Del. Lee J. Carter

Minimum wage and workers' compensation; inmatesas employees. Requires the entity that operates the correctionalfacility at which an inmate performs labor to be paid therefor ata rate not less than the Commonwealth's minimum wage. The measurealso provides that, for purposes of the Virginia Workers' CompensationAct, an inmate is an employee of the entity operating the correctionalfacility where the inmate participates in any work program duringhis incarceration.

Marijuana; legalization of simple marijuana possession;penalties. Eliminates criminal penalties for possession of marijuana forpersons who are 21 years of age or older. The bill also decriminalizesmarijuana possession for persons under 21 years of age and provides a civilpenalty of no more than $100 for possession of (i) two and one-half ounces orless of marijuana or (ii) 12 or fewer marijuana plants and a civil penalty ofno more than $500 for possession of more than (a) two and one-half ounces ofmarijuana or (b) 12 marijuana plants. Under current law, a first offense ispunishable by a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum jail sentence of 30 days,and subsequent offenses are a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also modifiesseveral other criminal penalties related to marijuana. The bill establishes aregulatory scheme for the regulation of marijuana cultivation facilities,marijuana manufacturing facilities, marijuana secure transporters, marijuanatesting facilities, retail marijuana stores, and marijuana microbusinesses bythe Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The bill imposes an additionaltax of 10 percent on retail marijuana and retail marijuana products sold byretail marijuana stores and microbusinesses and directs the first $20 millionof such revenues, after expenses of the Board are paid, to the VeteransTreatment Fund, established in the bill. The remaining tax receipts will bedistributed to the localities in which the businesses operate, toward thestate's share of Standards of Quality basic aid payments, and to theCommonwealth Mass Transit Fund. The bill also expands the legal medical uses ofmarijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol from only cancer and glaucoma to any use toalleviate the symptoms of any diagnosed condition or disease determined by theprescribing doctor to benefit from the use of such substance.

Manufactured home parks; sale of park; notice; rights of association. Entitles a manufactured home park association, as defined in the bill, to make a bona fide offer to purchase the park in a situation where a landlord has given the required written notice of termination of rental agreements due to plans for rehabilitation or a change in the use of all or any part of a manufactured home park by the landlord. The bill provides certain requirements for negotiations between the landlord and the association. This bill was incorporated into HB 1249.

Election day voter registration; pilot program.Requires the State Board of Elections to develop a pilot programfor election day voter registration, by which a person who (i) offersto vote on election day but is not a registered voter, (ii) providesone of the allowable forms of identification specified by law, and(iii) provides proof of his residency, in a form specified by theState Board for this purpose, in the precinct in which he offersto vote, shall be permitted to register to vote and to cast a ballot.The bill provides a process by which the validity of such votes isdetermined. The bill requires participating localities to provideinformation on the implementation of the pilot program in its localityto the State Board by December 1 of each year in which it participates.The bill requires the State Board to submit a report on the pilotprogram to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the House andSenate Committees on Privileges and Elections, including a recommendation as to whether there should be statewide election day voter registration.The bill has an expiration date of December 31, 2022.

Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known as the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United States gives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A state may withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring within six months of the end of a President's term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term. This bill was incorporated into HB 177.

Petition for reclassification or expungementof certain convictions and police and court records. Allows a person 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 decriminalizedor otherwise made lawful or (b) reclassification of the police recordsand the court records relating to a felony offense that has been statutorily 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 beenstatutorily reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor offense.

Virginia Information Technologies Agency; Cybersecurity Advisory Council created; report. Creates the Cybersecurity Advisory Council to (i) assist the Chief Information Officer (CIO)of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency with the developmentof policies, standards, and guidelines for assessing security risks,determining appropriate security measures, and performing securityaudits of government electronic information; (ii) make recommendationsto the CIO regarding strategies to strengthen the Commonwealth'scybersecurity; and (iii) analyze and investigate breaches of theinformation technology security of any independent agency or anyagency or other entity within the executive branch, legislative branch,or judicial branch of state government. The bill requires the Councilto submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly.

Suspension of driver's license for nonpayment of fines or costs. Repeals the requirement that the driver's license of a person convicted of any violation of the law who fails or refuses to provide for immediate payment of fines or costs be suspended. The bill also removes a provision allowing the court to require a defendant to present a summary prepared by the Department of Motor Vehicles of the other courts in which the defendant also owes fines and costs. The bill requires the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles to return or reinstate any person's driver's license that was suspended prior to July 1, 2020, solely for nonpayment of fines or costs. Such person does not have to pay a reinstatement fee. This bill was incorporated into HB 1196.

Right to reproductive choice. Provides thatevery individual has a fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptionand that a pregnant person has a fundamental right to choose to carrya pregnancy to term, give birth to a child, or terminate a pregnancy.The bill states that the Commonwealth shall not, in the regulationor provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information, denyor interfere with an individual's fundamental rights, including individualsunder state control or supervision. The bill states that any stateor local official who is charged with violating provisions of thissection shall be subject to an action in federal or state court forinjunctive relief and damages. Such action may be brought by any person or entity that may be aggrieved by such official's actions.

Strikes by government employees. Limits to law-enforcement officers the scope of the existing provision that deems any public employee who strikes to have terminated his employment and bars him from further public employment.