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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 19, 2015
Time and Place: Thursday, 1/2 hour after adjournment of the SENATE, Senate Room B

H.B. 1298 Noncommercial vessels; reasonable suspicion.

Patron: Morris

Noncommercial vessels; reasonable suspicion. Requires law-enforcement officers to have reasonable suspicion that a violation of law or regulation exists before stopping, boarding, or inspecting a noncommercial vessel on the navigable waters of the Commonwealth. The bill allows conservation police officers and Virginia Marine Police officers to (i) stop, board, and inspect in order to inspect hunting, fishing, or trapping licenses or creel and bag limits and (ii) conduct lawful stops, boardings and inspections in accordance with established policies of the two agencies.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 29.1-745 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 19.2-10.3, relating to noncommercial vessels; reasonable suspicion.

15104303D

H.B. 1542 State Trails Advisory Committee; established, report, sunset provision.

Patron: Lingamfelter

State Trails Advisory Committee established. Establishes an advisory committee of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to assist in developing and implementing a statewide system of attractive, sustainable, connected, and enduring trails for the perpetual use and enjoyment of citizens. The bill has a sunset date of January 1, 2021.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 10.1-204.1, relating to the establishment of the State Trails Advisory Committee; report.

15100865D

H.B. 1686 Fish; DGIF shall establish a special permit.

Patron: Fariss

Stocking and sale of fish; special permit. Requires the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (the Department) to establish a special permit, valid for two years, that allows a landowner whose property contains a body of water located wholly within his property to stock and sell the fish in such waters. The bill requires the cost of the permit to be based on the cost to the Department of establishing and administering the permit. The Department is prohibited from issuing a permit for stocking or sale of invasive or predatory and undesirable species.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 29.1-318.1, relating to a special permit to stock and sell fish.

15104216D

H.B. 1734 Living shorelines; loans for creation.

Patron: Hodges

Loans for creation of living shorelines. Authorizes the State Water Control Board to provide loans from the Virginia Water Facilities Revolving Fund to (i) a local government for the purpose of establishing living shorelines that protect or improve water quality and prevent water pollution or (ii) a local government that has developed a funding program to provide low-interest loans or other incentives to individuals to assist in establishing living shorelines.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 62.1-229.5, relating to loans for the creation of living shorelines.

15100609D

H.B. 1811 Clams, cultured; use of handheld devices for harvesting.

Patron: Bloxom

Harvesting clams. Authorizes the Marine Resources Commission to issue permits for the use of a handheld hydraulically operated device for harvesting cultured clams from leased grounds.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 28.2-520 of the Code of Virginia, relating to authorizing the use of a handheld hydraulic device for harvesting cultured clams.

15100456D

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. 1871 Private wells; registration of wells located in ground water management areas.

Patron: Bulova

Registration of wells. Requires certified water well systems providers to register wells being constructed in ground water management areas with the State Water Control Board (SWCB) within 30 days of the completion of the well's construction. The bill requires the Department of Health (VDH) to provide the SWCB annually with a list of the wells that were permitted during the previous year and the SWCB to provide VDH annually with a list of the wells that were registered during the previous year.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 62.1-258 of the Code of Virginia, relating to registration of private wells located in ground water management areas.

15101567D

H.B. 1924 Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Advisory Committee; established, report.

Patron: Hodges

Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Advisory Committee established. Establishes the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Advisory Committee (the Committee) to assist the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in developing, revising, and implementing a management strategy for ground water in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area. The bill prohibits the State Water Control Board and the DEQ from issuing draft permits that would require reductions in the volume of permitted ground water withdrawals before December 31, 2015. The bill has a sunset date of January 1, 2018.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 62.1-256.1, relating to establishment of the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Advisory Committee.

15104454D

H.B. 2058 Coalbed methane gas; release of funds held in escrow or suspense.

