The 2024 Legislative Session is finally upon us! Legislators are gathered in Richmond to pass the next biennial budget and other important legislation. This legislative session will see many brand-new faces, both in the membership and in positions of power. On January 10, Delegate Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) became the first Black Speaker of the House of Delegates.
Aside from the Speaker, there is new leadership in both chambers. On the Senate side, Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon) took the reins as the new Majority Leader, succeeding Sen. Richard Saslaw (D-Springfield), while Sen. Ryan McDougle (R-Hanover) became Minority Leader, succeeding Sen. Tommy Norment (R-James City County). In the House of Delegates, control has flipped back to the Democrats following the General Election last November. Democrats have a 51-49 majority, meaning all of the committee chair positions have returned to the Democrats. With Governor Youngkin and a Democratic General Assembly, the need for compromise will be emphasized by both sides. Due to redistricting, retirements, and incumbent primaries, there are 35 new members in the House and 17 new members in the Senate.
Governor Youngkin delivered his State of the Commonwealth address on January 10. The Governor hit on several themes foreshadowed in his budget proposal, including the need to compete with Virginia’s southern neighbors in attracting businesses and stopping talented job producers from leaving the Commonwealth by creating a better environment for businesses and lower income taxes.
The Governor also discussed several key legislative proposals in his address, the most prominent of which is the Monumental Sports & Entertainment move to create a stadium and entertainment district for Potomac Yard in Alexandria. Youngkin reiterated his support for the project stating that it will be a job creator and bring in billions of dollars of new revenue.
This week, the committee hearing process will be in full swing as bills begin to move through the legislative process. To date, more than 2,100 bills have been filed, and the bill filing deadline is Friday, January 19th.
Full Breakdown of Legislation
Below, you will find the full breakdown of legislation that impacts the retail industry. Your Virginia Retail Federation team will continue to keep you informed throughout the 2024 Session on all issues that impact your business. VRF is represented by in-house Government Relations Director, Jodi Roth, as well as the contract lobbying team at Two Capitols Consulting.
Minimum Wage / Tipped Wage / Sales Tax Holiday / ORC/Larceny / Sales Tax Increase – School Construction / Spoliation / Sales Tax Exemption / Tax / Gas Tax / Environment / Unemployment Compensation / Workers Comp / Product Ban / Budget / Tobacco / Employer Mandates / Transportation / Paid Leave / Consumer Protection/Privacy / Small Business / ABC / Cannabis / Energy / Miscellaneous
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Minimum Wage
HB 1 and SB 1– Minimum wage; increases wage to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025
Increases the minimum wage from the current rate of $12.00 per hour to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025, and to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026. The bill satisfies a reenactment clause included in Chapters 1204 and 1242 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020
HB 325 – Minimum wage and overtime wages; civil actions
Provides that an employer that violates minimum wage or overtime provisions is liable to the employee for the applicable remedies, damages, or other relief available in an action brought pursuant to the civil action provisions currently available for the nonpayment of wages. Such provisions currently available provide that an employee may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover payment of the wages, and the court is required to award the wages owed, an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, plus prejudgment interest thereon, and reasonable attorney fees and costs. If the court finds that the employer knowingly failed to pay wages to an employee, the court is required award the employee an amount equal to triple the amount of wages due and reasonable attorney fees and costs. Such actions are required to be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrued.
Tipped Wage
HB 335 – Employment; determining wage of tipped employee
Provides that an employer shall increase the amount paid to its tipped employees by an amount determined by the employer in accordance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a tipped employee who regularly performs services in the course of his employment for which there is no reasonable expectation of receiving tips shall receive an amount not less than the minimum wage for the time that he performs such services. The bill provides that tipped employees shall receive a cash wage of not less than $3.50 per hour starting on January 1, 2025. Starting on January 1, 2026, a tipped employee shall receive a cash wage of not less than $4.75 per hour, and starting on January 1, 2027, the amount of cash wage shall be not less than $6.00 per hour. Starting January 1, 2028, tips shall be excluded from any determination of wage paid to a tipped employee and the amount paid to such employee shall be not less than the minimum wage.
