Sponsored bills
Requires the Department of Corrections to submit an annual report to the General Assembly and the Governor containing specified statistical information regarding the Department's use of restrictive housing, as defined in the bill. This bill was incorporated into
Recasts the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund as the Virginia Coastal Protection Fund. Moneys generated by the sale of carbon dioxide emissions allowances through any auction program administered by the Commonwealth are directed to the Fund. The measure directs the State Air Pollution Control Board to adopt regulations to limit and reduce the total carbon dioxide emissions released by electric generation facilities. The regulations are required to comply with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative program. The measure authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The measure requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be distributed without further appropriation to assist localities in implementing hazard mitigation projects in areas that are subject to recurrent flooding, to support energy efficiency programs, to programs in Southwest Virginia for the purpose of revitalizing communities affected by the decline of fossil fuel production, and for administrative expenses. An enactment clause exempts from the Administrative Process Act actions taken by the Department of Environmental Quality to incorporate provisions of this measure into State Air Pollution Control Board regulations without further action of the Board. The enactment also provides that such incorporation will become effective upon approval of the provisions of the measure by the Director of the Department and the filing of the amended regulations with the Registrar of Regulations.
Creates a state tax on electronic cigarettes, electronic cigars, electronic cigarillos, and similar products and devices (vapor products) and authorizes cities and towns and certain counties to impose a tax on vapor products. The state tax would be imposed at a rate of 40 percent of the wholesale price.
Repeals the requirement that the driver's license of a person convicted of any violation of the law who fails or refuses to provide for immediate payment of fines or costs be suspended. The bill also removes a provision allowing the court to require a defendant to present a summary prepared by the Department of Motor Vehicles of the other courts in which the defendant also owes fines and costs. The bill requires the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles to reinstate any person's privilege to drive a motor vehicle that was suspended prior to July 1, 2019, solely for nonpayment of fines or costs. This bill was incorporated into