Sen. Aaron Rouse

Cannabis control; retail market; penalties. Establishes a framework for the creation of a retail marijuana market in the Commonwealth, which would be administered by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. The bill allows the Authority to begin issuing marijuana licenses on July 1, 2024, but provides that no marijuana sales may occur prior to January 1, 2025. Substitute offered in Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee:https://committees.lis.virginia.gov/pdfs/drafts/cannabis2.pdf Substitute offered in Rehabilitation and Social Services, Cannabis Subcommittee:https://committees.lis.virginia.gov/pdfs/drafts/cannabis1.pdf

State Corporation Commission; powers and duties. Provides that in proceedings before the State Corporation Commission relating to the regulation and oversight of utilities, the Commission shall consider public health and safety, the economy of the Commonwealth, the promotion of workforce development for residents of the Commonwealth, and the maintenance of fair labor standards for workers employed by public service companies and their contractors, if applicable to the proceeding.

Reproductive health care services; prohibitions on extradition for certain crimes. Provides that no demand for extradition of a person charged with a criminal violation of law of another state shall be recognized by the Governor if such alleged violation involves the receipt or provision of or assistance with reproductive health care services within the Commonwealth unless the alleged criminal violation would also constitute a criminal offense under the laws of the Commonwealth. The bill also provides that such limit on extradition shall not apply when the person who is subject to such demand for extradition by another state was physically present in the demanding state at the time of the commission of the alleged offense and thereafter fled from such state.

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.

Voter registration; list maintenance activities; cancellation procedures; required record matches; required identification information; data standards. Requires certain, specified identification information to be included on the lists received by the Department of Elections for list maintenance purposes and requires the Department, upon receiving any such list, to do an initial comparison of the information included on such list with the list of registered voters and determine the confidence score for any match. Matches with a confidence score of at least 80 are transmitted to the appropriate general registrars. The bill prohibits the use of voter data received from another state or jurisdiction or through a list comparison for list maintenance purposes when the data file does not include a unique identifier for each individual whose information is contained in the data file. The bill requires the Department of Elections to annually review all sources of data utilized for list maintenance activities for the purpose of determining the validity, completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data received from each source, and to include the results of such review in its annual report to the Committees on Privileges and Elections regarding its list maintenance activities. The bill requires the general registrars to send notice prior to cancelling a voter's record regardless of the reason for cancellation. Lastly, the bill clarifies that when a voter's registration is canceled, a cancellation record must be created, and that such records are public in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the National Voter Registration Act. The bill includes numerous technical amendments for organizational purposes. This bill is identical to HB 904.

Election of certain governing bodies; conversionto single-member districts. Allows the governing body of a localitythat has been subject to a court order imposing a remedial electionsystem under voting rights laws to adopt an ordinance to convertone or more at-large seats of such body to single-member districts.The bill provides that members of such governing body in office onthe effective date of such ordinance shall complete their terms ofoffice.

Charter; City of Virginia Beach. Amends the charter for the City of Virginia Beach to reflect the City's transition to a city council consisting solely of single-member districts and the mayor. This bill is identical to HB 416.

Contract actions; medical debt. Provides that in any action, including those brought by the Commonwealth, upon any contract to collect medical debt, as defined in the bill, such an action is barred if not commenced within three years from the due date applicable to the first invoice for a health care service unless the contract with a hospital or health care provider is for a payment plan that allows for a longer period of time for the collection of debt by the hospital or health care provider. The bill specifies that such limitation shall not apply to medical debt arising from services provided by programs administered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services.

Virginia Self-Service Storage Act. Permits a rental agreement for a leased self-service storage space to be delivered and accepted electronically. The bill permits a rental agreement to contain statements that the rental agreement is deemed accepted by the owner where the owner accepts rent or where the occupant accepts possession or delivers rent. Finally, the bill permits towing of any abandoned, immobilized, unattended, or trespassing vehicles or watercraft that are not authorized to be at the self-service storage facility.

Barrier crimes; adult substance abuse and mental health services; exception. Permits the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, providers of substance abuse or mental health services to adults, and community services boards and behavioral health authorities to hire applicants convicted of certain barrier crimes of misdemeanor assault and battery or involving controlled substances without additional screening or other requirements, provided that such conviction occurred more than five years prior to the application date for employment.