Patron: Kilgore

Coalbed methane gas; release of funds held in escrow or suspense. Requires the operator of certain previously pooled coalbed methane gas wells to request, by the beginning of 2016, the release of any funds held in escrow or suspense to the person who possesses a claim through a gas title. A coal claimant may halt such a release of funds by providing evidence that the coal and gas claimants have reached an agreement or that a proceeding against the gas claimant is pending. For a well that is pooled after July 1, 2015, the bill requires the operator to pay royalties directly to the gas claimant unless the coal claimant provides evidence of an agreement or a proceeding within a certain time. The Virginia Oil and Gas Board, under certain conditions, is authorized to extend the time for the payment of funds held in escrow and is not required to order payment if the gas claimant fails to provide information needed by the Board in order to distribute the funds.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 45.1-361.1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 45.1-361.22:2, relating to the release of funds held in escrow.

15103347D

H.B. 2067 Daylighted streams; not required to become Resource Protection Area.

Patron: Watts

Daylighted streams. Provides that the State Water Control Board (SWCB), when developing the criteria for a Resource Protection Area (RPA) under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, shall not require that a daylighted stream become an RPA. The bill requires any locality that does not designate an RPA adjacent to a daylighted stream to use a water quality impact assessment to ensure that development adjacent to the stream does not result in the degradation of the stream. The locality's assessment must (i) be consistent with the SWCB's criteria for water quality impact assessments in RPAs, (ii) identify the impacts of proposed development on water quality, and (iii) determine measures to mitigate adverse impacts. The bill defines a daylighted stream as a stream that has been previously diverted into a culvert, pipe, or other underground drainage system and is redirected into an aboveground channel using natural channel design concepts. The bill does not limit a locality's authority to include such a stream within an RPA. 

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 62.1-44.15:68 and 62.1-44.15:72 of the Code of Virginia, relating to daylighting of streams.

15104800D

H.B. 2111 Hunting, trapping, or fishing licenses; electronic copies.

Patron: Futrell

Hunting, trapping, or fishing licenses; electronic copies. Allows a person who is required to carry certain hunting, trapping, or fishing licenses or a hunter education certificate to meet the requirement by carrying an electronic copy of the relevant license or certificate. The bill requires a license for bear, deer, or turkey to be carried in hard copy.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 29.1-336 of the Code of Virginia, relating to electronic copies of hunting, trapping, or fishing licenses.

15101364D

H.B. 2193 Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund; use of grant funds for battlefield preservation.

Patron: Edmunds

Use of grant funds for battlefield preservation. Expands the types of battlefields eligible to receive grants from the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund (the Fund), previously known as the Civil War Site Preservation Fund. Currently, moneys in the Fund can only be used for making grants to private nonprofit organizations for the fee simple purchase of, or purchase of protective interests in, Civil War historic sites. The bill allows the awarding of grants to protect Revolutionary War and War of 1812 historic battlefields.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-1509.4, 10.1-2202.4, and 58.1-512 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the purpose of the Civil War Site Preservation Fund.

15104688D

H.B. 2195 Fishing privileges; Marine Resources Commission authorized to revoke license to fish in tidal water.

Patron: Lingamfelter

Revocation of fishing privileges. Authorizes the Marine Resources Commission to revoke the privilege to fish in tidal waters of any person who has been convicted of unlawfully taking oysters or other shellfish from oyster grounds. Currently, such a conviction only results in the revocation of a person's tidal fishing license. The bill also increases from two years to five years the maximum duration of the revocation of a fishing license or the privilege to fish in tidal waters. The bill also authorizes the Commission to assess a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 against a person if it finds the person has engaged in fishing other than for recreational purposes during the revocation period. The bill requires the Commission to consider the person's history of violating the conservation, health, and safety laws or regulations in setting the amount of the civil penalty.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 28.2-226.1, 28.2-232, and 28.2-528 of the Code of Virginia, relating to revocation of fishing privileges in tidal waters.

15103685D

H.B. 2226 State park master plans; update schedule.

Patron: Edmunds

State park master plans; update schedule. Changes the requirement that the Department and Board of Conservation and Recreation review and update the master plan for each state park from once every five years to once every 10 years.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 10.1-200.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to state park master plans; update schedule.

15101362D

H.B. 2240 Blue catfish; introduction, stocking, and release of Blue catfish, exception.

Patron: Ransone

Introduction, stocking, and release of blue catfish; penalty. Makes it unlawful for any person to introduce into, stock in, or release into waters of the Commonwealth the blue catfish; however, the blue catfish may be released into the same water body in which it was caught. A violation of the provisions of the bill is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 29.1-543.1, relating to the introduction, stocking, and release of blue catfish; penalty.

