Protective orders; issuance upon convictionsfor certain felonies; penalty. Authorizes a court to issue aprotective order upon convicting a defendant for a felony offenseof (i) violating a protective order, (ii) homicide, (iii) kidnapping,(iv) assaults and bodily woundings, (v) extortion, or (vi) criminalsexual assault. The bill provides that the duration of such protectiveorder can be for any period of time, including up to the lifetimeof the defendant, that the court deems necessary to protect the health and safety of the victim and may only prohibit (a) acts of familyabuse or of violence, force, or threat against the victim or criminaloffenses that may result in injury to the person or property of thevictim and (b) such contacts by the defendant with the victim asthe court deems necessary for the health or safety of the victim.The bill provides that a violation of a protective order issued uponconviction of one of the enumerated offenses is punishable as a Class1 misdemeanor.
Sponsored bills
Establishing a resilience hub pilot programto assist vulnerable communities during emergency situations. Directs the Department of Emergency Management to establish a two-yearresilience hub pilot program to assist vulnerable communities duringemergency situations. The bill defines a "resilience hub" as a simplecombination of solar panels and batteries that ensures continuouspower to a publicly accessible building when severe weather eventsor other grid disruptions cause an electrical outage.
Supplementing compensation of public defender.Requires the governing body of any county or city that electsto supplement the compensation of the attorney for the Commonwealth,or any of their deputies or employees, above the salary of any suchofficer, deputy, or employee, to supplement the compensation of thepublic defender, or any of his deputies or employees, in the sameamount as the supplement to the compensation of the attorney for the Commonwealth, or any of his deputies or employees.
Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices. Prohibits any locality, its employees, or its appointed commissions from discriminating (i) in the application of local land use ordinances or guidelines, or in the permitting of housing developments, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, elderliness, familial status, or handicap or (ii) in the permitting of housing developments because the housing development contains or is expected to contain affordable housing units occupied or intended for occupancy by families or individuals with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income of the area where the housing development is located or is proposed to be located, unless at the time of the municipal decision, a proposed development will be located in a census tract wherein more than 50 percent of the units serve families or individuals at or below 80 percent of the median income of the area. The bill also requires the Fair Housing Board, after determining the existence of an unlawful discriminatory housing practice and after consultation with the Attorney General, to immediately refer the matter to the Attorney General for civil action.
Consumer lending. Replaces references to payday loans with the term "short-term loans." The measure caps the interest and fees that may be charged under a short-term loan at an annual rate of 36 percent, plus a maintenance fee; increases the maximum amount of such loans from $500 to $2,500; and sets the duration of such loans at a minimum of four months, subject to exceptions, and a maximum of 24 months. Short-term loan licensees are required to make a reasonable attempt to verify a borrower's income and may not collect fees and charges that exceed 50 percent of the original loan amount if such amount is equal to or less than $1,500 and 60 percent of the original loan amount if such amount is greater than $1,500. The measure amends the requirements for motor vehicle title loans, including requiring licensed lenders to use a database to determine a prospective borrower's eligibility for a loan and prohibiting loans to a borrower who has an outstanding short-term loan. The measure sets a 36-percent annual interest rate cap on open-end credit plans and allows a $50 annual participation fee. A violation of these provisions is made a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The measure amends provisions of the Consumer Finance Act to, among other things, allow licensed lenders to use the services of access partners and establish requirements that loans be between $300 and $35,000; be repayable in substantially equal installment payments; have a term of no fewer than six and no more than 120 months; charge not more than 36 percent annual interest and a loan processing fee; and require licensees to post a bond. The measure prohibits credit service businesses from advertising, offering, or performing other services in connection with an extension of credit that has an annual interest rate exceeding 36 percent, is for less than $5,000, has a term of less than one year, or is provided under an open-end credit plan. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021, and requires any person who would be required to be licensed under the provisions of the act to apply for a license by October 1, 2020. This bill is identical to SB 421.
