Study; Department of Rail and Public Transportation; commuter rail system in the Commonwealth; report. Requests theDepartment of Rail and Public Transportation to study and developbest practices for constructing, operating, and maintaining commuterrail systems in the Commonwealth.
Income tax subtraction; veteran retirement compensation. Provides an income tax subtraction for the annual retirement compensation received by veterans for their service.
Campaign finance; prohibited contributions tocandidates. Prohibits any candidate from soliciting or acceptinga contribution from any public service corporation, as defined in§ 56-1, or any political action committee established and administeredby such a corporation.
Commending Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS SupportServices.
War memorials for veterans. Removes a prohibition on (i) disturbing or interfering with any war monument or memorial erected by a locality or (ii) preventing citizens from maintaining such monument or memorial. The bill authorizes a locality to remove, relocate, or alter any such monument or memorial on the locality's public property upon the affirmative vote of its governing body, regardless of when the monument or memorial was erected, and removes certain criminal and civil penalties for such removal, relocation, or alteration. The bill also restricts bringing a cause of action pursuant to such penalties to the attorney for the locality in which the memorial or monument is located. Current law authorizes any person having an interest in the matter to bring such action if no action is brought within 60 days of the violation. The bill repeals an 1890 act of assembly related to the placement of a statue in the City of Alexandria. This bill was incorporated into HB 1537.
Black Women's Heritage Month. Designatesthe month of June as Black Women's Heritage Month in Virginia tofocus on and celebrate the myriad achievements and contributionsof African American women throughout the history of the Commonwealthand the United States.
General Assembly meetings; streaming and recording. Requires the Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of theSenate to ensure that every (i) subcommittee or committee meetingof a standing committee of the General Assembly, regardless of meetingdate, and (ii) floor session of the House of Delegates or the Senate,including any joint session of the houses, is streamed with closedcaptioning, recorded and archived. The bill defines "stream" and specifiesthat a qualifying meeting is one the date and time of which havebeen scheduled on a public website of any agency of the General Assemblyfor at least one hour prior to the meeting and that takes place inthe State Capitol, the Pocahontas Building, or the General AssemblyBuilding in Richmond. The bill has a delayed effective date of October1, 2020.
Juneteenth. Recognizes the nineteenth dayof June of each year as Juneteenth in commemoration of the announcementof the abolition of slavery in Texas, the last of the former ConfederateStates of America to abolish slavery, and in recognition of the significantroles and many contributions of African Americans to the Commonwealthand the nation.
Possession of marijuana. Allows for possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.
Virginia Minority Business Commission; report. Establishes a 13-member legislative Commission to promote the growthand competitiveness of Virginia minority-owned businesses. The bill provides that the Commission sunsets on July 1, 2023.
