Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area; provisional surface water withdrawal permit. Authorizes the State Water Control Board to issue a provisional surface water withdrawal permit within the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area to an applicant that has not identified an end user for the water. Such permit shall not allow the withdrawal of water until an end user has been identified and the permittee has provided a report containing information on the need for and proposed use of the surface water, a description of the raw water intake, and other information. The bill provides that once the Department of Environmental Quality approves the report, the permittee shall request a permit modification. Finally, the bill provides that no potential withdrawal amount of any provisional permit shall be used in the calculation of available water when assessing a subsequent surface water withdrawal application in the affected stream reach if the provisional permit has not been modified to reflect an end user, the Department and the subsequent applicant have found the provisional withdrawal to be inappropriate, and the provisional permit holder has failed to state that an end user will be secured within 12 months.
Sponsored bills
Cruelty to children; penalty. Increasesthe penalty from a Class 6 felony to a Class 4 felony for any personemploying or having custody of a child who willfully causes or permitssuch child to be tortured physically or psychologically, tormented,mutilated, beaten, or cruelly treated. The bill includes such offensein the definition of "violent felony" for purposes of determiningfelony sentencing guidelines. The bill also includes willful andnegligent acts of cruelty and injuries to children in offenses prohibitinga person from operating or residing in a family day home and, if suchoffense is in conjunction with a homicide, requiring registrationunder the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry Act. Thebill moves the provisions criminalizing cruelty and injuries to childrenfrom Title 40.1 (Labor and Employment) to Title 18.2 (Crimes and Offenses Generally).
Protective orders; possession of firearms; surrender or transfer of firearms; penalty. Prohibits any person subject to a permanent protective order (i.e., a protective order with a maximum duration of two years) from knowingly possessing a firearm while the order is in effect, provided that for a period of 24 hours after being served with a protective order such person may continue to possess such firearm for the purposes of selling or transferring it to any person who is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing such firearm. A violation of this provision is a Class 6 felony. The bill also provides that a court shall order a person subject to a permanent protective order to (i) within 24 hours, surrender any firearm possessed by such person to a designated local law-enforcement agency or sell or transfer any firearm possessed by such person to a dealer or to any person who is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing such firearm and (ii) certify in writing that such person does not possess any firearms or that all firearms possessed by such person have been surrendered, sold, or transferred and file such certification with the clerk of the court that entered the protective order within 48 hours after being served with a protective order. The bill provides that any person who willfully fails to certify in writing in accordance with this section that all firearms possessed by such person have been surrendered, sold, or transferred or that such person does not possess any firearms is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill provides procedures for designating a local law-enforcement agency to receive and store firearms, as well as a process to return such surrendered firearms. The bill also makes it a Class 4 felony for any person to sell, barter, give, or furnish any firearm to any person he knows is prohibited from possessing or transporting a firearm who is subject to a permanent protective order. This bill incorporates HB 856 and is identical to SB 479.
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.
Labor and employment; collective bargaining; employees of counties, cities, and towns. Permits counties, cities, and towns to adopt local ordinances authorizing them to (i) recognize any labor union or other employee association as a bargaining agent of any public officers or employees, except for Constitutional officers and their employees, and including public school employees and (ii) collectively bargain or enter into any collective bargaining contract with any such union or association or its agents with respect to any matter relating to them or their employment. The bill provides that for any governing body of a county, city, or town that has not adopted an ordinance or resolution providing for collective bargaining, such governing body is required, within 120 days of receiving certification from a majority of public employees in a unit considered by such employees to be appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, to take a vote to adopt or not adopt an ordinance or resolution to provide for collective bargaining by such public employees and any other public employees deemed appropriate by the governing body. The bill provides that the prohibition against striking for public employees applies, irrespective of any such local ordinance. The bill has a delayed effective date of May 1, 2021. This bill is identical to SB 939.
