DRAFT LEGISLATIVE AGENDA GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2021 SESSION
September 18, 2020
CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH – CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Robert M. “Bobby” Dyer – At Large Vice-Mayor James L. Wood – Lynnhaven Jessica P. Abbott – Kempsville Michael Berlucchi – Rose Hall Barbara M. Henley – Princess Anne Louis R. Jones – Bayside John D. Moss – At Large Aaron R. Rouse – At Large Guy K. Tower - Beach Rosemary A. Wilson – At Large Sabrina D. Wooten – Centerville
CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH – GENERAL ASSEMBLY DELEGATION
Senator Lynwood W. Lewis, Jr. – Senate District 6 Senator Jen A. Kiggans – Senate District 7 Senator William R. DeSteph, Jr. – Senate District 8 Senator John A. Cosgrove, Jr. – Senate District 14 Delegate Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler – House District 21 Delegate C. E. “Cliff” Hayes, Jr. – House District 77 Delegate Barry D. Knight – House District 81 Delegate Jason R. Miyares – House District 82 Delegate Nancy D. Guy – House District 83 Delegate Glenn R. Davis – House District 84 Delegate Alex Q. Askew – House District 85 Delegate Joseph C. Lindsey – House District 90 Delegate Robert S. Bloxom, Jr. – House District 100
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH – CITY COUNCIL ...... ii
CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH – GENERAL ASSEMBLY DELEGATION ...... ii
SECTION 1.1 – CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH LONG TERM POLICY POSITIONS
1. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA COMMUNICATIONS TAX UPDATE5 ...... 5 SPONSORED BY CITY COUNCIL
2. FULL FUNDING FOR THE STEP-VA PROGRAM6...... 6 SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBER MICHAEL BERLUCCHI & THE VIRGINIA BEACH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
SECTION 1.2 – CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH NEW INITIATIVES
3. HEART DISEASE PRESUMPTION FOR SALARIED EMS PERSONNEL ...... 9 SPONSORED BY VICE-MAYOR JIM WOOD
4. OBTAINING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS BY FRAUD, DECEIT, OR FORGERY ...... 10 SPONSORED BY VICE-MAYOR JIM WOOD
5. SMART SCALE - RESILIENCY ...... 1 1 SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBER BARBARA HENLEY
6. LIMITATIONS ON THE NUMBER OF BALLOONS THAT MAY BE SET FREE ...... 13 SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBER GUY TOWER
7. DEFINITION OF SMALL BUSINESS ...... 1 4 SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBERS SABRINA WOOTEN & ROSEMARY WILSON
8. DIVERSITY IN JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS ...... 15 SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBER MICHAEL BERLUCCHI & THE VIRGINIA BEACH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
9. RESTORE FUNDING DURING THE 2021 SESSION FOR THE RENOVATION OF BUILDING 2 IN RESPONSE TO THE EVENTS OF MAY 31, 2019 ...... 16 SPONSORED BY CITY COUNCIL
10. REQUEST THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESTORE FUNDING TO K-12 EDUCATION ...... 17 SPONSORED BY CITY COUNCIL
11. STORMWATER SUPPLEMENTAL FEE TO SUPPORT FLOOD MITIGATION BOND REFERENDUM ...... 1 8 SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBER JOHN MOSS
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SECTION 1.1 – CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH LONG TERM POLICY POSITIONS
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1. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA COMMUNICATIONS TAX UPDATE
SPONSORED BY CITY COUNCIL
Background Information:
In 2006, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation to replace state and local taxes and fees on communication services with one statewide Virginia Communications Sales and Use Tax. This statewide tax imposed a 5% fee, which is collected from consumers by service providers and remitted to the state on a monthly basis. After collection by the state, the tax is then distributed to individual localities. Revenues from the Sales and Use Tax are in long-term decline. For example, Virginia Beach now brings in $10 million less per year than when the tax first went into effect over a decade ago. This $10 million decline is equal to a 33% loss in revenue over this period. As technology progresses, this revenue gap will only grow wider. The chart below shows actual revenues received by the City. In total, the City averaged a 3.4% per year reduction in Virginia Telecom Tax Revenue between Fiscal Year 2007-08 and Fiscal Year 2019-20.
Virginia Telecom Tax: FY 08-FY20 $31 $30 $29 $27 $28 $28 $27 $27 $26 $27 $26 $25 $25
MILLIONS $25 $24 $22 $23 $21 $20 $19 $17 $15 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020
Actual
Consistent with these declines, the City has sizably lowered its budgeted projections for Telecom Tax revenue. Yet, Fiscal Year 2020 actual receipts came in less than the lowered amount budgeted for Fiscal Year 2021. Should the present tax structure continue as is, the City will likely see a decline in this revenue source in Fiscal Year 2022 that would bring the total amount of revenue received by the City to around $17 million.
FY 2020 Budgeted FY 2021 Budgeted FY 2021 Estimate (Using Historic Average)
$23.4 million $20.3 million $ 17.5 million
REQUEST: The General Assembly is requested to restore funding to localities consistent with amounts received at the time of the formula’s adoption in 2006.
