Latest Bills

Celebrating the life of Christopher J. Klicka.

Status: Agreed to by House, 01/29/2010

Commending the Cold War Museum.

Status: Agreed to by Senate by voice vote, 02/04/2010

Celebrating the life of Sergeant Dale Russel Griffin.

Status: Agreed to by Senate, 02/04/2010

State motor fuels sales tax in Northern Virginia.  Defines "gross sales" and "sales price" for purposes of the state motor fuels sales tax in Northern Virginia. "Gross sales" means the same as its definition in provisions of the Retail Sales and Use Tax and would exclude separately stated federal diesel excise taxes. "Sales price" means the same as its definition in provisions of the Retail Sales and Use Tax but would include all transportation and delivery charges, even if separately stated.

Status: Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 1-N), 02/03/2010

Department of Veterans Services; duties of the Commissioner; Veterans Bill of Rights.  Requires the Commissioner, in conjunction with the Board of Veterans Services, to develop and implement the Commonwealth Veterans' Bill of Rights. The bill specifies the contents of the Commonwealth Veterans' Bill of Rights and requires the Commissioner to report the state of veterans' services covered by the Commonwealth Veterans' Bill of Rights to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before October 1 of each year.

Status: Assigned GL sub: #3 ABC/Gaming, 02/03/2010

Provisions of a subdivision ordinance.  Provides that with regard to approval by a locality of surety provided by a developer, "designated administrative agency" means the planning commission of the locality or an agent designated by the governing body of the locality for such purpose.

Status: Assigned CC & T sub: #2, 01/28/2010

Special conservators of the peace; authorized to use the Seal of the Commonwealth. Upon a court order, grants special conservators of the peace to use the seal of the Commonwealth in a badge or other credential of office.

Status: Subcommittee recommends reporting (4-Y 0-N), 01/28/2010

Workers' compensation; occupational disease presumption.  Adds salaried and volunteer lifesaving and rescue squad members to the list of public safety personnel who are entitled to a presumption that hypertension and heart disease are occupational diseases suffered in the line of duty that are covered under the Workers' Compensation Act.

Status: Impact statement from DPB (HB955), 01/22/2010

Virginia Condominium Act and the Virginia Property Owners' Association Act; display of the flag of the United States.  Provides that a unit owners' or property owner's association shall not prohibit or otherwise adopt or enforce any policy restricting a unit or lot owner from displaying upon property to which that owner has a separate ownership interest or a right to exclusive possession or use the flag of the United States whenever such display is in compliance with the federal Flag Code. The bill also provides that the unit owners' or property owners' association may establish reasonable restrictions as to the size, place, duration, and manner of placement or display of the flag provided the restrictions are necessary to protect a substantial interest of the unit owners' or property owners' association. Under the bill, if an action is brought by a unit owners' or property owners association to enforce a rule pertaining to display of the flag, the unit or lot owner may assert as an affirmative defense that the rule does not protect a substantial interest of the association.

Status: Reported from General Laws (22-Y 0-N), 02/04/2010

Serving of meals by churches. Exempts churches serving meals consisting of food prepared in the homes of members or in the kitchen of the church from licensure requirements applicable to restaurants.

Status: Referred to Committee on Education and Health, 02/04/2010

Latest Bills

Title loans.  Establishes a system for regulating title loans, which are non-purchase money loans secured by a lien on a motor vehicle's title. The interest rate that currently may be charged on such loans is uncapped if the loan is structured as an open-end loan and the borrower does not pay the balance in full within a 25-day grace period. Under this measure, interest may not exceed rate of 22% per month on the portion of the principal that does not exceed $1,000, 20% per month on the portion of the principal exceeding $1,000 but not exceeding $2,000, and 18% per month on the portion of the principal in excess of $2,000.  The original term of a title loan agreement shall be one month. Loans may be renewed and on or before the maturity date of each loan or renewal period, the borrower must pay an amount sufficient to both satisfy any interest due and to reduce the outstanding principal balance by at least 7% of the original loan amount.  If the borrower fails to make a required principal payment, interest will stop accruing on the unpaid amount so that the amount of principal accruing interest during any renewal period is less, by at least 7% of the original loan amount, than the amount of principal accruing interest in the previous period.  The lender may allow the borrower to defer repayment of any non-interest bearing principal to a later date.  Title lenders are required to be licensed by the State Corporation Commission. If a borrower defaults under a title loan agreement, the lender may repossess the motor vehicle and dispose of it in accordance with the Uniform Commercial Code.  Violations are subject to civil and criminal penalties.

