Del. Jeion Ward

Employment health and safety standards; heatillness prevention. Requires the Safety and Health Codes Boardto adopt regulations establishing standards designed to protect employeesfrom heat illness, defined in the bill. The measure authorizes anemployee to bring an action based on a violation of such standardsin which injunctive relief and monetary damages may be sought.

Nominating persons to be elected as membersof the State Corporation Commission.

Flood Insurance Fund; low-income Virginians.Creates a Flood Insurance Fund and directs the Executive Director of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Resources Authority toestablish a program to use the Fund to subsidize the purchase offlood insurance by low-income Virginians. Such program shall includean application process, application guidelines, and a ranking systemthat prioritizes the use of the Fund to support the purchase of floodinsurance in the most flood-prone areas.

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.

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.

Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; Small Business Procurement Enhancement Program established; report. Establishes the Small Business Procurement Enhancement Program (the Program) with a statewide goal of 42 percent of small business utilization in all discretionary spending by state agencies in procurement orders, prime contracts, and subcontracts. In addition, the bill (i) provides for a small business set-aside for competition among all small businesses for state agency purchases of up to $100,000 for goods, nonprofessional services, and construction and up to $80,000 for professional services and (ii) establishes certification criteria for participation in the Program by business operations on the basis of the total number of employees or annual gross receipts, averaged over the previous three years.

Tree conservation ordinance; Chesapeake BayPreservation Act locality; designated trees. Adds "Chesapeake Bay watershed tree," as defined in the bill, to the types of treethat a locality with a tree conservation ordinance is authorizedto designate individually for preservation. Current law allows individualdesignation of heritage, memorial, specimen, and street trees. The bill contains technical amendments.

Employment health and safety standards; heatillness prevention. Requires the Safety and Health Codes Boardto adopt regulations establishing reasonable standards designed toprotect employees from heat illness. The measure directs the standardsto apply to all indoor and outdoor places of employment and requireemployers to provide water, shade or a climate-controlled environment,rest periods of 15 to 45 minutes per hour, training, and emergencyresponse procedures. The standards are also directed to require employersin certain industries to implement high-heat procedures when thetemperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. The measure requiresemployers to pay employees one additional hour of pay at his regularcompensation for each workday that it fails to provide the employeewith a required rest period. The measure authorizes a person to bring a court action based on a violation in which he may seek to obtaininjunctive relief; to recover damages of $500 or actual monetaryloss, whichever is greater; or both.

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.