Study; JCOTS; safety, quality of life, andeconomic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastalareas in Virginia; report. Directs the Joint Commission on Technologyand Science (JCOTS) to study the safety, quality of life, and economicconsequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areasin Virginia. In conducting its study, JCOTS shall examine (i) thenegative impacts of weather, and geological and climate-related events,including displacement, economic loss, and damage to health or infrastructure;(ii) the area or areas and the number of citizens affected by suchimpacts; (iii) the frequency or probability and the time dimensions,including near-term, medium-term, and long-term probabilities ofsuch impacts; (iv) alternative actions available to remedy or mitigatesuch impacts and their expected cost; (v) the degree of certaintythat each of these impacts and alternative actions may reliably beknown; and (vi) the technical resources available, either in stateor otherwise, to effect such alternative actions and improve our knowledge of their effectiveness and cost.
Sponsored bills
Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverageratio. Provides an alternative to the food-to-beverage ratiofor mixed beverage restaurant licensees by allowing such licenseesto meet applicable food sale requirements by demonstrating at least$10,000 in monthly food sales.
Celebrating the life of Alan Arnold Diamonstein.
Commending the Washington Nationals.
Disclosure of vehicle damage; vehicle title.Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to attach a disclosureto the title of any vehicle that is reported to the National MotorVehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) noting that such vehiclehas been reported to NMVTIS and how to obtain more information aboutthe history of the vehicle.
Commending the Norfolk Police Department.
Entitlement to sales tax revenues from certainpublic facilities; authorized localities and facilities; sunset.Adds the City of Chesapeake to the list of localities that are authorizedto issue bonds for the construction of public facilities and retainsales and use tax revenue generated within such facilities to payoff such bonds. The bill adds outdoor amphitheater to the list ofauthorized public facilities and extends until July 1, 2024, theperiod of time during which authorized localities may issue bonds for the construction of public facilities and retain sales and usetax revenue generated within such facilities to pay off such bonds.Under current law, such authority expires on July 1, 2020.
Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder;law-enforcement officers and firefighters. Provides that post-traumaticstress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter iscompensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if a mental healthprofessional examines a law-enforcement officer or firefighter and diagnosesthe individual as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result ofthe individual's undergoing a qualifying event, which includes an eventoccurring in the line of duty on or after July 1, 2020, in which alaw-enforcement officer or firefighter views a deceased minor, witnesses thedeath of a person or an incident involving the death of a person, witnesses aninjury to a person who subsequently dies, has physical contact with and treatsan injured person who subsequently dies, transports an injured person whosubsequently dies, or witnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in theloss of a vital body part or a vital body function that results in permanentdisfigurement of the victim. Other conditions for compensability include (i) ifthe post-traumatic stress disorder resulted from the law-enforcement officer orfirefighter acting in the line of duty and, in the case of a firefighter, suchfirefighter complied with certain federal Occupational Safety and Health Actstandards; (ii) if the law-enforcement officer's or firefighter's undergoing aqualifying event was a substantial factor in causing his post-traumatic stress disorder;(iii) if such qualifying event, and not another event or source of stress, wasthe primary cause of the post-traumatic stress disorder; and (iv) if thepost-traumatic stress disorder did not result from any disciplinary action,work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, promotion, termination,retirement, or similar action of the officer or firefighter. The measureestablishes procedural requirements on employers that contest a claim for suchbenefits. The measure also establishes requirements for resilience andself-care technique training.
Sex offenders in emergency shelters; notification;penalty. Provides that a registered sex offender who enters anemergency shelter designated by the Commonwealth or any politicalsubdivision thereof and operated in response to a declared stateor local emergency shall, as soon as practicable after entry, notifya member of the shelter's staff who is responsible for providingsecurity of such person's status as a registered sex offender. Thebill provides that any person who fails to notify the shelter's staffof his status as a registered sex offender is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. This bill provides that no person shall be denied entrysolely on the basis of his status as a sex offender unless such entryis otherwise prohibited by law, but emergency shelter staff may denyentry of a person on such registry who has been convicted of a sexuallyviolent offense for a period of time necessary to ensure the safetyof other individuals admitted to the emergency shelter.
Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases. Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters or certain employees develop the cancer. The measure removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. This bill was incorporated into SB 9.