Absentee voting; counting military and overseas absentee ballots received after close of polls on election day. Provides that absentee ballots cast by military and overseas absentee voters that are (i) received after the close of the polls on any election day but before 5:00 p.m. on the fourth business day before the State Board of Elections meets to ascertain the results of the election and (ii) postmarked on or before the date of such election are to be counted if the voter is found entitled to vote. The bill provides that a postmark includes any other official indicia of confirmation of mailing by the United States Postal Service or other postal or delivery service. Under current law, such ballots cast by military and overseas absentee voters would be counted in this manner regardless of the date of any postmark, but only if the absentee ballot had been requested on or before, but not sent by, the deadline for making absentee ballots available.
Sponsored bills
Foster care; termination of parental rights; independent living needs assessments; supervisory spans of control. Requires local boards of social services and child-placing agencies, if the child has been in the custody of a local board or child-placing agency for 15 of the most recent 22 months and no petition for termination of parental rights has been filed with the court, to include in the petition for a permanency planning hearing the reasons why a petition to terminate parental rights has not been filed and the reasonable efforts made regarding reunification or transfer of custody to a relative. The bill requires that local boards and child-placing agencies provide information to birth parents regarding the parent's option to voluntarily terminate parental rights, and that the Commissioner of Social Services develop clear guidance documents regarding the manner in which such information should be relayed. The bill requires the Board of Social Services to promulgate regulations related to termination of parental rights, independent living needs assessments and plans, and reporting requirements for local boards and child-placing agencies. The bill requires the Commissioner to (i) provide training to local boards and child-placing agencies regarding common errors made related to termination of parental rights and (ii) establish a work group to assess the feasibility and costs of establishing supervisory spans of control for foster care supervisors. The work group shall report its findings by November 30, 2020.
Business entities; annual registration.Authorizes domestic and foreign stock corporations with less than5,000 authorized shares, domestic and foreign nonstock corporations,and domestic and foreign limited liability companies to prepay upto five years of the required annual registration fee.
Conveyance and transfers of real property by state agencies; Department of Military Affairs; lease of state military reservation property. Provides that, subject to general provisions governing the lease of property owned by the Commonwealth by state agencies, the Department of Military Affairs may convey a leasehold interest in any portion of State Military Reservation property to governmental or private entities when it is deemed to be in the Department's best interest to (i) provide necessary services such as lodging, training capabilities, or logistical utility services that support the Department's mission or (ii) maintain a peripheral buffer with compatible uses, including ground parking leases. The term of such lease may not exceed 50 years; however, any agreement may be extended upon the written recommendation of the Governor and the approval of the General Assembly. In the event that the Department enters into a written lease with a private individual, firm, corporation, or other entity, neither the real property that is the subject of the lease nor any improvements or personal property located on the real property that is the subject of the lease shall be subject to taxation by any local government authority, provided that the real property, improvements, or personal property is used for a purpose consistent with or supporting the Department's mission.
Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act; illegal gambling device. Adds possession of an illegal gambling device and knowingly concealing, avoiding, or decreasing an obligation to pay or transmit money to the Commonwealth that is derived from the operation of such device to the list of violations for which a civil penalty may be assessed against a person who is found to have committed any such violation.
Primary ballot; certain required statements as qualification for candidacy; failure to timely file. Provides that the name of any person who does not file his written statement of qualification or statement of economic interests by the relevant deadline, or by the end of an extension period if an extension of the deadline has been granted by the State Board of Elections, shall not be printed on the primary election ballot.
Virginia National Guard; state active duty for emergency response; pay and allowances for members. Provides that whenever called to state active duty in response to certain emergencies, members of the National Guard and the Virginia Defense Force receive pay and allowance equal to their rank and years of service, as determined by the Department of Military Affairs. The bill also authorizes the Adjutant General to increase state active duty pay on an annual basis by a rate not to exceed the most recent percentage increase in basic pay for members of the Armed Forces. Current law provides that (i) officers of the National Guard receive the same pay and allowances as prescribed for members of like rank in the United States Armed Forces, (ii) members of the National Guard receive the same pay and allowances as if they were on a day of Annual Training, and (iii) members of the Virginia Defense Force called to state active duty receive the same pay and allowances as persons of like grade in the National Guard for a day of Annual Training, capped at 25 years of service. The provisions of the bills are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.
Sudden cardiac arrest prevention in student-athletes. Directs the Board of Education to develop, biennially update, and distribute to each local school division guidelines on policies to inform and educate coaches, student-athletes, and student-athletes' parents or guardians about the nature and risk of sudden cardiac arrest, procedures for removal from and return to play, and the risks of not reporting symptoms. The bill also requires local school divisions to develop and biennially update policies and procedures regarding the identification and handling of symptoms that may lead to sudden cardiac arrest in student-athletes.
Income tax exclusion; student loan forgiveness; disabled veterans. Excludes from Virginia adjusted gross income any income received by a totally and permanently disabled veteran from student loan debt cancellation or discharge for taxable years 2020 through 2025.
Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge. Designatesthe bridge on Guinea Station Road over Interstate 95 in SpotsylvaniaCounty the Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge.