Virginia Energy Plan; covenants regarding solar power; reasonable restrictions. Provides that a restriction on solar energy collection devices is not reasonable if application of the restriction to a particular proposal (i) increases the cost of installation of the solar energy collection device by five percent over the projected cost of the initially proposed installation or (ii) reduces the energy production by the solar energy collection device by 10 percent below the projected energy production of the initially proposed installation. The owner shall provide documentation prepared by an independent solar panel design specialist that is satisfactory to the community association to show that the restriction is not reasonable according to the criteria established in the bill. This bill is identical to SB 504.
Sponsored bills
Minority language accessibility; voting and election materials. Requires the State Board of Elections to prescribe, and a covered locality to provide, voting and election materials in languages other than English. A county, city, or town is designated by the State Board as a covered locality if the State Board determines, in consultation with the Director of the Census, based on the 2010 American Community Survey census data and subsequent American Community Survey data in five-year increments, or comparable census data, that (i) either (a) more than five percent of the citizens of voting age of such county, city, or town are members of a single language minority and are unable to speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process; (b) more than 10,000 of the citizens of voting age of such county, city, or town are members of a single language minority and are unable to speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process; or (c) in the case of a county, city, or town containing all or any part of an Indian reservation, more than five percent of the American Indian citizens of voting age within the Indian reservation are members of a single language minority and are unable to speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process and (ii) the illiteracy rate of the citizens of the language minority as a group is higher than the national illiteracy rate. The bill also allows the State Board to make available voting and election materials in any additional languages other than those required as it deems necessary and appropriate. The State Board may accept voting and election materials translated by volunteers but shall verify the accuracy of such translations prior to making the translated materials available to a county, city, or town, or any voter. The bill has a delayed effective date of September 1, 2021.
Worker cooperatives. Establishes worker cooperatives as a category of cooperative associations. A worker cooperative is a stock corporation that has elected to be governed by provisions established by this measure, which include (i) conducting its business primarily for the mutual benefit of its members, (ii) allowing only current and retired employees to be members, (iii) limiting voting rights to current employees, (iv) providing that each employee is entitled to one vote, (v) prohibiting any person from owning more than one membership share, (vi) requiring at least two-thirds of employees to own membership shares, and (vii) requiring that net earnings be paid or credited to members in accordance with the ratio that each member's amount of work performed during a period bears to the total amount of work performed by all members during that period.
Hate crimes; gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation; penalty. Adds gender, disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also adds gender, disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation to the categories of hate crimes that are to be reported to the central repository of information regarding hate crimes maintained by the Virginia State Police. The bill provides that a person who is subjected to acts of intimidation or harassment, violence directed against his person, or vandalism to his real or personal property, where such acts are motivated by gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation, may bring a civil action to recover his damages. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. The bill also eliminates the mandatory minimum terms of confinement for such hate crimes. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. This bill incorporates HB 488.
Reporting lost or stolen firearms; civil penalty. Requires that, if a firearm is lost or stolen from a person who lawfully possessed it, such person shall report the loss or theft of the firearm to any local law-enforcement agency or the Department of State Police within 48 hours after such person discovers the loss or theft or is informed by a person with personal knowledge of the loss or theft. The bill requires the relevant law-enforcement agency to enter the report information into the National Crime Information Center. A violation is punishable by a civil penalty of not more than $250. The bill provides that a person who, in good faith, reports the loss or theft is immune from criminal or civil liability for acts or omissions that result from the loss or theft. The immunity does not apply to a person who knowingly gives a false report. The bill does not apply to the loss or theft of an antique firearm.
Allowing access to firearms by minors; penalty. Provides that any person who recklessly leaves a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any person under the age of 14 is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Current law provides that any person who recklessly leaves a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of 14 is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. This bill incorporates HB 72 and HB 463.
County manager plan; election of board members by instant runoff voting. Provides that, in a county operating under the county manager plan of government (Arlington County), elections to nominate candidates for and to elect candidates to the board of supervisors may be conducted by instant runoff voting, which the bill describes as the method of casting and tabulating votes in which (i) voters rank candidates in order of preference, (ii) tabulation proceeds in rounds such that in each round either a candidate or candidates are elected or the last-place candidate is defeated, (iii) votes for voters' next-ranked candidates are transferred from elected or defeated candidates, and (iv) tabulation ends when the number of candidates elected equals the number of offices to be filled. The bill provides that the State Board of Elections may promulgate regulations governing elections determined by instant runoff voting. The bill provides that any costs incurred by the Department of Elections related to technological changes necessary for the implementation of ranked choice voting pursuant to the bill shall be charged to the localities exercising the option to proceed with ranked choice voting.
Public institutions of higher education; in-state tuition; refugees and individuals with certain Special Immigrant Visas. Provides that an individual is eligible for in-state tuition charges regardless of domicile if he is admitted to the United States as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157 within the previous two calendar years or received a Special Immigrant Visa that has been granted a status under P.L. 110-181 § 1244, P.L. 109-163 § 1059, or P.L. 111-8 § 602 within the previous two calendar years, and upon entering the United States, the individual resided in the Commonwealth and continues to reside in the Commonwealth as a refugee or pursuant to such Special Immigrant Visa.
Parental educational information; tobacco andnicotine vapor products. Requires each school board to annuallyprovide parents of pupils in grades kindergarten through 12 informationregarding the health dangers of tobacco and nicotine vapor products. The bill requires that the information provided be consistent withguidelines set forth by the Department of Education.
Misclassification of employees as independent contractors; Department of Taxation to investigate and enforce; civil penalties. Prohibits an employer from classifying an individual as an independent contractor if he is an employee. An individual shall be considered an employee of the party that pays the remuneration for purposes of Titles 40.1 (Labor and Employment), 58.1 (Taxation), 60.2 (Unemployment Compensation), and 65.2 (Workers' Compensation) unless it is demonstrated that such individual is an independent contractor. The Department of Taxation shall determine whether an individual is an independent contractor by applying Internal Revenue Service guidelines. Violators are subject to civil penalties and debarment from public contracts. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021.