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2. FULL FUNDING FOR THE STEP-VA PROGRAM SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBER MICHAEL BERLUCCHI & THE VIRGINIA BEACH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Background Information:
While Virginia’s overall ranking in the 2020 State of Mental Health Report released in February 2020 by MH America (MHA) ranked the Commonwealth at 27th nationwide (up from 33rd in 2019), Virginia ranked 42nd for adult mental health (down from 35th in 2019). MHA indicates any state with a ranking of 39-51 indicate that adults have higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care. The decrease in our adult mental health ranking means more adults reported they were not able to receive the treatment they needed. Although Virginia’s youth mental health ranking improved to 17th, the prevalence of youth with Major Depressive Episode dropped to 24th. Virginia’s overall access to mental health care in in the 2020 MHA report depicts the greatest challenge for Virginians with a rank of 37th in the nation. Additionally, Virginia has continued to be low while the percentage of inmates with mental disorders in jails has continued to increase annually. (Virginia Compensation Board)
The need for a comprehensive, effective and accessible system of mental health services is quite clear. When individuals are not able to receive the treatment and services they need for the cause of their mental health crisis in their communities, the effect often include: homelessness, suicide, substance use, incarceration, frequent hospitalizations, and use of emergency rooms. The increased need for services due to COVID-19 has been widely reported and are likely to be reflected in the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) 2020 statistical reports.
STEP-VA (System Transformation, Excellence and Performance in Virginia) when fully funded will provide the community mental health care system which have been needed for many years. STEP-VA was developed in 2015 through a federal planning grant received by DBHDS to address this systematic delivery approach to providing mental health services by providing quality, access, accountability and consistency across all Community Services Boards. The federal planning grant providing the means to lay the foundation for a behavioral health system that would be standardized in the provision of nine core services:
• Same-day access • Primary care screenings • Outpatient behavioral services • Behavioral health crisis services • Peer/family support services • Psychiatric rehabilitation • Veterans’ behavioral health • Case management for adults and children • Care coordination
The 2017 General Assembly amended the code to implement the STEP-VA System of nine services by 2021. Same Day Access and Primary Care Screening were fully funded and implemented in 2019 and Outpatient Services and Crisis Services were partially funded.
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The 2020 General Assembly provided additional funding for partial implementation of STEP-VA: FY 2021- $19,704,173; FY 2022 - $30,151,414.
In April 2020, due to the COVID-19 emergency, these funds were unallocated; a freeze was placed on new spending until economic circumstances improved and revenues could be forecasted again. The 2021 Governor’s budget priorities will be outlined in mid-November and the 2021 General Assembly House and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees will likely be inundated with requests to amend the Governor’s budget post-COVID. As a lack of fully funding the mental health needs of our citizens can have a domino effect of many other areas of the state and individual localities budget, restoring the funding levels for STEP-VA must be ranked among the highest of budget priorities.
Request:
The City requests that the General Assembly restore funds allocated by the 2020 General Assembly and provide the remaining funds needed for the full implementation of the STEP VA System throughout the Commonwealth to ensure all nine Core Services are implemented by 2021.
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SECTION 1.2 – CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH NEW POLICY INITIATIVES
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3. HEART DISEASE PRESUMPTION FOR SALARIED EMS PERSONNEL SPONSORED BY VICE-MAYOR JIM WOOD
Background Information:
In Virginia, public safety benefit programs have historically been designed specifically for firefighters and police officers. Most municipal EMS providers were either cross trained as firefighters, volunteers or civilians. There was little attention given to governmental EMS workers. Virginia Beach has the largest with its cadre of medics within the Department of EMS. We currently have 65 officers or medics who are considered full time salary Emergency Medical Technicians for purposes of benefit calculations. However, those workers are not given the same protections of heart disease presumption that Fire and Police have.
Request:
The General Assembly is requested to modify Code of Virginia Title 65.2, Workers’ Compensation, Chapter 3: Occupational Diseases §65.2-402(B) as follows:
B. Hypertension or heart disease causing the death of, or any health condition or impairment resulting in total or partial disability of (i) salaried or volunteer firefighters, (ii) members of the State Police Officers’ Retirement System, (iii) members of county, city or town police departments, (iv) sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, (v) Department of Emergency Management hazardous materials officers, (vi) city sergeants or deputy city sergeants of the City of Richmond, (vii) Virginia Marine Police officers, (viii) conservation police officers who are full-time sworn members of the enforcement division of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, (ix) Capitol Police officers, (x) special agents of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority appointed under the provisions of Chapter 1 (§ 4.1-100 et seq.) of Title 4.1, (xi) for such period that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority voluntarily subjects itself to the provisions of this chapter as provided in §65.2-305, officers of the police force established and maintained by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, (xii) officers of the police force established and maintained by the Norfolk Airport Authority, (xiii) sworn officers of the police force established and maintained by the Virginia Port Authority, and (xiv) campus police officers appointed under Article 3 (§23.1-1-809 et seq.) and (xv) full-time salaried Emergency Medical Technicians employed by the City of Virginia Beach. Of Chapter 8 of Title 23.1 and employed by any public institution of higher education shall be presumed to be occupational diseases, suffered in the line of duty, that are covered by this title unless such presumption is overcome by a preponderance of competent evidence to the contrary.
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4. OBTAINING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS BY FRAUD, DECEIT, OR FORGERY
SPONSORED BY VICE-MAYOR JIM WOOD
Background Information:
Over the past year, the City of Virginia Beach has experienced an increase in the amount of illegally obtained prescription drugs via rogue internet sites that sell prescription drugs without valid prescriptions. These drugs are not FDA approved, and are often adulterated or misbranded. This involves Schedule II narcotics as well as Schedule III – Schedule VI drugs.
Request:
The General Assembly is requested to initiate legislation criminalizing the purchase of prescription drugs or procuring administration of prescription drugs including controlled substances by fraud, deceit, or forgery.
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5. SMART SCALE - RESILIENCY SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBER BARBARA HENLEY
Background Information:
According to the Virginia General Assembly, it is in the "public interest that a prioritization process ...be ...implemented to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the state's transportation system, transportation safety, transportation accessibility for people and freight, environmental quality, and economic development in the Commonwealth "(§33.2-214.1 of the Code of Virginia). This process, known as SMART SCALE, allows the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the Virginia Department of Transportation to score and subsequently award funds to new transportation construction projects throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the forthcoming SMART SCALE Round 4, it is estimated that $1 billion will be distributed to projects based upon this scoring system.
Despite the existence of categories covering congestion mitigation, economic development, accessibility, safety, and environmental quality, no category considers or evaluates a metric that will define the efficiency and effectiveness of the Hampton Roads and Virginia Beach transportation system in the 21st Century: resiliency. Although resiliency could be accounted for within several of the existing categories, to date, resiliency is not mentioned in their definitions. For example, safety considers crash frequency and rate, while environment scores are based upon sensitive acreage disturbed and air quality.
As a result of this exclusion, Virginia Beach and other localities transportation projects that are in part designed due to the threat of climate change, rising seas, and disruptive weather events score poorly in the SMART SCALE process. Further, projects that score in the existing categories are not given an additional benefit for their potential longevity. Given the critical need for the transportation sector to be part of the City, region, and Commonwealth 's response to sea level rise, resiliency must be considered a factor in Round 5 of SMART SCALE and in other future awards of transportation dollars by the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Request:
The City Council of the City of Virginia Beach requests that the General Assembly amend §33.2-214.1 to incorporate resiliency. Specifically, the City requests that §33.2-214.l (A) be rewritten to read "The General Assembly declares it to be in the public interest that a prioritization process for projects funded by the Commonwealth Transportation Board be developed and implemented to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the state's transportation system, transportation safety, transportation accessibility for people and freight, current and future transportation resiliency , environmental quality, and economic development in the Commonwealth" and that §33.2-214. l (B)(l ) state, "The prioritization process shall be based on an objective and quantifiable analysis that considers, at a minimum , the following factors relative to the cost of the project or strategy: congestion mitigation, economic development, accessibility, safety, and environmental quality, and resiliency ."
Furthermore, the City Council requests that the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the Virginia Department of Transportation adopt the following definition of resiliency: "The ability to anticipate, prepare for , or adapt to conditions; or withstand, respond to, or recover rapidly from disruptions;
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including the impacts of sea level rise, extreme weather events, flooding , or other natural disasters. This resilience should extend to the entire transportation system including all modes and components such as roads, railroads, waterways, runways, power from multiple sources and various fuels, control and communications location systems, consideration of alternative routes. Alternative- especially harden routes for which there are no good alternative, alternative sources and backup system for fuels and backup control, communications, location systems, increased flooding from sea level rise, subsidence, increased occurrence of record storms, increased intensity of hurricanes, winter weather events and other extreme climatological and other climatological occurrences”.
Put very simply, a road system is only as good as it’s drainage system, or the electrical system for traffic control, etc. For instance, VDOT is now requiring that road and bridge projects take into account projected sea level rise, but no additional credit is given to those added costs.
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6. LIMITATION ON THE NUMBER OF BALLOONS THAT MAY BE SET FREE
SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBER GUY TOWER
Background Information:
The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, Clean Virginia Waterways, Christina Trapani Consulting, and Virginia’s Coastal Zone Management Program have been monitoring coastal shorelines, water quality, and marine animal health in the state for more than 25 years. During this period, the Virginia Aquarium conducted coastal surveys, responded to stranded animals, and identified and documented the impacts of balloons on the environment. During these surveys, more than 150 balloons and balloon parts (ribbons, plastic closures) were recorded per mile of beach. Balloon litter injures and kills wildlife – more than 30 animal species are known to be impacted by balloons. The Virginia Aquarium’s nationally recognized stranding response team has documented numerous balloons ingested by endangered sea turtles and marine mammals.
In Virginia, it is currently legal for any person to release up to 49 balloons within a one-hour period – in essence, it is legal to litter. Released balloons are a particularly insidious form of litter because of the ease with which they travel great distances and impact even remote areas. The Virginia Aquarium studies have documented balloons on Virginia beaches from as far away as Northern Virginia and even other states such as North Carolina, Maryland, New York, West Virginia, and Kansas.
Request:
The General Assembly is requested to support legislation for the prohibition of any person for the deliberate, outdoor release, of any balloon(s). The proposed legislation would include a civil penalty of $25 per balloon released, to be paid into the Nongame Wildlife Fund of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. The bill would have exceptions for government agencies and releases for approved scientific and meteorological purposes.
