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ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2020 SESSION
Chair: J. Chapman Petersen
Clerk: Patty Lung, Alec Fischbein
Staff: Scott Meacham, David Barry
Date of Meeting: February 18, 2020
Time and Place: 30 Min. after Adjournment - Senate Room A, Pocahontas Bldg.
Patron: Morefield
Clinch State Scenic River. Designates a 66.8-mile segment of the Clinch River in Tazewell and Russell Counties as part of the Clinch State Scenic River, a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System. The bill provides that nothing shall preclude the continued operation and maintenance of existing dams in the designated section of river. The bill contains a technical amendment.
Patron: Lindsey
Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; loan and grant program. Continues the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund as the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund (the Fund), directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to administer the Fund, and authorizes localities to lend or grant money from the Fund to implement flood prevention and protection projects and studies. The bill requires that at least 25 percent of the money disbursed from the Fund each year be used for projects in low-income geographic areas. The measure also authorizes any locality to forgive the principal of a loan it grants in a low-income geographic area so long as the total amount of loans forgiven by all localities does not exceed 30 percent of the amount appropriated to the Fund during the fiscal year. The bill provides that any locality that forgives such a loan remains obligated to pay the principal to the Commonwealth. This bill incorporates HB 751.
Patron: Knight
Milk; definition; misbranding; prohibition. Defines "milk" as the lacteal secretion of a healthy hooved mammal and provides that a food product is unlawfully misbranded if its label states that it is milk and it fails to meet such definition, except for human breast milk. The bill directs the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to implement a plan to ban all products misbranded as milk. The bill shall not become effective until six months after the enactment, on or before October 1, 2029, of a similar act in any 11 of 14 specified states.
Patron: Krizek
Waterfowl blinds in locality where certain hunting prohibited. Directs the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries not to license any stationary waterfowl blind in any area in which a local governing body prohibits by ordinance the hunting of birds with a firearm.
Patron: Mugler
Division of Offshore Wind; established. Establishes the Division of Offshore Wind in the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy and gives it the following powers and duties: (i) to identify specific measures that will facilitate the establishment of the Hampton Roads region as a wind industry hub for offshore wind generation projects in state and federal waters off the United States coast; (ii) to coordinate state agencies' activities related to offshore wind; (iii) to develop and implement a stakeholder engagement strategy that identifies key groups, sets forth outreach objectives, and outlines a timeline for outreach and engagement; (iv) to identify regulatory and other barriers to the deployment of offshore wind and attraction of offshore wind supply chain businesses; and (v) to provide staff support for the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority and facilitate fulfillment of the Authority's purpose and duties.
Patron: Campbell, R.R.
Scenic river designation; Maury River. Designates a 19.25-mile segment of the Maury River as a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System.
Patron: Edmunds
Special license to hunt elk. Authorizes the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries (the Board) to create a special license for hunting elk in the elk management zone that is required in addition to a general hunting license. The bill authorizes the Board to establish (i) quotas and procedures for selection to purchase a special elk license, (ii) a nonrefundable application fee of $15 for residents and $20 for nonresidents and a special elk license fee at no more than $40 for residents and $400 for nonresidents, and (iii) guidelines permitting the transfer of special elk licenses to individuals, cooperators who assist in meeting agency hunting objectives, or wildlife conservation organizations whose mission is to ensure the conservation of Virginia's wildlife resources. The bill clarifies that a separate special license to hunt elk is not required to hunt elk outside of the designated elk management zone.
Patron: Fowler
Unlawful hunting, fishing, or trapping; prohibition upon conviction. Provides that any person convicted of violating a hunting, fishing, or trapping law may also be prohibited by the court from hunting, fishing, or trapping for a period of one to five years.
Patron: Hope
Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas; mature trees. Adds the preservation of mature trees or planting of trees, both as a water quality protection tool and as a means of providing other natural resource benefits, to the list of activities that the State Water Resources Board is directed to encourage and promote as it adopts criteria for local governments to use as they consider development in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas.