Status: Impact statement from SCC (HB1363), 01/27/2010

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Real Estate Board; regulation of business brokers.  Establishes a voluntary compliance program within the Real Estate Board to allow certain real estate brokers to bring practices, policies and procedures into compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In addition, the bill provides for the Real Estate Board to establish minimum education requirements for licensure by reciprocity. The bill also provides for the licensure of persons providing business broker services in the Commonwealth with the regulatory program to be administered by the Director of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

Status: Assigned GL sub: #4 Professions/Occupations and Administrative Process, 01/25/2010

Foreign business entities; temporary certificates.  Establishes a mechanism for the State Corporation Commission to issue a temporary certificate of authority to transact business in the Commonwealth to a foreign stock or nonstock corporation that (i) has applied for a certificate of authority to transact business and paid the applicable fee and (ii) is in good standing in the state where it is incorporated. The temporary certificate shall be issued without additional charge and shall be valid for 30 days or until the Commission has issued the permanent certificate, whichever occurs first. A similar provision is established for foreign limited liability companies.

Status: Impact statement from SCC (HB739), 01/28/2010

Discretion of law-enforcement officer to arrest or issue summons for a jailable offense. Gives a law-enforcement officer discretion to arrest or to issue a summons to a person in his custody for having committed a Class 1 or 2 misdemeanor. Currently, the officer must issue a summons unless the person refuses to cease his criminal activity, is a danger to himself or others, or indicates he will disregard a summons.

Status: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice, 02/03/2010

Gang-free zones; penalties.  Expands current "gang-free school zones" to the broader "gang-free zones" and includes any school bus stop or the property, including buildings and grounds, of any publicly owned or operated community center, park, library, or hospital. Engaging in criminal street gang activity in a gang-free zone is a Class 5 or 6 felony and may include a two-year mandatory minimum sentence, depending upon other aggravators.

Status: Impact statement from VCSC (HB682), 01/13/2010

Sales and use tax exemption; gold, silver, and platinum bullion.  Exempts from sales and use tax, gold, silver, or platinum bullion whose sales price exceeds $1000.  

Status: Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2011, 02/03/2010

Concealed weapons; butterfly knives; penalty.  Adds butterfly knives to the list of weapons that are prohibited from being carried concealed.

Status: Assigned MPPS sub: #1, 01/21/2010

Solicitation, possession or production of child pornography by a minor.  Provides that a minor who, upon the facts, could be found guilty of a first offense of possession, production, publication or solicitation of child pornography, may have his case deferred and dismissed by the court. The offense is separate and distinct; if the acts or activities violating this law also violate another provision of law, a prosecution under this law shall not prohibit or bar any prosecution or proceeding under such other provision. The penalty for violation is a Class 3 misdemeanor.

Status: Impact statement from DPB (HB685), 01/28/2010

Eliminating requirement for HPV vaccine.  Eliminates the requirement of the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) for females.

Status: Impact statement from DPB (HB686), 01/27/2010

Uniform Statewide Building Code; penalty for violation.  Increases the civil penalty for an initial violation from $100 to $200; for each subsequent violation from $150 to $500; and the total for violations arising from the same operative set of facts from $3,000 to $5,000. This brings the Uniform Statewide Building Code in line with civil penalties for violation of zoning ordinances.

Status: VOTE: BLOCK VOTE PASSAGE (99-Y 0-N), 02/04/2010

Latest Bills

Virginia Public Procurement Act; procurement of certain professional services by the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner.  Increases from $2 million to $5 million the amount of all projects in one contract term for environmental location, design, and inspection work regarding highways and bridges awarded by the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner. Such contract may be renewable for two additional one-year terms at the option of the Commissioner.

Status: Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N), 02/04/2010

Vehicle exempt from registration. Limits certain exemptions from registration to pickup and panel trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 7500 pounds.

