Sen. Mark Peake

Commending the Monument Terrace "Support OurTroops" rallies.

Department of Professional and OccupationalRegulation; Common Interest Community Board; enforcement jurisdiction.Makes the enforcement of regulations for common interest communitymanagers the sole responsibility of the Common Interest CommunityBoard. Current law delegates the enforcement of these regulationsto the Real Estate Board for real estate brokers, real estate salespersons,and real estate brokerage firms who are also licensed as common interestcommunity managers.

Voter registration; registration permittedup to and including the day of the election. Repeals a provisionthat would permit any person who is qualified to register to voteto register to vote in person up to and including the day of theelection, notwithstanding any deadline for the close of registration records. The repeal will limit the persons who are entitled to registerto vote after the close of registration records to (i) any member of a uniformed service of the United States who is on active duty,(ii) any person residing temporarily outside of the United States,and (iii) the spouse or dependent residing with someone listed in(i) or (ii).

Voter registration; verification of social security numbers; provisional registration status. Requires the general registrars to verify that the name, date of birth, and social security number provided by an applicant on the voter registration application match the information on file in the Social Security Administration database or other database approved by the State Board of Elections (the State Board) before registering such applicant. If the information provided by the applicant does not match the information in such database, the applicant (i) is provisionally registered to vote and notified as to what steps are needed to be fully registered to vote and (ii) is permitted to vote by provisional ballot but such ballot shall not be counted until the voter presents certain information. The bill also requires the general registrars to verify annually no later than August 1 that the name, date of birth, and social security number in the registration record of each registered voter in the registrar's jurisdiction match the information on file with the Social Security Administration or other database approved by the State Board and, in accordance with current law, to initiate the cancellation of the registration of any voter whose registration record information does not match the database information. The State Board is authorized to approve the use of any government database to the extent required to enable each general registrar to carry out the provisions of this bill and to promulgate rules for the use of such database. The Department of Elections is required to provide to the general registrars access to the Social Security Administration database and any other database approved by the State Board. The Department of Elections is further required to enter into any agreement with any federal or state agency to facilitate such access. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2024.

Voter identification; identification containinga photograph required. Requires presentation of a form of identificationcontaining a photograph in order to vote. The bill repeals the provisionsof law permitting a voter who does not have one of the required formsof identification to vote after signing a statement, subject to felonypenalties for false statements, that he is the named registered voterhe claims to be. Instead, the bill provides that such voter is entitledto cast a provisional ballot.

Timing of municipal elections. Narrows thescope of existing provisions that require all municipal electionsto be held in November by applying those provisions only to citieswith a population greater than 200,000.

Minimum wage. Repeals certain provisionsof the Code of Virginia related to increasing the state minimum wageto more than $11.00 per hour. The bill also repeals provisions relatedto increasing the state minimum wage based on an annual adjusted minimum wage determined by the Department of Labor and Industry.

Elections; referenda; local advisory referenda.Provides for an exception to the rule that prohibits a referendum from being placed on the ballot unless specifically authorized bystatute or by charter, allowing each locality to provide by ordinancea process for holding an advisory referendum provided such advisory referendum is placed on the ballot not more than once per calendaryear.

Prohibited discrimination; status as activemilitary or a military spouse. Prohibits discrimination in publicaccommodations, employment, and housing on the basis of a person'sstatus as active military or a military spouse.