Del. Cia Price

Marijuana; legalization of simple possession; penalties. Eliminates criminal penalties for possession of marijuana for persons who are 21 years of age or older. The bill also modifies several other criminal penalties related to marijuana and provides for an automatic expungement process for those convicted of certain marijuana-related crimes. The bill establishes a regulatory scheme for the regulation of marijuana cultivation facilities, marijuana manufacturing facilities, marijuana testing facilities, marijuana wholesalers, and retail marijuana stores by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, renamed as the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Control Authority. The bill imposes a tax on retail marijuana, retail marijuana products, and marijuana paraphernalia sold by a retail marijuana store, as well as non-retail marijuana and non-retail marijuana products at a rate of 21 percent and provides that localities may by ordinance levy a three percent tax on any such marijuana or marijuana products. The bill provides that net profits attributable to regulatory activities of the Authority's Board of Directors pursuant to this bill shall be appropriated as follows: (i) 40 percent to pre-kindergarten programs for at-risk three and four year olds, (ii) 30 percent to the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, established in the bill, (iii) 25 percent to substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs, and (iv) five percent to public health programs. The bill creates the Cannabis Control Advisory Board, the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board, and the Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023, with provisions for the Authority's Board of Directors to promulgate regulations for the implementation of the bill and for implementation of the automatic expungement process to begin in due course. In addition, the bill establishes three work groups to begin their efforts in due course: one focused on public health and safety issues, one focused on providing resources for teachers in elementary and secondary schools, and one focused on college-aged individuals. See H. B. 2312 General Laws Substitute PDF text:https://lis.virginia.gov/000/housecannabisbillsub.pdf See H. B. 2312 Courts of Justice Substitute PDF text:https://lis.virginia.gov/000/housecannabisbillsub2.pdf

Automatic expungement of criminal records; penalties. Establishes a process for the automatic expungement, defined in the bill, of criminal records for certain convictions, deferred dispositions, and acquittals and for offenses that have been nolle prossed or otherwise dismissed. The bill also provides a process for the automatic expungement of criminal records for charges arising from mistaken identity or the unauthorized use of identifying information. The bill has staggered delayed effective dates in order to develop systems for implementing the provisions of the bill. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.

Elections; prohibited discrimination in voting and elections administration; required process for enacting certain covered practices; civil causes of action. Prohibits any voting qualification or any standard, practice, or procedure related to voting from being imposed or applied in a manner that results in the denial or abridgment of the right of any United States citizen to vote based on his race or color or membership in a language minority group. The bill further prohibits at-large methods of election from being imposed or applied in a locality in a manner that impairs the ability of a protected class, defined in the bill, to elect candidates of its choice or to influence the outcome of an election, by diluting or abridging the rights of voters who are members of a protected class. Prior to enacting or administering a covered practice, defined in the bill, the governing body of a locality is required to publish the proposed covered practice and accept public comment for a minimum of 30 days on the proposed covered practice; after the public comment period, a 30-day waiting period is required. During this period, any person who will be subject to or affected by the covered practice may challenge the covered practice as (i) having the purpose or effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on the basis of race or color or membership in a language minority group or (ii) resulting in the retrogression in the position of members of a racial or ethnic group with respect to their effective exercise of the electoral franchise. The bill permits the local governing body to instead submit the proposed covered practice to the Office of the Attorney General for issuance of a certification of no objection and, once such certification is issued, to enact or administer the covered practice. Certain unlawful actions, including knowingly communicating false information to voters, that are currently subject to criminal penalties will create civil causes of action under the bill. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to commence civil actions when there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation of an election law has occurred and the rights of any voter or group of voters have been affected by the violation. Civil penalties assessed as a result of such action are payable to the Voter Education and Outreach Fund, established by the bill. Current provisions related to language minority accessibility are moved to a newly created chapter relating to the rights of voters.