Status: Committee substitute printed 10104938D-H1, 02/04/2010

Real property tax classifications; improvements.  Adds Culpeper County to those localities permitted to have a different real property tax rate on improvements, than on all other real property. The bill also makes technical corrections.

Status: Subcommittee failed to recommend reporting (4-Y 4-N), 02/03/2010

Vehicle lengths. Increases the allowable length of triple saddle mount combination vehicles operated on National Highway System components to 97 feet.

Status: Referred to Committee on Transportation, 02/04/2010

Virginia Farm-to-School Week. Designate the second full week of November, in 2010 and in each succeeding year, as Virginia Farm-to-School Week in the Commonwealth.

Status: Referred to Committee on Rules, 01/22/2010

Alcoholic beverage control; third party shipment of wine and beer.  Authorizes a third party located off the licensed premises and under the direction and control of the Virginia wine or beer shipper licensee to (i) solicit and receive orders for wine or beer, (ii) pack and ship wine or beer in accordance with a license or other approval by the Commonwealth or the state where located, and (iii) take other action as permitted by the Board.

Status: Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB630H1, 02/04/2010

Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner; advertising for bids; construction.  Provides that the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner may let projects costing below $300,000 to contract. The bill further provides that the Commissioner may, at his discretion, build or maintain any of the roads by state or local employees as he may designate, in cases of emergency or on projects costing not more than $600,000.

Status: Referred to Committee on Transportation, 02/02/2010

Income tax credit for land conservation.  Increases the income tax credit for land donated for land conservation purposes by increasing from 40 percent to 50 percent the portion of the value of such land that may be taken as a credit.

Status: Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2011, 02/03/2010

State and Local Conflict of Interests Act; prohibited conduct relating to contracts; exceptions.  Provides that a conflict exists where there is employment by the same governmental agency of an officer or employee and spouse or any other relative residing in the same household and one such person is employed in a direct supervisory or administrative position, or both, with respect to his spouse or other relative residing in his household and the annual salary of such subordinate is $35,000 or more. Currently, such amount is $22,500. 

Status: Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N), 02/04/2010

Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects; exceptions from licensure.  Provides an exemption from licensure for certain conduct related to the design of alternative onsite sewage systems receiving residential wastewater. The bill contains technical amendments.

Status: Subcommittee failed to recommend reporting (4-Y 4-N), 01/26/2010

Latest Bills

In-state tuition; National Guard.  Provides in-state tuition for any person who met the requirements for in-state tuition prior to being called to active duty in the National Guard of another state, following completion of active duty service if during active duty that person maintained one or more of the following in Virginia, rather than in another state or jurisdiction: a driver's license, motor vehicle registration, voter registration, employment, property ownership, or sources of financial support.

Status: Referred to Committee on Education and Health, 02/04/2010

Elections; absentee voting procedures.  Deletes the requirement that domestic absentee voters must provide detailed information (i.e., full name and full address) in their sworn statement on the envelope in which they return their marked absentee ballot and thereby provides that the requirements for domestic voters will be the same as for military and overseas voters. This detailed information has already been provided in the application for the absentee ballot.

Status: Impact statement from DPB (SB683), 02/01/2010

Public schools; recycling.  Requires each local school board to report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction any recycling policies voluntarily implemented or in place in any of its schools. The report shall include the types of items recycled, the number of schools participating in the recycling program, and an approximation of the amount of materials being recycled.

Status: Assigned Education sub: Higher Education, 02/04/2010

Constitutional amendment (second resolution); property exempt from taxation.  Amends the Constitution of Virginia to allow the General Assembly to authorize localities to establish their own income or financial worth limitations for purposes of granting property tax relief for homeowners not less than 65 years of age or permanently and totally disabled. The Constitution presently requires a showing that the homeowners granted property tax relief bear an extraordinary tax burden on the property in relation to their income or financial worth as provided by the General Assembly by state law.

Status: Read second time and engrossed, 02/04/2010

Joint Subcommittee to Study the Feasibility of Creating a Regional Rapid Transit Network for Connecting Existing and Emerging Population Centers in Major Transportation Corridors; report.  Continues the work of the joint subcommittee for a third year.

Status: Assigned Rules sub: Studies, 01/18/2010

Local rezoning actions.  Provides for more limited review by VDOT when a property being considered for rezoning has already been subject to a VDOT review in connection with development of a local comprehensive plan.

