Definition of birth control. Defines "birth control," for the purposes of the regulation of medicine, as contraceptive methods that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administrationand provides that birth control shall not be considered abortionfor the purposes of Title 18.2 (Crimes and Offenses Generally).
Public employment; limitations on inquiries by state agencies and localities regarding criminal arrests, charges, or convictions. Prohibits state agencies and localities from including on any employment application a question inquiring whether the prospective employee has ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of any crime. The bill prohibits asking a prospective employee if he has ever been arrested or charged with or convicted of any crime unless the inquiry takes place during or after a staff interview of the prospective employee. The prohibition does not apply to applications for employment with law-enforcement agencies or positions related to law-enforcement agencies. The prohibition also does not apply to applications for state agency positions designated as sensitive or to state agencies that are expressly permitted to inquire into an individual's criminal arrests or charges for employment purposes pursuant to any provision of federal or state law. For localities, the prohibition also does not apply to positions for employment by the local school board. This bill incorporates HB 140.
Tax credit for participating landlords; eligible housing areas. Expands the definition of "eligible housing area" for the housing choice voucher tax credit to include Virginia census tracts in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area in which less than 10 percent of the population lives below the poverty level. Landlords who rent qualified housing units within such areas are eligible for an income tax credit. Current law only applies to such areas within the Richmond and Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News Metropolitan Statistical Areas.The bill establishes a 2025 sunset date on the credit. The bill incorporates HB 1014 and is identical to SB 200.
Newborn screening; Krabbe disease and otherlysosomal storage disorders. Requires that newborn screeningtests required to be performed on every infant born in the Commonwealthshall include screening for Krabbe disease and other lysosomal storagedisorders for which a screening test is available.
Tanning facilities; use by persons under age 18. Prohibits a tanning facility from allowing individuals under age 18 to use a tanning device at such facility other than a spray tanning device that does not emit ultraviolet light. The bill includes an exception allowing a person licensed by the Board of Medicine to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine to prescribe or use a phototherapy device, as defined in the bill, for any patient regardless of age.
Acute psychiatric bed registry; informationrequired to be reported. Adds information about the (i) totalnumber of licensed beds, (ii) total number of staffed beds, (iii)current bed utilization, (iv) change in bed utilization since themost recent update, (v) number of beds actually available, (vi) numberof requests for admission received since the most recent update, (vii) number of individuals admitted since the most recent update, and(vii) number of requests for admission denied since the most recentupdate and the reason for each such denial to the list of information that must be submitted to the acute psychiatric bed registry (theregistry) daily by each public and private inpatient psychiatricfacility and every public and private residential crisis stabilizationunit in the Commonwealth. The bill also directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to create a work groupto evaluate the purpose, structure, and effectiveness of the registryand make recommendations for statutory, budgetary, or other actionsnecessary to redefine the purpose of the registry and improve itsstructure and effectiveness. The work group shall report its findings,conclusions, and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmenof the Senate Committee on Education and Health, House Committeeon Health, Welfare and Institutions, and the Joint Subcommittee toStudy Mental Health Services in the Commonwealth in the Twenty-FirstCentury by November 1, 2020.
Eligibility for food stamps and TANF; drug-related felonies. Provides that a person who is otherwise eligible to receive food stamp benefits shall not be denied such assistance solely because he has been convicted of a drug-related felony. Under current law, such individuals may not be denied food stamp benefits based on a felony conviction of possession of a controlled substance in violation of § 18.2-250, provided that such person is complying with, or has already complied with, all obligations imposed by the criminal court, is actively engaged in or has completed a substance abuse treatment program, participates in periodic drug screenings, and meets any other obligations as determined by the Department of Social Services. The bill also provides that a person who is otherwise eligible to receive TANF benefits shall not be denied such assistance solely because he has been convicted of a drug-related felony. This bill incorporates HB 391, HB 786, HB 814, and HB 1130 and is identical to SB 124.
Entitlement to sales tax revenues from certain public facilities; authorized localities and facilities; sunset. Adds the City of Chesapeake to the list of localities that are authorized to issue bonds for the construction of public facilities and retain sales and use tax revenue generated within such facilities to pay off such bonds. The bill adds outdoor amphitheater to the list of authorized public facilities, provided that a locality owns, wholly or partly, and contributes to the construction of such amphitheater, and extends until July 1, 2024, the period of time during which authorized localities may issue bonds for the construction of public facilities and retain sales and use tax revenue generated within such facilities to pay off such bonds. Under current law, such authority expires on July 1, 2020. This bill is identical to SB 163.
Transient occupancy tax; certain counties.Adds Appomattox, Mathews, Middlesex, and New Kent Counties to thelist of counties that may impose a transient occupancy tax at a rate above two percent, but not to exceed five percent. The revenue attributableto a rate in excess of two percent shall be used solely for tourismand travel purposes. Current law allows all counties to impose atransient occupancy tax at a rate not to exceed two percent.
Virginia Human Rights Act; discrimination onthe basis of sex; sexual harassment. Creates a cause of actionagainst any employer employing more than five but fewer than 15 personswho engages in an unlawful discriminatory act against any employeeon the basis of sex. Under current law, an employee who has beendiscriminated against on the basis of sex may only file an actionagainst his employer if the employee is discharged by the employeron the basis of sex. The bill permits a court, in cases where the employee prevails, to award compensatory or punitive damages andattorney fees not to exceed 25 percent of the amount awarded. Thebill also clarifies that for purposes of the cause of action, discriminationon the basis of sex includes harassment on the basis of sex. The bill defines the types of conduct that amount to harassment on thebasis of sex. The bill contains technical amendments.