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7. DEFINITION OF SMALL BUSINESS SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBERS SABRINA WOOTEN & ROSEMARY WILSON
Background Information:
Currently there are multiple definitions for small businesses in the code of Virginia. The one that is utilized most predominantly is in the Virginia Public Procurement Act. This states that a small business means a business independently owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are US citizens or legal resident aliens and together with affiliates has 250 or fewer employees or annual gross receipts of $10 million or less averaged over the previous three years.
Under this current definition a “small business could have 250 employees and greater than annual gross revenues of $10 million”. This means that a certified small business could have unlimited annual revenue and receive the benefits of being a small business under the code.
Request:
The General Assembly is requested to amend the code of Virginia section 2.2 – 4310 to substitute the word “and” for “or” in the definition of a small business. This would mean that a small business would be defined as having 250 or fewer employees and annual gross receipts of $10 million or less averaged over the previous three years. This is thought to provide a truer definition of a small business in Virginia than the current code.
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8. DIVERSITY IN JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBER MICHAEL BERLUCCHI & THE VIRGINIA BEACH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Background Information:
Bringing diverse experiences and perspectives to bear, allows judges to make better informed decisions and increases public confidence in their rulings. Given the diversity of the citizenry subject to the power of local courts in Virginia, judges from different backgrounds and experiences help to enrich judicial decision-making by including a variety of voices and perspectives. Despite these important benefits, the City’s courts do not reflect the diversity of the City they serve. A recent retirement from this court has exacerbated this problem.
Request:
The City requests that the General Assembly give favorable consideration to judicial candidates who are exceptionally well-qualified, but who also reflect the full diversity of the community they serve, and especially candidates of color, when filling any Virginia Beach court vacancy.
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9. RESTORE FUNDING DURING THE 2021 SESSION FOR THE RENOVATION OF BUILDING 2 IN RESPONSE TO THE EVENTS OF MAY 31, 2019 SPONSORED BY CITY COUNCIL
Background Information:
In response to the tragedy of May 31, 2019, City Council has pledged to not require workers previously working from Building 2 to return to those office spaces. The City is planning a total of $83 million of expenditures to renovate three buildings in order to accommodate the workers from Building 2 into facilities that better serve the public. The displaced employees are working from over 20 different locations throughout the City. $4 million has been expended for designing the needed renovations. Building 2 would be repurposed as Police headquarters and the first precinct headquarters, the current Police headquarters building, would be renovated at the cost of $19 million to accommodate some of the workers previously in Building 2. The current City Hall would be renovated at a cost of $30 million to accommodate the remainder of the displaced workers.
Request:
The General Assembly is requested to appropriate $10 million during the regular 2021 General Assembly session to the City to assist in renovations to the Building 2 at the City Hall complex made necessary due to the tragedy of May 31, 2019.
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10. REQUEST FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO RESTORE FUNDING TO K-12 EDUCATION SPONSORED BY CITY COUNCIL
Background Information:
The General Assembly in its Regular Session of 2020 adopted significant increases in funding for kindergarten through 12th grade education. This additional funding would have provided substantial increases to teachers and other school system employees. Following the realization of the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the General Assembly re-allotted over $2 billion in K-12 funding and subsequent to that defunded that amount. While although the state and the nation as a whole are still suffering under the impacts of COVID-19, impacts on the revenues of the Commonwealth are substantially less severe than envisioned just two months ago. The General Assembly may be in a position in January to restore a substantial amount of the funding that has been reduced for K-12 and other uses.
Request:
The General Assembly is requested, to the extent possible, restore the de-allotted funding to K-12 made necessary after the adjournment of the Regular Session of 2020 with revenues much improved over that forecast just a few months ago. The General Assembly may be in a much better position fiscally by the middle of February 2021 when final decisions on the budget must be made.
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11. STORMWATER SUPPLEMENTAL FEE TO SUPPORT FLOOD MITIGATION BOND REFERENDUM SPONSORED BY COUNCILMEMBER JOHN MOSS
Background Information:
Section 15.2-2114 of the Virginia Code authorizes a locality to undertake a stormwater management program. Included in this legislation is the authorization to impose stormwater charges to residents of the City receiving the services provided by the stormwater management program. The City has a two-tier rate structure. The rate structure for residential customers is by a fixed equivalent residential unit or ERU. The rate structure for non-residential customers is based on the impermeable square footage of the relevant parcel.
As the City explores a possible bond referendum for flood mitigation, there is a desire to apportion the costs of flood mitigation projects equally upon all residents of the City. If the City seeks to pay for the debt associated with a flood mitigation referendum through increased real estate taxes, there would be an inequitable distribution of the burden of such debt, so the City desires additional options to structure the repayment of debt for flood mitigation.
Request:
The City Council requests enabling authority to permit the levy of a supplemental stormwater management charge dedicated to flood mitigation upon properties exempted from real estate taxes, and such supplemental stormwater management charge shall be equal to the proportional costs imposed from increased real estate taxes upon taxable properties required for repayment of debt issued pursuant to a bond referendum for flood mitigation.
