Dear Friend,
The summer season is in full swing albeit in a different way than usual with the continuation of social distancing and mask wearing. As we enter the second half of 2020, July 1 brought us new laws, “Phase 3” of re-opening the Commonwealth, as well as the beginning of the removal of city-owned monuments on Monument Avenue.
New Laws Effective July 1
During the 2020 legislative session, 3,911 bills were introduced in the House and Senate. Of those bills, 1,289 were passed, approved by the Governor, and became law on July 1. For a thorough review of new laws, I encourage you to read “In Due Course” by the Division of Legislative Services.
Gun Safety
In response to the May 2019 Virginia Beach tragedy, a package of seven bills were introduced and passed in the House.
HB2: Universal background checks are enforced on gun sales; loopholes have been eliminated.
HB9: Gun owners must report lost or stolen firearms within 48 hours to law enforcement and those who fail to do so are penalized with a $250 fine.
HB421: Localities are authorized to regulate the possession, carrying, storage, or transport of firearms, ammunition, components, or any combination. Localities can also create a firearm-buyback program to destroy surrendered firearms.
HB674: Judicial officers are authorized to issue an emergency “Substantial Risk Protective Order,” which prohibits a person deemed a risk to themselves or others from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm for the duration of the order. The order expires after 14 days, unless a judge extends the time frame, which allows the individual an opportunity to see mental health help.
HB812: The one-gun-per-month limit is reinstated, unless you are a licensed firearms dealer.
HB1004: It is a Class 6 felony for someone subject to a protective order to knowingly possess a firearm. The person has 24 hours once the protective order is in place to sell or transfer their gun(s) and they must certify within 48 hours that they no longer possess firearms.
HB1083: It is a Class 1 misdemeanor for an individual to leave a loaded, unsecured firearm around a minor under the age of 18 years old.
Criminal Justice
HB972: Simple possession of marijuana is now a civil penalty of no more than $25. Simple possession is defined as less than one ounce. Additionally, past convictions will no longer be reported to the Central Criminal Records Exchange.
HB33: A person is eligible to be considered for parole if they were sentenced by a jury prior to the Supreme Court of Virginia decision in Fishback v. Commonwealth (June 9, 2000), the person remained incarcerated for the offense on July 1, 2020, and the offense was not a Class 1 felony or violent sex crime.
HB35: A person sentenced to a life imprisonment for a felony offense committed while that person was a juvenile and who has served at least 20 years can be eligible for parole.
HB298: The statute of limitations for certain misdemeanor sexual offenses has increased if the victim was a minor from one year to five years after the victim turns 18 years old. The offender must have been an adult at the time of the offense and more than three years older than the victim.
SB667: An individual is not subject to arrest or prosecution for unlawful purchase, possession, or consumption of alcohol, marijuana, or other controlled paraphernalia if the individual seeks or obtains emergency medical attention for himself or another individual in the event of an overdose. The individual must remain at the scene and identify himself to law-enforcement.
Voting Rights
HB1: Virginia voters no longer need to specify a reason to request and vote with an absentee ballot.
HB19: Voters can provide identification that does not show a photo of the voter.
HB108: Election Day is now a state holiday and Lee-Jackson Day is no longer a state holiday.
Environment
HB1526: The Virginia Clean Economy Act puts Virginia on track toward a 100% renewable-energy electricity supply by 2050. Dominion Energy and American Electric Power must retire their fossil fuel plants and ensure generating capacity powered by sunlight or onshore wind by 2045 and 2050 respectively.
HB981: The Commonwealth joins the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a market-based cap-and-trade program to limit carbon dioxide emissions released by electric generation facilities.
HB528: The State Corporation Commission must determine when electric utilities should retire coal-fired or natural gas-fired electric generation facilities
HB706: The granting of lease, easement, or permit for offshore drilling is banned.
HB704: Referred to as the Virginia Environmental Justice Act, the Commonwealth must promote environmental justice and ensure that it is carried out throughout the Commonwealth
HB1162: Environmental justice is added as one of the purposes of the Department of Environmental Quality
Protections from Discrimination
HB696: Localities may prohibit discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, credit, and education on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
HB787: The Virginia Human Rights Act was amended to include a ban on racial discrimination based on hair texture, type, or hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists
HB618: Assault, assault and battery or trespassing against a victim on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is considered a hate crime.
HB386: Any person licensed by the Department of Health Professions is banned from conducting conversion therapy on minors.
HB1429: Medical insurance companies cannot deny or terminate coverage to an individual on the basis of gender identity.
Housing & Food Insecurity
HB340: Temporary relief is provided from eviction or foreclosure for Virginians who lost their jobs or were furloughed due to a federal government shutdown or a State of Emergency declared by the Governor.
HB6: Housing providers cannot discriminate on the basis of a person’s source of funds.
HB566: Eligibility for food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is expanded to include Virginians convicted of drug-related felony offenses.
HB697: School boards must prohibit school employees from forcing students to throw out already-served food due to unpaid school lunch debts.
HB1509: The Virginia Food Access Investment Program is established to fund grocery stores and small food retailers to better serve underserved areas.