Patron: Bulova
Department of Environmental Quality; tree planting as land cover type, best management practice; stakeholder advisory group. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to convene a stakeholder advisory group for the purpose of studying the planting or preservation of trees as an urban land cover type and as a stormwater best management practice (BMP). The bill provides that the stakeholder group shall be composed of development and construction industry representatives, environmental technical experts, local government representatives, and others and that technical assistance shall be provided to DEQ by the Department of Forestry and the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The bill directs DEQ to report the findings of the stakeholder group by November 1, 2020, and to include a recommendation as to whether the planting or preservation of trees shall be deemed a creditable land cover type or BMP and, if so, how much credit shall be given for its optional use.
Patron: Carr
Expanded polystyrene food service containers; prohibition; civil penalty. Prohibits the dispensing by a food vendor of prepared food to a customer in a single-use expanded polystyrene food service container, as defined in the bill. The bill requires certain chain restaurants to stop using such containers by July 1, 2023, and sets the date for compliance by all food vendors as July 1, 2025. The bill exempts certain institutions, including correctional facilities and public schools, from the definition of "food vendor" and provides a process by which a locality may grant consecutive one-year exemptions to individual food vendors on the basis of undue economic hardship. The bill provides a civil penalty of not more than $50 for each day of violation, to be collected in a civil action brought by the Attorney General or the relevant locality. The penalties collected are to be deposited in the Litter Control and Recycling Fund or to the treasury of the relevant locality, as appropriate. A portion of the penalties deposited in the Fund are to be used for public information campaigns to discourage the sale and use of expanded polystyrene products. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality to post to its website information on compliance and the filing of complaints. This bill incorporates HB 1046 and HB 1347.
Patron: Hurst
Pipeline construction; certification requirement; minimum diameter; stop work orders. Reduces from 36 inches to 24 inches the minimum inside diameter of a natural gas transmission pipeline for which an individual Virginia Water Protection Permit, rather than a general permit, is required to conduct activities in wetlands or state waters or an additional upland activity certification is required to obtain a Clean Water Act Certification. The bill reduces from 15 percent to 10 percent the minimum grade of a slope on which any construction activities will trigger the requirement for such additional upland activity certification. The measure requires the Department of Environmental Quality, within five business days of the issuance of a stop work instruction, to notify the pipeline company of specific corrective measures that shall be completed and approved by the Department before any land-disturbing activity may be resumed. The bill authorizes the State Water Control Board, in addition to the Department, to issue such stop work instructions and adds requirements and restrictions on any further construction once such an instruction is issued.
Patron: Hurst
Pipeline construction projects; violations; cumulative effect; civil penalties. Directs the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations to penalize the accrual of violations of the State Water Control Law by any large natural gas transmission pipeline construction project. The bill requires the regulations to provide that, for every 10 such violations in one calendar month, the Board shall issue an accrued cumulative impact violation order that includes a civil penalty of $32,500. If a project accrues a total of 20 such violations in one calendar month, the Board shall additionally, after notice and hearing, initiate proceedings to halt work on the entirety of the project, with work to remain halted until corrective action is taken and is approved by the Board.
Patron: Hurst
Pipeline construction permit; amount of civil penalty for violation. Authorizes the State Water Control Board to include civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, not to exceed $500,000 per order, in any order for a violation of a permit related to the construction of a natural gas transmission pipeline greater than 36 inches inside diameter. Current law limits such penalties to $32,500 per violation and $100,000 per order.
Patron: Guy
Condemned growing beds; electronic maps. Authorizes the Commissioner of Marine Resources to provide public designation of condemned crustacea, finfish, or shellfish growing areas through the use of downloadable maps or digital interactive online maps. Current law requires that public notice be accomplished only with physical signs or markers.
Patron: Keam
Environmental justice; agency regulations; working group. States that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to promote environmental justice and ensure it is carried out throughout the Commonwealth.
Patron: Keam
Offshore oil and gas drilling; prohibition on leases; policy. Prohibits the granting of a lease, easement, or permit on the beds of the coastal waters of the Commonwealth that would allow any infrastructure for conveying to shore oil or gas produced from offshore drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area and removes any oil or gas lease granted on such beds from the mandate that such lease include a royalty payment requirement. The bill removes policy statements supporting federal efforts to permit oil and gas development 50 miles or more off the Atlantic shoreline. This bill incorporates HB 1016.
