Del. Betsy Carr

Manufacture, import, sale, transfer, or possession of plastic firearms and unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms; penalties. Creates a Class 5 felony for any person who manufactures, imports, sells, transfers, or possesses any firearm that, after removal of all parts other than a major component, as defined in the bill, is not detectable as a firearm by the types of detection devices, including X-ray machines, commonly used at airports for security screening. The bill updates language regarding the types of detection devices that are used at airports for detecting plastic firearms. The bill also creates several Class 1 misdemeanors, which are punishable as a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, making it unlawful (i) for any person to possess, sell, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, transport, or receive an unfinished frame or receiver or firearm, unless the party possessing or receiving the unfinished frame or receiver or firearm is a federal firearms importer or manufacturer or the unfinished frame or receiver or firearm is imprinted with a serial number issued by a federal firearms importer or manufacturer and (ii) for any person to manufacture, cause to be manufactured, assemble, or cause to be assembled a firearm that is not imprinted with a serial number issued by a federal firearms importer or manufacturer in compliance with all federal laws and regulations regulating the manufacture and import of firearms. The bill creates exceptions for (i) any firearm that has been rendered permanently inoperable, (ii) an antique firearm, or (iii) any firearm or unfinished frame or receiver manufactured before October 22, 1968.

Environmental justice; interagency working group. Establishes the Interagency Environmental Justice Working Group as an advisory council in the executive branch of state government to further environmental justice in the Commonwealth and directs each of the Governor's Secretaries to designate at least one environmental justice coordinator to represent the secretariat as a member of the Working Group. The bill directs the Working Group to focus its work during its first year on the environmental justice of current air quality monitoring practices in Virginia and provides that the Working Group shall expire on July 1, 2031. The bill directs each state agency, no later than October 1, 2021, to adopt an agency-specific environmental justice policy that requires an evaluation of the environmental justice consequences of any covered agency action, requires a consideration of the environmental justice consequences or cumulative impacts of the administration of regulations, and contains other features, including robust public participation plans for residents of environmental justice communities and fenceline communities potentially affected by a covered agency action. The bill prohibits the issuance of a permit for any covered activity, including construction of an electric generating facility or sanitary landfill, until the applicant has submitted and the permitting authority has approved a public involvement plan, a cumulative impact statement, and an environmental justice impact statement, if applicable. The bill requires the permitting authority to deny the application or approve it with or without conditions. Finally, the bill requires each local government adopting or reviewing a comprehensive plan to also adopt an environmental justice strategy.

Study; Department of Rail and Public Transportation; transit equity and modernization; report. Requests the Department of Rail and Public Transportation to conduct a two-year study of transit equity and modernization in the Commonwealth,with emphasis on transit services and engagement opportunities for underserved and underrepresented communities.

Virginia Fair Housing Law; reasonable accommodations; disability-related requests for parking. Provides that for thepurposes of the Virginia Fair Housing Law, when a person receivesa request for accessible parking to accommodate a disability, theperson receiving the request shall treat such request as a reasonable accommodation, and any costs, fees, or charges related to the installation, designation, marking, or reconfiguration of a parking space relatedto such reasonable accommodation request shall be borne by the personreceiving the request. The bill provides that it is declarative ofexisting law.

Virginia Jobs Investment Program and Fund; minimumwage requirements. Adjusts the minimum entry-level wage rate per hour a company is required to pay in order to be eligible forassistance under the Virginia Jobs Investment Program from at least1.35 times the federal minimum wage to 1.2 times the federal minimumwage or the Virginia minimum wage, whichever is higher.

Property Owners' Association Act; Condominium Act; use of electronic means for meetings and voting. Allows meetings of property owners' associations, boards of directors, unit owners' associations, executive boards, and committees to be held entirely or partially by electronic means, provided that the board of directors or executive board, as applicable, has adopted guidelines for the use of electronic means for such meetings. The bill requires that such guidelines ensure that persons accessing such meetings are authorized to do so and that persons entitled to participate in such meetings have an opportunity to do so. The bill grants authority for determining whether any such meeting may be held entirely or partially by electronic means to the board of directors or executive board, as applicable. Under current law, if a meeting of a board of directors or executive board is conducted by telephone conference or video conference, at least two members of the board of directors or executive board, as applicable, are required to be physically present at the meeting place included in the meeting notice. The bill amends the definition of "electronic means" to provide that meeting conducted by electronic means includes a meeting conducted via teleconference, videoconference, Internet exchange, or other electronic methods. The bill allows members of property owners' associations or unit owners' associations to vote at meetings of such associations by absentee ballot, and allows such members to vote in person, by proxy, or by absentee ballot by electronic means, provided that the board of directors or executive board, as applicable, has adopted guidelines for such voting. Finally, the bill provides that if a vote, consent, or approval required to be obtained by secret ballot is accomplished through electronic means, the electronic means shall protect the identity of the voter, and that if the electronic means cannot protect the identity of the voter, another means of voting shall be used.

Arrest and prosecution when experiencing orreporting overdoses. Prohibits the arrest or prosecution of anindividual for the unlawful purchase, possession, or consumptionof alcohol, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, intoxication in public, or possession of controlled paraphernaliaif (i) such individual, in good faith, renders emergency care orassistance, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or theadministration of naloxone or other opioid antagonist for overdosereversal, to an individual experiencing an overdose while anotherindividual seeks or obtains emergency medical attention; (ii) suchindividual remains at the scene of the overdose or at any locationto which he or the individual requiring emergency medical attentionhas been transported; (iii) such individual identifies himself tothe law-enforcement officer who responds; and (iv) the evidence fora prosecution of one of the enumerated offenses would have been obtainedonly as a result of the individual's rendering emergency care orassistance. Current law prohibitsarrest or prosecution for such offenses only to an individual whoseeks or obtains emergency medical attention for himself or anotherindividual or who is experiencing an overdose when another individualseeks or obtains emergency medical attention for him.

Teachers and other licensed school board employees;cultural competency. The bill requires teacher, principal, and division superintendent evaluations to include an evaluation ofcultural competency. The bill requires every person seeking initiallicensure or renewal of a license from the Board of Education (i)to complete instruction or training in cultural competency and (ii)with an endorsement in history and social sciences to complete instructionin African American history, as prescribed by the Board. The billalso requires each school board to adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and any other school board employee holdinga license issued by the Board to complete cultural competency training,in accordance with guidance issued by the Board, at least every twoyears.