Creation of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority; funding. Creates the Central Virginia Transportation Authority, comprising the counties and cities located in Planning District 15. The Authority will administer transportation funding generated through the imposition of an additional regional 0.7 percent sales and use tax and a wholesale gas tax of 7.6 cents per gallon of gasoline and 7.7 cents per gallon of diesel fuel. The gas tax rates would be indexed for inflation. The bill requires a local maintenance of effort for transit funding of at least 50 percent of what was provided on July 1, 2020, with such amount to be indexed beginning in 2023. The Authority is directed to review the governance structure of existing transit service in the Richmond region, and evaluate the possibility of creating a transportation district, and report its findings by December 1, 2020 to the Governor and the General Assembly.
Landlord and tenant; charge for late payment of rent; restrictions. Provides that a landlord shall not charge a tenant for late payment of rent unless such charge is provided for in the written rental agreement, and that no such late charge shall exceed the lesser of 10 percent of the periodic rent or 10 percent of the remaining balance due and owed by the tenant. This bill contains an emergency clause and incorporates HB 1669.
Hampton Roads Regional Transit Program. Creates the Hampton Roads Regional Transit Program to develop, maintain, and improve a regional network of transit routes and related infrastructure, rolling stock, and support facilities. The program would be funded by an additional (i) regional grantor's tax at a rate of $0.06 per $100 of the consideration for the conveyance and (ii) regional transient occupancy tax at a rate of one percent of the charge for the occupancy, both imposed in localities in the Hampton Roads Transportation District. The bill also dedicates $20 million of revenues from existing recordation taxes to funding the program. The moneys would be deposited into the Hampton Roads Regional Transit Fund, created by the bill. The moneys would be deposited into the Hampton Roads Regional Transit Fund, created by the bill. Use of the funds would require a two-thirds vote of the localities in which the new taxes were imposed. The bill also includes a local maintenance of effort of public transportation funding. This bill is identical to SB 1038.
Labor and employment; collective bargaining; employees of counties, cities, and towns. Permits counties, cities, and towns to adopt local ordinances authorizing them to (i) recognize any labor union or other employee association as a bargaining agent of any public officers or employees, except for Constitutional officers and their employees, and including public school employees and (ii) collectively bargain or enter into any collective bargaining contract with any such union or association or its agents with respect to any matter relating to them or their employment. The bill provides that for any governing body of a county, city, or town that has not adopted an ordinance or resolution providing for collective bargaining, such governing body is required, within 120 days of receiving certification from a majority of public employees in a unit considered by such employees to be appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, to take a vote to adopt or not adopt an ordinance or resolution to provide for collective bargaining by such public employees and any other public employees deemed appropriate by the governing body. The bill provides that the prohibition against striking for public employees applies, irrespective of any such local ordinance. The bill has a delayed effective date of May 1, 2021. This bill is identical to SB 939.
Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder;law-enforcement officers and firefighters. Provides that post-traumaticstress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter iscompensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if a mental healthprofessional examines a law-enforcement officer or firefighter and diagnosesthe individual as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result ofthe individual's undergoing a qualifying event, which includes an event occurringin the line of duty on or after July 1, 2020, in which a law-enforcementofficer or firefighter views a deceased minor, witnesses the death of a personor an incident involving the death of a person, witnesses an injury to a personwho subsequently dies, has physical contact with and treats an injured personwho subsequently dies, transports an injured person who subsequently dies, orwitnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in the loss of a vital bodypart or a vital body function that results in permanent disfigurement of thevictim. Other conditions for compensability include (i) if the post-traumaticstress disorder resulted from the law-enforcement officer or firefighter actingin the line of duty and, in the case of a firefighter, such firefightercomplied with certain federal Occupational Safety and Health Act standards;(ii) if the law-enforcement officer's or firefighter's undergoing a qualifyingevent was a substantial factor in causing his post-traumatic stress disorder;(iii) if such qualifying event, and not another event or source of stress, wasthe primary cause of the post-traumatic stress disorder; and (iv) if thepost-traumatic stress disorder did not result from any disciplinary action,work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, promotion, termination,retirement, or similar action of the officer or firefighter. The measureestablishes procedural requirements on employers that contest a claim for suchbenefits. The measure also establishes requirements for resilience and self-caretechnique training.