Sales Tax Holiday
HB 25, HB 138, SB 58, and SB 116 - Retail sales and use tax holiday; establishes an annual tax holiday that takes place in August
Establishes an annual retail sales and use tax holiday that takes place on the first full weekend in August beginning on August 1, 2025. During such weekend, state retail sales and use tax will not apply to certain (i) school supplies, (ii) clothing and footwear, (iii) qualified products designated as Energy Star or WaterSense, (iv) portable generators, or (v) hurricane preparedness equipment
– Retail sales and use tax holiday; establishes an annual tax holiday that takes place in August
Establishes an annual retail sales and use tax holiday that takes place on the first full weekend in August beginning on August 1, 2025. During such weekend, state retail sales and use tax will not apply to certain (i) school supplies, (ii) clothing and footwear, (iii) qualified products designated as Energy Star or WaterSense, (iv) portable generators, or (v) hurricane preparedness equipment.
ORC/Larceny
HB 209 – Organized retail theft; repeals crime and Organized Retail Crime Fund
HB 399 – Larceny; punishment for conviction of second or subsequent misdemeanor, penalty
Provides that any person convicted of a second larceny offense shall be confined in jail not less than 30 days nor more than 12 months and that for a third or any subsequent larceny offense, such person is guilty of a Class 6 felony.
HB 1256 – Larceny offenses; venue
Allows grand larceny and embezzlement offenses to be prosecuted in any county or city where the victim of the larceny or embezzlement resides.
SB 77 – Larceny; punishment for conviction of fourth or subsequent misdemeanor, penalty
Provides that any person convicted of a fourth or subsequent larceny offense, regardless of whether the prior convictions were misdemeanors or felonies, or any combination thereof, is guilty of a Class 6 felony.
Sales Tax Increase – School Construction
HB 60 and SB 146– Sales and use tax, local; construction or renovation of schools in Prince Edward County
Adds Prince Edward County to the list of localities that, under current law, are authorized to impose an additional local sales and use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent, with the revenue used only for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools.
HB 193 – Stafford County; authorized to impose an additional local sales tax for schools
Adds Stafford County to the list of localities that are authorized to impose an additional local sales tax at a rate not to exceed one percent in order to provide revenue for the construction or renovation of schools.
HB 458, HB 600, HB 805 and SB 14– Sales and use tax, local; additional tax authorized in all counties & cities to support schools
Additional local sales and use tax to support schools; referendum. Authorizes all counties and cities to impose an additional local sales and use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent with the revenue used only for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools if such levy is approved in a voter referendum. Under current law, only Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville are authorized to impose such a tax.
HB 616 – Sales tax; additional local tax for schools; City of Newport News
Adds the City of Newport News to the list of localities that are authorized to impose an additional local sales tax at a rate not to exceed one percent in order to provide revenue for the construction or renovation of schools.
Spoliation
SB 86 – Evidence; spoliation
Clarifies that, where evidence that should have been preserved in anticipation of litigation is lost, disposed of, altered, concealed, destroyed, or not preserved, and cannot be restored or replaced, no finding of intent that a party lost or destroyed evidence to prevent its use in litigation shall be required for the court to order remedial measures as provided by law.
Sales Tax Exemption
HB 540 and SB 110– Sales tax; exemption for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene
Provides an exemption from local sales and use tax beginning July 1, 2024, for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. The bill also provides an allocation of state revenues to fund the distribution to localities for funding that would have been distributed to them absent the exemption created by the bill. Under current law, such products are exempt from state sales and use tax but are subject to the standard local rate of one percent.
SB 511 – Sales tax exemption; certain baby products
Creates a retail sales and use tax exemption for certain baby products, including (i) children’s diapers, (ii) therapeutic or preventative creams and wipes marketed primarily for use on the skin of children, (iii) child restraint devices or booster seats, (iv) cribs, and (v) strollers meant for transporting children, usually from infancy to 36 months of age.
Tax
HB 88 – Income tax, state; removes sunset on elevated standard deduction amounts
Removes the sunset on elevated standard deduction amounts for single individuals and married persons that was scheduled to expire for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026.
