Rep. Nancy D. Guy

Student voters; Virginia voter registration. Requires each public high school to provide to any enrolled student who is of voting age or otherwise eligible to register to vote access to Virginia voter registration information and applications, or access to the Virginia online voter registration system on a school-owned computing device, and the opportunity to complete such application during the normal course of the school day.

Hampton Roads Regional Arena Authority created; financing of a Hampton Roads arena and facility. Creates the Hampton Roads Regional Arena Authority and grants it certain powers relating to construction of an arena and facility. Among those powers is the authority to (i) issue bonds to construct the arena and facility, (ii) receive state sales and use tax revenue that is attributable to the arena and facility, (iii) use such revenue to repay such bonds, and (iv) distribute any excess revenue to any Hampton Roads locality that elects to contribute to the financing of the construction of an arena and facility. The bill provides that the Authority's entitlement to state sales and use tax revenue will expire on the earlier of the maturity date of any bonds it issues related to constructing the arena and facility or July 1, 2060. The powers granted by the bill to the Authority are similar to those granted to the City of Virginia Beach with respect to a sports or entertainment project. The bill repeals existing provisions related to a Hampton Roads Sports Facility Authority. This bill is identical to SB 787.

Recounts; special election to be held in the case of a tie vote. Provides that if, after a recount of an election, the recount court finds that each party to the recount has received an equal number of votes, there shall be a special election to determine which candidate is elected to the office. This provision would not apply in cases of tie votes occurring after a recount of an election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Attorney General, which the Constitution of Virginia provides for, or for electors of President and Vice President of the United States, which will continue to be determined by lot. This bill incorporates HB 178 and HB 692.

Virginia Defense Force; maximum age for recruitment. Permits the Adjutant General of Virginia to recruit members to the Virginia Defense Force who are between the ages of 65 and 75. Under current law, the Adjutant General is only permitted to retain existing members of the Virginia Defense Force once they have attained the age of 65.

Offshore oil and gas drilling; prohibition on leases; policy. Prohibits the granting of a lease, easement, or permit on the beds of the coastal waters of the Commonwealth that would allow any infrastructure for conveying to shore oil or gas produced from offshore drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area and removes any oil or gas lease granted on such beds from the mandate that such lease include a royalty payment requirement. The bill removes policy statements supporting federal efforts to permit oil and gas development 50 miles or more off the Atlantic shoreline. This bill incorporates HB 1016.

Virginia Beach Sports or Entertainment Project; extend expiration date of tax incentive; modify financing structure. Provides that the City of Virginia Beach's entitlement to state sales and use tax revenue attributable to a sports or entertainment project, which under current law will expire on July 1, 2039, shall expire on July 1 following the twentieth anniversary of the completion of construction of the sports and entertainment project. The bill authorizes the City of Virginia Beach to work with a community development authority established by the City to develop a sports or entertainment district, and authorizes it to use funds from the Sports or Entertainment Project Financing Fund to pay for debt maintenance costs of such authority.

Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Grant Fund and Program; creation. Establishes the Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Grant Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, for the purpose of awarding grants to the Cities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Richmond, and Roanoke for the purpose of performing community assessments for youth and gang violence prevention. Grants are to be awarded in an amount of $25,000 to each city to perform such an assessment. No more than $150,000 per year shall be allocated by the Program.

Discipline; suspension; access to graded work. Requires school boards to adopt policies and procedures to ensure suspended students are able to access and complete graded work during and after the suspension.

Prohibited discrimination; public accommodations, employment, credit, and housing: causes of action; sexual orientation and gender identity. Creates explicit causes of action for unlawful discrimination in public accommodations and employment in the Virginia Human Rights Act. Currently, under the Act there is no cause of action for discrimination in public accommodations, and the only causes of action for discrimination in employment are for (i) unlawful discharge on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, including lactation, by employers employing more than five but fewer than 15 persons and (ii) unlawful discharge on the basis of age by employers employing more than five but fewer than 20 persons. The bill allows the causes of action to be pursued privately by the aggrieved person or, in certain circumstances, by the Attorney General. The bill prohibits discrimination in public and private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also codifies for state and local government employment the current prohibitions on discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran. Additionally, the bill (a) prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran; (b) prohibits discrimination in credit on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, disability, and status as a veteran; and (c) adds discrimination on the basis of an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran as an unlawful housing practice. The bill makes technical amendments. This bill incorporates HB 3, HB 21, HB 23, HB 217, HB 1050, HB 1200, and HB 1512.

Local school boards; lead testing; report; parental notification. Requires each local school board's plan to test and remediate certain potable water sources to be consistent with guidance published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Health. The bill requires each local school board to submit such testing plan and report the results of any such test to the Department of Health. The bill also requires local school boards to take all necessary steps to notify parents if testing results indicate lead contamination that exceeds 10 parts per billion. The bill is identical to SB 392.