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2005 SESSION

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Senate Committee on General Laws

Chairman: Walter A. Stosch

Clerk: Martha P. Turner
Staff: Amigo Wade
Date of Meeting: February 9, 2005
Time and Place: 2:00 p.m.; Senate Room B; GAB

H.B. 1522 Self-Service Storage Act; liens.

Patron: Pollard

Virginia Self-Service Storage Act; liens. Increases the lien that an owner of a storage facility has on property stored within each leased space for rent, labor, or other charges from $250 to $500 if the leased space is climate-controlled.

H.B. 1590 Landlord and tenant; submetering of water and sewer equipment in rented buildings.

Patron: Reese

Submetering of water and sewer equipment in rented buildings.  Clarifies that submetering equipment for water and sewer service may be used in commercial and residential buildings if clearly stated in the rental agreement or lease for the leased premises or dwelling unit.  Water and sewer submetering equipment measures the actual water or sewer usage in a dwelling unit or nonresidential unit when the equipment is not owned by the utility that provides service to the building.  With respect to water and sewer usage, landlords are currently authorized to use ratio billing systems, which do not measure actual usage.  Water and sewer submetering equipment will not be subject to regulation by the State Corporation Commission.

H.B. 1711 Landlord and Tenant; purchase of damage or renter's insurance.

Patron: Albo

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; insurance.  Clarifies that where a landlord obtains for tenant either damage insurance or renter's insurance, the landlord shall name the tenant as a "co-insured," so that the tenant will have privity of contract with the insurance company. Currently, the landlord's authority to obtain such insurance is limited to the purchase of a rider on the landlord's property and casualty insurance contract.

H.B. 1712 Indians, Council on; membership.

Patron: McDougle

Council on Indians. Increases the membership of the Council on Indians from the current 16 members to 18. The bill gives the Council two new powers: (i) to advise the Governor on issues affecting Virginia's Indian communities and (ii) to educate the public on Virginia Indians.

H.B. 1732 Martial arts; definition.

Patron: Cosgrove

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; regulation of martial arts competitions.  Includes martial arts competitions under the existing regulation of boxing and wrestling competitions. The bill defines martial arts as any of several Asian arts of combat or self-defense, including but not limited to aikido, karate, judo, or tae kwon do, usually practiced as sport and which may involve the use of striking weapons.

H.B. 1932 Regulatory boards; powers and duties.

Patron: Shannon

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; powers and duties of regulatory boards.  Authorizes regulatory boards assigned to the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) to place regulants on probation for statutory or regulatory violations. Conditions of probation may include, but not be limited to, the successful completion of remedial education or examination or the payment of restitution. The bill also authorizes the regulatory boards to delegate authority to (i) the Director of DPOR to enter into consent agreements with regulants to resolve regulatory violations and (ii) sworn investigators appointed by the Director to conduct inspections.

H.B. 1944 Department of General Services; authority of director.

Patron: Saxman

Department of General Services; authority of the director. Clarifies the authority of the Director of the Department of General Services to establish divisions within the Department and to reassign the duties of the Department among its divisions.

H.B. 1966 Terrorism intelligence center; established within Dept. of State Police.

Patron: Miles

Department of State Police; terrorism intelligence center. Establishes a terrorism intelligence center within the Department of State Police for the central repository of information regarding terrorists, terrorist groups, and terrorist events. The State Police will cooperate with the Department of Emergency Management and other federal, state and local agencies as may be appropriate.

H.B. 1992 Fair Housing Law; evidence of unlawful discriminatory practices.

Patron: Griffith

Virginia Fair Housing Law; evidence of unlawful discriminatory practices.  Provides that the use of words or symbols associated with a particular religion, national origin, sex, or race may be evidence of an illegal preference under the Virginia Fair Housing Law. Current law mandates that the use of such words or symbols is prima facie evidence of an illegal preference. The bill also eliminates the prohibition against use of a general disclaimer to overcome the prima facie evidence.

H.B. 2032 Powers and duties of Department of Emergency Management; Freedom of Information Act.

