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2015 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

Chairman: Emmett W. Hanger, Jr.

Clerk: Maribeth Turner
Staff: Martin Farber, Scott Meacham
Date of Meeting: February 12, 2015
Time and Place: Thursday, 1/2 hour after adjournment, Senate Room B

H.B. 1277 Industrial hemp; production and manufacturing.

Patron: Yost

Industrial hemp production and manufacturing. Allows the cultivation by licensed growers of industrial hemp as part of a university-managed research program. The bill defines industrial hemp as the plant Cannabis sativa with a concentration of THC no greater than that allowed by federal law, and it bars the prosecution of a licensed grower under drug laws for the possession of industrial hemp as part of the research program. The bill directs the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt relevant regulations and establish an industrial hemp research program to be managed by public institutions of higher education.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 3.2-801 and 54.1-3401 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 3.2 a chapter numbered 41.1, consisting of sections numbered 3.2-4112 through 3.2-4120, relating to industrial hemp production and manufacturing.

15103816D

H.B. 1324 Boating safety; exemption from education requirement.

Patron: Cole

Boating safety education. Exempts a motorboat operator who is serving in or has qualified for certain positions in the military from the boating safety education course requirement.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 29.1-735.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to exemption from the boating safety education requirement.

15100583D

H.B. 1364 Solid and semisolid industrial wastes; fees for testing and monitoring of land application.

Patron: Peace

Fees for testing and monitoring of land application of industrial wastes. Allows localities to adopt ordinances that provide for the testing and monitoring of the land application of solid or semisolid industrial wastes. The bill requires the State Water Control Board (the Board) to adopt regulations no later than January 1, 2016, requiring persons that land-apply industrial wastes to collect a fee from the generator of the industrial wastes and remit the fee to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The fee cannot exceed the direct costs to localities of testing and monitoring the land application of industrial wastes. The bill requires the Board's regulations to include procedures for (i) collection of the fees by DEQ, (ii) deposit of the collected fees into the Sludge Management Fund (the Fund), and (iii) disbursements from the Fund to localities for the testing and monitoring of the industrial wastes. The Department of Environmental Quality is required to establish and implement a program to train the employees of the localities who will be responsible for testing and monitoring the land application of industrial wastes. The bill specifies the minimum instructional elements of the training program.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 62.1-44.3, 62.1-44.16, and 62.1-44.19:3 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 62.1-44.16:1, relating to fees for the land application of industrial wastes.

15103936D

H.B. 1488 Conservation easements; tax benefits, disputes over easement terms.

Patron: Pogge

Conservation easements; tax benefits; disputes over terms. Allows a landowner or other party to a conservation easement to request that the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation use the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act to resolve a dispute relating to the interpretation of the easement.

 A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 10.1-1021.2, relating to conservation easements; disputes over easement terms.

15104154D

H.B. 1507 Dan River; designating certain segment as State Scenic River.

Patron: Edmunds

Scenic river. Designates a 38.6-mile segment of the Dan River as part of the State Scenic River System.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 10.1-413.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to designating a segment of the Dan River in Halifax County a state scenic river.

15103093D

H.B. 1516 Wildlife traps; use of remote trap-checking technology.

Patron: Bulova

Visiting of wildlife traps. Requires the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries to adopt regulations allowing the use of remote trap-checking technology to determine if there is wildlife in the trap. Current law requires trappers to visit their traps either daily or, in the case of body-gripping traps, once every 72 hours and remove all animals that have been caught in the traps.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 29.1-521 of the Code of Virginia, relating to use of remote trap-checking technology.

15101888D

H.B. 1535 Tributary strategies; removes requirement for Secretary of Natural Resources to provide a report.

Patron: Bulova

Secretary of Natural Resources; report on tributary strategies; repeal. Removes the requirement for the Secretary of Natural Resources to provide an annual report on tributary strategies. The tributary strategies have been replaced by the Watershed Implementation Plans.

A BILL to repeal § 2.2-220 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Secretary of Natural Resources; report on tributary strategies; repeal.

15101878D

H.B. 1536 Water Quality Improvement Act; references to obsolete tributary strategy plans.