Patron: Reid
Virginia Energy Plan; Commonwealth Energy Policy. Adopts findings that climate change is an urgent and pressing challenge for Virginia, that swift decarbonization and a transition to clean energy are required to meet the urgency of the challenge, and that the Commonwealth will benefit from being a leader in deploying a low-carbon energy economy. The measure states that the Commonwealth recognizes that the following objectives will advance the health, welfare, and safety of Virginians: (i) establishing sufficient supply and delivery infrastructure to enable widespread deployment of distributed energy resources; (ii) maximizing energy efficiency programs in order to produce electricity cost savings and to create jobs and revenue from the energy efficiency service sector; (iii) establishing greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals across Virginia's economy that reach net-zero emissions by 2050; (iv) requiring that pathways to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions be determined; (v) enabling widespread integration of storage technologies into the grid and pairing such storage technologies with renewable generation; (vi) mitigating the negative impacts of climate change and the energy transition on disadvantaged communities and prioritizing investment in these communities; (vii) developing the carbon-free energy resources required to fully decarbonize the electric power supply of the Commonwealth including deployment of 30 percent renewables by 2030 and realizing 100 percent carbon-free electric power by 2040; and (viii) ensuring that decision-making is transparent and includes opportunities for full participation by the public. The measure also states that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to (a) ensure the adequate supply of natural gas necessary to ensure the reliability of the electricity supply and the needs of businesses during the transition to renewable energy; (b) establish greenhouse gas emissions reduction standards across all sectors of Virginia's economy that target net-zero emissions carbon by 2045; (c) enact mandatory clean energy standards and overall strategies for reaching net-zero carbon in the electric power sector by 2040; (d) equitably incorporate requirements for technical, policy, and economic analyses and assessments that recognize the unique attributes of different energy resources and delivery systems to identify pathways to net-zero carbon that maximize Virginia's energy reliability and resilience, economic development, and jobs; and (e) minimize the negative impacts of climate change and the energy transition on economically disadvantaged or minority communities and prioritize investment in these areas. The measure also requires that the Virginia Energy Plan identify actions consistent with the goals of achieving a net-zero carbon economy by 2045 and include an inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions for the four years preceding the issuance of the Plan.
Patron: Convirs-Fowler
Stormwater management facilities; private residential lots; disclosure. Directs the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations requiring the owner of residential property on which is located a privately owned stormwater management facility serving one or more residential properties to record the long-term maintenance and inspection requirements for such stormwater management facility with the deed for the owner's property. The bill requires an owner of residential real property who has actual knowledge of a privately owned stormwater management facility located on the property to disclose to a purchaser of the property the long-term maintenance and inspection requirements of the facility.
Patron: Bulova
Stormwater management; proprietary best management practices; reciprocity. Directs the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations providing for the use of a proprietary best management practice only if another state, regional, or national certification program has verified and certified its nutrient or sediment removal effectiveness.
Patron: Plum
State Trails Advisory Committee; sunset. Extends from January 1, 2021, to January 1, 2027, the sunset of the State Trails Advisory Committee. The committee assists the Commonwealth in developing and implementing a statewide system of attractive, sustainable, connected, and enduring trails for the perpetual use and enjoyment of the citizens of the Commonwealth and future generations.
Patron: Herring
Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act; fund. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to incorporate into regulations previously adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board certain provisions establishing a carbon dioxide cap and trade program to reduce emissions released by electric generation facilities. Such provisions are required to comply with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule. The bill authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The bill requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and to be distributed without further appropriation (i) to the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund, (ii) to the Department of Housing and Community Development for low-income energy efficiency programs, (iii) for administrative expenses, and (iv) for statewide climate change planning and mitigation activities. The bill continues the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund as the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund for the purpose of creating a low-interest loan program to help inland and coastal communities that are subject to recurrent flooding. This bill incorporates HB 20 and HB 1152.
Patron: Adams, D.M.
Harassing animals; certain species. Changes from "molest" to "harass" the term used in describing certain unlawful acts against animals of certain species.
Patron: Wampler
Scenic river designation. Designates a 17-mile segment of the Pound River in Wise and Dickenson Counties as a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System.
