Sen. John Bell

Prohibits school employees from opening or closing an electronic room partition in any school building except under certain limited circumstances. The bill requires any annual safety review or exercise for school employees in a local school division to include information and demonstrations, as appropriate, regarding the operation of such partitions. The bill also requires the Department of Education to make available to each school board model safety guidance regarding the operation of such partitions.

Changes the maximum allowable sum of all jobs performed in a one-year contract term for job order contracts by increasing such maximum from the current amount of $5 million to $6 million on July 1, 2019. The bill also provides an exception to allow job order contracting in the case of safety improvements or traffic calming measures for individual job orders up to $250,000, subject to the maximum annual threshold amount as established in the bill. This bill is identical to

Provides that a telephone solicitor and the seller on whose behalf or for whose benefit a telephone solicitation call offering or advertising a seller's property, goods, or services is made or initiated are jointly and severally liable for violations of the Virginia Telephone Privacy Protection Act (§ 59.1-510 et seq.). The measure establishes a presumption that a telephone solicitation call offering or advertising a seller's property, goods, or services is made or initiated on behalf of or for the benefit of the seller and provides that this presumption may be rebutted if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that (i) the seller did not retain or request the telephone solicitor to make telephone solicitation calls on the seller's behalf or for the seller's benefit and (ii) such telephone solicitation calls were made by the telephone solicitor without the seller's knowledge or consent. The measure removes a provision that authorized the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to inquire into possible violations of the Act and contains technical amendments. This bill is identical to

Makes extensive changes to conditional zoning provisions first enacted in 2016. Specific amendments include the addition of provisions stating that no local governing body shall require any unreasonable proffer, as described in current law. Under current law, no locality may request or accept any unreasonable proffer. Other changes (i) allow an applicant to submit any onsite or offsite proffer that the applicant deems reasonable and appropriate, as conclusively evidenced by the signed proffers, and (ii) state that nothing in the bill shall be deemed or interpreted to prohibit communications between an applicant or owner and the locality or to prohibit presentation, analysis, or discussion of the potential impacts of new residential development or other new residential use on the locality's public facilities. The provisions of the bill are effective as to any application for a rezoning filed on or after July 1, 2019, or for a proffer condition amendment amending a rezoning that was filed on or after July 1, 2019, or to certain other pending applications. The bill also provides that an applicant with a pending rezoning application for a rezoning or proffer condition amendment that was filed prior to July 1, 2016, may continue to proceed under the law as it existed prior to that date, and an applicant with a pending rezoning application filed on or after July 1, 2016, but before July 1, 2019, or proffer condition amendment application amending a rezoning for which the application was filed on or after July 1, 2016, but before July 1, 2019, may continue to proceed under the law as it existed during that period. This bill is identical to