Department of Health; local government; alternativeand conventional onsite sewage systems. Requires the Board ofHealth to establish a procedure for the Department of Health to prepare and submit a quarterly report to each local government thatprovides an accurate record of private properties categorized bythe presence of an alternative or conventional onsite sewage systemwithin each such local government.
Electronic execution of estate planning documents; Uniform Electronic Wills Act. Permits trusts, advance medical directives, and refusals to make anatomical gifts to be signed and notarized, as appropriate, by electronic means. The bill also codifies the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, which permits a testator to execute a will by electronic means. The Act requires that the will be signed by two witnesses who are in the physical or electronic presence of the testator and acknowledged by the testator and attesting witnesses in the physical or electronic presence of a notary public.
Gaming in the Commonwealth; prohibition on useof term "casino" by non-casino gaming operators; civil penalties.Prohibits any applicant for licensure or permit or any personlicensed or permitted to conduct charitable gaming, horse racing,or sports betting in the Commonwealth from using the term "casino"in its entity name, in any advertisement in association with itsproduct or service, or in any manner prohibited by regulation. Thebill provides for a civil penalty of up to $50,000 for each violation.
Alkaline hydrolysis; registration; regulations. Establishes a registration requirement for alkaline hydrolysis providers. The bill defines alkaline hydrolysis and adds alkaline hydrolysis and hydrolyzed remains to statutes dealing with cremation and cremains. The bill grants the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers the power to regulate and inspect alkaline hydrolysis providers and their operations. The bill requires the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers to consult with the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Health, and representatives of wastewater treatment facilities and funeral service associations to promulgate regulations related to alkaline hydrolysis.
State Department of Health; regulation of certain organizations; sale of food. Expands a current exemption to allow churches, fraternal or school organizations, organizations that are exempt from taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and volunteer fire departments and volunteer emergency medical services agencies that not only hold, as provided for in current law, but also participate in occasional dinners, bazaars, and other fundraisers of one or two days' duration, at which food (i) prepared in the homes of members; (ii) prepared in the kitchen of the church, school, or organization; or (iii) purchased or donated from a licensed restaurant is offered for sale to the public, to conduct such activities without applying for any permits or licensure from the State Department of Health.
Tobacco Indemnification and Community RevitalizationFund; Tobacco Region Revolving Fund; eligible localities; PlanningDistrict 4. Adds Planning District 4 (New River Valley Region)to a group of localities that is eligible to receive funds from theTobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Fund and the Virginia Tobacco Region Revolving Fund.
Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative atThe College of William and Mary in Virginia. Changes referencesrelating to coastal resilience policy from the Coastal Policy Centerat William and Mary School of Law to the Virginia Coastal ResilienceCollaborative at The College of William and Mary in Virginia to reflectthe dissolution of the Coastal Policy Center. The bill also addsthe Collaborative to the list of entities with whom the Secretaryof Natural and Historic Resources may seek input and consultationin setting coastal resilience policies.
Local fiscal distress; determination by Auditor of Public Accounts; state intervention. Sets out a procedure for determining when localities are in fiscal distress, as defined in the bill, and when state intervention may be necessary. The bill requires the Auditor of Public Accounts to develop criteria for a preliminary determination that a locality may be in fiscal distress. The bill also requires the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget to identify any amounts remaining unexpended from general fund appropriations in the state budget as of June 30 of each year, which constitute state aid to local governments. From such unexpended balances, the Governor may reappropriate up to $750,000 from amounts that would otherwise revert to the balance of the general fund and transfer such amounts as necessary to establish a component of fund balance that may be used for the purpose of providing technical assistance and intervention actions for localities deemed to be fiscally distressed and in need of intervention to address such distress. The bill provides that if a report to the Governor concludes that a locality is either unwilling or unable to comply with the conditions necessary to address its fiscal distress, the Governor shall use all powers available to him to intervene for the purpose of addressing such fiscal distress. The bill further grants authority to the Governor to appoint an emergency fiscal manager and grant the manager with all powers available and necessary to implement a plan to restore sustainable fiscal health to the locality. The emergency fiscal officer shall give timely notice of any proposed actions to be taken and an opportunity for public input prior to such action and shall establish benchmarks that will allow a locality to exit the state intervention plan upon meeting such benchmarks.
Alcoholic beverage control; exemptions fromlicensure; manufacture of spirits at personal residence for domesticconsumption. Exempts from the licensure requirements of the AlcoholicBeverage Control Act any person who, after being granted a permitby the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage ControlAuthority to keep, store, or possess any still or distilling apparatusfor the purpose of distilling alcohol, manufactures at his residence for domestic consumption spirits in an amount not to exceed (i) 100gallons per year if there are two or more persons 21 years of ageor older residing in the residence or (ii) 50 gallons per year ifthere is only one person 21 years of age or older residing in theresidence.
School boards; employment of counsel. Clarifiesthat any school board, whether elected or appointed, may employ theattorney for the Commonwealth or other counsel to advise it concerningany legal matter or to represent it, any member thereof, or any schoolofficial in any legal proceeding to which the school board, member,or official may be a party when such proceeding is instituted byor against it or against the member or official by virtue of hisactions in connection with his duties as such member or official.
Board of Veterinary Medicine; powers and duties;satellite offices. Permits the Board of Veterinary Medicine toregulate, inspect, and register all satellite offices where veterinarymedicine is practiced. The bill directs the Board to adopt emergencyregulations to implement the provisions of the bill.
Personal property taxation rates; restrictionsand conditions. Restricts differences in the rates of taxationof personal property for taxpayers who are elderly or handicappedto owners of motor vehicles (i) whose income does not exceed thegreater of $80,000 or the median income for the respective localityas published by the U.S. Census Bureau and (ii) whose net financialworth does not exceed $450,000. Thebill provides that certain localities may restrict such differencesto owners of motor vehicles (a) whose income does not exceed thegreater of $130,000 or the median income for the respective localityas published by the U.S. Census Bureau and (b) whose net financialworth does not exceed $750,000. Thebill requires the General Assembly to assess, every four years, whethersuch restrictions require adjustment based on the change in the ConsumerPrice Index.