15101289D

H.B. 2246 Wood heaters; Air Pollution Control Board shall not adopt regulations that limit emissions.

Patron: Poindexter

Regulation of wood heaters. Prohibits the Air Pollution Control Board from adopting regulations that limit emissions from certain smaller wood heaters. The bill also prohibits the Board from enforcing any federal regulation limiting emissions from wood heaters that was adopted after May 1, 2014.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 10.1-1300 and 10.1-1307 of the Code of Virginia, relating to regulation of emissions from wood heaters.

15104396D

H.B. 2247 Henry County; DCR to convey certain property in Horsepasture District.

Patron: Poindexter

Conveyance of easement. Authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to convey a 15-foot-wide, permanent, nonexclusive right-of-way easement across its property in the Horsepasture District of Henry County. The bill contains an emergency clause.

A BILL to authorizing the Department of Conservation and Recreation to grant a 15-foot-wide easement in Henry County.

15103598D

EMERGENCY

H.B. 2257 Coal mine safety; wide tracking and electric equipment shall maintain safe operating conditions.

Patron: Pillion

Coal mine safety. Alters certain mine-safety requirements. The bill requires that mine-wide tracking systems, electric equipment, and fire sensor systems be maintained and that the surface mine foreman ensure that miners are aware of hazardous conditions and that the Act is complied with. The bill eliminates the requirement that every miner receive copies of the mine rules and the Coal Mine Safety Act. The bill contains technical amendments.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 45.1-161.174, 45.1-161.193, 45.1-161.200, 45.1-161.249, and 45.1-161.258 of the Code of Virginia, relating to coal mine safety.

15104418D

H.B. 2330 Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission; created, financial viability & feasibility.

Patron: Kilgore

Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission; financial viability and feasibility study prior to disbursement; Virginia Tobacco Region Revolving Fund. Renames the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission as the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission (the Commission) and requires it to contract with a manager with respect to Commission loans, grants, and other distributions of money. The bill requires the manager to provide a written report on the financial viability and feasibility of any such distribution and prohibits the Commission from making the distribution until its viability and feasibility have received recommendations from the manager. The bill eliminates future appointments of six nonlegislative citizen members, all tobacco producers, and requires 13 of the remaining 28 Commission members to have experience in particular fields. The bill requires the Commission to adopt policies governing the Tobacco Region Opportunity Fund; to require a dollar-for-dollar match from entities receiving grants; to make no distribution to a tobacco-dependent community solely based on the historical production of tobacco; to require each project to have an accountability matrix, provide a set of quantified outcome expectations and other figures, and demonstrate how it will address low employment levels or other indicators; to develop a strategic plan every two years; and to establish a public database of awards. The bill also establishes the Virginia Tobacco Region Revolving Fund (the Fund), the assets of which are to be used to make loans to local governments for the financing of any project. The bill empowers the Virginia Resources Authority (the Authority) to administer the Fund, pledge assets of the Fund as security for bonds issued to finance a project, sell or collect on loans made from the Fund, and, in accordance with a memorandum of agreement with the Commission, establish the rates and terms of loans. The bill directs the Commission, in conjunction with the Authority, to make an annual report to the General Assembly and the Governor on all loans made from the Fund.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 3.2-3100 through 3.2-3104, 3.2-3108, 3.2-3111, and 62.1-203 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 3.2 a chapter numbered 31.1, consisting of sections numbered 3.2-3112 through 3.2-3121, relating to the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission; financial viability and feasibility study prior to disbursement; Virginia Tobacco Region Revolving Fund.

15104658D

H.B. 2331 Fur-bearing animal; defines fisher in hunting and trapping provisions.

Patron: Webert

Definition of fur-bearing animal. Defines the fisher as a fur-bearing animal in hunting and trapping provisions of the Code of Virginia. The fisher (Martes pennanti) is a small carnivorous mammal native to North America. It is a member of the weasel family.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 29.1-100 of the Code of Virginia, relating to defining fisher as a fur-bearing animal.

15103856D