Relocation of call centers to a foreign country; notification requirements. Requires certain call centers thatintend to relocate operations from the Commonwealth to a foreigncountry to give the Commissioner of Labor and Industry at least 120days' prior notice. The measure requires the Commissioner to compilea semiannual list of all employers that relocate a call center fromthe Commonwealth to a foreign country and to distribute the list to state agencies. Subject to exceptions, an employer that appears onthe list is (i) ineligible for five years for any direct or indirectgrants of state funds, any loans from or guaranteed by the state,or any tax credit or reduction in tax liability and (ii) requiredto repay any financial incentives the employer has previously received.The measure requires new state agency contracts for the performanceof state business-related call center and customer service work toprovide that such work will be performed entirely within the Commonwealth.
Sponsored bills
Recklessly allowing access to firearms to certainpersons; penalty. Provides that any person who (i) sells, barters,gives, or furnishes; (ii) has in his possession or under his controlwith the intent of selling, bartering, giving, or furnishing; or (iii)recklessly allows access to any firearm to any person he knows orhas reason to believe is prohibited from possessing or transportinga firearm is guilty of a Class 4 felony. Under current law, such prohibition applies only to a person who (a) sells, barters, gives,or furnishes or (b) has in his possession or under his control withthe intent of selling, bartering, giving, or furnishing any firearmto any person he knows is prohibited from possessing or transportinga firearm.
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.
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.
Workers' compensation; psychological injuries.Provides that an employee who suffers a psychological injury fromsudden shock and fright that arises out of and in the course of any employment shall have a compensable claim under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act regardless of whether the incident that caused thesudden shock and fright is either a normal or expected part of theemployee's work.
Commending the Loudoun South Little Leaguebaseball team.
Marijuana; legalization of simple marijuanapossession; penalty. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessionof marijuana for persons who are 21 years of age or older. The bill also decriminalizes marijuana possession for persons under 21 yearsof age and provides a civil penalty of no more than $50 for a firstviolation, $100 for a second violation, and $250 for a third or subsequentviolation. Under current law, a first offense is punishable by amaximum fine of $500 and a maximum jail sentence of 30 days, and subsequent offenses are a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also modifies severalother criminal penalties related to marijuana. The bill establishesa regulatory scheme for the regulation of marijuana cultivation facilities,marijuana manufacturing facilities, marijuana testing facilities,and retail marijuana stores by the Board of Agriculture and ConsumerServices. The bill imposes a tax on retail marijuana and retail marijuanaproducts sold by a retail marijuana store at a rate of 9.7 percent(for a total sales tax of 15 percent) and provides that 67 percentof the revenues collected from the tax be deposited into the generalfund and 33 percent of the revenues be deposited into a "Retail MarijuanaEducation Support Fund" to be used solely for purposes of public education.
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.
Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995; Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002; affected local jurisdictions and public entities; consideration of economic impact.Requires a private entity requesting approval to develop and operatea qualifying transportation facility under the Public-Private TransportationAct of 1995 or a qualifying project under the Public-Private EducationFacilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 to include an economicimpact analysis identifying any potentially adverse economic or revenueimpacts a potential comprehensive agreement may have on all affectedlocal jurisdictions. The bill further provides that affected localjurisdictions be given reasonable opportunity to consult with theparties concerning the nature and scope of the impacts and regardingmeasures that may be taken to avoid or mitigate the impacts or make the agreement revenue-neutral. The bill directs each responsiblepublic entity to certify compliance with the review of the economicimpact analysis provisions.