Del. Lee J. Carter

Eliminates criminal penalties for possession of marijuana for persons who are 21 years of age or older. The bill also decriminalizes marijuana possession for persons under 21 years of age and provides a civil penalty of no more than $100 for possession of less than (i) two and one-half ounces of marijuana or (ii) 12 marijuana plants and a civil penalty of no more than $500 for possession of more than (a) two and one-half ounces of marijuana or (b) 12 marijuana plants. Under current law, a first offense is punishable 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 modifies several other criminal penalties related to marijuana. The bill establishes a regulatory scheme for the regulation of marijuana cultivation facilities, marijuana manufacturing facilities, marijuana secure transporters, marijuana testing facilities, retail marijuana stores, and marijuana microbusinesses by the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The bill imposes an additional tax of 10 percent on retail marijuana and retail marijuana products sold by retail marijuana stores and microbusinesses and directs the first $20 million of such revenues to the Veterans Treatment Fund, established in the bill. The remaining tax receipts will be distributed to the localities in which the businesses operate, toward the state's share of Standards of Quality basic aid payments, and to the Highway Maintenance and Operating Fund.

Ends the exclusion from coverage under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act for a person who suffers an injury if there is jurisdiction under either the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act or the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. The bill provides that this exclusion, enacted in 2012, will not apply to a person who suffers an injury on or after July 1, 2019.

Authorizes the issuance of new driver privilege cards by the Department of Motor Vehicles to an applicant who (i) has reported income from Virginia sources on an individual tax return filed with the Commonwealth in the preceding 12 months and (ii) is not in violation of the insurance requirements for the registration of an uninsured motor vehicle. The bill provides that driver privilege cards shall confer the same privileges and shall be subject to the same provisions as driver's licenses and permits; however, driver privilege cards shall not (a) confer voting privileges, (b) permit an individual to waive any part of the driver examination, or (c) have their issuance be contingent upon the applicant's ability to produce proof of legal presence in the United States. The bill provides for the term "driver's license" to consistently refer to all driver's licenses, permits, driver privilege cards, and special identification cards issued by the Commonwealth or the comparable law of another jurisdiction. The bill allows the issuance of a limited-duration driver's license and special identification card to an applicant presenting valid documentary evidence that a federal court or federal agency having jurisdiction over immigration has authorized the applicant to be in the United States for a period of at least 30 days from the date of application. The bill authorizes the Tax Commissioner to provide to the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles information sufficient to verify that an applicant for a driver privilege card or permit reported income from Virginia sources on an individual tax return filed with the Commonwealth in the preceding 12 months. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2020.

States that the General Assembly supports the movement Green New Deal Virginia, focused on retooling the Commonwealth's economy with solutions that center on equity and justice.