Patron: Miles

Powers and duties of Department of Emergency Management; coordination of emergency services intelligence and response; Freedom of Information Act. Provides that the Department of Emergency Management shall be responsible for the coordination, receipt, evaluation, and dissemination of emergency services intelligence and shall coordinate intelligence activities with the Department of State Police. The bill also creates a records exemption under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act for contact information, computer information, and operating schedule information submitted by an individual or agency for participation in the Statewide Alert Network.

H.B. 2037 Interagency Civil Admissions Advisory Council; created.

Patron: Hamilton

The Interagency Civil Admissions Advisory Council established.  Establishes the Interagency Civil Admissions Advisory Council (the Council) as an advisory council in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the Council is to study issues related to the provisions of Virginia law regarding the emergency custody, temporary detention, admission, and involuntary inpatient and outpatient treatment of persons with mental illness, to propose recommendations and provide advice addressing those issues, and to improve the coordination and effectiveness of the implementation of those recommendations.

H.B. 2054 Alternative, pilot project; VITA to study.

Patron: Nixon

Alternative Dispute Resolution; pilot project.  Allows the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) to promulgate administrative rules concerning the use of alternative dispute resolution in lieu of the provisions set forth in the Virginia Public Procurement Act concerning procurement protests. The Chief Information Officer of the Commonwealth must report to the General Assembly on the implementation of the rules. The pilot project will expire on July 1, 2008.

H.B. 2111 Conflict of Interest Act, State and Local Government; disclosure of economic interests.

Patron: McQuigg

State and Local Government Conflict of Interest Act; disclosure of economic interests.  Provides that the filing of a single current statement of economic interests or financial disclosure statement by an individual shall suffice as the economic interest statement or financial disclosure statement for all positions or offices held or sought during a single reporting period. The bill also provides that any individual who meets the annual January filing requirement shall not be required to file an additional statement upon such individual's reappointment provided that the reappointment occurs within 12 months after the submission of the annual filing.  The bill is a recommendation of the HJR 186 (2004) Joint Subcommittee.

H.B. 2112 Lobbyists; provision of statements to legislative and executive officials.

Patron: McQuigg

Lobbyist Disclosure and Regulation Act; reporting.  Changes from January 5 to December 15 the date on which registered lobbyists must provide statements to legislative and executive officials with whom they have lobbied. The bill also changes the reporting period for the statements from January 1 through December 31 to December 1 through November 30. This bill is a recommendation of HJR 186 (2004) Joint Subcommittee.

H.B. 2136 Conflict of Interests Act; disclosure filings.

Patron: Purkey

Conflict of Interests Act; disclosure filings. Provides that the Secretary of the Commonwealth distributes the required disclosure statement forms to state officers and employees, including officers appointed by legislative authorities. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Appropriate Balance of Power between the Legislative and Executive Branches to Support a Two-Term Governor in the Commonwealth (HJR 13, 2004).

H.B. 2260 Advertising signage; certain historic bldgs. not currently operating as a pharmacy to display.

Patron: Bell

Unlawful advertising signage; exemption.  Creates an exemption for certain historic buildings that do not currently operate as a pharmacy that allows such buildings to post signage indicating the operation of a pharmacy or drugstore provided that the signage relates to the historic character of the building. Currently, such signage is prohibited on any building that does not operate as a pharmacy.

H.B. 2420 Latino Advisory Board; created.

Patron: McQuigg

Latino Advisory Board.  Establishes the Latino Advisory Board to advise the Governor regarding the development of economic, professional, cultural, educational, and government links between the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Latino community in Virginia, and Latin America. The Council is composed of 21 citizen members of whom at least 15 must be of Latino descent. In addition, Secretaries of the Commonwealth, Commerce and Trade, Education, Health and Human Resources, Public Safety, and Transportation, or their designees, serve as ex officio members. The bill has a delayed effective date of October 15, 2005.

H.B. 2428 Veterans; state in hiring to give additional consideration to certain.

Patron: Cole

Veterans; hiring preference. Requires the state in its employment selection practices to give additional consideration to veterans who have a service-connected disability rating fixed by the United States Veterans Administration. The bill also requires local governing bodies to give a preference to veterans in their employment policies and practices.

H.B. 2463 Sex offenders; licensed professionals to give notice of their registration to customers, , etc.

