Sen. Frank Ruff

Authorizes state public bodies and public institutions of higher education to enter into contracts for construction on a construction management basis where the estimated cost is expected to be greater than $40 million of actual construction costs without following certain statutory procedures. Under current law, such bodies are required to comply with the procedures whenever such bodies decide to use construction management. The bill also changes the threshold for local public bodies to contract for construction using construction management from $10 million to $40 million. The bill also amends the components of the definition "complex project" by (i) removing references to multifaceted program, unique equipment, and specialized building systems; (ii) adding unconventional building systems; (iii) clarifying that the accelerated schedule component of the definition must be due to regulatory mandates; and (iv) requiring that any historic designation be properly registered.

Requires any voter submitting an application for an absentee ballot by mail or by electronic or telephonic transmission to a facsimile device to submit with his application a copy of one of the forms of identification acceptable under current law. The bill exempts military and overseas voters and persons with a disability from this requirement. This bill is identical to

Requires any voter submitting an application for an absentee ballot by mail or by electronic or telephonic transmission to a facsimile device to submit with his application a copy of one of the forms of identification acceptable under current law. The bill exempts military and overseas voters and persons with a disability from this requirement. This bill is identical to

Restructures the membership of the board of directors (the Board) of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority (the Authority), designates the Board as a supervisory board within the statutory definition of "supervisory," sets out the minimum qualifications for appointments to the Board, and sets out additional powers and duties required of the Board, including development of a strategic plan for economic development, a marketing plan, and an operational plan. The bill also establishes a Division of Incentives within the Authority to track, manage, and coordinate economic development incentives. Under the bill, the Division is required to obtain certification from the Attorney General prior to certifying that an approved project has met the investment and job creation requirements and the review of the Attorney General prior to seeking the repayment of any public funds from an approved project due to a failure of the project to meet the investment and job creation requirements set forth in the contract or memorandum of understanding. The bill establishes a position of internal auditor and two advisory committees and requires (i) each commissioner of the revenue to provide certain tax information and (ii) the Virginia Employment Commission to provide certain employment information to the Authority as may be necessary to facilitate the administration and enforcement by the Authority of performance agreements with businesses that have received incentive awards. The bill contains an emergency clause. This bill incorporates

Clarifies that the Chief Workforce Development Advisor shall report directly to the Governor and shall not serve in any other capacity. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 15, 2018.

Establishes requirements for the procurement of construction using the construction management and design-build procurement methods by state and local public bodies and covered institutions of higher education, as defined in the bill, and the conditions under which such methods may be used. Public bodies must comply with procedures adopted by the Secretary of Administration for construction management or design-build projects. State public bodies and covered institutions must adopt procedures that include, among other things, a requirement that the state public body or covered institution make a written determination in advance that competitive sealed bidding is not practicable or fiscally advantageous and document the basis for the determination to use the construction management or design-build procurement method. The bill requires the Department of General Services (DGS) to evaluate the proposed procurement method of state public bodies and covered institutions and provide a recommendation regarding the procurement method within five days of receipt of the written determination. If a state public body or covered institution elects to proceed with the project using a construction management or design-build contract despite a DGS recommendation to the contrary, the state public body or covered institution must provide to DGS in writing its reasons for doing so. For local public bodies, construction management contracts may be used for projects whose cost is expected to be less than $10 million, provided that the project is a complex project and the project procurement method is approved by the local governing body. The bill also requires DGS to report to the Governor and certain General Assembly committees annually by December 1 information pertaining to (i) the agency's evaluation of projects submitted by state public bodies and covered institutions and (ii) all completed capital projects in excess of $2 million. This bill is identical to

Provides that any person who knowingly provides any material support to an individual or organization whose primary objective is to commit an act of terrorism and does so with the intent to further such objective is guilty of a Class 3 felony. If the provision of such material support results in the death of any person, the penalty is increased to a Class 2 felony. The bill also expands the definition of an act of terrorism to include an act committed outside the Commonwealth that would meet the definition of an act of violence if such act were committed within the Commonwealth. This bill incorporates