Grand larceny; threshold. Increases from$500 to $750 the threshold amount of money taken or value of goodsor chattel taken at which the crime rises from petit larceny to grandlarceny. The bill increases the threshold by the same amount forthe classification of certain property crimes.
Industrial hemp products; signage; green crossemblem. Authorizes any locality to adopt ordinances restrictingthe display by any business that sells hemp products of the symbolof a green cross with arms of equal length on exterior signage. Thebill also authorizes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Servicesto adopt regulations restricting such display.
War memorials for veterans. Removes a prohibition on (i) disturbing or interfering with any war monument or memorial erected by a locality or (ii) preventing citizens from maintaining such monument or memorial. The bill authorizes a locality to remove, relocate, or alter any such monument or memorial on the locality's public property upon the affirmative vote of its governing body, regardless of when the monument or memorial was erected, and removes certain criminal and civil penalties for such removal, relocation, or alteration. The bill also restricts bringing a cause of action pursuant to such penalties to the attorney for the locality in which the memorial or monument is located. Current law authorizes any person having an interest in the matter to bring such action if no action is brought within 60 days of the violation. The bill repeals an 1890 act of assembly related to the placement of a statue in the City of Alexandria. This bill was incorporated into HB 1537.
Lottery Board; regulation of casino gaming. Authorizes casino gaming in the Commonwealth to be regulated by the Virginia Lottery Board. Casino gaming shall be limited to certain cities that meet the criteria that is outlined in the bill, and a referendum must be passed in the city on the question of allowing casino gaming in the city. This bill is a reenactment of the first enactment of Senate Bill 1126 of the 2019 legislative session. This bill was incorporated into HB 4.
City of Norfolk; financing of an arena and facility. Grants the City of Norfolk 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, and (iii) use such revenue to repay such bonds. The bill provides that the City of Norfolk's entitlement to state sales and use tax revenue will expire on the earliest of (a) the maturity date of any bonds it issues related to constructing the arena and facility, (b) the expiration date of its contractual obligations related to the arena or facility, or (c) July 1, 2055. The powers granted by the bill to the City of Norfolk are similar to those granted to the City of Virginia Beach with respect to a sports or entertainment project.
Virginia Alternative Energy and Coastal Protection Act. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to implement the final carbon trading regulation as approved by the State Air Pollution Control Board in order to establish a carbon dioxide cap and trade program that limits and reduces the total carbon dioxide emissions released by electric generation facilities and that complies with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule. The measure authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The measure requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and to be distributed without further appropriation (i) to assist counties, cities, towns, residents, and businesses affected by recurrent flooding, sea-level rise, and flooding from severe weather events; (ii) to support energy efficiency programs; (iii) to support renewable energy programs; (iv) to provide economic development, education, and workforce training programs for families and businesses in Southwest Virginia for the purpose of revitalizing communities negatively affected by the decline of fossil fuel production; (v) to the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund to fund the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program; and (vi) for administrative expenses. The measure states that development of new utility-owned and utility-operated generating facilities utilizing energy derived from sunlight, or from onshore or offshore wind, to achieve the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is in the public interest and directs Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power to achieve a minimum of 50 percent of the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions through the development of such utility-owned and utility-operated generating facilities utilizing energy derived from sunlight, or from onshore or offshore wind. The measure provides that any retail customer that purchases electric energy from a supplier other than the incumbent electric utility serving the exclusive service territory in which such retail customer is located shall pay a non-bypassable surcharge. The measure also requires the Department to establish an allowance set-aside for any electric generation facility subject to a cap and trade program that operates according to a long-term contract as of January 1, 2020, that prohibits the recovery of allowance costs. This bill was incorporated into HB 981.
Offshore wind generation facilities. Requires the State Corporation Commission to allow Dominion Energy Virginia to recover all costs of certain utility-owned and utility-operated offshore wind generating facilities, including associated transmission and distribution facilities, and declares that these costs are reasonable and prudently incurred, if the utility (i) has commenced construction of such facilities for U.S. income taxation purposes prior to January 1, 2024, or has a plan for such facility or facilities to be in service prior to January 1, 2028, and (ii) demonstrates that it has utilized reasonable efforts to competitively solicit the majority of services and equipment associated with any such facility's construction, giving appropriate consideration to suppliers that have demonstrated successful experience on an offshore wind test or demonstration project off the Commonwealth's Atlantic shoreline. The measure provides that such costs shall be allocated to all customers of the utility in the Commonwealth as a non-bypassable charge, irrespective of the generation supplier of any such customer. The measure requires the utility to (a) identify options for utilizing local workers, (b) consult with the Chief Workforce Development Officer, and (c) give priority to hiring local workers. This bill was incorporated into HB 1664.
Memorials for war veterans. Provides that a locality may remove, relocate, or alter any monument or memorial for war veterans located in its public space, regardless of when erected. Current law makes it unlawful to disturb or interfere with such monuments or memorials or to prevent citizens from taking proper measures and exercising proper means for the protection, preservation, and care of such monuments or memorials. This bill was incorporated into SB 183.
Virginia Diverse Educator Scholarship Fund and Programestablished. Establishes the Virginia Diverse Educator Scholarship Fund andProgram, to be administered by the State Council of Higher Education forVirginia, for the purpose of annually providing to each Historically BlackCollege or University in the Commonwealth (Hampton University, Norfolk StateUniversity, Virginia State University, and Virginia Union University) such sumsas are necessary for each such institution to annually provide scholarships ona competitive basis to no more than two students who (i) identify as AfricanAmerican, Asian, Hispanic or Latino, Native American or Native Alaskan, orNative Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; (ii) are accepted to or enrolled in suchinstitution's education preparation program; and (iii) are eligible for afederal Pell Grant to attend such institution. The bill provides that each suchscholarship would consist of the following sums: (a) the cost of tuition,mandatory fees, room and board, and textbooks at such institution; (b) therecipient's teacher licensure fees; (c) $5,000 toward teacher professionaldevelopment activities for the recipient, including coursework, seminars, andconferences; and (d) $10,000 toward mentorship of the recipient by anexperienced teacher who is deemed by the relevant school board to be highlyeffective and able to provide high quality mentorship. The bill requires eachstudent who is awarded a scholarship pursuant to the Program to agree inwriting to (1) teach in a public elementary or secondary school in theCommonwealth in which at least half of the enrolled students qualify for freeor reduced price lunch or are members of families whose income is below the federalpoverty guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices upon graduation for a period that is at least as long as the periodduring which the recipient used scholarship funds to attend a HistoricallyBlack College or University and (2) be mentored by an experienced teacher, asdescribed in clause (d), during such period of employment.
Commending the Lake Taylor High School footballteam.