Prohibited discrimination; public accommodations, employment, credit, and housing: causes of action; sexual orientation and gender identity. Creates causes of action for unlawful discrimination in public accommodations and employment in the Virginia Human Rights Act. Currently, under the Act there is no cause of action for discrimination in public accommodations, and the only causes of action for discrimination in employment are for (i) unlawful discharge on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, or childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation by employers employing more than five but fewer than 15 persons and (ii) unlawful discharge on the basis of age by employers employing more than five but fewer than 20 persons. The bill allows the causes of action to be pursued privately by the aggrieved person or, in certain circumstances, by the Attorney General. Before a civil cause of action may be brought in a court of the Commonwealth, an aggrieved individual must file a complaint with the Division of Human Rights of the Department of Law, participate in an administrative process, and receive a notice of his right to commence a civil action. The bill prohibits discrimination in public and private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also codifies for state and local government employment the current prohibitions on discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran. Additionally, the bill (a) prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran; (b) prohibits discrimination in credit on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, disability, and status as a veteran; and (c) adds discrimination on the basis of an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran as an unlawful housing practice. The bill makes technical amendments. This bill incorporates SB 66 and SB 159.
Elections; same-day registration; in-personabsentee and election day voting. Provides an exception to theclosing of registration records for any person who (i) is qualifiedto register to vote, (ii) is unregistered or registered in a localityin which the person no longer resides but is otherwise entitledto vote by absentee ballot, (iii) desires to vote absentee in personat the time that they present themselves to be registered, and (iv) provides proof of residency. The bill also permits same-day registrantsto vote absentee and provides an excuse for election day absentee voting for such voters. The bill requires all voters who registerto vote under the provisions of this bill to fill out an absenteeapplication, including the required oath, in order to vote. Thisbill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
Field investigations permit; archaeologist qualifications; penalty. Establishes standards for education, experience, ability, and other factors for a field supervisor who is identified in an application to the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation for a permit to conduct a field investigation, exploration, or recovery operation involving any object of antiquity on state-controlled land or on a state archaeological site or zone. The bill provides that the Director may consider the field supervisor's performance on any prior permitted investigation in determining whether the person meets such standards. The bill provides that conducting an investigation without a permit or willfully misrepresenting information (i) on a permit application or (ii) collected during a permitted field investigation is a crime punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Veterans Services Foundation. Provides that the board of trustees of the Veterans Services Foundation may be assisted in the administration of the Foundation by volunteers and staff members employed by the Executive Director. The bill also (i) adds agents and advisors to the composition of the Foundation membership; (ii) allows ex officio members who do not serve as the chairman of another board to serve as chairman of the board of trustees; (iii) specifies that individuals appointed to perform the duties of treasurer and secretary are ex officio, nonvoting officers of the board of trustees; (iv) provides that employment of agents, advisors, volunteers, or employees by the Executive Director is subject to the approval of the board of trustees; and (v) clarifies that the members of the board of trustees and employees of the Foundation are subject to the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act (§ 2.2-3100 et seq.).
Department of State Police; establishment of cold case searchable database. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish and maintain a searchable electronic database of cold cases, available to the public through the Department of State Police official website. The bill defines "cold case" as an investigation into a homicide, missing person, or unidentified person case that has remained unsolved for at least five years after the crime occurred, the person went missing, or the unidentified body was found, whichever occurred last. The bill requires the database to include (i) the category of cold case and, in the case of a homicide or missing person, the name of the victim or missing person, unless prohibited or restricted by law; (ii) the location where the crime was committed, where the person was last seen, or where the body was found, if known; (iii) the date and time the crime occurred, the person was last seen, or the body was found, if known; (iv) the name and contact information of the investigating law-enforcement agency; (v) a brief summary of the crime or case; and (vi) any other information that the investigating law-enforcement agency determines is appropriate. The bill also allows the Department and submitting law-enforcement agencies to withhold such information, in whole or in part, from the database (a) as they deem necessary for investigative purposes, protection of privacy, or any other lawful reason or (b) upon request of the victim's or missing person's next of kin.