Reproductive health care services; prohibitions on extradition for certain crimes. Provides that no demand for extradition of a person charged with a criminal violation of law of another state shall be recognized by the Governor if such alleged violation involves the receipt or provision of or assistance with reproductive health care services within the Commonwealth unless the alleged criminal violation would also constitute a criminal offense under the laws of the Commonwealth. The bill also provides that such limit on extradition shall not apply when the person who is subject to such demand for extradition by another state was physically present in the demanding state at the time of the commission of the alleged offense and thereafter fled from such state.
Sponsored bills
Virginia Human Rights Act; definitions of "person"and "employer." Waives the Commonwealth's sovereign immunityto a civil action under the definition of "person" in relevant lawand makes the waiver retroactive to July 1, 2020. The bill also expandsthe definition of "employer" as it relates to the requirement to providereasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities under theVirginia Human Rights Act to include any government or politicalsubdivision, or agent of such government or political subdivision,employing more than five employees for each working day in each of20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.The bill also reduces the number of employees from 15 to six forthe definition of employer of domestic workers.
Tax exemptions; Confederacy organizations. Eliminates the exemption from state recordation taxes for the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and eliminates the tax-exempt designation for real and personal property owned by the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the General Organization of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, and the Stonewall Jackson Memorial, Incorporated. This bill is identical to HB 568.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; prohibited fees. Prohibits landlords subject to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act from requiring a tenant to (i) pay any fee for the maintenance or repair of any unit subject to such rental agreement unless necessitated by the tenant's violation of a requirement of the Act or (ii) pay any fee to submit periodic rent payments or other amounts due, unless the landlord offers an alternative method of payment that does not include additional fees. This bill is identical to HB 993.
Manufacture, import, sale, transfer, or possession of plastic firearms and unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms prohibited; penalties. Creates a Class 5 felony for any person who knowingly manufactures or assembles, imports, purchases, sells, transfers, or possesses any firearm that, after removal of all parts other than a major component, as defined in the bill, is not detectable as a firearm when subjected to inspection by the types of detection devices, including X-ray machines, commonly used at airports, government buildings, schools, correctional facilities, and other locations for security screening. The bill updates language regarding the types of detection devices that are used at such locations for detecting plastic firearms. Under current law, it is unlawful to manufacture, import, sell, transfer, or possess any plastic firearm and a violation is punishable as a Class 5 felony.The bill also creates a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable as a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, making it unlawful for any person to knowingly possess a firearm or any completed or unfinished frame or receiver that is not imprinted with a valid serial number or to knowingly import, purchase, sell, offer for sale, or transfer ownership of any completed or unfinished frame or receiver, unless the completed or unfinished frame or receiver (i) is deemed to be a firearm pursuant to federal law and (ii) is imprinted with a valid serial number. The bill creates a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable as a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, making it unlawful for any person to manufacture or assemble, cause to be manufactured or assembled, import, purchase, sell, offer for sale, or transfer ownership of any firearm that is not imprinted with a valid serial number. The portions of the bill prohibiting unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025; however, the portions of the bill prohibiting the knowing possession of a firearm or any completed or unfinished frame or receiver that is not imprinted with a valid serial number have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025. This bill is identical to HB 173.
Elections; protection of election officials; penalty. Adds current or former status as an election official or employee of an election official to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also adds current or former status as an election official or employee of an election official to the categories of hate crimes that are to be reported to the central repository of information regarding hate crimes maintained by the Virginia State Police. The bill provides that a person who is subjected to acts of intimidation or harassment, violence directed against his person, or vandalism to his real or personal property, where such acts are motivated by current or former status as an election official or employee of an election official, may bring a civil action to recover his damages. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of current or former status as an election official or employee of an election official. The bill also adds to the list of protected voters any election official or employee of an election official. Protected voters are permitted by law to provide on the application for voter registration, in addition to the voter's residence street address, a post office box address located within the Commonwealth, which would be the address included on (i) lists of registered voters and persons who voted, (ii) voter registration records made available for public inspection, and (iii) lists of absentee voter applicants. The bill also makes it a Class 5 felony to hinder or prevent an election official or employee of an election official from administering elections. Under current law, it is only a Class 5 felony to hinder or prevent an officer of election at a location being used for voting from holding an election.
