Transit funding. Raises the existing regional transportation fee, a grantor's tax, from $0.15 per $100 to $0.20 per $100 for localities in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority that are also members of the Northern Virginia Transportation District. The bill requires half of the revenues to be deposited in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Fund and half to be deposited in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Capital Fund. The rate of tax in the other localities will remain at $0.15 per $100, with one-third of the revenues to be retained by the locality to be used for transportation purposes and the other two-thirds to be deposited in the Northern Virginia Transportation District Fund. The bill also raises the existing transient occupancy tax in the localities located in the Northern Virginia Transportation District from $2 to $3, with all of the revenues from the tax being used to support WMATA. This bill incorporates HB 977.
Sponsored bills
Health insurance; coverage for mammograms.Requires health insurers, on and after January 1, 2021, to providecoverage for low-dose screening mammograms at rates that are more frequent than is currently required if the covered individual hasa family history of breast cancer. If the individual has a familyhistory of breast cancer, the bill requires coverage for annual mammogramsfrom age 30 through 49 and biannual mammograms starting at age 50.However, the age at which such coverage of annual mammograms startsshall be younger than 30 if the covered individual's mother was diagnosedwith breast cancer at an age earlier than 40, in which event coveragestarts during the year that the individual attains an age that is10 years younger than the age of the individual's mother at thetime of her diagnosis.
Constitutional amendment (first resolution); apportionment;criteria for legislative and congressional districts; Virginia CitizensRedistricting Commission. Provides for the establishment of the Virginia CitizensRedistricting Commission (the Commission), a 10-member commission responsiblefor establishing legislative and congressional districts following a decennialcensus. A selection committee consisting of five retired judges of a circuitcourt in Virginia, selected by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, theminority leader in the House of Delegates, and the majority and minorityleaders in the Senate from a list compiled by the Chief Justice of the SupremeCourt of Virginia, is tasked with adopting a process by which registeredVirginia voters may apply to serve on the Commission and selecting from theapplicants a list of 22 candidates. The amendment requires five of thecandidates to be voters who affiliate with the political party receiving the highestnumber of votes for Governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorialelection, five candidates to be voters who affiliate with the political partyreceiving the next highest number of votes for Governor at the immediatelypreceding gubernatorial election, and 12 candidates to be voters who do notaffiliate with either of those political parties. The Speaker of the House ofDelegates, the minority leader in the House of Delegates, and the majority andminority leaders in the Senate then strike names from the list until a finallist of 10 Commission members is reached consisting of three members whoaffiliate with the political party receiving the highest number of votes forGovernor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial election, three members whoaffiliate with the political party receiving the next highest number of votesfor Governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial election, and fourmembers who do not affiliate with either of those political parties. Finalapproval or adoption of a redistricting plan requires an affirmative vote ofseven of the 10 Commission members, including at least one vote from each ofthe political parties represented. The amendment also contains criteria towhich the Commission is required to adhere when drawing the legislative andcongressional districts, including a criterion of fairness, and imposes certainrequirements on the Commission's activities to ensure accessibility by thepublic.
Expungement of police and court records.Provides that a court that enters a nolle prosequi for a criminalcharge or dismisses such charge for any reason may, upon motion ofthe person charged, enter an order requiring the expungement of thepolice and court records relating to the charge.
Petition for reclassification or expungementof certain convictions and police and court records. Allows aperson who has been convicted of (i) a felony or misdemeanor offensethat has been decriminalized or otherwise made lawful or (ii) a felonyoffense that has been statutorily reduced to a misdemeanor offensesince the conviction of such person to file a petition requesting(a) expungement of the police records and the court records relatingto any misdemeanor or felony charge that has been decriminalized or otherwise made lawful or (b) reclassification of the police recordsand the court records relating to a felony offense that has beenstatutorily reduced to a misdemeanor offense. The bill requires thecourt to enter an order reclassifying the offense, in the case ofa felony offense that has been statutorily reduced to a misdemeanoroffense, or requiring the expungement of the police and court recordsof an offense that has been decriminalized or otherwise made lawful,if the court finds that the offense for which the person was convictedhas since been decriminalized or otherwise made lawful, or has been statutorily reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor offense.
Health insurance; coverage for prosthetic devices. Requires health insurers, corporations providing health care coverage subscription contracts, health maintenance organizations, and the Commonwealth's Medicaid program to provide coverage for prostheticdevices, including myoelectric, biomechanical, or microprocessor-controlledprosthetic devices that have a Medicare code. The measure repealsthe existing requirement that coverage for prosthetic devices beoffered and made available. The measure has a delayed effective dateof January 1, 2021.
Expungement of police and court records; misdemeanorand nonviolent felony convictions. Allows a person convictedof certain misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies to file a petitionrequesting expungement of the police and court records relating tothe conviction if such person (i) has been free from any term of incarceration,probation, or postrelease supervision imposed as a result of suchconviction for (a) at least three years for a misdemeanor convictionand (b) at least five years for a felony conviction; (ii) has no outstanding costs, fines, or restitution; and (iii) has no pending criminal proceeding.
Possession of marijuana. Allows for possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.
Provision of telecommunications services bylocal governments. Authorizes any locality to provide any telecommunications service, including cable television services, Internet, broadband,telephone service, and wireless Internet service, within its boundaries,after holding a public hearing, adopting a resolution, and obtainingapproval from the State Corporation Commission. The measure eliminatesexisting provisions that (i) prohibit cross-subsidization of such services, (ii) require feasibility studies, (iii) prevent a localityfrom charging less than an incumbent provider, and (iv) limit thetypes of localities, by population and whether they provide electricutility service, that may qualify to offer such services.
Expungement of certain misdemeanor drug offenses. Allows a person convicted of a misdemeanor offense of possessionof a controlled substance or marijuana, or charged with such an offensewhich charge was deferred and dismissed, who has successfully completedall terms of probation to file a petition for expungement one yearafter the completion of such terms if he has not been convicted ofany offense involving violence. Any conviction that is expunged willbe considered a prior conviction for purposes of prosecution of anysubsequent offense for which the prior conviction statutorily enhancespunishment. The bill also provides that any outstanding fines orcosts from the misdemeanor conviction may be waived or reduced foran indigent petitioner or for good cause shown.