Application of parole statutes. Repealsthe abolition of parole. The bill also provides that the Virginia Parole Board shall establish procedures for consideration of parolefor persons who were previously ineligible for parole, because parolewas abolished, to allow for an extension of time for reasonable cause.
Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices. Provides that it is an unlawful discriminatory housing practice for any political jurisdiction or its employees or appointed commissions to discriminate 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, sex, elderliness, familial status, or handicap. The bill also provides that it is an unlawful discriminatory housing practice for any political jurisdiction or its employees or appointed commissions to discriminate in the application of local land use ordinances or guidelines, or in the permitting of housing developments, because a 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 the location of a development or proposed development is, at the time of municipal decision, within a census tract wherein more than 50 percent of the residential units house families or individuals at or below 80 percent of the area median income. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Corporal punishment of a child with an object;penalty. Provides that any parent, guardian, or other personresponsible for the care of a child under 18 years of age who usesan inanimate object to subject a child to corporal punishment, asdefined in the bill, is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. The billalso provides that a defendant not previously convicted of corporalpunishment of a child with an object may have his charge deferredto enter a treatment program. The charge may be dismissed upon successfulcompletion of the treatment program.
Elections; voter-nominated open primary elections;ranked choice voting for certain elections. Establishes a voter-nominatedprimary election for the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor,and Attorney General and for the General Assembly and the UnitedStates Senate and House of Representatives. A voter-nominated primaryelection is an election held for the purpose of selecting candidatesto be on the ballot at a general election. All candidates, regardlessof political party affiliation, are on a single ballot. The fourcandidates receiving the highest numbers of votes are the candidatesfor that office at the general election. The bill provides that ageneral or special election for such offices is conducted by rankedchoice voting. Ranked choice voting is the method of casting andtabulating votes in which (i) voters rank candidates in order of preference, (ii) tabulation proceeds in sequential rounds in whichlast-place candidates are defeated, and (iii) the candidate withthe most votes in the final round is elected.
Common-law crime of suicide. Abolishes thecommon-law crime of suicide. Suicide is currently a common-law crimein Virginia, although there is no statutorily prescribed punishment.
Carrying weapon into building owned or leasedby the Commonwealth; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanorfor a person to transport any (i) gun or other weapon designed orintended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind; (ii) frame,receiver, muffler, silencer, missile, projectile, or ammunitiondesigned for use with a dangerous weapon; or (iii) other dangerousweapon into a building owned or leased by the Commonwealth or anyagency thereof, where employees of the Commonwealth or agency thereofare regularly present for the purpose of performing their officialduties. The bill provides exceptions for law-enforcement officers, conservators of the peace, magistrates, court officers, judges, cityor county treasurers, commissioners or deputy commissioners of theVirginia Workers' Compensation Commission, authorized security personnel,and active military personnel while in the conduct of such individuals'official duties. The bill requires that notice of the provisionsprohibiting the carrying of such weapons be posted at each publicentrance to all buildings owned or leased by the Commonwealth orany agency thereof.
Health care services; payment estimates.Requires hospitals and practitioners licensed by the Board of Medicineto provide a patient or the representative of a patient scheduledto receive a nonemergency procedure, test, or service to be performedby the hospital or practitioner with an estimate of the payment amountfor which the patient will be responsible no later than one weekafter the scheduling of such procedure, test, or service. Currently,only hospitals are required to provide such estimate, and such estimateis required only (i) for elective procedures, tests, or services;(ii) within three days of the procedure, test, or service; and (iii)upon request of the patient or his representative.
Aboveground storage tanks; Hazardous Substance Aboveground Storage Tank Fund; civil and criminal penalties. Directs the State Water Control Board to regulate aboveground storage tanks that measure more than 1,320 gallons in capacity and are used to contain hazardous substances other than oil. The bill directs the Board to adopt regulations that establish requirements for registration, certification, and inspection, and other requirements of tank owners, and that establish a schedule of fees. The bill authorizes the Board to undertake corrective action, or to require the owner to undertake corrective action, in the event of a discharge of a hazardous substance. The bill requires tank owners to register their tanks, pay certain registration fees, develop release response plans, upgrade certain older tanks, install containment infrastructure for certain aboveground storage tanks, notify certain parties in the event of a release of a regulated substance, and demonstrate their financial responsibility. The bill also creates the Hazardous Substance Aboveground Storage Tank Fund for the administration of the bill and provides for civil and criminal penalties for violations of requirements of the bill, with the moneys received to be deposited into the existing Virginia Environmental Emergency Response Fund.
State Corporation Commission; members. Increasesfrom three to five the number of members of the State CorporationCommission. The measure requires that the new members be initiallyelected for a six-year term during the earlier of the 2021 Regular Session of the General Assembly or any special session convened priorthereto.
Guardianship; supported decision making. Creates the Supported Decision-Making Act, which allows an adult with an intellectual or developmental disability to enter into an agreement with another person, called a "supporter," for the purposes of having the supporter assist the adult in making decisions to manage his affairs, giving adults who need assistance a less restrictive means of receiving such assistance than being appointed a guardian or conservator by a court. The bill further requires a guardian ad litem in a proceeding for the appointment of a guardian or conservator to consider whether a less restrictive alternative, including the use of an advance directive or durable power of attorney, is available to provide assistance to the respondent, and it requires the guardian ad litem to include in his report to the court information as to whether a supported decision-making agreement is a viable option in lieu of guardianship or conservatorship. The bill also provides that if the respondent to a guardianship or conservatorship petition is between 17 and a half and 21 years of age and has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), the guardian ad litem appointed to represent the respondent shall review the IEP and include the results of his review in the report required to be submitted to the court, and it requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to prepare transitional materials, including information about supported decision-making agreements and guardianship to be provided to students and parents during the student's annual IEP meeting. The bill requires the court, upon appointment of a guardian or conservator, to inform such person of his duties and that the respondent should be encouraged to participate in decisions, act on his own behalf, and develop or maintain the capacity to manage his personal affairs if he retains any decision-making rights. Finally, the bill sets out specific language to be included in all orders of appointment of a guardian. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.
