Sen. Dave Marsden

Commission on Civic Education; sunset and funding; membership. Repeals the sunset provision for the Commission on Civic Education and repeals a prohibition on the use of general funds to support the work of the Commission. The bill also increases and adjusts the makeup of the Commission's membership.

Voter registration; automatic voter registration. Provides for the automatic electronic transmission by the Department of Motor Vehicles to the Department of Elections of certain information for any person coming into an office of the Department of Motor Vehicles or accessing its website in order to (i) apply for, replace, or renew a driver's license; (ii) apply for, replace, or renew a special identification card; or (iii) change an address on an existing driver's license or special identification card if the person indicates that he is a United States citizen and is 17 years of age or older and, at the time of the transaction, does not decline to have his information transmitted to the Department of Elections for voter registration purposes. The option to decline to have his information so transmitted shall be presented at the time of one of the specified transactions with the Department of Motor Vehicles and shall be accompanied by a warning that intentionally making a materially false statement during the transaction is punishable under Virginia law as a felony. Upon receipt of the information collected to ensure that the person meets all voter registration eligibility requirements, the Department of Elections is required to determine whether the person is already registered to vote. If the person is not already registered to vote, the Department of Elections is required to transmit the information to the appropriate general registrar. The bill repeals the requirement that the Department of Motor Vehicles offer, accept, receive, and send voter registration applications. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. This bill incorporates SB 278.

Performance of laboratory analysis; cannabidioloil; THC-A oil; tetrahydrocannabinol. Provides that no person employed by an analytical laboratory to retrieve, deliver, or possess cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil samples from a permitted pharmaceuticalprocessor for performing required testing shall be prosecuted forthe possession or distribution of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil forstoring cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil for testing purposes in accordancewith regulations promulgated by the Board of Pharmacy. The bill requirespractitioners to register with the Board of Pharmacy to conduct laboratoryanalysis on tetrahydrocannabinol or marijuana and exempts practitionersconducting laboratory research on tetrahydrocannabinol from furnishingevidence of federal registration. The bill contains an emergencyclause.

Maintenance and repair of relocated billboardsigns. Provides that existing provisions related to the maintenanceand repair of nonconforming billboard signs do not apply to relocatedbillboard signs.

Electric utilities; on-bill tariff programs.Authorizes electric utilities to establish on-bill tariff programsunder which the utility and a customer enter into an agreement thatprovides for the costs, including financing costs, of energy efficiencymeasures to be paid by or through the utility and repaid by the customerby means of an energy savings charge on the customer's monthly bill.Under the bill, energy efficiency measures can include heating andair conditioning systems, water heaters, weatherization, insulation,window and door modifications, appliances, and automatic or Internet-connectedcontrol systems. The bill provides terms for such on-bill tariff programs for investor-owned utilities and utility consumer services cooperatives. Additionally, the bill authorizes electric utilitiesto establish similar on-bill tariff programs for electrificationand renewable facilities, which include equipment, facilities, Internetconnectivity, electric vehicle charging, backup generators, and storagefacilities.

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.

Wildlife Corridor Action Plan; road construction projects. Directs the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, in collaboration with the Department of Transportation and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, to create a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan (the Plan). The Plan shall identify wildlife corridors, defined as areas connecting fragmented wildlife habitats that are separated by human activities or infrastructure, and recommend wildlife crossing projects intended to promote driver safety and wildlife connectivity. The bill requires the Plan to be submitted to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by September 1, 2022, and every four years thereafter. The bill also provides that the Department of Transportation shall (i) include the impact on any wildlife corridor identified in the Plan in any environmental impact report for a highway construction project and (ii) consider measures for the mitigation of harm caused to wildlife by a highway in the design options for the construction of such highway. This bill is identical to HB 1695.

Industrial hemp extract; approval as food or ingredient; regulations; fund; emergency. Provides that an industrial hemp extract, as defined in the bill, is a food and is subject to applicable laws and regulations. The bill establishes (i) requirements for the production of an industrial hemp extract or a food containing an extract and (ii) conditions under which a manufacturer of such extract or food shall be considered an approved source. The bill authorizes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt regulations establishing contaminant tolerances, labeling requirements, and batch testing requirements, and it provides that moneys collected under the chapter shall be deposited in the Virginia Industrial Hemp Fund, created by the bill. The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry to report by November 1, 2020, a plan for the long-term sustainability of funding for the industrial hemp program. The bill contains an emergency clause and is contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.

Possession of marijuana; cannabidiol oil orTHC-A oil. Provides that no person shall be arrested or prosecutedfor possession of marijuana, subject to any civil penalty, deniedany right or privilege, or subject to any disciplinary action bya professional licensing board for possessing marijuana in the formof cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil if such person possessed such oilpursuant to a valid written certification issued by a practitionerin the course of his professional practice. The bill also provides that no agent or employee of a pharmaceutical processor shall bearrested or prosecuted for possession or manufacture of marijuanaor for possession, manufacture, or distribution of cannabidiol oilor THC-A oil, or subject to any civil penalty, denied any right orprivilege, or subject to any disciplinary action by a professionallicensing board if such agent or employee (i) possessed or manufacturedsuch marijuana for the purposes of producing cannabidiol oil or THC-Aoil or (ii) possessed, manufactured, or distributed such cannabidioloil or THC-A oil in accordance with law. Current law provides thatsuch possession of marijuana in the form of cannabidiol oil or THC-Aoil in such circumstances is an affirmative defense to such charges.

Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge. Designatesthe bridge on Guinea Station Road over Interstate 95 in SpotsylvaniaCounty the Corporal Ryan C. McGhee Memorial Bridge.