Special Session Update RECAP
The Governor’s proclamation issued on July 17th, summoned the members to commence a special session of the General Assembly on August 18th for the purpose of “adopting a budget based on the revised revenue forecast and consideration of legislation related to the emergency of COVID-19 and criminal and social justice reforms.” Although there was discussion by the Senate as to limiting the number of bills to be introduced per member, ultimately neither body set a limit. The Senate Chairwoman of the Finance and Appropriations Committee, Senator Janet Howell, did not permit Senate members to introduce budget amendments for consideration; however, the committee members themselves – more specifically, the conferees, will be drafting any amendments to the introduced Budget. The Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Delegate Luke Torian, did allow House members to introduce amendments to the Budget and followed the consideration process used during a regular session. Chairman Torian did request that members limit their requests to their top three priorities and did not require that the budget requests be in accordance with the subject areas of the Governor’s proclamation.
Extensive committee and floor debates continued in the Senate on Week 5 on criminal justice and police reform bills as well as key bills on unemployment and paid leave. Below is a statistical summary update of the status of the 407 bills and resolutions introduced during the session. Following the statistics table is a subject matter breakdown of bills that have advanced through the committee process and are now being heard by the full House and Senate.
THIS WEEK – (September 14 – September 18):
The House did not schedule any committee meetings for Monday through Wednesday to consider Senate bills, and held only a pro-forma session on Thursday, September 17th as required by the Virginia Constitution. The House has 44 bills to consider that have crossed over from the Senate and will likely end the week with 34 bills remaining in the House pipeline. Nine (9) COVID-19 related bills were considered in the House Health, Welfare & Institutions Committee late Thursday afternoon and will consider SB5107 in Commerce & Labor on Friday. SB5108 amends a bill passed during the regular 2020 session, relating to unemployment compensation which implements a short-term compensation program and will extend the date of implementation due to COVID-19’s impact. The House has committee hearings scheduled for Courts, General Laws, and Public Safety for Monday and Tuesday of next week to consider Senate bills that have crossed-over in these subject areas, but cancelled its House Appropriations committee meeting (that was scheduled prior to the start of special session) and has not yet set a date and time for their next meeting.
The Senate conducted floor sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday and held committee meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. All bills that passed Senate Judiciary this week were passed with a re- referral to Senate Finance and Appropriations. This process of Senate committee bill passage and re- referral to Senate Finance is likely to continue in other Senate Committees.
Discord between the bodies has generally existed at some level as it does in many state legislatures. The level of discord is rising as the special session moves into week six. Senate leadership from both parties
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 have expressed frustration in what they view as a lack of communication from House leadership regarding scheduling, the budget, and whether some of the bills introduced by members of the House are within the scope the Governor’s order, different approaches on how to address some of the issues, as well as whether some of the bills should be a part of the January 2021 Regular session. Senate committee hearings and floor session debates ran long this week with it not being uncommon for a bill to be debated for one to two years before a vote was taken. The only budget action has been the emergency legislation and funding for the November elections. The Senate has a floor session scheduled for Thursday, September 24th. The Senate Majority Leader stated and the end of Wednesday’s session that he hopes to have everything wrapped up next week with the exception of the budget, and publicly stated that there is no federal law requiring the Senate to pass any House bills.
This special session will very likely exceed the duration of the January 2021 regular 45-day session and could likely go beyond a regular even-numbered year 60-day session. Many of the bills introduced this special session that do not pass are likely to return for the 2021 regular session. Additionally, it is very likely that the General Assembly will have multiple sessions in 2021 due to redistricting.
Cont'd to Passed Passed next Approved Vetoed Type Introduced House Senate Passed session Failed Pending H.B. 149 38 0 0 0 27 122 0 0 H.J.R. 13 3 0 0 0 2 11 0 0 H.R. 103 85 0 85 0 0 18 0 0 S.B. 121 1 44 1 0 69 51 1 0 S.J.R. 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 S.R. 44 0 40 40 0 0 4 0 0 Totals 431 127 84 126 0 99 206 1 0
NOTE: While the total pending bills/resolutions increased from 201 from last week, all HR and SR resolutions are commending/ memorializing resolutions and should not factor in as a gauge of work/timing of remaining special session efforts.
COVID:
The Governor is requesting that language be placed in the budget for utility debt forgiveness be granted to rate payers who have lapsed 60 days in their electric bill. These funds will come from overcharges by electric utilities in a statement by the SCC earlier this week. (The final decision on the overcharges were to be determined following an established SCC process in the spring of 2021.)
