Emergency laws; civil relief; citizens of the Commonwealth furloughed or otherwise not receiving wages or payments due to closure of the federal government or declaration of Emergency by the Governor. Provides a 60-day stay of an unlawful detainer for nonpayment of rent for tenants and a 30-day stay of foreclosure proceedings for homeowners of, and owners who rent to a tenant, a one-family to four-family residential dwelling unit who request a stay and provide written proof, defined in the bill, that they are (i) an employee of the United States government, (ii) an independent contractor for the United States government, or (iii) an employee of a company under contract with the United States government who was furloughed or was or is otherwise not receiving wages or payments as a result of a closure of the United States government, defined in the bill. The bill requires homeowners and owners who rent to a tenant a one-family to four-family residential dwelling unit to request such stay of foreclosure proceedings within 90 days of a closure of the United States government or 90 days following the end of such closure, whichever is later. The bill also expands the available relief to any tenant, homeowner, or owner affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic public health crisis during the period for which the Governor has declared a state of emergency (the Emergency). The bill contains an emergency clause and provides that the expanded relief provisions shall expire 90 days following the end of the Emergency.
Sponsored bills
Labor and employment; collective bargaining; employees of counties, cities, and towns. Permits counties, cities, and towns to adopt local ordinances authorizing them to (i) recognize any labor union or other employee association as a bargaining agent of any public officers or employees, except for Constitutional officers and their employees, and including public school employees and (ii) collectively bargain or enter into any collective bargaining contract with any such union or association or its agents with respect to any matter relating to them or their employment. The bill provides that for any governing body of a county, city, or town that has not adopted an ordinance or resolution providing for collective bargaining, such governing body is required, within 120 days of receiving certification from a majority of public employees in a unit considered by such employees to be appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, to take a vote to adopt or not adopt an ordinance or resolution to provide for collective bargaining by such public employees and any other public employees deemed appropriate by the governing body. The bill provides that the prohibition against striking for public employees applies, irrespective of any such local ordinance. The bill has a delayed effective date of May 1, 2021. This bill is identical to SB 939.
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.
Prohibited discrimination; sexual orientationand gender identity. Prohibits discrimination in employment,public accommodation, public contracting, apprenticeship programs,housing, banking, and insurance on the basis of sexual orientationor gender identity. The bill also adds discrimination based on sexualorientation or gender identity to the list of unlawful discriminatoryhousing practices. The bill contains technical amendments.
Elections; same-day registration; in-personabsentee and election day voting. Provides an exception to theclosing of registration records for any person who (i) is qualifiedto register to vote, (ii) is unregistered or registered in a localityin which the person no longer resides but is otherwise entitledto vote by absentee ballot, (iii) desires to vote absentee in personat the time that they present themselves to be registered, and (iv) provides proof of residency. The bill also permits same-day registrantsto vote absentee and provides an excuse for election day absentee voting for such voters. The bill requires all voters who registerto vote under the provisions of this bill to fill out an absenteeapplication, including the required oath, in order to vote. Thisbill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
Absentee voting; postage prepaid on return envelope. Requires the envelope provided to an absentee voter for the return of the absentee ballot to include prepaid postage. The provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2021 Session of the General Assembly.
Minimum wage; tipped employees; classification. Prohibits an employer from classifying an individual as a tippedemployee if the individual is prohibited by applicable federal orstate law or regulation from soliciting tips.
Drinking water supplies; maximum contaminant levels. Directs the State Board of Health to adopt regulations establishing maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in public drinking water systems for (i) perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, and for such other perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances as the Board deems necessary; (ii) chromium-6; and (iii) 1,4-dioxane. The bill requires such MCLs to be protective of public health, including the health of vulnerable subpopulations, and to be no higher than any MCL or health advisory adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the same contaminant. The bill directs the Department of Health to report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions on the status of research related to MCLs by November 1, 2020, and submit a final report by October 1, 2021, detailing the MCL regulations established by the Department of Health. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.
Department of State Police; establishment of cold case searchable database. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish and maintain a searchable electronic database of cold cases, available to the public through the Department of State Police official website. The bill defines "cold case" as an investigation into a homicide, missing person, or unidentified person case that has remained unsolved for at least five years after the crime occurred, the person went missing, or the unidentified body was found, whichever occurred last. The bill requires the database to include (i) the category of cold case and, in the case of a homicide or missing person, the name of the victim or missing person, unless prohibited or restricted by law; (ii) the location where the crime was committed, where the person was last seen, or where the body was found, if known; (iii) the date and time the crime occurred, the person was last seen, or the body was found, if known; (iv) the name and contact information of the investigating law-enforcement agency; (v) a brief summary of the crime or case; and (vi) any other information that the investigating law-enforcement agency determines is appropriate. The bill also allows the Department and submitting law-enforcement agencies to withhold such information, in whole or in part, from the database (a) as they deem necessary for investigative purposes, protection of privacy, or any other lawful reason or (b) upon request of the victim's or missing person's next of kin.
Institutions of higher education; sexual violencepolicies; immunity from disciplinary action; certain students whomake reports. Requires the Virginia Community College System,Richard Bland College, each baccalaureate public institution of highereducation, and each nonprofit private institution of higher educationto include in its sexual violence policy a requirement that any enrolledstudent who (i) reports to any individual employed by the institutionthat an act of sexual violence occurred on campus, in or on a noncampusbuilding or property, or on public property, as such terms are definedin relevant law, and (ii) the institution determines, as a resultof any investigation relating to such alleged act of sexual violence,committed a separate, unrelated, nonviolent act that violates theinstitution's code, rules, or set of standards governing student conduct is immune from disciplinary action for such violation.