HB 261 and SB 459 – Income tax, state; rolling conformity
Provides that when Virginia does not conform on a rolling basis to federal tax laws due to any changes in a single act of Congress with an impact of more than $15 million on revenues in the year in which the amendment was enacted or any of the next four years, such nonconformity shall not be considered for purposes of calculating the nonconformity threshold for all amendments in a year with a cumulative projected impact of more than $75 million in the year in which the amendments were enacted or any of the next four years.
HB 473 – Income tax, state; employer retention credit
Provides authority to the Tax Commissioner to waive interest on taxpayers that received a federal employer retention tax credit. Such waiver shall only be permissible if the taxpayer was eligible for and received the federal tax credit, filed an amended return, and was found to have an additional tax liability due to the reduction in deductible wages that resulted from claiming the credit.
HB 541 – Income tax, state; deduction for qualified business income
Establishes, beginning with tax year 2024, an individual income tax deduction in an amount equal to 50 percent of certain federal qualified business income deductions, excluding qualified real estate investment trust dividends.
HB 551 – Income tax, Corporate; apportionment of income using single sales factor method
Allows, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2024, for corporations to apportion their income to the Commonwealth using the single sales factor method. The bill provides that such apportionment method shall be used only if the corporation makes an election to do so.
HB 552 – Income tax, Corporate; sourcing of sales other than sales of tangible personal property
Implements market-based corporate income tax sourcing for attributing sales, other than sales of tangible personal property, to Virginia beginning with taxable year 2025.
HB 865 – Imposition of income tax
Establishes a new income tax bracket beginning on and after January 1, 2024, that taxes income in excess of $1 million at a rate of 10 percent. The bill provides that 50 percent of revenues generated by the new tax bracket will be dedicated to providing additional basic aid funding for public schools, 30 percent of such revenues will be dedicated to the Child Care Subsidy Program, and 20 percent of such revenues will be dedicated to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund.
HB 887 – Income taxes
Creates a new income tax bracket for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2024, for income in excess of $600,000, which is to be taxed at seven percent. The bill also creates two new tax credits: a child and dependent care tax credit and a family caregiver tax credit. Both tax credits would be refundable for Virginia residents and would be available for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2029. The child and dependent care tax credit would equal 50 percent of the federal tax credit allowed for employment-related expenses for household and dependent care services. A similar income tax deduction for employment-related expenses would be sunsetted by the bill. The family caregiver tax credit would apply to expenses incurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member, defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living, also defined in the bill. The family caregiver tax credit equals 50 percent of eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. The family caregiver tax credit shall be available only to taxpayers that have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than $100,000 for individuals or $200,000 for married persons.
HB 889 – Sales and use tax on services
Levies the retail sales and use tax on the following services: admissions; charges for recreation, fitness, or sports facilities; nonmedical personal services or counseling; dry cleaning and laundry services; companion animal care; residential home repair or maintenance, landscaping, or cleaning services when paid for directly by a resident or homeowner; vehicle and engine repair; repairs or alterations to tangible personal property; storage of tangible personal property; delivery or shipping services; travel, event, and aesthetic planning services; and communications services that are not subject to the communications sales and use tax and are not digital personal property.
The bill also imposes the retail sales and use tax on digital personal property, defined in the bill as a digital product delivered electronically that the purchaser owns or has the ability to continually access without having to pay an additional subscription or usage fee to the seller after paying the initial purchase price.
Revenues generated by the taxes levied on services and digital personal property shall be allocated in the same manner as other sales and use taxes; however, revenues from the state portion of the sales and use tax that would be allocated to the general fund shall instead be allocated to school divisions as follows: (i) 60 percent shall be distributed to localities on the basis of school-age population and (ii) 40 percent shall be distributed to localities on the basis of the high-need student population in the locality. The bill clarifies that a high-need student population includes students who are (a) automatically certified for free school meals because of participation in social services programs, (b) participants in a program of special education, or (c) English language learners.
