Virginia Small Business Economic Development Act established; regulation of skill game machines; penalties. Establishes the Virginia Small Business Economic Development Act for the purpose of providing a regulatory and registration scheme for skill game machines in the Commonwealth. The bill authorizes and specifies the registration requirements for the distribution, operation, hosting, and play of skill game machines, as defined in the bill. The bill imposes a 25 percent tax on the gross receipts from the play of each skill game machine from each distributor and provides for the use of such tax proceeds, with most being deposited into the PreK-12 Priority Fund, established in the bill. The bill directs the Virginia Lottery Board to promulgate regulations no later than January 1, 2027, to implement the provisions of the bill and authorizes the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to grant a provisional registration, beginning July 1, 2024, to any entity that provides a laboratory certification from a laboratory approved by the Authority that the game being distributed, operated, or placed in an establishment meets the definition and requirements of a skill game machine.
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Manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, etc., of fentanyl, heroin, or related controlled substances; Task Force on Fentanyl and Heroin Enforcement established; penalties. Provides that a person is guilty of felony homicide, which constitutes second degree murder and is punishable by confinement of not less than five nor more than 40 years, if the underlying felonious act that resulted in the killing of another involved the manufacture, sale, gift, or distribution of a Schedule I or II controlled substance to another and (i) such other person's death results from his use of the controlled substance and (ii) the controlled substance is the proximate cause of his death. The bill provides that venue for a prosecution of this crime shall lie in the locality where the underlying felony occurred, where the use of the controlled substance occurred, or where death occurred. The bill also provides that if a person gave or distributed a Schedule I or II controlled substance only as an accommodation to another individual who is not an inmate in a community correctional facility, local correctional facility, or state correctional facility, or in the custody of an employee thereof, and not with intent to profit thereby from any consideration received or expected nor to induce the recipient of the controlled substance to use or become addicted to or dependent upon such controlled substance, he is guilty of a Class 5 felony. The bill also requires the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to investigate the cause and manner of a death in any case where the attorney for the Commonwealth or the investigating law-enforcement agency has probable cause to believe that the death resulted from such felony homicide. The bill also adds mandatory minimum fines for manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with the intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, heroin, or carfentanil based on the weight of such mixtures or substances. Additionally, the bill creates the Task Force on Fentanyl and Heroin Enforcement whose purpose is to study ways to enhance the ability of law-enforcement officers throughout the Commonwealth to combat the illegal manufacturing, importation, and distribution of fentanyl, heroin, and other similar controlled substances. The bill requires the Task Force to meet at least annually and to report to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1 of each year regarding its activities and any recommendations.
Charter; Town of New Market. Establishes a new charter for the Town of New Market in Shenandoah County and repeals the current charter, which was created in 1972. The proposed charter sets out the organization of the town's government and contains powers typically granted to towns. This bill is identical to HB 376.
Vested rights; building permits. Provides that if a locality has issued a building permit, despite nonconformance with the zoning ordinance, and a property owner, relying in good faith on the issuance of the building permit, incurs extensive obligations or substantial expenses in diligent pursuit of a building project that is in conformance with the building permit and the Uniform Statewide Building Code, the locality shall not treat such building as an illegal use but rather as a legal nonconforming use. Current law requires that such project be completed and a certificate of occupancy issued in order to receive such protection.
Controlled substances; manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, etc.; adulterated or misbranded drugs; penalties. Makes it a Class 6 felony for any person, except for permitted manufacturers, to possess, purchase, sell, give, distribute, or possess with intent to sell, give, or distribute an encapsulating machine or a tableting machine that manufactures, compounds, converts, produces, processes, prepares, or otherwise introduces into the human body a controlled substance. The bill makes it a Class 5 felony if such person knows, intends, or has reasonable cause to believe that such action will result in the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance that contains (i) a controlled substance classified in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Drug Control Act; (ii) cocaine, coca leaves, or any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation thereof as described in Schedule II of the Drug Control Act; or (iii) a controlled substance analog as defined in relevant law.The bill also makes it a felony punishable by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 40 years for any person 18 years of age or older to knowingly allow a minor or a mentally incapacitated or physically helpless person of any age to be present during the manufacture or attempted manufacture of any substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.The bill also increases from a Class 2 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for violations related to adulterated or misbranded drugs and cosmetics.
Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin and prohibits such discrimination. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin. This bill incorporates SB 120 and is identical to HB 18.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund; claims. Provides that in claims for an award under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund involving claims of sexual abuse of a minor where the conduct constitutes a felony, the passage of time shall not be a barrier to when the victim can file a claim. Under current law, such claim involving sexual abuse of a minor shall be filed within 10 years after the minor's eighteenth birthday. This bill is identical to HB 155.
Tax credit for purchase of conservation tillageand precision agricultural application equipment; sunset date. Extends the sunset date of the individual and corporate tax creditfor purchase of conservation tillage and precision agricultural applicationequipment from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2030.
Agricultural best management practices taxcredit; sunset date. Extends the sunset date of the individualand corporate agricultural best management practices tax credit fromJanuary 1, 2025, to January 1, 2030.
Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. This bill is identical to HB 1381.