Registration of tobacco products retailers; purchase, possession, and sale of retail tobacco products; retail tobacco products and liquid nicotine tax; penalties. Prohibits any person from selling any retail tobacco product, as defined in the bill, at retail without first obtaining a permit from the Department of Taxation and prohibits such sale at a location within 1,000 feet of a youth-oriented facility, as defined in the bill. The bill prohibits Internet sales of retail tobacco products, except to a permit-holding retailer, and prohibits the sale of retail tobacco products from vending machines. Under the bill, permits are subject to annual renewal and subject to revocation for violations of federal, state, or local laws related to tobacco products. The bill imposes recordkeeping requirements and makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to engage in fraud or misrepresentation in connection with an application for a permit. The bill updates, for the purpose of the crime of selling or distributing tobacco products to a person younger than 21 years of age, the definition of "retail tobacco products" by including in such definition products currently defined as "nicotine vapor products" or "alternative nicotine vapor products." The bill also removes provisions prohibiting the attempt to purchase, the purchase, or the possession of tobacco products by persons younger than 21 years of age. The bill provides that the punishment of a retail establishment that sells, gives, or furnishes a tobacco product to a person younger than 21 years of age or to a person who does not demonstrate that such person is at least 21 years of age is (i) a civil penalty of $1,000 for a first offense, (ii) a civil penalty of $5,000 for a second offense and a 30 day suspension of such establishment's distributor's license, and (iii) a civil penalty of $10,000, revocation of such license, and such distributor shall be ineligible to hold a license for a period of three years following the most recent violation. Under current law, such penalties apply only to the sale, distribution, or purchase of a bidi and do not require a suspension or revocation of the establishment's distributor's license, while violations involving all other products are punishable by a civil penalty of $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense, and $500 for a third or subsequent offense. The bill also removes the exception allowing the sale, giving, or furnishing of any tobacco product, nicotine vapor product, or alternative nicotine vapor product to active-duty military personnel who are 18 years of age or older. The bill requires the Department, in collaboration with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority and local law enforcement, to conduct a compliance check every 24 months on any retailer selling retail tobacco products and to use a person younger than 21 years of age to conduct such checks. The bill also imposes a tax upon liquid nicotine in closed systems, as defined in the bill, at the rate of $0.066 per milliliter and upon liquid nicotine in open systems, as defined in the bill, at the rate of 20 percent of the wholesale price. The bill applies licensing requirements to manufacturers, distributors, and retail dealers of liquid nicotine and creates new safety requirements related to the advertising, marketing, and labeling of liquid nicotine and nicotine vapor products.
First offense drug program; previous misdemeanor marijuana conviction. Allows any person to participate in the first offender drug program even if such person was previously convicted of an offense related to misdemeanor possession of marijuana or who has had a previous dismissal of a misdemeanor offense for possession of marijuana pursuant to the program. Current law prohibits any person with a previous marijuana conviction from participating in the program. This bill is identical to HB 452.
Removing, altering, etc., serial number on firearm; selling, giving, etc., or possessing firearm with removed, altered, etc., serial number; penalties. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person, firm, association, or corporation to knowingly possess any pistol, shotgun, rifle, machine gun, or any other firearm, except for an antique firearm, that has a serial number that has been removed, altered, changed, destroyed, or obliterated in any manner. The bill also makes it a Class 6 felony for any person, firm, association, or corporation to knowingly sell, give, or distribute any pistol, shotgun, rifle, machine gun, or any other firearm, except for an antique firearm, that has a serial number that has been removed, altered, changed, destroyed, or obliterated in any manner.
Secretary of Health and Human Resources; wholesale prescription drug importation program. Directs the Secretaryof Health and Human Resources to establish a wholesale prescriptiondrug importation program that complies with the requirements of federallaw and to report annually by October 1 to the Governor and the Chairmenof the House Committees on Appropriations and Health, Welfare andInstitutions and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriationsand Education and Health on the wholesale prescription drug importationprogram. The bill also requires the Secretary to (i) convene a workgroup composed of relevant stakeholders to develop a plan for implementationof the wholesale prescription drug importation program and reportthe plan to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committeeson Appropriations and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the SenateCommittees on Finance and Appropriations and Education and Healthby December 1, 2024, and (ii) seek such federal approvals, waivers, exemptions, or agreements as may be necessary to enable all coveredentities enrolled in or eligible for the federal 340B Drug PricingProgram to participate in the wholesale prescription drug importationprogram to the greatest extent possible without jeopardizing theireligibility for the 340B Drug Pricing Program by July 1, 2025.