Del. Mark H. Levine

Study; Department of Rail and Public Transportation; transit equity and modernization; report. Requests the Department of Rail and Public Transportation to conduct a two-year study of transit equity and modernization in the Commonwealth,with emphasis on transit services and engagement opportunities for underserved and underrepresented communities.

Campaign finance; prohibited personal use; child care exception. Prohibits any person from converting any moneys, securities, or like intangible personal property contributed to a candidate or a candidate's campaign committee to his personal use, the personal use of the candidate, or the personal use of a member of the candidate's immediate family. Current law prohibits such conversion of contributions to personal use specifically with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking, holding, or maintaining public office but excepts from "personal use" the ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate's child care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity. The bill directs the Attorney General to issue an advisory opinion explaining the provisions of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act of 2006 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) that prohibit the personal use of campaign funds. The bill directs the State Board of Elections to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and to provide an updated summary of Virginia campaign finance law that reflects the Attorney General's opinion and any new regulations promulgated by the Board.

Virginia Fair Housing Law; reasonable accommodations; disability-related requests for parking. Provides that for thepurposes of the Virginia Fair Housing Law, when a person receivesa request for accessible parking to accommodate a disability, theperson receiving the request shall treat such request as a reasonable accommodation, and any costs, fees, or charges related to the installation, designation, marking, or reconfiguration of a parking space relatedto such reasonable accommodation request shall be borne by the personreceiving the request. The bill provides that it is declarative ofexisting law.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; electronic meetings. Authorizes a public body to conduct through electronic communication means a meeting for which, on or before the day of the meeting, a member of the public body holding the meeting notifies the chair that such member is unable to attend the meeting due to a family member's medical condition that requires the member to provide care for such family member, thereby preventing the member's physical attendance. The bill also clarifies that participation in an electronic meeting by a member of a public body due to the inability to attend because of a personal matter is limited each calendar year to two such meetings, which is current law, or 25 percent of the meetings held that calendar year rounded up to the next whole number, whichever is greater. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council.

Virginia Jobs Investment Program and Fund; minimumwage requirements. Adjusts the minimum entry-level wage rate per hour a company is required to pay in order to be eligible forassistance under the Virginia Jobs Investment Program from at least1.35 times the federal minimum wage to 1.2 times the federal minimumwage or the Virginia minimum wage, whichever is higher.

Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; disclosures for a buyer to beware; mold. Adds to the provision of the required disclosure statement directing a buyer to beware and exercise necessary due diligence with respect to determining the condition of real property or any improvements thereon a provision advising the buyer to obtain a mold assessment conducted by a business that follows the guidelines provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Nurse practitioners; practice without a practice agreement. Reduces from five to two the number of years of full-time clinical experience a nurse practitioner must have to be eligible to practice without a written or electronic practice agreement. The provisions of the bill expire on July 1, 2022.

Economic education and financial literacy requiredin middle and high school grades; employment arrangements. Addsto objectives developed and approved by the Board of Education foreconomics education and financial literacy at the middle and highschool levels the implications of various employment arrangementswith regard to benefits, protections, and long-term financial sustainability. Employment arrangements is defined in the bill as full-time employment, part-time employment, independent contract work, gig work, piecework, contingent work, day labor work, freelance work, and 1099work.

Emergency Services and Disaster Law; local andinterjurisdictional emergency operations plans. Requires localand interjurisdictional agencies to include provisions in their emergency operations plans to ensure that such plans are applied equitablyand that the needs of minority and vulnerable communities are metduring emergencies.

Student driver education program; parent participation exemption. Exempts students who are (i) at least 18 years old,(ii) emancipated minors, or (iii) unaccompanied minors who are notin the physical custody of their parent or guardian from the requirementthat the student's parent participate in the parent/student componentof a school's driver education program. This parent/student componentis required in Planning District 8, where the component must be in-persontraining. In the other school divisions that choose to offer thisoptional parent/student component, the parent/student component maybe administered either in person or online.