslaughter, or assault and bodily wounding-related crimes and is not provocation negating or excluding malice as an element of murder.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; testing for, treatment of, and vaccination against COVID-19; emergency services. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to, during a public health emergency related to COVID-19 declared by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, deem testing for, treatment of, and vaccination against COVID-19 to be emergency services for which payment may be made pursuant to federal law for certain aliens not lawfully admitted for permanent residence.