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2017 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor

Chairman: Frank W. Wagner

Clerk: John Garrett, Alex Elwood
Staff: Frank Munyan
Date of Meeting: February 3, 2017
Time and Place: Friday 9:00 AM Senate Room B NOTE DAY AND TIME
Rereferred bills maybe added as received

H.B. 1760 Electric utilities; costs of pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities.

Patron: Kilgore

Electric utilities; costs of pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities. Authorizes an investor-owned electric utility to petition the State Corporation Commission for approval of a rate adjustment clause for recovery of the costs of one or more pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities that utilize renewable energy as all or a portion of their power source and are located in the coalfield region of the Commonwealth. The measure provides that the requirement that a utility demonstrate that it has considered and weighed alternative options, including third-party market alternatives, in its selection process does not apply to these generation and storage facilities. The construction of these generation and storage facilities is declared to be in the public interest, and in determining whether to approve such facility, the Commission is directed to liberally construe the provisions of Title 56.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 56-585.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to electric utility regulation; pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities.

17102432D

S.B. 824 Sick leave for employees; private employers to give to each full-time employee paid sick days, etc.

Patron: Wexton

Paid sick days for employees; civil penalties. Requires private employers to give to each full-time employee paid sick days. Paid sick days would accrue at a rate of no less than one hour for every 50 hours worked in 2018 or, if an employer commences operations in 2018 or thereafter, in the employer's first year of operations.  In subsequent years, paid sick days would accrue at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked. An employee would be entitled to use accrued sick days beginning on the ninetieth calendar day of employment. The bill would require an employer to provide paid sick days, upon the request of the employee, for diagnosis, care, or treatment of health conditions of the employee or the employee's family member. The bill would prohibit an employer from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who requests paid sick days. The bill would require employers to satisfy specified posting and notice and recordkeeping requirements and would require the Commissioner of Labor and Industry (the Commissioner) to administer and enforce these requirements and to investigate alleged violations of these requirements. The bill would authorize the Commissioner to impose specified civil penalties for violations. The Commissioner would be authorized to bring an action to recover specified civil penalties against an offender. The Commissioner may also recover attorney fees of one-third of the amount set forth in the final order or judgment. The measure would not apply to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for paid sick days, nor would it lessen any other obligations of the employer to employees.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 3 of Title 40.1 an article numbered 2.1, consisting of sections numbered 40.1-33.1 through 40.1-33.12, relating to the provision of paid sick leave to employees; civil penalties.

17100224D

S.B. 1080 Equal pay irrespective of sex.

Patron: Wexton

Equal pay irrespective of sex. Amends the existing law requiring equal pay for equal work irrespective of sex to (i) prohibit unequal provision of benefits and privileges; (ii) prohibit employers from punishing employees for sharing salary information with their coworkers; and (iii) authorize a court to award reasonable attorney fees and costs to an employee who substantially prevails on the merits in an action for wrongful withholding of wages, benefits, or privileges. The measure also deletes the exemption for employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act from the Commonwealth's prohibition on discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 40.1-28.6 of the Code of Virginia, relating to discriminating between employees on the basis of sex; payment of wages.

17101986D

S.B. 1309 Transacting business under assumed name; filing of certificate with clerk of SCC.

Patron: Norment

Transacting business under assumed name; filing certificate. Eliminates the requirement that an individual or entity conducting business under an assumed or fictitious name file a certificate with the clerk of the circuit court where the business is to be conducted. The measure requires that such certificates be filed with the clerk of the State Corporation Commission. The measure has an effective date of October 1, 2017.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 59.1-69, 59.1-70, and 59.1-74 of the Code of Virginia, relating to transacting business under an assumed name; central filing of assumed or fictitious name certificates.

17102749D

S.B. 1372 Consumer finance loans; rate of interest.

Patron: Saslaw

Consumer finance loans; rate of interest. Increases, from $2,500 to $4,000, the threshold under which consumer finance loans are subject to a maximum interest rate of 36 percent per year. Under this measure, a licensed consumer finance lender may charge interest (i) of not more than 36 percent on loans of $4,000 or less and (ii) at such rate as is stated in the loan contract on loans of more than $4,000.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 6.2-1520 of the Code of Virginia, relating to consumer finance loans; maximum rate of interest.

17101494D

S.B. 1423 Electric utilities; viewshed mitigation payments.

Patron: Wagner

Electric utilities; viewshed mitigation payments. Requires that any viewshed mitigation payment made by an electric utility be used by the recipient only to implement renewable energy projects, to conduct energy-related research and development programs or projects, or both.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 56-591.1, relating to electric utilities; use of viewshed mitigation payments.

17103288D

S.B. 1425 Right to resell tickets; civil penalty.

Patron: Stanley

Rights to resell tickets; civil penalty. Prohibits any person that issues tickets for admission to any sporting event, theatrical production, lecture, motion picture screening, or any other event open to the public for which tickets are ordinarily sold from issuing the ticket solely through a delivery method that substantially prevents the ticket purchaser from lawfully reselling the ticket on the Internet ticketing platform of the ticket purchaser's choice. The measure also prohibits a person from being penalized, discriminated against, or denied admission to an event solely on the basis that the person resold a ticket, or purchased a resold ticket, on a specific Internet ticketing platform. A person violating these prohibitions is subject to a civil penalty of not less than $5,000 nor more than $15,000.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 59.1 a chapter numbered 38.2, consisting of sections numbered 59.1-466.5, 59.1-466.6, and 59.1-466.7, relating to the right to resell tickets to events; civil penalty.