Patron: Lopez
Department of Environmental Quality; environmental justice. Provides that one of the purposes of the Department of Environmental Quality is to further environmental justice, as defined in the bill.
Patron: Lopez
Department of Environmental Quality; policy statement. Adds provisions for addressing climate change and for the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the administration of environmental laws, regulations, and policies in the statement of the Department of Environmental Quality's purpose. The bill also adds the enhancement of the environment and the promotion of the health and well-being of the Commonwealth's residents and visitors to the Department's policy goals.
Patron: Lopez
Distributed energy generation. Promotes the establishment of distributed solar and other renewable energy. The measure (i) increases the cap on the total amount of renewable energy that can be net metered in a utility's service territory from one percent to 10 percent, (ii) authorizes third-party power purchase agreements for all customer classes throughout the Commonwealth, (iii) allows local governments and certain other public bodies to install solar facilities of up to five megawatts on government-owned property and use the electricity for government-owned buildings, (iv) allows all net metering customers to attribute output from a single solar array to multiple meters, (v) allows the owner of a multifamily residential building or the common areas of a condominium to install a solar energy generation facility and sell the electricity to tenants or condominium unit owners, (vi) removes the restriction on customers installing a net-metered generation facility larger than that required to meet their previous 12 months' demand, (vii) raises the cap for net-metered nonresidential generation facilities from one megawatt to three megawatts, and (viii) removes the ability of utilities to assess standby charges. The measure also amends the Commonwealth Energy Policy to include provisions supporting distributed generation of solar energy and states that the distributed generation of solar electricity is in the public interest, and the State Corporation Commission shall so find if required to make a finding regarding whether such construction or purchase is in the public interest.
Patron: Lopez
Dairy Producer Margin Coverage Premium Assistance Program. Directs the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to establish and administer the Dairy Producer Margin Coverage Premium Assistance Program (the Program). The bill provides that any dairy farmer that has a resource management plan or nutrient management plan and participates in the federal margin coverage program for dairy producers at the Tier 1 level as contained in the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 is eligible to participate in the Program. Under the bill, each year a Program participant will receive a refund of its annual premium payment paid into the federal program.
Patron: Tran
Discharge of deleterious substance into state waters; notice. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to give certain information about an unlawful discharge of a deleterious substance into state waters to the Virginia Department of Health, local newspapers, television stations, and radio stations, and to disseminate such information via official social media accounts and email notification lists within 12 hours of receipt of the information, unless DEQ makes an initial determination that the discharge will have a de minimis impact on state waters. Current law only requires certain of these disclosures and only when the Virginia Department of Health determines that the discharge may be detrimental to the public health or the State Water Control Board determines that the discharge may impair state waters. The bill also requires the Department of Environmental Quality, if the Virginia Department of Health determines that the discharge may be detrimental to the public health, to provide information regarding such determination to the same recipients within 12 hours of receipt of such determination. This bill incorporates HB 1128.
Patron: Robinson
Hunting license; senior resident lifetime license for hunting bear, deer, and turkey. Directs the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries to provide a senior resident lifetime hunting license that includes both a basic hunting license and a special bear, deer, and turkey license. The license shall be available only to a resident of the Commonwealth who is 80 years of age or older and shall cost $200.
Patron: Hurst
Nuclear energy; strategic plan. Directs the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, and the Secretary of Education to work in coordination with the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to develop a strategic plan for the role of nuclear energy in the Commonwealth's overall strategy for moving toward renewable and carbon-free energy. The plan shall be completed by October 1, 2020, and updated every four years thereafter.
Patron: Tyler
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Division of Marketing. Removes references to the Division of Marketing of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and authorizes the Commissioner of the Department to adopt regulations in its place. The bill also states that any regulations promulgated by the Director of the Division remain in full force and effect until new regulations are promulgated by the Commissioner of the Department.
Patron: Gooditis
Solid waste disposal; unpermitted sites and open dumps; regulation and cleanup. Prohibits the disposal of solid waste in an unpermitted facility and provides that the presence of unpermitted solid waste on a person's property is prima facie evidence that the person allowed solid waste to be disposed of on his property without a permit. The bill adds open dumps to the types of site that the Department of Environmental Quality is authorized to require to be cleaned up and provides that the party responsible for such cleanup shall include any party who caused the site to become an open dump or caused the improper management of waste at the site. The bill includes technical amendments.
