Del. Bobby Orrock

State Board for Community Colleges; degree completion agreements; plan and framework. Requires the State Board forCommunity Colleges to develop and distribute to each comprehensivecommunity college, no later than December 31, 2020, a plan and frameworkfor agreements between two or more comprehensive community collegesthat would facilitate associate degree completion by enhancing accessto coursework at each such institution through online education andother innovative distance education methods.

Individual and corporate income tax credit;employers of National Guard members and self-employed National Guardmembers. Provides for taxable years 2020 through 2024 a nonrefundabletax credit against individual and corporate income taxes for (i) wages paid by an employer to an employee who is an active or reserveVirginia National Guard member or (ii) income of a self-employedactive or reserve Virginia National Guard member attributable to his business. The amount of the credit shall be 25 percent if such memberwas in a military pay status for 65 days or more during such taxableyear or 15 percent if such member was in a military pay status forat least 45 days but less than 65 days during such taxable year.The credit shall not be allowed if such member was in a military pay status for less than 45 days during such taxable year. The billallows a taxpayer to carry unused credits over for up to five taxableyears.

Milk; definition; misbranding; prohibition.Defines milk as the lacteal secretion of a healthy hooved mammaland provides that a food product is unlawfully misbranded if its label states that it is milk and it fails to meet such definition, exceptfor human breast milk. The bill directs the Board of Agricultureand Consumer Services to implement a plan to ban all products misbrandedas milk.

Zoning; affordable housing. Provides thata locality, within the residential district classifications of itszoning ordinance, may include districts specifically designated foraffordable housing.

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia;course credit for dual enrollment; strategies for enhancing opportunities.Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in consultation with each public institution of higher education andin collaboration with the Department of Education, to include inits policy for granting undergraduate course credit to any enteringstudent who has successfully completed a dual enrollment course strategiesfor public high schools and institutions of higher education to enhancedual enrollment opportunities for students.

Absentee voting; counting military and overseas absentee ballots received after close of polls on election day. Provides that absentee ballots cast by military and overseas absentee voters that are (i) received after the close of the polls on any election day but before 5:00 p.m. on the fourth business day before the State Board of Elections meets to ascertain the results of the election and (ii) postmarked on or before the date of such election are to be counted if the voter is found entitled to vote. The bill provides that a postmark includes any other official indicia of confirmation of mailing by the United States Postal Service or other postal or delivery service. Under current law, such ballots cast by military and overseas absentee voters would be counted in this manner regardless of the date of any postmark, but only if the absentee ballot had been requested on or before, but not sent by, the deadline for making absentee ballots available.

Provisional voting; persons voting in splitprecincts. Provides that any voter who is assigned to a precinctthat is split between two or more election districts and who believeshe was given a ballot for the district of which he is not a qualifiedvoter may request, prior to casting the ballot, and shall be permittedto cast a provisional ballot for the district of which he believeshe is a qualified voter and for the district in which the pollbookindicates he is registered. The bill requires the ballots to besealed in envelopes labeled with the corresponding district numberand then sealed in the green envelope provided for all provisionalballots. At the meeting to determine the validity of all provisionalballots offered in the election, the electoral board shall verifyin which district the voter is qualified and count that ballot.

Vehicles used for agricultural and farm purposes; other uses. Authorizes the use of vehicles exempt from vehicle registration and used exclusively for agricultural or horticultural purposes to transport the vehicle owner between his residence and the land where such agricultural or horticultural activities take place. The bill clarifies that farm use of vehicles registered as farm motor vehicles includes transport between the operator's residence and the farm.

Virginia National Guard; state active duty for emergency response; pay and allowances for members. Provides that whenever called to state active duty in response to certain emergencies, members of the National Guard and the Virginia Defense Force receive pay and allowance equal to their rank and years of service, as determined by the Department of Military Affairs. The bill also authorizes the Adjutant General to increase state active duty pay on an annual basis by a rate not to exceed the most recent percentage increase in basic pay for members of the Armed Forces. Current law provides that (i) officers of the National Guard receive the same pay and allowances as prescribed for members of like rank in the United States Armed Forces, (ii) members of the National Guard receive the same pay and allowances as if they were on a day of Annual Training, and (iii) members of the Virginia Defense Force called to state active duty receive the same pay and allowances as persons of like grade in the National Guard for a day of Annual Training, capped at 25 years of service. The provisions of the bills are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.

Board of Education; Career and Technical Education Work-Based Learning Guide. Requires the Board of Education to review and revise, in consultation with certain stakeholders and no later than December 1, 2020, its Career and Technical Education Work-Based Learning Guide to expand the opportunities available for students to earn credit for graduation through high-quality, work-based learning experiences or, in the case of agricultural education, supervised agricultural experiences, in addition to job shadowing, mentorships, internships, and externships.