17103928D

S.B. 1466 Workers' compensation; infectious disease presumption for correctional officers.

Patron: Marsden

Workers' compensation; infectious disease presumption; correctional officers. Provides that correctional officers are entitled to a presumption that hepatitis, meningococcal meningitis, tuberculosis, MRSA, or HIV causing the correctional officer's death or resulting in his total or partial disability is an occupational disease suffered in the line of duty and is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 65.2-402.2, relating to the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act; occupational disease presumptions for correctional officers.

17104016D

S.B. 1472 Workers' compensation; accident reports, filing claims, civil penalty.

Patron: Favola

Workers' compensation; accident reports; filing claims; civil penalty. Requires an employer's accident report filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission to include the signature of the injured employee or his personal representative. The measure provides that the employer's filing of the accident report constitutes the filing with the Commission by or on behalf of the employee of a claim for workers' compensation benefits with respect to any injury arising from the accident. The measure also provides that an employer that fails to comply with the requirement that it report an employee's injury or death, or dissuades or deters an employee from filing a claim for compensation, shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $500, which civil penalty is increased to not less than $500 and not more than $5,000 if the violation is willful.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 65.2-900 and 65.2-902 of the Code of Virginia, relating to workers' compensation; reporting injury or death; filing claim; civil penalty.

17103333D

S.B. 1489 Workers' compensation; presumption that death or disease due to coal pneumoconiosis.

Patron: Chafin

Workers' compensation; presumption that death or disease due to coal pneumoconiosis. Specifies that the standards prescribed by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission for determining whether the death or total disability of an employee was due to pneumoconiosis or any chronic occupational lung disease shall not be inconsistent with the standards prescribed by the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services under the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act as amended by § 1556(a) of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in order to ensure that repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act does not alter the standards required in the Commonwealth. The measure also incorporates presumptions regarding death or disability from pneumoconiosis that are codified at 30 U.S.C. § 921(c)(3) and (4).

A BILL to amend and reenact § 65.2-513 of the Code of Virginia, relating to workers' compensation; presumptions; coal workers' pneumoconiosis.

17104144D

S.B. 1492 Water utilities; retail supply choice.

Patron: Stuart

Water utilities; retail supply choice. Establishes a procedure under which investor-owned water utilities operating in Virginia may be required to prepare and implement plans to provide retail supply choice to all their customers. The governing body of a locality may petition the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to institute a proceeding to determine whether the rates charged by the water utility to its customers impose an undue hardship on the customers. Rates shall be deemed to impose an undue hardship on customers if the volumetric rates charged to the majority of the water utility's customers have increased by over 100 percent in the five calendar years preceding the filing of the petition. If a water utility fails or refuses to file an acceptable plan for implementation of retail supply choice, the governing body of the locality may proceed against the incumbent water utility by a writ of quo warranto. The bill also establishes a private right of action for individuals harmed by competitive water suppliers' deceptive or unfair practices in providing or marketing water service. A competitive water supplier may be either a private entity licensed by the SCC or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth that is authorized to provide water utility service within the locality in which an incumbent water utility's certificated service territory is located.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 56-235.11, relating to water utilities; retail supply choice.

17103650D

S.B. 1513 Health insurance; assignment of benefits.

Patron: Wagner

Health insurance; assignment of benefits. Prohibits insurers issuing individual or group accident and sickness insurance policies providing hospital, medical and surgical, or major medical coverage on an expense-incurred basis, corporations providing individual or group accident and sickness subscription contracts, health maintenance organizations providing health care plans for health care services, and dental services plans offering or administering prepaid dental services from refusing to accept assignments of benefits executed by covered individuals in favor of health care providers and hospitals. The measure defines an assignment of benefits as the transfer of health care coverage reimbursement benefits or other rights under an insurance policy, subscription contract, or health care plan by an insured, subscriber, or plan enrollee to a health care provider or hospital.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 38.2-3407.13 of the Code of Virginia, relating to health insurance; assignment of benefits.

17104192D

S.B. 1541 Financial institutions; confidentiality of information.

Patron: Deeds

Financial institutions; confidentiality of information. Provides that the scope of the prohibition on the State Corporation Commission's disclosure of personal information does not encompass any information pertaining to an individual's ownership interest in a person regulated under Title 6.2. The measure excludes from the prohibition any information pertaining to the business of a sole proprietorship or mortgage loan originator regulated under Titl2 6.2. The measure also provides that an annual report or other periodic written report filed with the Bureau of Financial Institutions by a licensed nondepository institution is not confidential and shall be available for public inspection, subject to same limitation regarding the disclosure of an individual's personal information.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 6.2-101 of the Code of Virginia, relating to disclosures by the State Corporation Commission of information provided by financial institutions.

17101550D

S.B. 1590 Health insurance; coverage for autism spectrum disorder.

Patron: Wagner

Health insurance; coverage for autism spectrum disorder. Requires health insurers, health care subscription plans, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder in individuals of any age. Currently, such coverage is required to be provided for individuals from age two through age 10. The provision applies with respect to insurance policies, subscription contracts, and health care plans delivered, issued for delivery, reissued, or extended on or after January 1, 2018.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 38.2-3418.17 of the Code of Virginia, relating to health insurance; coverage for autism spectrum disorder.

17104450D