Del. Delores McQuinn

Celebrating the life of the Honorable AugustusBenton Chafin, Jr.

Commending Erin Franklin.

Commending Lindsey Pantele.

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.

Wage or salary history inquiries prohibited; civil penalty. Prohibits a prospective employer with 25 employees or more from (i) requiring as a condition of employment that a prospective employee provide or disclose the prospective employee's wage or salary history, (ii) attempting to obtain the wage or salary history of a prospective employee from the prospective employee's current or former employers, (iii) requesting a prospective employee to complete an application for employment that includes a question inquiring about the prospective employee's wage or salary history, or (iv) asking a prospective employee in an employment interview any question intended to obtain information about the prospective employee's wage or salary history. Violations are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100 per violation. This bill incorporates HB 326 and HB 802.

Landlord and tenant; certain owners of residentialrental property; agent and registration requirements; civil penalty.Creates the Virginia Residential Rental Property Registry, tobe developed and maintained by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Every owner of residential property on which threeor more dwelling units are offered for rent is required to submit certain information to be placed on the Registry. Failure to properlyregister or maintain updated registry information is subject to acivil penalty of $50 per unit for the first day and $50 for eachadditional day of noncompliance, to be levied by the Department.The bill also requires such property owners to appoint and continuouslymaintain an agent who (i) is available to be contacted 24 hours aday and (ii) works or resides not more than 25 miles from any such property. The contact phone number of such agent is required to beposted in any residential building on any such property in a conspicuousmanner for use by the tenants.

Health insurance; mandated coverage for hearing aids for minors. Requires health insurers, health maintenance organizations, and corporations providing health care coverage subscription contracts to provide coverage for hearing aids and related services for children 18 years of age or younger when a licensed audiologist prescribes such hearing aids and related services. The coverage includes one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear, up to a cost of $1,500, every 24 months. The measure applies to policies, contracts, and plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2021.

Expungement of police and court records; misdemeanorand nonviolent felony convictions. Allows a person convictedof a misdemeanor or nonviolent felony to file a petition requestingexpungement of the police and court records relating to the convictionif such person (i) has been free from any term of incarceration, probation, and postrelease supervision imposed as a result of such convictionfor at least ten years; (ii) has no prior or subsequent convictionsother than traffic infractions; and (iii) has no pending criminalproceeding.

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.