Elections; prohibited discrimination in voting and elections administration; required process for enacting certain covered practices; civil causes of action. Prohibits any voting qualification or any standard, practice, or procedure related to voting from being imposed or applied in a manner that results in the denial or abridgment of the right of any United States citizen to vote based on his race or color or membership in a language minority group. The bill further prohibits at-large methods of election from being imposed or applied in a locality in a manner that impairs the ability of a protected class, defined in the bill, to elect candidates of its choice or to influence the outcome of an election, by diluting or abridging the rights of voters who are members of a protected class. Prior to enacting or administering a covered practice, defined in the bill, the governing body of a locality is required to publish the proposed covered practice and accept public comment for a minimum of 30 days on the proposed covered practice; after the public comment period, a 30-day waiting period is required. During this period, any person who will be subject to or affected by the covered practice may challenge the covered practice as (i) having the purpose or effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on the basis of race or color or membership in a language minority group or (ii) resulting in the retrogression in the position of members of a racial or ethnic group with respect to their effective exercise of the electoral franchise. The bill permits the local governing body to instead submit the proposed covered practice to the Office of the Attorney General for issuance of a certification of no objection and, once such certification is issued, to enact or administer the covered practice. Certain unlawful actions, including knowingly communicating false information to voters, that are currently subject to criminal penalties will create civil causes of action under the bill. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to commence civil actions when there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation of an election law has occurred and the rights of any voter or group of voters have been affected by the violation. Civil penalties assessed as a result of such action are payable to the Voter Education and Outreach Fund, established by the bill. Current provisions related to language minority accessibility are moved to a newly created chapter relating to the rights of voters.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); franchise and officers; felon disenfranchisement; automatic restoration of political rights. Provides that no person who has been convicted of a felony shall be qualified to vote until the completion of his sentence of imprisonment, at which time, without further action required of him, his political rights, including the right to vote, shall be restored. A person convicted of a felony may also have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. This resolution incorporates HJ 546.

Employment; domestic service. Provides that individuals who are engaged in providing domestic service are not excluded from employee protection laws and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.

Virginia Human Rights Act; definition of employer;person employing one or more domestic workers. Expands the definitionof "employer" for all purposes of the Virginia Human Rights Act toinclude a person employing one or more domestic workers, as definedin the bill.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement; payment plan; removal of sunset. Removes the sunset date of July 1, 2021, from certain provisions enacted during the 2020 Special Session related to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Such provisions (i) changed from five to 14 days the amount of time that a landlord who owns four or fewer rental dwelling units must wait after serving written notice on a tenant notifying the tenant of his nonpayment of rent and of the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreement if rent is not paid before the landlord may pursue remedies for termination of the rental agreement; (ii) required a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units, or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units, before terminating a rental agreement due to nonpayment of rent, to serve upon such tenant a written notice informing the tenant of the total amount due and owed and offer the tenant a payment plan under which the tenant must pay the total amount due and owed in equal monthly installments over a period of the lesser of six months or the time remaining under the rental agreement; (iii) outlined the remedies a landlord has if a tenant fails to pay the total amount due and owed or enter into a payment arrangement within 14 days of receiving notice or if the tenant enters into a payment arrangement but fails to pay within 14 days of the due date any rent that becomes due under the payment plan or arrangement after such plan or arrangement becomes effective; and (iv) clarified that a tenant is not precluded from participating in any other rent relief programs available to the tenant through a nonprofit organization or under the provisions of a federal, state, or local law, regulation, or action.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and requires the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions and agents to issue marriage licenses, recognize marriages, and treat all marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex or gender of the parties to the marriage. Religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage. This resolution incorporates HJ 539 and HJ 557.

Commonwealth Health Reinsurance Program. Requires the State Corporation Commission (Commission)  to establish, upon approval of a state innovation waiver request pursuant to § 1332 of the Affordable Care Act, a reinsurance program, known as the Commonwealth Health Reinsurance Program (the Program).  The bill provides that the Program is funded through federal funding provided under the state innovation waiver, an assessment on carriers, and state appropriations. The bill requires that the Commission impose an annual assessment of one percent of a carrier's net written premiums on entities authorized to issue individual and group health insurance overage including grandfathered plans but excluding plans offered in the small group market. The bill provides requirements for payment parameters, data submissions, recordkeeping, reporting, and audits of health carriers. The bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group to develop recommendations for developing a state-based subsidy program to increase affordability of health plans to individuals and to increase enrollment in the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange. The bill requires the Commission to evaluate the program following its second year of operation.The provisions of the bill, other than the requirements that the Commission apply for the state innovation waiver, will become effective 30 days after notice of approval of the waiver request.