HB 5028 - Jones - Workers' Passed the House (S) Passed Senate 09/16/20 compensation; presumption of Committee on Commerce compensability for COVID-19. FISCAL IMPACT and Labor and Rereferred STATEMENT to Senate Finance HB 5050 - Helmer - Emergency Passed the House (S) Referred to the 09/09/20 Services and Disaster Law; powers Committee on General and duties of Governor, purchase of FISCAL IMPACT Laws and Technology PPE. STATEMENT
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 HB 5059 - Willett - Hospices, Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 certain, home care organizations, Judiciary (12-Y-0-N) etc.; immunity from civil liability, FISCAL IMPACT COVID- 19. STATEMENT
HB 5093 - Watts - Emergency PASSED THE (S) Referred to 09/04/20 Services and Disaster Law; powers HOUSE Committee on General and duties of the Governor, Laws and Technology executive orders, penalty. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT HB 5106 - Cole, J.G. - Landlord and PASSED THE (S) Referred to 09/04/20 tenant; noncompliance with rental HOUSE Committee on General agreement, reporting negative credit Laws and Technology information. FISCAL IMPACT HB 5116 - Guzman - Public and (H) Committee on (S) Passed by indefinitely 09/16/20 private employers; required to Appropriations in Commerce and Labor provide eligible employees paid (14-Y 1-N) quarantine leave, etc. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5025 - Newman - Emergency (S) Committee on (H) Tabled in Health, 09/17/20 orders and regulations; orders Education and Welfare and Institutions adopted by the Board and Health (13-Y 9-N) Commissioner of Health, duration. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5039 - Marsden - Emergency (S) Committee on (H) Referred to 09/17/20 Services and Disaster Law; powers Finance and Committee on General and duties of Governor, purchase of Appropriations Laws PPE. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5081 - Barker - Outbreaks of (S) Committee on (H) Reported from 09/17/20 communicable disease of public Education and Health, Welfare and health threat; posting of information Health Institutions (22-Y 0-N) about cases. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5082 - Marsden - Hospices, (S) Committee on (H) Referred to 09/17/20 certain, home care organizations, the Judiciary Committee on Courts of etc.; immunity from civil liability, Justice COVID-19. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5088 - Ebbin - Virginia (S) Committee on (H) Referred to the 09/17/20 Residential Landlord &Tenant Act; General Laws and Committee on General Technology Laws
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5090 - Dunnavant - COVID-19 (S) Committee on (H) Reported from 09/17/20 virus; Commissioner of Health shall Education and Health, Welfare and make information available to public Health Institutions with on a website. substitute (22-Y 0-N) FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5051 - Hashmi - Virginia (S) Committee on (S) Rereferred to Finance 08/27/20 Residential Landlord and Tenant Finance and and Appropriations Act; temporary prohibition against Appropriations landlord termination. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5066 - Saslaw - Workers' (S) Committee on (S) Senate committee, 09/09/20 compensation; presumption of Finance and floor amendments and compensability for COVID-19. Appropriations substitutes offered
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5082 - Marsden - Hospices, (S) Committee on (H) Referred to 09/17/20 certain, home care organizations, the Judiciary Committee for Courts of etc.; immunity from civil liability, Justice COVID-19. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5095 - Dunnavant - Rapid (S) Committee on (H) Tabled in Health, 09/17/20 diagnostic testing; availability to all Education and Welfare and Institutions essential workers. Health (13-Y 9-N)
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5118 - McClellan - Emergency (S) Committee on (H) Referred to 09/17/20 Debt Repayment Plan; every utility Finance and Appropriations providing electric, gas, etc., service Appropriations to develop. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
SB 5106 - Lewis - Local land use (S) Committee on (H) Referred to 09/17/20 approvals; extension of approvals to Local Government Committee on General address the COVID-19 pandemic. Laws
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 SB 5107 - McPike - Unemployment (S) Committee on (H) Referred to 09/17/20 compensation; extends date VEC is Commerce and Committee on General required to establish, etc., short-time Labor Laws compensation. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5109 - Chafin - Nursing (S) Committee on (H) Tabled in Health, 09/17/20 home/assisted living facility Education and Welfare and Institutions employees/residents; priority for Health (13-Y 9-N) testing for COVID-19 virus. SB 5117 - Deeds - Emergency (S) Committee on (H) Referred to the 09/17/20 Services and Disaster Law; powers General Laws and Committee on Public and duties of the Governor, Technology Safety executive orders, penalty. SB 5118 - McClellan - Emergency (S) Committee on (H) Referred to the 09/17/20 Debt Repayment Plan; every utility Finance and Committee on providing electric, gas, etc., service Appropriations Appropriations to develop. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
EDUCATION:
SB 5068 - Peake - Student safety drills and (S) Committee on (S) Read third 08/27/20 student health screenings; school boards to Education and time and passed waiver drills & screenings. Health Senate (34-Y 0- N) FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5083 - McClellan - School boards; (S) Committee on (S) Read third 08/27/20 board required to post on its website the Education and time and passed COVID-19 virus mitigation plan. Health Senate (34-Y 0- N) FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5100 - Dunnavant - Public schools; (S) Committee on (S) Read third 08/27/20 COVID-19-related absences. Education and time and passed Health Senate (34-Y 0- N) FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5101 - Dunnavant - Private school (S) Committee on (S) Read third 08/27/20 employees and volunteers; essential Education and time and passed workers, personal protective equipment. Health
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 Senate (34-Y 0- N)
ELECTIONS:
The State Board of Elections has posted the accompanying regulations on the Virginia Town Hall website, which are available for public comment. The State Board of Elections meets on September 15th.
