Authorizes casino gaming in the Commonwealth to be regulated by the Virginia Lottery Board (the Board). Casino gaming shall be limited to certain cities that meet the criteria that is outlined in the bill, and a referendum must be passed in the city on the question of allowing casino gaming in the city. The bill requires the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) conduct a review of casino gaming laws of other states and report its findings to Chairmen of the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology and the House Committee on General Laws on or before December 1, 2019. The bill contains enactment clauses that prohibit (i) any referendum from being held prior to the publication of the JLARC findings and recommendations regarding casino gaming or after January 1, 2021, and (ii) the Board from issuing a license to operate a gaming operation before July 1, 2020. The bill also provides that amendments to the Code of Virginia that are made in the bill will not become effective unless reenacted by the 2020 Session of the General Assembly.
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Allows for any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot in person beginning on the second Saturday immediately preceding any election in which he is qualified to vote without providing a reason or making prior application for an absentee ballot. The bill makes absentee voting in person available beginning on the forty-fifth day prior to the election and ending at 5:00 p.m. on the Saturday immediately preceding the election. The bill retains the current provisions for voting an absentee ballot by mail or in person prior to the second Saturday immediately preceding the election, including the application requirement and the list of statutory reasons for absentee voting. The provisions of the bill do not become effective until the November 3, 2020, general election, and the State Board of Elections is required to submit a report on the procedures and instructions it promulgates for conducting absentee voting pursuant to the provisions of the bill.