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2004 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections

Chairman: Stephen H. Martin

Clerk: Patricia J. Lung
Date of Meeting: February 3, 2004
Time and Place: 4:00 p.m. -- Senate Room A

S.B. 94

Patron: Devolites

Voting equipment at the polling place. Provides that voting and counting equipment, including inoperative equipment, must remain in plain view of the officers of election and in the polling place during the election and through the determination of the vote after the polls close.

S.B. 102

Patron: Devolites

Electronic voting systems. Provides that direct electronic voting devices such as touch screen devices must be equipped to provide a paper copy record of the votes cast on a contemporaneous and continuing basis as votes are cast and accumulated on the device.

S.B. 137

Patron: Cuccinelli

Electronic voting systems. Provides that direct electronic voting devices such as touch screen devices must be equipped to provide a paper copy record of the votes cast on a contemporaneous and continuing basis as votes are cast and accumulated on the device.

S.B. 142

Patron: Cuccinelli

Voting equipment at the polling place. Provides that voting and counting equipment, including inoperative equipment, must remain in plain view of the officers of election and in the polling place during the election and through the determination of the vote after the polls close.

S.B. 268

Patron: Potts

Campaign Finance Disclosure Act; in-kind contributions and penalties. Requires written authorization by a candidate for in-kind contributions to the candidate in support of his campaign. The bill also provides for the assessment of a civil penalty of $50,000 for any failure to report the making or receipt of an in-kind contribution with a value of $1,000 or more and for public notice of the failure and of the identity of the candidate, person, or committee involved.

S.B. 313

Patron: Howell

Voting equipment and technology and related election law offenses; penalties. Incorporates a number of changes in current law provisions on voting equipment and related offenses to cover new developments in voting technology, software, programming and related security and operations issues.

S.B. 457

Patron: Whipple

Electronic voting systems. Requires that direct electronic voting devices be equipped to provide voter-verified paper ballots, and that the State Board of Elections begin a testing program for direct electronic voting devices and accompanying voter-verified paper ballots at the November 2004 general election. The Board shall conduct a random audit of direct electronic voting devices for comparison with the results obtained under the testing program.

S.B. 462

Patron: Whipple

Election laws; implementation of Help America Vote Act. Provides for implementation of the Act with respect to voter registration, identification and provisional voting; absentee voting for military and overseas voters; and recounts.

S.J.R. 3

Patron: Deeds

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Virginia Redistricting Commission. Establishes the Virginia Redistricting Commission to redraw Congressional and General Assembly district boundaries after each decennial census. Appointments to the 13-member Commission are to be made in the census year as follows: two each by the President pro tempore of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Delegates, minority leader in each house, and the state chairman of each of the two political parties receiving the most votes in the prior gubernatorial election. The 12 partisan members then select the thirteenth member by a majority vote; or, if they cannot agree on a selection, they certify the two names receiving the most votes to the Supreme Court, which will name the thirteenth member. The Commission is directed to certify district plans for the General Assembly within one month of receipt of the new census data or by March 1 of the year following the census, whichever is later, and for the House of Representatives within three months of receipt or by June 1 of the year following the census, whichever is later. The plans shall be effective for the next regular general election for the Senate, House of Delegates, or House of Representatives. Members in office when a new plan is certified complete their terms and continue to represent the district as constituted when they were elected. Vacancies occurring before the next general election for the office are to be filled, if filled, from the district as constituted when the member, whose vacancy is being filled, was elected to office. The standards to govern redistricting plans include the current Constitution's standards on population equality, compactness, and contiguity and additional standards to minimize splits of localities and to prohibit consideration of incumbency and political data.

S.J.R. 17

Patron: Edwards

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); property exempt from taxation. Authorizes the General Assembly to enact legislation that will permit localities to provide a partial exemption from real property taxation for real estate and associated new structures and improvements in conservation, redevelopment, or rehabilitation areas.

S.J.R. 18

Patron: Howell

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Highway Maintenance and Operating Fund and Transportation Trust Fund. Provides that the Highway Maintenance and Operating Fund and the Transportation Trust Fund shall be permanent funds. Starting with the Commonwealth's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, the General Assembly shall appropriate to each Fund an amount no less than the amount appropriated to the respective Fund in the immediately preceding fiscal year.

The amendment limits the use of Trust Fund moneys to highway construction, maintenance, and improvements, public transportation, railways, seaports, and airports. The General Assembly may use Fund proceeds for other purposes only by a two-thirds vote of the members in each house. However, Fund proceeds used for other purposes must be repaid to the Fund within four years.