Patron: Nixon

Requirement that licensed professionals give notice of their sex offender registration to customers, clients or patients; penalty. Requires that a professional licensed by the Commonwealth who is also a registered sex offender and who may be expected to encounter a person under the age of 18 during the course of his profession give verbal and written notice to each customer, client or patient that he is a registered sex offender.

H.B. 2478 Contracts; eliminates cap on percentage of payment errors contractor may retain for recovery audit.

Patron: Scott, E.T.

Department of Accounts; recovery audits of state contracts.  Eliminates the 10 percent cap on the percentage of payment errors a private contractor may retain for performing recovery audits of state agency contracts.

H.B. 2491 Nonprofit organizations; exempt from Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Serv. registration.

Patron: Petersen

Solicitation of contributions; exemptions from registration.  Provides an exemption from  registration with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for nonprofit organizations that have been granted tax-exempt status under § 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that solicit contributions only through grant proposals submitted to (i) for-profit corporations, (ii) other nonprofit organizations that have been granted tax-exempt status under § 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or (iii) organizations determined to be private foundations under § 509 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

H.B. 2579 Bat, big-eared; designating as official emblem of State.

Patron: Stump

Emblems of the Commonwealth; designation of the state bat.  Designates the Virginia Big-eared bat (plecotus townsendii virginianus) as the official bat of the Commonwealth.

H.B. 2598 Funeral Directors and Embalmers, Board of; licensure.

Patron: Ware, O.

Department of Health Professions; Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers; licensing of funeral service providers and approval of resident trainees.  Removes the restriction on licensure of convicted felons. The bill also reduces the time in which a resident trainee may apply and take the examination for licensure and clarifies the time period in which a resident trainee may practice. The bill gives the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers the authority to deny subsequent traineeships if the first traineeship is not completed within a certain time. The bill contains technical amendments.

H.B. 2612 State employees; establishment of alternative work schedules and telecommuting.

Patron: Hugo

State employees; telecommuting and alternative work schedules.  Requires the Secretary of Administration, in developing a telecommuting policy for state employees, to include identification of employees or positions determined to be ineligible to participate in telecommuting and the justification for that determination. The bill also requires each agency head in his annual report to the Secretary of Administration to include specific budget requests for information technology, software, or other equipment needed to increase opportunities for telecommuting and participation in alternate work locations.

H.B. 2640 General Provisions of Code, and Boundaries, Jurisdiction and Emblems of State; recodification.

Patron: Hurt

Recodification of Titles 1 and 7.1; General Provisions and Boundaries, Jurisdiction and Emblems of the Commonwealth.  In accordance with § 30-152 of the Code of Virginia, the Virginia Code Commission, in May 2003, commenced its revision of Title 1. Title 1 contains the original provisions related to the enactment of the 1950 Code of Virginia and the statutory rules of construction that apply to the Code of Virginia and the uncodified acts of the General Assembly. At the May meeting, the Commission decided to expand the scope of the revision to include the incorporation of Title 7.1 (Boundaries, Jurisdiction and Emblems of the Commonwealth) into Title 1. Titles 1 and 7.1 were last revised in 1966. The revision provided an opportunity to combine two titles of a general nature that contained many provisions of fundamental and historical significance. The revision of Title 1 presented unique challenges compared to other title revisions. Because the provisions of Chapter 1 were part and parcel to the creation of the Code of 1950, they needed to be retained without any change in substance or form. This limitation necessitated that the revisions be done at the chapter level. The new Title 1 contains four revised chapters in which obsolete and duplicative provisions have been removed, nomenclature updated, and the structure and clarity of the laws improved. 

 

H.B. 2683 Firearm shows; notification to State Police and local law-enforcement.

Patron: Lingamfelter

Firearm shows; prior notice.  Eliminates the requirement that gun show promoters provide a list of vendors and exhibitors 72 hours prior to a show to the State Police and the sheriff or chief of police of the locality in which the show will be held. Gun show promoters will still be required to provide law-enforcement with at least 30-days notice of any show and provide a copy of the vendor and exhibitor list after the show. The bill also changes from 72 hours to five days the time within which the promoter must send the vendor and exhibitor list after the show, and would allow a promoter to send that list via email.