The bill provides certain exemptions to the sales and use tax on services, including health care services that must be performed by a person licensed or certified by the Department of Health Professions, veterinary services, professional services, Internet access services, and services provided by a person who does not receive more than $2,500 per year in gross receipts for performance of such services. The bill exempts services purchased by a nonprofit organization and services purchased by a homeowners’ association or by a landlord for the benefit of his tenant. The bill also repeals the service exemptions currently provided for the sale of custom programs and modification of prewritten programs.
The bill imposes the communications sales and use tax on prepaid calling services and on digital subscription services, defined in the bill as services for which the user pays in order to access and use software, reading materials, or other digital data or applications for a defined period of time, which products the user does not own or have permanent access to outside of such period of time.
Decreases, beginning in taxable year 2025, the income tax imposed (i) on income less than $3,000, from two percent to 1.75 percent; (ii) on income in excess of $3,000 but less than $5,000, from three percent to 2.65 percent; (iii) on income in excess of $5,000 but less than $17,000, from five percent to 4.4 percent; and (iv) on income in excess of $17,000, from 5.75 percent to 5.1 percent.
The bill increases from 20 to 25 percent, beginning in taxable year 2025, the amount of credit eligible taxpayers may claim pursuant to the income tax credit for low-income taxpayers. The bill also increases the annual aggregate amount of Education Improvement Scholarships tax credits that are available from $25 million to $30 million beginning fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter.
The bill defines “digital personal property,” “streaming,” and “taxable service” for the purposes of the retail sales and use tax. The bill increases the sales and use tax from 4.3 percent to 5.2 percent. Amendments are made throughout the bill to impose the sales and use tax on taxable services in addition to tangible personal property. The bill requires that one half of the additional sales and use tax revenues generated by taxable services and digital personal property that is deposited in the Commonwealth Transportation Fund be distributed to the Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund, and the additional one half of such revenues be distributed to the Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Fund until June 30, 2031, or until $400 million has been deposited in the Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Fund. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.
SB 108 – Income tax, state; standard deduction
Removes the sunset on elevated standard deduction amounts for single individuals and married persons that was scheduled to expire for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026.
Gas Tax
HB 854 – Rate of tax on gasoline and diesel fuel
Lowers the rate of tax on gasoline and diesel fuel on July 1, 2024, from 26.2 cents per gallon to 21.2 cents per gallon on gasoline and from 27 cents per gallon to 20.2 cents per gallon on diesel fuel, which are the rates that were in effect before July 1, 2021. The bill provides that the rate of tax on gasoline and diesel fuel will return to 26.2 and 27 cents per gallon, respectively, on July 1, 2025, and will be indexed based on the change in the United States Average Consumer Price Index occurring between 2021 and 2024; thereafter, the rate will be indexed annually.
Environment
HB 4 – Plastic bag tax; distribution to towns
Provides that any town located within a county that has imposed a disposable plastic bag tax shall receive a distribution of revenues collected by the county based on the local sales tax distribution formula for appropriations to towns. The bill requires that towns use such revenues for the same purposes allowable for a county or city
HB 33 – Public drinking water; Commissioner of Health’s work group to study occurrence of microplastics
Directs the Commissioner of Health to convene a work group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth’s public drinking water and develop recommendations for the reduction of microplastics in the Commonwealth’s public drinking water. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and Education and Health by December 1, 2024.
HB 228 – Virginia Consumer Protection Act; recycling information on products
Prohibits the sale or offering for sale of any product that indicates on the product’s container or packaging that such container or packaging is recyclable unless such container or packaging is made out of a material that is recyclable under a majority of regional and local waste management plans. The bill requires the Virginia Waste Management Board to maintain a list of all materials that are recyclable under a majority of regional and local waste management plans adopted and to make such list available on the Department of Environmental Quality’s website.
HB 245 – PFAS; facilities that have engaged in manufacture, etc., to produce report on use of chemicals
Requires all facilities that have engaged since January 1, 2021, in the manufacture of or knowing use in the production process of one or more chemicals listed as PFAS target analytes to produce a one-time report on the use of such chemicals. The report shall be limited to facilities that discharge to (i) a surface water under a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) or (ii) a publicly owned treatment works under an industrial pretreatment program permit or other written authorization issued by a local permit control authority. The report shall be submitted to the Department and, if such facility discharges to a publicly owned treatment works, also to the local permit control authority no later than October 1, 2024. The bill also requires certain facilities to perform a limited PFAS discharge characterization during the one-year period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, for each waterway discharge outfall consisting of representative quarterly monitoring using the applicable laboratory test method, as specified in the bill. Such facilities shall report results to the Department and, if the facility discharges to a publicly owned treatment works, also to the local permit control authority, within 30 days after the end of each quarter.
