Elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; locally elected offices; report. Allows elections for any local or constitutional office to be conducted by ranked choice voting. Under current law, only elections of members of a county board of supervisors or a city council are allowed to be conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill also clarifies requirements for conducting elections using ranked choice voting and requires results for elections conducted by ranked choice voting to be reported along with other results reported on election night, except that such results must clearly be identified as preliminary and based on the first rankings in a ranked choice voting election. The bill provides that final tabulation for an election for a local or constitutional office that is not shared by more than one county or city is required to be conducted on the same day as other results are canvassed by the local electoral board and that final tabulation for and election for a local or constitutional office that is shared by more than one county or city is required to be conducted at a centralized facility under the supervision of the Department of Elections. The bill specifies that ranking data is required to be made publicly available by the Department and requires the State Board of Elections to provide standards and to approve vote tabulating software for use with existing voting systems in elections conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill also limits a risk-limiting audit of an election conducted using ranked choice voting to the first choice rankings reported on voting systems. Finally, the bill directs the Department to review the testing and approval framework for voting equipment in the Commonwealth and submit a report of such review no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Sponsored bills
Commending the Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce.
Constitutional amendment (first reference);fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Provides that everyindividual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom andthat the right to make and effectuate one's own decisions about allmatters related to one's pregnancy cannot be denied, burdened, orotherwise infringed upon by the Commonwealth, unless justified bya compelling state interest and achieved by the least restrictive means. The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing,prosecuting, or otherwise taking adverse action against an individualfor exercising the individual's right to reproductive freedom or foraiding another individual in the exercise of such right, unless justifiedby a compelling state interest.
Employment; paid sick leave; civil penalties. Expandsprovisions of the Code that currently require one hour of paid sick leave forevery 30 hours worked for home health workers to cover all employees of privateemployers and state and local governments. The bill requires that employees whoare employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis accrue paid sick leavein accordance with regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Labor andIndustry. The bill provides that employees transferred to a separate divisionor location remain entitled to previously accrued paid sick leave and thatemployees retain their accrued sick leave under any successor employer. Thebill allows employers to provide a more generous paid sick leave policy thanprescribed by its provisions. Employees, in addition to using paid sick leavefor their physical or mental illness or to care for a family member, may usepaid sick leave for their need for services or relocation due to domesticabuse, sexual assault, or stalking.The bill provides that certain health care workers who work nomore than 30 hours per month may waive the right to accrue and use paid sickleave. The bill also provides that employers are not required to provide paidsick leave to certain health care workers who are employed on a pro re nata, oras-needed, basis, regardless of the number of hours worked. The bill requiresthe Commissioner to promulgate regulations regarding employee notification andemployer recordkeeping requirements.The bill authorizes the Commissioner, in the case of a knowingviolation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for thefirst violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successiveviolation. The Commissioner may institute proceedings on behalf of an employeeto enforce compliance with the provisions of this bill. Additionally, anaggrieved employee is authorized to bring a civil action against the employerin which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid sick leave and theamount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer'sviolation. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.
Constitutional amendment (first reference);qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled tovote. Provides that every person who meets the qualificationsof voters set forth in the Constitution of Virginia shall have thefundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such rightshall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convictedof a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacityto understand the act of voting. A person who has been convictedof a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarcerationfor such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration forthat felony conviction and without further action required of him,such person shall be invested with all political rights, includingthe right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a personconvicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by theGovernor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also providesthat a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction aslacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacityhas been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitutionof Virginia provides that a person who has been adjudicated to bementally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competencyis reestablished.
Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.
Electric utilities; State Corporation Commission;energy policy of the Commonwealth. Requires the State CorporationCommission to ensure that the Commonwealth implements the energypolicy of the Commonwealth, as defined by relevant law, at the lowestreasonable cost, taking into account all cost-effective demand-sidemanagement options and the security and reliability benefits of theregional transmission entity that each incumbent electric utilityhas joined. The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that plans,petitions, or proposals from utilities that do not ensure such implementationat the lowest reasonable cost are not in the public interest.
Consumer protection; failure to honor servicewarranty. Prohibits a supplier in connection with a consumertransaction from failing to honor a service warranty of another supplierafter acquiring the business of such other supplier. A violationof the provisions of the bill constitutes a violation of the VirginiaConsumer Protection Act.
Imposition of income tax. Establishes anew income tax bracket beginning on and after January 1, 2024, that taxes income in excess of $1 million at a rate of 10 percent. Thebill provides that 50 percent of revenues generated by the new taxbracket will be dedicated to providing additional basic aid fundingfor public schools, 30 percent of such revenues will be dedicatedto the Child Care Subsidy Program, and 20 percent of such revenueswill be dedicated to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund.
Public school staffing ratios; specializedstudent support positions. Increases the number of specialized student support positions required to be employed by each local schoolboard from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000students in the local school division. Such specialized student supportpositions include school social workers, school psychologists, schoolnurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts,and other licensed health and behavioral positions.