Prompt payment by contractors to subcontractors. Provides that contracts under the Virginia Public Procurement Act shall include a payment clause requiring the contractor to pay a subcontractor within seven days after receipt of amounts paid to the contractor by the state agency or locality. Under current law, the contractor is allowed to either pay the subcontractor or notify the state agency or locality and subcontractor of his intention to withhold all or a part of the subcontractor's payment with the reason for nonpayment. The bill also provides that nonresidential construction contracts entered into after July 1, 2020, are deemed to include an interest clause obligating the general contractor to pay interest to the subcontractor on all amounts owed by the contractor that remain unpaid after seven days. In addition, the bill provides that payment by a public body or private owner to a contractor shall not be a condition precedent for payment to a subcontractor, and payment by a contractor to a subcontractor is not a condition precedent for payment to any other subcontractor.
Sponsored bills
Campaign finance; disbursement of surplus funds;prohibited conversion to personal use. Amends the current lawsregarding the disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution ofa campaign or political committee so that such restrictions wouldapply throughout the life of a campaign or political committee. Suchrestrictions include the prohibition against the conversion of anymoney, securities, or like intangible personal property that hasbeen contributed to a campaign or political committee to the personaluse of any person.
Department of Education; pilot program; feasibility ofeducational placement transition of certain students with disabilities.Requires the Department of Education and relevant local school boards to developand implement a pilot program for up to four years in two to eight local schooldivisions in the Commonwealth. In developing the pilot, the Department isrequired to partner with the appropriate school board employees in each suchlocal school division to (i) identify the resources, services, and supportsrequired by each student who resides in each such local school division and whois educated in a private school setting pursuant to his IndividualizedEducation Program; (ii) study the feasibility of transitioning each suchstudent from his private school setting to an appropriate public school settingin the local school division and providing the identified resources, services,and supports in such public school setting; and (iii) recommend a process forredirecting federal, state, and local funds, including funds provided pursuantto the Children's Services Act, provided for the education of each such studentto the local school division for the purpose of providing the identifiedresources, services, and supports in the appropriate public school setting. Thebill requires the Department of Education to make a report to the Governor, theSenate Committees on Education and Health and Finance, and the House Committeeson Education and Appropriations on the findings of each pilot program after twoand four years.
Consumer lending. Replaces references to payday loans with the term "short-term loans." The measure caps the interest and fees that may be charged under a short-term loan at an annual rate of 36 percent, plus a maintenance fee; increases the maximum amount of such loans from $500 to $2,500; and sets the duration of such loans at a minimum of four months, subject to exceptions, and a maximum of 24 months. Short-term loan licensees are required to make a reasonable attempt to verify a borrower's income and may not collect fees and charges that exceed 50 percent of the original loan amount if such amount is equal to or less than $1,500 and 60 percent of the original loan amount if such amount is greater than $1,500. The measure amends the requirements for motor vehicle title loans, including requiring licensed lenders to use a database to determine a prospective borrower's eligibility for a loan and prohibiting loans to a borrower who has an outstanding short-term loan. The measure sets a 36-percent annual interest rate cap on open-end credit plans and allows a $50 annual participation fee. A violation of these provisions is made a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The measure amends provisions of the Consumer Finance Act to, among other things, allow licensed lenders to use the services of access partners and establish requirements that loans be between $300 and $35,000; be repayable in substantially equal installment payments; have a term of no fewer than six and no more than 120 months; charge not more than 36 percent annual interest and a loan processing fee; and require licensees to post a bond. The measure prohibits credit service businesses from advertising, offering, or performing other services in connection with an extension of credit that has an annual interest rate exceeding 36 percent, is for less than $5,000, has a term of less than one year, or is provided under an open-end credit plan. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021, and requires any person who would be required to be licensed under the provisions of the act to apply for a license by October 1, 2020. This bill is identical to HB 789.
Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder; law-enforcement officers and firefighters. Provides that post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if a mental health professional examines a law-enforcement officer or firefighter and diagnoses the individual as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the individual's undergoing a qualifying event, which includes an event occurring in the line of duty on or after July 1, 2020, in which a law-enforcement officer or firefighter views a deceased minor, witnesses the death of a person or an incident involving the death of a person, witnesses an injury to a person who subsequently dies, has physical contact with and treats an injured person who subsequently dies, transports an injured person who subsequently dies, or witnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in the loss of a vital body part or a vital body function that results in permanent disfigurement of the victim. Other conditions for compensability include (i) if the post-traumatic stress disorder resulted from the law-enforcement officer or firefighter acting in the line of duty and, in the case of a firefighter, such firefighter complied with certain federal Occupational Safety and Health Act standards; (ii) if the law-enforcement officer's or firefighter's undergoing a qualifying 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, was the primary cause of the post-traumatic stress disorder; and (iv) if the post-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 measure establishes procedural requirements on employers that contest a claim for such benefits. The measure also establishes requirements for resilience and self-care technique training.
Bicyclists and other vulnerable road users; penalty. Provides that a person who operates a motor vehicle in a careless or distracted manner and is the proximate cause of serious physical injury to a vulnerable road user, defined in the bill as a pedestrian; the operator of or passenger on a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, wheel chair or wheel chair conveyance, skateboard, roller skates, motorized skateboard or scooter, or animal-drawn vehicle or any attached device; or any person riding an animal, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also prohibits the driver of a motor vehicle from crossing into a bicycle lane to pass or attempt to pass another vehicle, except in certain circumstances.
Prohibited discrimination; public accommodations, employment, credit, and housing: causes of action; sexual orientation and gender identity. Creates causes of action for unlawful discrimination in public accommodations and employment in the Virginia Human Rights Act. Currently, under the Act there is no cause of action for discrimination in public accommodations, and the only causes of action for discrimination in employment are for (i) unlawful discharge on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, or childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation by employers employing more than five but fewer than 15 persons and (ii) unlawful discharge on the basis of age by employers employing more than five but fewer than 20 persons. The bill allows the causes of action to be pursued privately by the aggrieved person or, in certain circumstances, by the Attorney General. Before a civil cause of action may be brought in a court of the Commonwealth, an aggrieved individual must file a complaint with the Division of Human Rights of the Department of Law, participate in an administrative process, and receive a notice of his right to commence a civil action. The bill prohibits discrimination in public and private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also codifies for state and local government employment the current prohibitions on discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran. Additionally, the bill (a) prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran; (b) prohibits discrimination in credit on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, disability, and status as a veteran; and (c) adds discrimination on the basis of an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran as an unlawful housing practice. The bill makes technical amendments. This bill incorporates SB 66 and SB 159.
Absentee voting; no excuse required. Permits any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot in any election in which he is qualified to vote. The bill removes the current list of statutory reasons under which a person may be entitled to vote by absentee ballot and removes references to those reasons from other sections of the Code. This bill incorporates SB 45, SB 137, SB 696, and SB 879.
Health insurance; mandated coverage for hearing aids for minors. Requires health insurers, health maintenance organizations, and corporations providing health care coverage subscription contracts to provide coverage for hearing aids and related services for children 18 years of age or younger when an otolaryngologist recommends such hearing aids and related services. The coverage includes one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear, up to a cost of $1,500, every 24 months. The measure applies to policies, contracts, and plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2021.
Department of Transportation; electronic speed indicator signs; U.S. Route 17. Requires the Commissioner of Highways to place at least six permanent electronic speed indicator signs on U.S. Route 17 near particular intersections in Fauquier County. This bill is identical to HB 941.