HB 1085 and SB 243– Department of Environmental Quality; PFAS; identification; monitoring; PFAS Advisory Committee
Requires the owner or operator of a publicly owned treatment works to monitor PFAS levels, as defined in the bill, in effluent, influent, and biosolids at least quarterly and report all such monitoring data on an applicable discharge monitoring report required by federal regulations. The bill requires the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department), in certain circumstances, to develop a PFAS action plan to identify and address sources of certain PFAS detected in a public water system’s raw water source, perform outreach efforts regarding PFAS contamination, report annually on its activities, and work with certain entities in developing its PFAS action plans. The bill requires certain facilities that manufacture or use PFAS to report the use of such chemicals to the Department and to monitor such PFAS at least quarterly unless at another frequency at the direction of the Director of the Department.
The bill also directs the Department and the Virginia Department of Health to jointly establish a PFAS Advisory Committee to assist with PFAS-related activities and appoint such committee’s members to include legislative members and a wide range of nonlegislative citizen members and to report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on the Committee’s activities and recommendations.
SB 462 – Reports relating to PFAS; Department of Environmental Quality; one-time report
Requires all facilities that have engaged since January 1, 2021, in the manufacture of or knowing use in the production process of one or more chemicals listed as PFAS target analytes to produce a one-time report on the use of such chemicals. The report shall be limited to facilities that discharge to (i) a surface water under a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) or (ii) a publicly owned treatment works under an industrial pretreatment program permit or other written authorization issued by a local permit control authority. The report shall be submitted to the Department and, if such facility discharges to a publicly owned treatment works, also to the local permit control authority no later than October 1, 2024. The bill also requires certain facilities to perform a limited PFAS discharge characterization during the one-year period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, for each waterway discharge outfall consisting of representative quarterly monitoring using the applicable laboratory test method, as specified in the bill. Such facilities shall report results to the Department and, if the facility discharges to a publicly owned treatment works, also to the local permit control authority, within 30 days after the end of each quarter.
Unemployment Compensation
HB 14 and SB 381– Unemployment compensation; employer’s failure to respond to requests for information, etc
Provides that an employer’s failure to respond timely or adequately to a written request for information relating to an unemployment claim results in a waiver of all of such employer’s rights in connection with the claim, including participation and appeal rights, unless such employer demonstrates that good cause exists for such failure. The bill requires the Virginia Employment Commission to provide written notice for each instance of untimely or inadequate employer response to such requests and specifies that such notice may be delivered through the Employer Self-Service Tax System website maintained by the Commission. The bill also requires the Commission to provide each employer with information regarding deadlines for timely and adequate responses to such requests. Such provisions of the bill apply to erroneous payments established on or after July 1, 2024. The bill also prohibits a deputy designated by the Commissioner to adjudicate unemployment claims from examining or considering facts contained within an employer’s untimely or inadequate response and requires that information or evidence from an employer or third party must be shared with the claimant, who must also be provided a reasonable opportunity to review and respond to such information or evidence. The bill requires such deputy to provide the reasoning behind the decision, as described in the bill, and a short statement of case-specific facts material to the determination together with any notice of determination upon a claim. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation.
HB 82 – Unemployment compensation; maximum duration of benefits
Provides that the maximum duration for which a claimant may receive unemployment compensation benefits shall be calculated based on the average, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the Commonwealth for the three months preceding the month in which such claimant files his first claim in a benefit year.
