Del. Sally Hudson

Celebrating the life of the Reverend James WilliamWright, Sr.

Celebrating the life of Joseph William Teague,Sr.

Alcoholic beverage control; local outdoor refreshment areas. Defines "outdoor refreshment area" and permits the governing body of any locality in the Commonwealth to designate, by ordinance, up to three outdoor refreshment areas within such locality. The bill provides that such ordinance would permit the consumption of alcoholic beverages within the outdoor refreshment area, provided that such alcoholic beverages are purchased from a permanent retail on-premises licensee located within such designated area and are contained in disposable containers with a maximum capacity of no more than 16 fluid ounces that clearly display the selling licensee's name or logo. The bill requires the locality, prior to adopting such an ordinance, to create a public safety plan for each outdoor refreshment area. This bill was incorporated into HB 2266.

Possession of controlled substances; penalties. Reduces the penalty for possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance from a Class 5 felony to a Class 1 misdemeanor and the penalty for possession of a Schedule IV or V controlled substance from a Class 2 misdemeanor and a Class 3 misdemeanor, respectively, to a Class 4 misdemeanor. Consequently, the bill removes felony violations of possession of a controlled substance from the definition of barrier crime related to criminal history checks for eligibility for various types of employment, to volunteer or provide certain services, or to establish or operate certain types of regulated businesses. The bill also limits the previous convictions that make a person ineligible for disposition under the first offender statute to a previous conviction for possession of a controlled substance or manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance. Under current law, a previous conviction for any drug-related criminal offense, or under any statute of the United States or of any state relating to narcotic drugs, marijuana, or stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic drugs makes a person ineligible for such disposition. The bill also amends the required conditions of probation under the first offender statute. The bill changes the penalty for an attempt to commit a felony drug offense from imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 10 years to a Class 6 felony and removes the felony offenses for a prisoner to secrete or have in his possession any chemical compound that he has not lawfully received, any Schedule III controlled substance, or marijuana. The bill makes secreting or possessing a controlled substance or marijuana by a prisoner punishable the same as possession of such controlled substances or marijuana by a person who is not in prison. Lastly, the bill provides that the definition of "controlled substance" for purposes of the Drug Control Act shall not include mere residue of any drug, substance, or immediate precursor in Schedules I through VI that is not a weighable quantity or a countable dosage unit. The bill contains technical amendments.

Right to work. Repeals the provisions ofthe Code of Virginia that, among other things, prohibit any agreementor combination between an employer and a labor union or labor organizationwhereby (i) nonmembers of the union or organization are denied theright to work for the employer, (ii) membership in the union or organizationis made a condition of employment or continuation of employment bysuch employer, or (iii) the union or organization acquires an employmentmonopoly in any such enterprise.

Alcoholic beverage control; local outdoor refreshment areas. Defines "outdoor refreshment area" and permits the governingbody of any locality in the Commonwealth to designate, by ordinance, up to three outdoor refreshment areas within such locality. The billprovides that such ordinance would permit the consumption of alcoholicbeverages within the outdoor refreshment area, provided that suchalcoholic beverages are purchased from a permanent retail on-premiseslicensee located within such designated area and are contained indisposable containers with a maximum capacity of no more than 16fluid ounces that clearly display the selling licensee's name orlogo. The bill requires the locality, prior to adopting such an ordinance,to create a public safety plan for each outdoor refreshment area.

Campaign finance; prohibited contributions from corporations; civil penalty. Prohibits contributions from anynon-tax-exempt corporation to any candidate, campaign committee,political committee, or political party committee. The bill imposesa civil penalty of up to twice the amount of the contribution fora violation of the prohibition, to be levied and collected by theState Board of Elections.

Study; Virginia State Crime Commission; alternative approaches to the Commonwealth's enforcement scheme for the possessionof controlled substances, including decriminalization; report.Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission to study the proprietyand effectiveness of alternative approaches to the Commonwealth'senforcement scheme for the possession of controlled substances, includingdecriminalization of the possession of such substances.

Teacher compensation; at or above national average.Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate thatis at or above the national average. Under current law, compensationat such rate is aspirational. The bill requires state funding tobe provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficientto fund a 4.5 percent annual increase for public school teacher salaries,effective from the 2022-23 school year through the 2026-27 schoolyear. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.

Presidential electors; National Popular VoteCompact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known asthe Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by NationalPopular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United Statesgives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the mannerof awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agreesto award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receivesthe most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessinga majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A statemay withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring withinsix months of the end of a President's term shall not become effectiveuntil a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term.