Paid family and medical leave program. Requiresthe Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer apaid family and medical leave program with benefits beginning January1, 2023. Under the program, benefits are paid to eligible employeesfor family and medical leave. Funding for the program is providedthrough premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning in2022. The amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's averageweekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changesin the statewide average weekly wage. The measure caps the durationof paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year. The bill provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program.
Sponsored bills
Emergency Medical Services Patient Care Information System; trauma data; confidentiality. Authorizes the State Health Commissioner to disclose certain confidential data in the Emergency Medical Services Patient Care Information System, including information, research, or medical data that identifies patients by name or address, to certain entities that seek to improve the delivery of prehospital and hospital emergency medical services, the quality of patient care, and access to medical services or to make other system improvements, if the Commissioner determines that such disclosure is necessary to develop and implement such improvements. The bill requires the Board of Health to develop and approve a policy specific to the sharing of data from the Emergency Medical Services Patient Care Information System.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; return of security deposit. Requires the landlord to return the tenant's security deposit, minus any deductions or charges, within 45 days of the termination of the tenancy or the date the tenant vacates the dwelling unit, whichever occurs last. Under current law, the 45-day period to return the security deposit begins on the date of the termination of the tenancy. This bill is identical to HB 594.
Public institutions of higher education; eligibility for in-state tuition. Provides that any student is eligible for in-state tuition who (i) attended high school for at least two years in the Commonwealth and either (a) graduated on or after July 1, 2008, from a public or private high school or program of home instruction in the Commonwealth or (b) passed, on or after July 1, 2008, a high school equivalency examination approved by the Secretary of Education; (ii) has submitted evidence that he or, in the case of a dependent student, at least one parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis has filed, unless exempted by state law, Virginia income tax returns for at least two years prior to the date of registration or enrollment; and (iii) registers as an entering student or is enrolled in a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. The bill states that students who meet these criteria shall be eligible for in-state tuition regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, except students with currently valid visas issued under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F), 1101(a)(15)(H)(iii), 1101(a)(15)(J) (including only students or trainees), or 1101(a)(15)(M). Information obtained in the implementation of the provisions of the bill shall only be used or disclosed to individuals other than the student for purposes of determining in-state tuition eligibility. This bill is identical to HB 1547.
Engineers; exemption from regulation. Excludes engineering services rendered in connection with gas pipeline facilitiesfrom the exemption from regulation by the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects. Currently, this exemption exists for the practice ofengineering solely as (i) an employee of a corporation engaged ininterstate commerce or (ii) an employee of a public service corporation,by rendering such corporation engineering service in connection withits facilities that are subject to regulation by the State CorporationCommission.
Misclassification of employees as independentcontractors; Department of Taxation to investigate and enforce; civil penalties. Prohibits an employer from classifying an individualas an independent contractor if he is an employee. An individualshall be considered an employee of the party that pays the remunerationfor purposes of Titles 40.1 (Labor and Employment), 58.1 (Taxation),60.2 (Unemployment Compensation), and 65.2 (Workers' Compensation)unless and until it is shown to the satisfaction of the Departmentof Taxation that such individual is an independent contractor under Internal Revenue Service guidelines. Violators are subject to civilpenalties and debarment from public contracts. The bill has a delayedeffective date of January 1, 2021.
Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge. Designatesthe bridge on Guinea Station Road over Interstate 95 in SpotsylvaniaCounty the Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge.
Rental or lease of dog or cat prohibited; civil penalty. Prohibits the rental or lease of a dog or cat to a consumer, including by a purported sale of the animal in a manner that vests less than full equity in the consumer at the time of the purported sale. The bill prohibits the sale of a dog or cat in which the animal is subject to repossession upon default of the agreement and prohibits any financial institution from offering a loan for which the animal is subject to repossession upon default of the loan. The bill provides that the Attorney General may bring a civil action to enforce the bill's provisions and that a violator may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $2,500. A pet shop, commercial dog breeder, dealer, or other business that violates the provisions of the bill also may have its business license, retail license, or local pet shop permit suspended or revoked after a hearing by the issuing authority. The bill exempts certain animals from its prohibitions, including purebred dogs leased for breeding; dogs or cats used in spectator events, motion pictures, racing, or other entertainment; and service dogs, guide or leader dogs, security dogs, law-enforcement dogs, military working dogs, and certified facility dogs. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021.
Virginia Health Club Act; automated externaldefibrillator required in health clubs. Requires each healthclub location to have a working automated external defibrillator.
Specialty dockets; veterans docket. Providesthat any veterans docket authorized and established as a local specialtydocket in accordance with the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginiashall be deemed a "Veterans Treatment Court Program," as that termis used under federal law or by any other entity, for the purposesof applying for, qualifying for, or receiving any federal grants,other federal money, or money from any other entity designated toassist or fund such state programs. The bill contains an emergencyclause.