HB 938 and SB 542 – Unemployment insurance; benefit eligibility conditions; lockout exception to labor dispute
Amends the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act’s labor dispute disqualification to provide that a lockout by an employer shall not constitute a labor dispute and that locked-out employees who are otherwise eligible for benefits shall receive such benefits unless (i) the recognized or certified collective bargaining representative of the locked-out employees refuses to meet under reasonable conditions with the employer to discuss the issues giving rise to the lockout, (ii) there is a final adjudication under the federal National Labor Relations Act that such representative has refused to bargain in good faith with the employer, or (iii) the lockout is the direct result of such representative’s violation of an existing collective bargaining agreement.
HB 1261 and SB 536– Unemployment compensation; continuation of benefits; repayment of overpayments
Makes permanent provisions of the Code that expired on July 1, 2022, relating to unemployment compensation. The bill provides that when a claimant has had a determination of initial eligibility for unemployment benefits, as determined by the issuance of compensation or waiting-week credit, payments shall continue, subject to a presumption of continued eligibility, until a determination is made that provides the claimant notice and an opportunity to be heard. The bill requires the Virginia Employment Commission to waive the obligation to repay any overpayment if (i) the overpayment was made without fault on the part of the individual receiving benefits and (ii) requiring repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience. Conditions for when overpayments are considered “without fault on the part of the individual” are outlined in the bill.
The bill further provides that the Commission shall notify each person with an unpaid overpayment of benefits that he may be entitled to a waiver of repayment and provide 30 days to request such a waiver. This applies to outstanding overpayments established for claim weeks commencing on or after March 15, 2020. The bill allows the Commission to suspend or forgo referring any unpaid overpayment of benefits established since March 15, 2020, to the collections process indefinitely. The bill specifies that all costs that result from implementing provisions of the bill shall be incurred by federal administrative grants and the general fund.
Finally, the bill adds overpayments that the Commission has waived the requirement to repay to the list of situations where specific employers are not responsible for benefit charges.
SB 382 – Unemployment compensation; collection of overpayments; limitations
Provides that collection activities for an overpayment, provided that such overpayment was not caused by fraud on the part of the claimant, shall be suspended and that the Virginia Employment Commission shall determine as uncollectable and discharge the overpayment if it remains unpaid after the earliest of the following: (i) after the expiration of three years from the last day of the benefit year in which the overpayment was made, (ii) immediately upon the death of the claimant, or (iii) upon the claimant’s discharge in bankruptcy occurring subsequently to the determination of payment
Workers Comp
HB 205 – Workers’ compensation; prompt payment, limitation on claims
Prohibits an employer or workers’ compensation carrier from seeking recovery of a payment made to a health care provider for health care services rendered to a claimant, unless such recovery is sought less than one year from the date payment was made to the health care provider. Under current law, such prohibition only applies to services rendered after July 1, 2014.
The bill also prohibits a health care provider from submitting a claim to the Workers’ Compensation Commission contesting the sufficiency of payment for health care services rendered to a claimant unless such claim is filed within one year of the date the last payment is received by the health care provider. Under current law, such prohibition only applies to services rendered after July 1, 2014.
HB 531 and SB 520– Workers’ compensation; injuries caused by repetitive and sustained physical stressors
Provides that, for the purposes of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act, “occupational disease” includes injuries or diseases from conditions resulting from repetitive and sustained physical stressors, including repetitive and sustained motions, exertions, posture stresses, contact stresses, vibrations, or noises. The bill provides that such injuries or diseases are covered under the Act and that such coverage does not require that such repetitive or sustained physical stress occurred over a particular time period, provided that the time period over which such physical stress occurred can be reasonably identified.
HB 974 – Workers’ compensation; presumption that certain injuries arose out of employment
Provides that in any claim for workers’ compensation, where the employee suffers an unexplained fall in the course of employment, it shall be presumed that the fall arose out of the employment, unless such presumption is overcome by a preponderance of competent evidence to the contrary.
HB 1300 – ‘Occupational disease’ defined
Similar to repetitive motion workers comp bill.
SB 241 – Workers’ compensation; notice of right to dispute claim
Requires that when an employee’s workers’ compensation claim is denied, an employer or insurer shall include in its letter denying benefits a notice that the employee has a right to dispute the claim denial through the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Product Ban
HB 47 – Invasive plant species; requirements for retail sales
Requires, for the retail sale of any invasive plant species on a list established by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, such plant be accompanied by conspicuous signage that identifies the plant as invasive and includes the words “Plant with caution: invasive plant species. May cause environmental harm. Ask about alternatives.”