Status: Referred to Committee on Local Government, 01/13/2010

HOV lanes. Extends the "sunset" on use of HOV lanes by clean special fuel vehicles, regardless of the number of their occupants, until July 1, 2011, but only if they are not traveling on I-66, I-95, or I-395.

Status: Impact statement from DPB (SB552), 02/05/2010

Increase transit use strategies.  Requires the Secretary of Transportation to make an annual report to the General Assembly on actions taken to promote transit use, etc.

Status: Assigned Rules sub: #1, 01/22/2010

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); property exempt from taxation.  Provides for a referendum at the November 2010 election on the approval of a proposed constitutional amendment relating to property exempt from taxation. The proposed amendment allows the General Assembly to authorize localities to establish their own income or financial worth limitations for purposes of granting property tax relief for homeowners not less than 65 years of age or permanently and totally disabled. The Constitution presently requires a showing that the homeowners granted property tax relief bear an extraordinary tax burden on the property in relation to their income or financial worth as provided by the General Assembly by state law.

Status: Read second time and engrossed, 02/04/2010

Customer access to restrooms; civil penalty.  Requires a retail establishment that has a toilet facility for its employees to allow a customer to use that facility during normal business hours if the following conditions are met: (1) the customer requesting the use of the employee toilet facility suffers from an eligible medical condition or utilizes an ostomy device; (2) three or more employees of the retail establishment are working at the time the request is made; (3) the retail establishment does not normally make a restroom available to the public; (4) the employee toilet facility is not located in an area where providing access would create an obvious health or safety risk to the customer; and (5) a public restroom is not immediately accessible to the customer. The bill also provides that a retail establishment is not required to make any physical changes to an employee toilet facility. The operator of a retail establishment that violates this requirement is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $100. A violation of this act does not subject the retail establishment to further liability to the customer.

Status: Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor, 01/13/2010

Latest Bills

Commending Khalil Hassan.

Status: Agreed to by Senate by voice vote, 02/04/2010

Commending John R. Henry.

Status: Agreed to by Senate by voice vote, 02/04/2010

Health insurance; coverage for mental health and substance abuse services.  Removes the benefit limitations applicable to coverage for inpatient, partial hospitalization, and outpatient mental health and substance abuse services under large group health insurance policies. Under this measure, coverage for such services under large group policies will not be more restrictive than for other illness. The existing limitations will continue to apply to individual and small group policies.

Status: Printed as engrossed 10100804D-E, 02/04/2010

Autism Advisory Council.  Creates the Autism Advisory Council as an advisory council in the legislative branch of state government to promote coordination of services and resources among agencies involved in the delivery of services to Virginians with autism spectrum disorders and to increase public awareness of such services and resources. The Council shall sunset on July 1, 2014.

Status: Assigned Rules sub: #1, 02/01/2010

Civil War Site Preservation Fund established.  Establishes the Civil War Site Preservation Fund for the purpose of awarding grants to private nonprofit organizations to preserve endangered Virginia Civil War historic sites. The bill sets out eligibility criteria for receiving a matching grant from the fund. The Director of the Department of Historic Resources is responsible for administering the fund.

Status: Passed by for the day, 02/04/2010

Celebrating the life of Christine Ann Cooke.

Status: Laid on Speaker\'s table, 01/29/2010

Study; JLARC; methodology employed to develop the Biennial Report on Public School Teacher Compensation; report.  Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the methodology employed by the Director of Human Resource Management to develop the Biennial Report on Public School Teacher Compensation. In conducting its study, JLARC shall (i) review the current methodology used to develop this biennial report for scientific accuracy, (ii) compare this methodology with that used by private entities that have produced similar reports with substantially different results, and (iii) make recommendations as to how to improve this methodology to produce unbiased, accurate results.

Status: Assigned Rules sub: #1, 01/18/2010

Dam safety. Allows those dams that do not comply with dam safety regulations to continue to operate so long as the owner of the dam has adopted a dam safety emergency action plan. These dams could continue to operate without correcting any deficiencies as long as funding is not available through the Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund. Once such funding is available the dams will have to comply with all of the dam safety regulations.