Transportation
HB885: The threshold is raised for when speeding is considered reckless in a 70 mile per hour zone from 80 to 85 miles per hour.
HB1196: The requirement that a driver’s license be suspended for failure to pay fines or court costs is removed.
HB578: A person cannot smoke in a vehicle with a minor present if the minor is under the age of 15 years old (previously, the age was 8 years old).
HB1414: This was the “transportation omnibus” bill as it amends many laws related to transportation funding, revenue sources, construction, and safety programming. The current gas tax based on a percentage of the wholesale price of gasoline is now based on a cents-per-gallon tax. The new rate of $0.262 per gallon will be phased in over two years. The tax will be indexed every year to keep up with inflation.
Higher Education
HB36: Student journalists at public institutions have the right to exercise freedom of speech and the press in institution-sponsored media.
HB715: The governing board of a public institution of higher education must provide students and the public with notice of the date, time, and location they can provide comment on any planned increase in tuition and mandatory fees.
HB1547: Any student is eligible for in-state tuition who attended high school in Virginia for at least two years, graduated from high school or home instruction in Virginia, and has submitted evidence that they or their guardian has paid Virginia income taxes for at least two years prior to registration.
Other Bills of Interest
HB1251: Healthcare providers, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities can no longer send surprise bills for out-of-network services, commonly known as “balance billing.” Fully-insured Virginians who receive emergency services from an out-of-network provider or receive out-of-network surgical or ancillary services at an in-network facility, are not required to pay the out-of-network provider any amount other than the applicable cost-sharing requirement. Self-insured plans may opt-in to this protection.
HB1552: The outdoor tethering of animals is prohibited during a heat advisory, severe weather warning, hurricane warning, tropical storm warning, a period where the temperature is 85 degrees or higher or 32 degrees or lower, or if the animal is not safe from predators or well-suited to tolerate its environment. Additionally, the minimum tether length is increased to 15 feet or four times the length of the animal, whichever is greater. Exceptions can be made if an animal control officer inspects the animal’s individual circumstance.
HB789: The interest and fees from payday loans (now referenced as “short-term loans”) is capped at an annual rate of 36%, plus a maintenance fee.
HB1537: Localities may remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover any monument or memorial for war veterans on the locality’s public property.
HB4: The Cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Richmond, Danville, and Bristol are authorized to establish casinos contingent upon the passage of a local referendum and subject to state regulation.
HB896: Online sports betting is now legal and regulated. The bill also creates a Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund. Betting on Virginia colleges and youth sports is still illegal.
Betsy’s Legislation
I introduced 21 pieces of legislation, of which 17 passed the General Assembly. You can review all of my legislation here. Here are some highlights:
HB533 bans expanded polystyrene (styrofoam) food containers provided by food vendors by 2025; this bill had a re-enactment clause and must be passed again next year in order to become effective. There are many affordable alternatives to styrofoam food containers. Additionally, while styrofoam only accounts for 1% of all waste, it is one of the most frequently littered items and makes up 10 to 40% of litter found in streams.
HB534 allows localities to impose a five cent tax on single-use plastic bags at certain retailers beginning January 1, 2021. Revenues will go toward environmental cleanup and the provision of reusable bags for SNAP and WIC recipients.
HB542 implements a JLARC recommendation (read it here) and requires regional, rather than local-only, planning for water usage. The State Water Control Board will create regional planning groups where they do not already exist.
HB1101 provides local governments, the private sector, and nonprofit housing providers an additional tool to incentivize the inclusion of affordable housing in new residential and mixed-use developments.
Committee Appointments
I continue to serve on the Appropriations, General Laws, Transportation, and Rules Committees as well as serving as Chair of the Appropriations Higher Education, General Laws Open Government and Procurement, and Transportation Systems subcommittees. Additionally, the Speaker of the House has appointed me to the following:
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (re-appointment)
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission (re-appointment)
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees
Commemorative Commission to Honor the Contributions of the Women of Virginia (re-appointment)
Task Force to Commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote (re-appointment)
Updates on COVID-19
The Virginia Department of Health reported as of July 2 at 10am, 63,735 total COVID-19 cases in Virginia. The 7-day moving average percent positivity rate continues to decline, and is currently at 5.9%
On July 1, Virginia entered “Phase 3” of re-opening. You can read the Governor’s Executive Order #67 here for details of easing restrictions on businesses, gatherings, and traveling.
The Governor’s press briefings will now occur on an as-needed basis. Please follow the Governor’s press releases for updates on when his next press conference will be held - you can sign up to receive information by email at governor.virginia.gov.
Stay tuned for next week's update on the ongoing conversation and action taking place in our community regarding monument removal, police reform and other criminal justice related measures.
It is an honor to serve you in the General Assembly. If you have any questions or concerns that I can help address, please email me at delegate.carr@betsycarr.org. Additionally, you can call my office at 804-698-1169 and leave a voicemail. My staff and I will respond to you as soon as possible.
Wishing you and your family an enjoyable Fourth of July weekend.
Sincerely,
Betsy B. Carr