Del. Joseph C. Lindsey

Election day; extending polling hours. Extends from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. the time at which polls close on election day. The bill aligns candidate filing deadlines and party nomination deadlines with the closing of polls. The bill provides that these changes will not become effective unless reenacted by the 2021 Session of the General Assembly. The bill incorporates HB 1643.

Coal ash ponds; private wells and public water supply wells; resident notification. Requires a utility, defined in the bill as the owner or operator of a coal ash pond in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, to complete a survey of all private wells and public water supply wells within 1.5 miles of each of its ponds by October 1, 2020, and to notify residents via mail and a local newspaper posting that the survey will be conducted.

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 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.

Public institutions of higher education; non-academic student codes of conduct. Requires each public institution of higher education, with the exception of the Virginia Military Institute, to adopt non-academic student codes of conduct. The bill mandates that students and student organizations that participate in the non-academic student codes of conduct process as a complainant or respondent shall have the responsibilities and rights afforded to them by the institution's codes of conduct and related policies and procedures. The bill states that the codes of conduct shall describe and define the responsibilities and rights of all enrolled students and student organizations and outline each step in the institution's procedures for responding to and resolving allegations of violations. The bill outlines procedures that the codes of conduct shall include when an accused student or student organization faces the potential sanctions of suspension or expulsion.

Certain institutions of higher education; transcript notations; expungement. Requires each institution of higher educationthat is required by law to include a prominent notation on the academictranscript of each student who has been suspended for, has been permanentlydismissed for, or withdraws from the institution while under investigationfor an offense involving sexual violence under the institution'scode, rules, or set of standards governing student conduct to adopta policy for the expungement of such notation for good cause shownand after a period of three years.

Legal holidays; Lee-Jackson Day; Election Day. Designates Election Day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, as a state holiday and removes Lee-Jackson Day as a state holiday. This bill is identical to SB 601.

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.

Voting restrictions on the basis of race. Repeals several Acts of Assembly that implemented and enforced a state poll tax and provided for separate registration records on the basis of race. This bill is identical to SB 555.