HB 5103 - Sickles - Elections, (H) Committee on (S) Recommitted to 09/10/20 Department of; appropriations to Appropriations Finance and provide prepaid postage for return of Appropriations absentee ballots. (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations SB 5120 - Howell - Elections, (H) Committee on (G) Approved by 09/04/20 Department of; appropriations to Appropriations Governor-Chapter 1 provide prepaid postage for return of (effective 9/4/20) absentee ballots. (S) Committee on Finance and Appropriations
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM:
HB 5045 - Delaney - Inmate, Passed the House (S) Reported from Senate 09/16/20 parolee, probationer, detainee, or Judiciary with Substitute pretrial defendant, etc.; carnal (13-Y 0-N) and Rereferred knowledge. to Finance HB 5108 - Guzman - Criminal Passed the House (S) Reported from Senate 09/16/20 Justice Services Board and Judiciary with Substitute (8- Committee on Training; change in Y 4-N) and Rereferred to membership & responsibilities. Finance HB 5146 - Herring - Criminal Passed the House (S) Reported from Senate 09/16/20 records; automatic expungement Judiciary with Substitute (8- for certain convictions, etc. Y 1-N) and Rereferred to Finance HB 5148 - Scott - Earned (H) Committee on (S) Reported from Senate 09/16/20 sentence credits; establishes a Appropriations Judiciary with Substitute four-level classification system (12-Y 0-N) and Rereferred for awarding & calculation. to Rehabilitation and Social Services
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 SB 5007 - Morrissey - Criminal (S) Committee on (H) Referred to Courts of 09/17/20 cases; sentencing reform. Finance and Justice Appropriations SB 5012 - Suetterlein - Virginia (S) Committee on (H) Referred to Courts of 09/17/20 Freedom of Information Act; Finance and Justice Virginia Parole Board member Appropriations votes. SB 5013 - Stuart - Marijuana; (S) Committee on (H) Referred to Courts of 09/17/20 possession, violations by an adult the Judiciary Justice shall be prepayable. SB 5017 - Boysko - Correctional (S) Committee on (H) Referred to Public 09/17/20 facility, local; clarifies definition. Finance and Safety Appropriations SB 5018 - Bell - Geriatric, (S) Committee on (H) Referred to Courts of 09/17/20 terminally ill, or permanently Finance and Justice physically disabled prisoners; Appropriations conditional release. SB 5032 - Surovell - Assault and (S) Committee on (H) Referred to Courts of 09/17/20 battery; penalty. the Judiciary Justice
SB 5033 - Surovell - Court (S) Committee on (H) Referred to Courts of 09/17/20 authority in criminal cases; the Judiciary Justice prosecutorial discretion to dispose of a criminal case. SB 5041 - Stuart - Concealed (S) Committee on (H) Referred to Public 09/17/20 handgun permits; demonstration the Judiciary Safety of competence, changes effective date. demonstration of competence, changes effective date. SB 5043 - Deeds - Police and (S) Committee on (H) Referred to Courts of 09/17/20 court records; expungement of Finance and Justice certain records. Appropriations SB 5050 - Obenshain - Parole; (S) Committee on (H) Referred to Courts of 09/17/20 notice and certification, monthly Rehabilitation and Justice reports, discretionary early Social Services consideration.
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 POLICE REFORM:
HB 5029 - McQuinn - Law- Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 enforcement officer; failure to Judiciary with intervene in an unlawful use of • 08/27/20 House: substitute (8-Y 5-N) excessive force, penalties. Impact statement and Rereferred to from VCSC Senate Finance (HB5029H1) • 08/28/20 House: Impact statement from DPB (HB5029H1)
HB 5043 - Bourne - Mental (H) Committee on (H) VOTE: Passage 09/10/20 health awareness response & Appropriations (57-Y 39-N) community understanding serv. (Marcus) alert syst.; establishes. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT HB 5049 - Helmer - Law- (H) Committee on (S) Rereferred to 09/16/20 enforcement agencies; acquisition Appropriations – Finance and use of military property. REPORTED WITH A SUBSTITUTE
• 08/18/20 House: Impact statement from VCSC (HB5049) • 08/21/20 House: Impact statement from DPB (HB5049)
HB 5051 - Simon - Law- Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 enforcement officer or jail Committee on the officer; notice to Criminal Justice FISCAL IMPACT Judiciary (10-Y 2-N) Services Board of misconduct. STATEMENT and rereferred to Finance HB 5055 - Herring - Law- Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 enforcement civilian review Committee on the panels; localities required, on or FISCAL IMPACT Judiciary (7-Y 2-N) before 7/1/2021, to establish. STATEMENT and rereferred to Finance HB 5058 - Hope - Marijuana and Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 certain traffic offenses; issuing Committee on the citations, etc., FISCAL IMPACT Judiciary (8-Y 1-N) STATEMENT
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 and rereferred to Finance HB 5069 - Carroll Foy - Law- Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 enforcement officers; prohibition Committee on the on the use of neck restraints, • 08/27/20 House: Judiciary (9-Y 4-N) Class 6 felony. Impact statement and rereferred to from VCSC Finance (HB5069H1) • 08/28/20 House: Impact statement from DPB (HB5069H1)
HB 5072 - Lopez - Law- Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 enforcement; Attorney Gen. Committee on the authorized to file civil suit or FISCAL IMPACT Judiciary (8-Y 1-N) inquire into any unlawful STATEMENT and rereferred to practice. Finance HB 5098 - Askew - Hate crimes; Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 falsely summoning or giving false Committee on the reports to law-enforcement • 08/27/20 House: Judiciary (7-Y 2-N) officials, penalty. Impact statement and rereferred to from VCSC Finance (HB5098H1) • 08/28/20 House: Impact statement from DPB (HB5098H1)