S.J.R. 33

Patron: Cuccinelli

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); limit on appropriations. Limits total appropriations in any fiscal year to the preceding year's total appropriations plus a percentage increase equal to the rate of inflation plus a factor for population increases. The amendment also provides that any revenues collected in excess of such limitation less than or equal to one percent of such limitation shall be deposited in the Revenue Stabilization Fund. Any excess revenues greater than such one percent, less mandatory deposits to the Revenue Stabilization Fund, shall be returned to individual income taxpayers. "Total appropriations" is defined as not to include moneys appropriated that are received from the federal government or an agency or unit thereof.

The General Assembly may make appropriations in excess of such limitation only by a vote equal to or greater than sixty percent of the members voting in each house, including a majority of the members elected to that house.

S.J.R. 54

Patron: O'Brien

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Transportation Trust Fund. Provides that the Transportation Trust Fund established in 1986 will be a permanent fund and be funded annually by the General Assembly by appropriations equivalent to the revenues generated by the 1986 package of tax and fee increases or the appropriation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, whichever is greater. The amendment limits the use of Trust Fund moneys to highway construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and improvements, public transportation, railways, seaports, and airports. The General Assembly may borrow from the Fund for other purposes or reduce the level of required appropriations to the Fund only by a two-thirds-plus-one vote of members in each house and the loan or reduction must be repaid within four years.

S.J.R. 59

Patron: Whipple

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Virginia Redistricting Commission. Establishes the Virginia Redistricting Commission to redraw Congressional and General Assembly district boundaries after each decennial census. Appointments to the five-member Commission are to be made in the census year as follows: one each by the majority and minority party leaders of the Senate and House of Delegates and a fifth member appointed by the Supreme Court. The Commission is directed to file preliminary district plans for the House of Representatives, Senate, and House of Delegates within 30 days of receipt of the federal census data. Then there is a 30-day period for filing corrections and exceptions. The Commission next files a revised plan within 20 days and a final plan 20 days thereafter. The plans shall be effective for the next regular general election for the Senate, House of Delegates, or House of Representatives. Members in office when a new plan becomes law complete their terms and continue to represent the district as constituted when they were elected. Vacancies occurring before the next general election for the office are to be filled from the district as constituted when the member, whose vacancy is being filled, was elected to office. The standards to govern redistricting plans include the current Constitution's standards on population equality, compactness, and contiguity and an additional standard to minimize splits of localities. The Commission is patterned after the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission.

S.J.R. 60

Patron: Williams

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Transportation Trust Fund. Provides that the Transportation Trust Fund established in 1986 will be a permanent fund and be funded annually by the General Assembly by appropriations equivalent to 78 percent of the revenues generated by the 1986 package of tax and fee increases. The remaining 22 percent may be appropriated to the Commonwealth Port, Airport, and Mass Transit Funds. The amendment limits the use of Trust Fund moneys to current highway construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and improvements.

S.J.R. 84

Patron: Hanger

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); property exempt from taxation. Amends the Constitution of Virginia to exempt privately owned motor vehicles used for nonbusiness purposes from state and local taxation. If this resolution is enacted by either the 2004 or 2005 General Assembly a second resolution must be introduced and enacted by the 2006 General Assembly in order for this amendment to be on the November 2006 general election ballot.

S.J.R. 85

Patron: Hanger

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); assessment of real property. Provides that beginning with the 2008 tax year, real property shall be assessed for tax purposes at no more than 102 percent of the assessed value of such property in the preceding tax year. However, if real property is sold, transferred, improved, or rezoned at the owner's request, it shall be assessed at fair market value for the tax year in which such event occurs. Such fair market value assessment shall then be subject to the two percent limitation in subsequent tax years until such time as the property is again sold, transferred, improved, or rezoned at the owner's request.

S.J.R. 94

Patron: Ticer

United States Constitution; Equal Rights Amendment. Ratifies the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution that was proposed by Congress in 1972. This joint resolution advocates the position that the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment remains viable and may be ratified notwithstanding the expiration of the 10-year ratification period set out in the resolving clause, as amended, in the proposal adopted by Congress.

S.J.R. 123

Patron: Norment

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); establishment of special funds. Authorizes the General Assembly to establish a special fund for specified purposes and to dedicate a revenue stream to the fund. If the General Assembly establishes a special fund and dedicates to it income, sales and use, recordation, fuels, or insurance license taxes or vehicle registration fees, the General Assembly must continue appropriating the dedicated revenues to the fund. However, by a two-thirds vote of the members in each house, such special fund may be abolished, the purposes for which such fund is established may be changed, the minimum annual appropriation to such fund may be decreased, and the proceeds in such fund may be used for purposes other than for which the fund is established.