Patron: Gooditis
Federal acts; meat and poultry. Updates existing Code references to the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act.
Patron: LaRock
Sale of wildlife mounts permitted. Exempts from the prohibition against selling wild animals any Virginia resident selling a wildlife or fish mount that was taken legally and that underwent the taxidermy process legally.
Patron: Plum
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan initiatives; nutrient management plans; stream exclusion. Sets December 31, 2025, as the target date to achieve the water quality goals contained in Virginia's final Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP). The bill provides that if the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry and the Secretary of Natural Resources (the Secretaries) jointly determine on or after July 1, 2026, that such goals have not been met by (i) the coverage of a sufficient portion of Chesapeake Bay cropland by nutrient management plans, (ii) the installation of a sufficient number of livestock stream exclusion practices, or (iii) a combination of other agricultural best management conservation practices, then certain provisions requiring the use of nutrient management plans and livestock stream exclusions shall become effective. The bill directs the Secretaries to convene a stakeholder advisory group to review annual progress toward the implementation of agricultural commitments in the WIP, develop a process to assist in creating nutrient management plans, and develop a plan for the stream exclusion program. The measure also directs the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board to establish by December 31, 2020, the official method for identifying perennial streams and directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to establish by July 1, 2021, a portable stream fencing practice for inclusion in the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practice Cost-Share Program.
Patron: Gooditis
Industrial hemp extract; approval as food or ingredient; regulations; fund; emergency. Provides that an industrial hemp extract, as defined in the bill, is a food and is subject to applicable laws and regulations. The bill establishes (i) requirements for the production of an industrial hemp extract or a food containing an extract and (ii) conditions under which a manufacturer of such extract or food shall be considered an approved source. The bill authorizes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt regulations establishing contaminant tolerances, labeling requirements, and batch testing requirements, and it provides that moneys collected under the chapter shall be deposited in the Virginia Industrial Hemp Fund, created by the bill. The bill directs that by November 1, 2020, (a) the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry report a plan for the long-term sustainability of funding for the industrial hemp program and (b) the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (the Department) report regarding recommended legislative or regulatory amendments necessary to (1) allow a registered industrial hemp grower to grow industrial hemp with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of no greater than one percent and (2) authorize the Department to modify its industrial hemp program to respond to any final hemp regulation adopted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The bill provides that the Department shall not be prohibited from adopting a tiered approach to testing of THC concentrations at the processor level if such approach is not prohibited by federal law. The bill contains an emergency clause.
EMERGENCY
Patron: Plum
Management of the menhaden fishery. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to adopt regulations necessary to manage Atlantic menhaden, including those necessary to comply with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The bill repeals several Code sections relating to quotas, allocation of allowable landings, and administrative procedures that will be included in a regulatory framework for managing the fishery. The bill directs the Commissioner of Marine Resources to establish a Menhaden Management Advisory Committee to provide guidance to the Commission. This bill incorporates HB 79.