Patron: Bulova

References to obsolete tributary strategy plans. Removes out-of-date references to the tributary strategy plans that appear in the Water Quality Improvement Act. The tributary strategy plans have been replaced by the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan as the approach for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 10.1-2117, 10.1-2128, 10.1-2129, 10.1-2131, 10.1-2132, 62.1-44.15:35, and 62.1-44.19:13 of the Code of Virginia, relating to removing references to the tributary strategy plans for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in the Water Quality Improvement Act.

15101880D

H.B. 1565 Companion animals; authority of animal control officers.

Patron: Orrock

Authority of animal control officers. Authorizes an animal control officer to capture and confine a companion animal that is not subject to licensure, upon receiving a complaint from a property owner of the presence of the companion animal on his property without his permission.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 3.2-6562 of the Code of Virginia, relating to capturing of companion animals; authority of animal control officers.

15104348D

H.B. 1812 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement; requirements of annual report.

Patron: Bloxom

Secretary of Natural Resources; Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement; annual report. Updates the requirements for the annual report concerning the Chesapeake Bay prepared by the Secretary of Natural Resources by substituting the recently agreed-to 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement for the Chesapeake Bay 2000 Agreement, which is now obsolete. The recipients of the report are also updated.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 2.2-220.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Secretary of Natural Resources; Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement; annual report.

15101879D

H.B. 1817 Flood protection plan; Department of Conservation and Recreation to regularly update.

Patron: Stolle

Flood protection plan. Directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to regularly update the flood protection plan for the Commonwealth and to make the plan accessible online. This is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Formulate Recommendations to Address Recurrent Flooding.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 10.1-602 of the Code of Virginia, relating to flood protection plan.

15103427D

H.B. 1827 Routine highway maintenance projects; exemption from erosion and sediment control requirements.

Patron: Scott

Exemption for routine highway maintenance projects. Exempts routine highway maintenance projects of the Virginia Department of Transportation from the requirements of the Erosion and Sediment Control Act, including the reduction of flow runoff rates. This exemption is consistent with the exemption for similar routine highway maintenance projects under the Stormwater Management Program.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 62.1-44.15:52 of the Code of Virginia, relating to exemption from erosion and sediment control requirements for routine highway maintenance projects.

15101372D

H.B. 1829 Toxic substances; changes time frame.

Patron: Plum

Toxic substances report. Changes from annually to every odd-numbered year the time frame in which the Department of Environmental Quality is required to submit to the committees of oversight a report on the reduction of toxic substances in state waters.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 62.1-44.17:3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to submission of toxic substances report.

15101361D

H.B. 1859 Conservation officers; Breaks Interstate Park.

Patron: Pillion

Conservation officers; Breaks Interstate Park. Establishes qualifications and procedures for the commissioning as conservation officers employees of Breaks Interstate Park, a park located in both Kentucky and Virginia and administered by the Breaks Interstate Park Commission. The bill gives all conservation officers jurisdiction over Virginia portions of the park, with the agreement of the Commission, and obligates conservation officers to uphold the rules and regulations of the Commission.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 10.1-115 through 10.1-119 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 4 of Chapter 1 of Title 10.1 a section numbered 10.1-120, relating to conservation officers; Breaks Interstate Park.

15103180D

H.B. 1961 DGIF; reciprocal law-enforcement agreements.

Patron: Lingamfelter

Reciprocal law-enforcement agreements. Authorizes the Director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to enter into agreements with other states to enforce hunting, fishing, and trapping laws across state boundaries.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 29.1-109 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Director of Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; law-enforcement agreements with other states.

15101363D

H.B. 2052 Pest Control Compact; repeals Compact.

Patron: Sickles

Pest Control Compact; repeal. Repeals the Pest Control Compact, which codified Virginia's participation in the Interstate Pest Control Compact (IPCC). The IPCC governing board voted to dissolve the compact in 2012.

A BILL to repeal Article 2 (§§ 3.2-714 through 3.2-731) of Chapter 7 of Title 3.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Pest Control Compact.

15101375D