Sen. Dick Saslaw

Celebrating the life of William Griffith Thomas.

Commending John F. Reinhart.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable GeraldL. Baliles.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable Eva MaeFleming Scott.

Commending the Alexandria Police Department.

Transmission lines; relocation and undergrounding. Requires that any transmission line of 230 kilovolts or less thatis proposed to connect to a proposed new substation that has receivedlocal final development plan approval be placed underground if (i)such line would extend from an existing substation that will be poweredby a transmission line of 230 kilovolts or less, (ii) such line receiveda certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Commissionto be placed underground prior to December 31, 2018; (iii) the portionof such line between the existing substation and the proposed newsubstation is not more than 4,500 linear feet; and (iv) the totalcost of undergrounding the proposed relocated transmission line doesnot exceed $40 million. The bill requires that existing overheadtransmission lines that meet such criteria be replaced and relocated with a new underground transmission line and that the location ofthe new underground transmission line be consistent with the comprehensiveplan and the economic development priorities of the governing bodyof the locality in which the new underground transmission line isto be placed. The bill has an expiration date of December 31, 2021.

Fair share fees. Authorizes an employer, pursuant to an agreement between the employer and a labor union or labor organization, to require as a condition of employment any employee who is not a member of such labor union or labor organization and is a member of a collective bargaining unit, where the labor union or labor organization is the exclusive representative of the members of the collective bargaining unit, to pay a fair share fee to compensate the labor union or labor organization for the costs of representing the nonmember employee. The bill defines a "fair share fee" as the pro rata share of the portion of a labor union's or labor organization's dues attributable to activities stemming from its duty to represent all employees in a collective bargaining unit without regard to membership in the labor union or labor organization, including (i) the cost of all activities germane to collective bargaining, administration, and enforcement of collective bargaining agreements; (ii) representation of employees before public bodies in matters that are germane to either collective bargaining agreements or employer-employee relations; (iii) representation of employees during grievance procedures; and (iv) labor union or labor organization governance and administration. Under the bill, a fair share fee does not include the cost of any political activities, lobbying, organizing, charity, donations, or community service activities undertaken by the labor union or labor organization, and in no case will the fair share fee exceed 60 percent of dues required of a similarly situated member of such labor union or labor organization.

Employee protection; discharge for protectiveorder prohibited. Prohibits an employer from discharging, takingother retaliatory personnel action, or otherwise discriminating againstan employee solely on the basis that such employee has filed foror has been issued an emergency protective order or a preliminaryprotective order against the employer or another employee of suchemployer. The bill establishes an administrative process for an employeethat believes he has been discharged or discriminated against inviolation against such prohibition.

Commending William H. Goodwin, Jr.

Virginia Housing Development Authority; powerto make loans; loans to finance payments on student debt. Permitsthe Virginia Housing Development Authority (HDA) to make mortgage loans, including federally insured mortgage loans, to finance thepurchase or refinancing of single-family residential housing andto make payments on the homeowner's student loan debt, upon the termsand conditions set forth in the bill. The bill also gives the HDAauthority to promulgate additional terms and conditions related tosuch loans. The bill includes technical changes.