Patron: Sullivan
Electric utility regulation; energy efficiency standard. Requires Dominion Energy Virginia (DEV) and American Electric Power (AEP) to achieve incremental net annual savings in accordance with a schedule that starts in 2021, when savings are required to be at least 0.35 percent of the average annual energy retail sales by that utility in the three preceding calendar years, and increases the level of required savings until 2027 and thereafter, when savings are required to be at least two percent of the utility's average annual energy retail sales in the three preceding calendar years. The measure requires the utilities to retain an independent, qualified third-party evaluator to determine the utility's incremental net annual savings and other benefits of the program. The measure requires the State Corporation Commission, for any year that a utility meets the annual energy efficiency standard, to allow for the additional recovery of a margin on its program's operating expenses through a rate adjustment clause that provides the utility with a margin equal to the general rate of return on common equity. The Commission is directed to award an additional 20 basis points for each 0.1 percent of annual savings in excess of the required amount of savings, with a cap on total performance incentive awards in any year of 10 percent of the utility's total energy efficiency spending in that year. The measure also (i) increases the portion of the approved costs of certain utility energy efficiency programs that are required to be allocated to programs designed to benefit low-income, elderly, and disabled individuals from five percent to 15 percent of the approved costs of such programs and adds veterans to be benefited from such programs; (ii) requires the energy efficiency stakeholder process established for the purpose of providing input and feedback on the development of electric utilities' energy efficiency programs to include the participation of certain Commission personnel who participate in approval and oversight of utility efficiency programs; (iii) directs the Commission to increase the utility's rates to recover for revenue reductions related to energy efficiency programs if the revenue reductions have caused the utility, during the test period or periods under review, to earn more than 50 basis points below a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services or, for any test period commencing after December 31, 2012, for DEV and after December 31, 2013, for AEP, more than 70 basis points below a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services; (iv) allows certain large general service customers to avoid participation in energy efficiency programs and to avoid paying for the costs of such programs through a rate adjustment clause upon receiving an exemption from the Commission; and (v) provides that certain energy efficiency pilot programs may be deemed to be in the public interest.
Patron: Sullivan
Electric utilities; mandatory renewable energy portfolio standard. Replaces the existing voluntary renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) program with a mandatory renewable energy portfolio standard program that requires each electric utility to generate or purchase increasing percentages of electric power that is generated from renewable energy sources. The required percentages start at 14 percent of the total electric energy sold in 2021. Thereafter the required percentages increase in steps until 2050 and thereafter, in which years 100 percent of the total electric energy sold is required to be renewable energy. The measure also requires that the sources of renewable energy be derived from one of several tiers, with required percentages varying over time. A utility that fails to comply with an RPS standard established for a year is required to pay a deficiency payment. The moneys paid as deficiency payments will be distributed by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to programs for low-income, disability, veteran, and age-qualifying energy efficiency programs and renewable energy programs, energy efficiency measures for public facilities, and administrative costs. The measure also requires the State Corporation Commission to implement an energy storage deployment target of 2,400 megawatts by 2035.
Patron: Fariss
James State Scenic River designation. Adds a 20-mile portion of the James River located in Albemarle, Buckingham, and Fluvanna Counties to the James State Scenic River, a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System.
Patron: Edmunds
Staunton State Scenic River designation. Adds the 11.5-mile segment of the Staunton River between the U.S. Route 360 bridge and the Staunton River State Park boat landing as a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System. The segment of the Staunton River upstream of the U.S. Route 360 bridge to State Route 761 at the Long Island Bridge, a distance of approximately 51.3 miles, adjoins the new segment and is designated as a scenic river in current law, making a total distance of approximately 62.8 miles of the Staunton River a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System.
Patron: Fowler
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; boat ramp fees; exemptions. Authorizes the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to charge a fee for the use of any facility that the Department manages and any boat ramp that the Department owns or manages. Current law authorizes such fee only for a facility that is owned by the Department. The bill adds exemptions from such fees for a person holding a valid access permit issued by the Department and any person who is a passenger in but not the owner or operator of a paddlecraft or registered vessel. The bill includes technical changes.
Patron: Brewer
Virginia Scenic Rivers System; Grays Creek. Designates a six-mile portion of Grays Creek in Surry County as a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System.
Patron: Plum
Virginia Urban Agriculture Advisory Council created; report. Creates the Virginia Urban Agriculture Advisory Council as an advisory council in the legislative branch of state government to encourage urban agriculture and contribute to building a local food economy. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2023.
Patron: Bulova
Wildlife Corridor Action Plan; road construction projects. Directs the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, in collaboration with the Department of Transportation and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, to create a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan (the Plan). The Plan shall identify wildlife corridors, defined as areas connecting fragmented wildlife habitats that are separated by human activities or infrastructure, and recommend wildlife crossing projects intended to promote driver safety and wildlife connectivity. The bill requires the Plan to be submitted to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by September 1, 2022, and every four years thereafter. The bill also provides that the Department of Transportation shall (i) include the impact on any wildlife corridor identified in the Plan in any environmental impact report for a highway construction project and (ii) consider measures for the mitigation of harm caused to wildlife by a highway in the design options for the construction of such highway.