Status: Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N), 01/28/2010

Special license plates; Garfield Foundation.  Authorizes the issuance of revenue-sharing special license plates to supporters of the Garfield Foundation.

Status: Referred to Committee on Transportation, 01/11/2010

Pawnbrokers; daily reports.  Allows Spotsylvania County to enact an ordinance to require a pawnbroker to maintain and file a daily report electronically through the use of a disk, electronic transmission, or any other electronic means of reporting approved by the law-enforcement officer.

Status: Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N), 02/02/2010

Latest Bills

Alternative onsite sewage systems.  Allows any locality to enact an ordinance prohibiting the use of alternative onsite sewage systems that have been approved by the Virginia Department of Health for use in the particular circumstances and conditions in which the proposed system is to be operating when sewers or sewerage disposal facilities are not available.

Status: Failed to report (defeated) in Local Government (5-Y 10-N), 02/02/2010

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); property taxes; relief for certain businesses.  Allows the General Assembly to authorize localities to exempt in whole or in part from property taxes (i) the property of a business that is new to the Commonwealth so long as the locality is defined by law to have the capacity to accept the expansion and (ii) the property of a business located in the Commonwealth so long as the business is presently located in an area defined by law as lacking the capacity to accommodate business expansion and so long as the locality granting the exemption is defined by law to have the capacity to accommodate the expansion.   The General Assembly is required to provide definitions, restrictions, and conditions to implement this authorization and to limit the duration of the tax relief to three years.

Status: Continued to 2011 in Privileges and Elections (15-Y 0-N), 01/19/2010

Commending Frank Les Sisson.

Status: Agreed to by House by voice vote, 01/29/2010

Commending Sheriff Charles E. Jett and the Stafford County Sheriffs Office.

Status: Agreed to by House by voice vote, 01/29/2010

Commending Stanley Schoppe and the Montross Dairy Freeze on the occasion of their 40th anniversary.

Status: Agreed to by House by voice vote, 01/29/2010

Salvage vehicles; maintenance and contents of records; daily reports.  Clarifies items that must be contained in the records that licensees maintain on receipt of any vehicles and allows governing body of any locality to require that the records be reported to the police. Further provides that licensees hold onto vehicles for at least 14 days before crushing them.

Status: Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N), 02/03/2010

Virginia Universities Clean Energy Development and Economic Stimulus Foundation.  Creates the Virginia Universities Clean Energy Development and Economic Stimulus Foundation as a body corporate and a political subdivision of the Commonwealth. The Foundation shall identify, obtain, disburse, and administer funding for (i) research and development of alternative fuels, clean energy production, and related technologies; (ii) support of economic development projects in disadvantaged rural areas; and (iii) the provision of assistance in the commercialization of alternative fuels and clean energy technologies. Funding shall be awarded only to those proposed projects that best meet the established criteria and purposes of this act.

Status: Impact statement from DPB (SB326), 01/25/2010

Enjoyment of easement.  Provides that the owner of the servient estate shall not cause to be present any objects of personal property, debris, or refuse, either temporarily or permanently, upon the burdened land or within 25 feet thereof. Current law provides that the owner of the servient estate shall not engage in an activity or cause to be present any objects either upon the burdened land or immediately adjacent thereto that unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of the easement by the owner of the dominant estate.

Status: Assigned Courts sub: Civil, 01/14/2010

EMS providers; vaccinations.  Allows certain emergency medical services providers to administer vaccines to adults and minors pursuant to a protocol approved by the Board of Nursing. This bill contains an emergency clause.

Status: Reported from Education and Health with amendments (15-Y 0-N), 02/04/2010

  Court fees. Increases the court fees in both district and circuit court from (i) $27 to $75 in a district court civil action and (ii) the current scale of $60-$160 to $500-$1,000 in civil actions in circuit court. The fee increases under this bill in district court are allocated to the sheriffs' departments, and the increases in circuit court are split between the sheriffs' (80%) and the clerks' (20%) offices to be used exclusively for achieving the current staffing standards of the two constitutional offices. The $10 fee for the Courts Technology Fund is removed from civil cases. The Fund still receives fees applicable to other filings in the circuit and appellate courts.

Status: Assigned Courts sub: Civil, 01/14/2010