HB 5099 - Aird - Search Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 warrants; prohibition on no-knock Committee on the search warrants. Judiciary (8-Y 4-N) and rereferred to Finance HB 5104 - Price - Law- Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 enforcement officers, sheriff, etc.; Committee on the minimum qualifications, FISCAL IMPACT Judiciary (10-Y 2-N) disclosure of information. STATEMENT and rereferred to Finance HB 5109 - Hope - Law- Passed the House (S) Reported from 09/16/20 enforcement officer training & Committee on the qualifications; DCJS to develop FISCAL IMPACT Judiciary (12-Y 0-N) uniform curriculum & plans, etc. STATEMENT and rereferred to Finance
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 HB 5112 - Levine - Law- Passed the House (S) Passed by 09/16/20 enforcement officer; duty to indefinitely by render aid, duty to report FISCAL IMPACT Judiciary (10-Y 3-N) wrongdoing by another officer. STATEMENT SB 5003 - Stuart - Civil Rights (S) Committee on Rules (H) Referred to House 09/17/20 and Policing, Commission on; Committee on Rules established, membership, report, FISCAL IMPACT sunset provision. STATEMENT SB 5014 - Edwards - Law- (S) Committee on Finance (H) Referred to 09/17/20 enforcement officers; officers to and Appropriations Committee on Public complete crisis intervention team Safety training. SB 5024 - Lucas - Law- (S) Committee on Finance (H) Referred to 09/17/20 enforcement; Attorney Gen. and Appropriations Committee on Courts authorized to file civil suit or of Justice inquire into any unlawful FISCAL IMPACT practice. STATEMENT SB 5029 - Lucas - Marijuana and (S) Committee on the (H) Referred to 09/17/20 certain traffic infractions; Judiciary Committee on Courts possession, issuing citations. of Justice FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5030 - Locke - Policing (S) Committee on Finance (H) Referred to 09/17/20 reform; acquisition of military and Appropriations Committee on Courts property, training of officers in of Justice de-escalation techniques. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5035 - Hashmi - Law- (S) Committee on Finance (H) Referred to 09/17/20 enforcement civilian review and Appropriations Committee on Public boards; locality authorized to Safety establish. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5038 - McPike - Mobile crisis (S) Committee on Finance (H) Referred to 09/17/20 co-response team programs; and Appropriations Committee on Public DCJS & DBHDS to establish Safety throughout the Commonwealth. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5052 - Reeves - Law- (S) Committee on the (H) Referred to 09/17/20 enforcement agencies; body-worn Judiciary Committee on Public camera systems. Safety FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 OTHER:
HB 5030 - McQuinn - Monuments (H) Committee on (S) Referred to 09/09/20 and memorials for war veterans; Rules Committee on Local authority of localities. Government SB 5031 - Locke - Legal holidays; (S) Committee on (H) Referred to 09/17/20 Juneteenth. General Laws and Committee on Technology General Laws
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT SB 5036 - McPike - Alcoholic (S) Committee on (H) Referred to 09/17/20 beverage control; local special events Rehabilitation and Committee on license, limitations on events, etc. Social Services Courts of Justice
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
OTHER KEY ITEMS:
Senate Finance Committee Presentations:
August Revenue Report and Federal Funding Status (Presentation) Virginia Retirement System Overview (Presentation) Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority: COVID Response and Sales Overview Travis Hill, Chief Executive Officer (Presentation)
Commission on Local Government:
Met on September 17th and approved the 2020 Changes to the Catalog of State and Federal Mandates on Local Governments which are updated annually. The updates will be incorporated into the current online system.
State Board of Elections:
Meeting that was scheduled for earlier this week had to be rescheduled due to virtual platform technical difficulties. The meeting has been rescheduled for September 18th when the Board is scheduled to certify the Demtech electronic pollbook system.
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505 PRESS ARTICLES:
Here’s how Virginia lawmakers are doing after a month debating coronavirus and police reform The legislature has been busy with passing criminal justice reform bills Democrats in control say are long overdue and approving legislation related to COVID-19. – Pilot Online – 09/17/20
Senate panel kills bill to require paid leave for quarantined employees - Much to the delight of business groups and dismay of employee advocates, a Senate committee killed legislation on Wednesday to require employers to provide up to two weeks of paid sick leave for workers who have to quarantine because of exposure or infection by COVID-19. – Richmond Times Dispatch – 9/16/20
Virginia Retirement System pension funds lose ground because of investment performance The unfunded liability of pension funds for state employees and teachers has risen as market returns have lagged on investments by Virginia’s $82 billion retirement system. – Richmond Times Dispatch – 9/16/20
Criminal justice reform bills make way through state Senate committee RICHMOND — One month into a special session, the Virginia General Assembly is getting closer to passing police and criminal justice reform as lawmakers begin to narrow their focus on legislation. – Roanoke Times – 9/16/20
Senate approves 12-month utility debt repayment plans with bipartisan support The Virginia Senate passed legislation Wednesday that will require all utilities except those controlled by municipal authorities to offer 12-month payment plans to residential customers who have been unable to pay their bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic. – Virginia Mercury – 9/16/20
One Columbus Center, Suite 600-612 | Virginia Beach, VA 23462 | 757-333-7505