Payment of prevailing wage; certified payroll; penalties. Requires employers that are subject to prevailing wage provisions for work done on public contracts to furnish the Commissioner of Labor and Industry within 30 days after issuance of its first payroll, and every 30 days thereafter, a certified payroll that consists of a complete copy of certain records accompanied by a statement signed by the employer that indicates that (i) such records are true and accurate, (ii) the hourly rate paid to each worker is not less than the general prevailing rate of hourly wages required by law; and (iii) the contractor or subcontractor is aware that filing a certified payroll that he knows to be false is a Class 6 felony. The bill provides civil penalties not to exceed $1,000 for each violation for violations of prevailing wage provisions for any contractor or subcontractor that (a) knowingly fails to provide the certified pay scale for each craft or trade employed on the project, (b) knowingly fails to provide the certified payroll required by the bill, and (c) fails to post the general prevailing wage rate for each craft and classification involved in a contract in prominent and easily accessible places at the site of the work and a civil penalty not to exceed $10 per calendar day that required records have not been received. The bill also provides that any contractor or subcontractor who knowingly files false records or willfully fails to file records is guilty of a Class 6 felony.
Oversight of research breeders; Animal WelfareOversight Officer; Animal Welfare Oversight Advisory Committee; civilpenalty. Directs the State Veterinarian to hire an Animal WelfareOversight Officer to inspect and oversee the operations of researchbreeders, defined in the bill as a person or entity that breeds dogsor cats for sale or transfer for use in testing or research withinor outside the Commonwealth, and report any violations of state orfederal law by the research breeder. The bill requires each researchbreeder to register with the Animal Welfare Oversight Officer, paya registration fee as determined by the Commissioner of Agricultureand Consumer Services, and allow the Animal Welfare Oversight Officer continuous access to its facilities located in the Commonwealth.The bill subjects a research breeder that does not register, paythe fee, or allow the Animal Welfare Oversight Officer access toits facilities to a civil penalty of $1,000 for each day of noncompliance.The bill also establishes an Animal Welfare Oversight Advisory Committee.
Removing, altering, etc., serial number on firearm; selling, giving, etc., or possessing firearm with removed, altered, etc., serial number; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person, firm, association, or corporation to knowingly possess any pistol, shotgun, rifle, machine gun, or any other firearm, except for an antique firearm, that has a serial number that has been removed, altered, changed, destroyed, or obliterated in any manner. The bill also makes it a Class 6 felony for any person, firm, association, or corporation to knowingly sell, give, or distribute any pistol, shotgun, rifle, machine gun, or other firearm, except for an antique firearm, that has a serial number that has been removed, defaced, altered, changed, destroyed, or obliterated in any manner.
Commending the Loudoun Free Clinic.
Revocation of driver's licenses; completionof specialty dockets. Provides that a conviction that resultedfrom a final order being entered by a court after the successfulcompletion of a Veterans Treatment Court Program, behavioral healthdocket, or other specialty docket shall not be counted as a convictionfor the purposes of revoking a person's driver's license for multipleconvictions of driving while intoxicated.
Commending the Hilda M. Barg Homeless PreventionCenter.
Celebrating the life of Lieutenant Colonel DanielL. Benka, USA, Ret.
Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Week.Designates May 4 through 10, in 2022 and in each succeeding year,as Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Week in Virginia.
Pretrial Intervention and Diversion Program. Authorizes the attorney for the Commonwealth for each judicial circuit of the Commonwealth to create and administer a Pretrial Intervention and Diversion Program for the purpose of providing an alternative to prosecuting offenders in the criminal justice system. The bill provides that entry into such program shall be at the discretion of the attorney for the Commonwealth based upon written guidelines and that no attorney for the Commonwealth shall accept any offender into such program for an offense for which punishment includes a mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment. The bill also provides that the attorney for the Commonwealth is authorized to assess and collect a fee from each offender who enters the Program which shall be waived upon affirmation under oath of indigency by the offender.
Constitutional amendment (second reference); qualifications of voters and the right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished.
Campaign advertisements; independent expenditures; electioneering communications; disclaimer requirements. Broadens the scope of disclaimer requirements for campaign advertisements to include electioneering communications, as defined in the bill, and messages advocating for the passage or defeat of a referendum. The bill also requires an advertisement that is an independent expenditure or expressly advocates for the passage or defeat of a referendum to contain a disclaimer providing the names of the advertisement sponsor's three largest contributors or individuals representing a contributor that is not an individual.
Persons charged with first offense drug possession; probation. Requires a court to defer proceedings and place adefendant on probation if such defendant is charged with possessionof a controlled substance and qualifies under the first offenderstatute. Under current law, a court has discretion to defer proceedingsand place such defendant on probation.
