Del. Mark L. Keam

Conservation of trees; Town of Vienna. Allowsthe Town of Vienna, by ordinance, to require that a subdivision ordevelopment provide for the preservation or replacement of treeson the development site such that the minimum tree canopy 10 yearsafter development is projected to meet specified coverage criteria.Currently, the criteria apply to coverage 20 years after development.

Commending the James Madison High School marchingband.

Celebrating the life of William Griffith Thomas.

Commending Matteo Lambert.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable GeraldL. Baliles.

Family assessments; timeline. Increases from 45 days to 60 days the allowable time for completing a family assessment by a local department of social services and removes the local department's opportunity to request a 15-day extension. This bill is identical to SB 412.

Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices. Prohibits any locality, its employees, or its appointed commissions from discriminating (i) in the application of local land use ordinances or guidelines, or in the permitting of housing developments, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, elderliness, familial status, or handicap or (ii) in the permitting of housing developments because the housing development contains or is expected to contain affordable housing units occupied or intended for occupancy by families or individuals with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income of the area where the housing development is located or is proposed to be located, unless at the time of the municipal decision, a proposed development will be located in a census tract wherein more than 50 percent of the units serve families or individuals at or below 80 percent of the median income of the area. The bill also requires the Fair Housing Board, after determining the existence of an unlawful discriminatory housing practice and after consultation with the Attorney General, to immediately refer the matter to the Attorney General for civil action.

Income tax; rolling conformity with the Internal Revenue Code; nonconformance with certain amendments. Provides that Virginia shall generally conform to federal tax laws on a rolling basis, meaning that Virginia tax laws incorporate changes to the Internal Revenue Code as soon as Congress enacts them. The bill provides that Virginia will not conform to the reduction in the medical expense deduction floor in the federal Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. However, the bill also provides that unless subsequently adopted by the General Assembly, Virginia shall not conform to any amendments to the Internal Revenue Code that have an impact of $10 million or more on Virginia tax revenues in the fiscal year in which the amendment was enacted or any of the next four years. The Secretary of Finance, in consultation with the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committees on Appropriations and Finance, shall be responsible for determining when an amendment meets these criteria. The Secretary of Finance shall also provide an annual report to such Chairmen on the fiscal impact of amendments to the Internal Revenue Code. The bill applies to taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2019.

Pipeline construction; certification requirement; minimum diameter; stop work orders. Reduces from 36 inches to 24 inches the minimum inside diameter of a natural gas transmission pipeline for which an individual Virginia Water Protection Permit, rather than a general permit, is required to conduct activities in wetlands or state waters or an additional upland activity certification is required to obtain a Clean Water Act Certification. The bill reduces from 15 percent to 10 percent the minimum grade of a slope on which any construction activities will trigger the requirement for such additional upland activity certification. The measure requires the Department of Environmental Quality, within five business days of the issuance of a stop work instruction, to notify the pipeline company of specific corrective measures that shall be completed and approved by the Department before any land-disturbing activity may be resumed. The bill authorizes the State Water Control Board, in addition to the Department, to issue such stop work instructions and adds requirements and restrictions on any further construction once such an instruction is issued.

Pipeline construction projects; violations; cumulative effect; civil penalties. Directs the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations to penalize the accrual of violations of the State Water Control Law by any large natural gas transmission pipeline construction project. The bill requires the regulations to provide that, for every 10 such violations in one calendar month, the Board shall issue an accrued cumulative impact violation order that includes a civil penalty of $32,500. If a project accrues a total of 20 such violations in one calendar month, the Board shall additionally, after notice and hearing, initiate proceedings to halt work on the entirety of the project, with work to remain halted until corrective action is taken and is approved by the Board.