SB 306 – Invasive plant species; retail sales; civil penalty
Requires, for the retail sale of any invasive plant species for outdoor use on a list established by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, such plant be accompanied by conspicuous signage that identifies the plant as invasive. The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to designate the format, size, and content of such signage no later than October 1, 2024, and requires the Commissioner to issue a stop sale order and mark or tag a plant in a conspicuous manner when an invasive plant is for sale at a retail outlet without appropriate signage. In such case, the bill requires the Commissioner to give written notice of a finding made to the owner, tenant, or person in charge of such retail outlet and requires the stop sale order issued to remain in effect until the required signage is posted. Any person who violates the provisions of the bill is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500.
HB 644 and SB 305 – Local prohibition or regulation of gas-powered leaf blowers; civil penalty
Provides that any locality may by ordinance prohibit or regulate the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. The ordinance may include provisions for a civil penalty.
HB 985 – High polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pavement sealants; prohibition; civil penalty
Prohibits the sale or distribution of any pavement sealant that contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations greater than one percent by weight on or after July 1, 2024, except that a retailer may continue to sell any existing inventory that remains in stock on that date. The bill also prohibits the application or use of such sealants on or after July 1, 2025. Any person who violates either prohibition is subject to a civil penalty of $250, to be paid into the Virginia Environmental Emergency Response Fund.
HB 1167 – Local prohibition on the sale of English ivy; civil penalty
Authorizes any locality to adopt an ordinance prohibiting the sale of English ivy, with violations punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $50 for a first violation and not to exceed $200 for a subsequent violation within 12 months.
Budget
Tobacco
HB 790 – Registration of tobacco products retailers; purchase, possession, and sale of retail tobacco
Prohibits any person from selling any retail tobacco product, as defined in the bill, at retail without first obtaining a permit from the Department of Taxation and prohibits such sale at a location within 1,000 feet of a youth-oriented facility, as defined in the bill. The bill prohibits Internet sales of retail tobacco products, except to a permit-holding retailer, and prohibits the sale of retail tobacco products from vending machines. Under the bill, permits are subject to annual renewal and subject to revocation for violations of federal, state, or local laws related to tobacco products. The bill imposes recordkeeping requirements and makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to engage in fraud or misrepresentation in connection with an application for a permit.
The bill updates, for the purpose of the crime of selling or distributing tobacco products to a person younger than 21 years of age, the definition of “retail tobacco products” by including in such definition products currently defined as “nicotine vapor products” or “alternative nicotine vapor products.” The bill also removes provisions prohibiting the attempt to purchase, the purchase, or the possession of tobacco products by persons younger than 21 years of age.
The bill provides that the punishment of a retail establishment that sells, gives, or furnishes a tobacco product to a person younger than 21 years of age or to a person who does not demonstrate that such person is at least 21 years of age is (i) a civil penalty of $1,000 for a first offense, (ii) a civil penalty of $5,000 for a second offense and a 30 day suspension of such establishment’s distributor’s license, and (iii) a civil penalty of $10,000, revocation of such license, and such distributor shall be ineligible to hold a license for a period of three years following the most recent violation. Under current law, such penalties apply only to the sale, distribution, or purchase of a bidi and do not require a suspension or revocation of the establishment’s distributor’s license, while violations involving all other products are punishable by a civil penalty of $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense, and $500 for a third or subsequent offense. The bill also removes the exception allowing the sale, giving, or furnishing of any tobacco product, nicotine vapor product, or alternative nicotine vapor product to active-duty military personnel who are 18 years of age or older. The bill requires the Department, in collaboration with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority and local law enforcement, to conduct a compliance check every 24 months on any retailer selling retail tobacco products and to use a person younger than 21 years of age to conduct such checks.
The bill also imposes a tax upon liquid nicotine in closed systems, as defined in the bill, at the rate of $0.066 per milliliter and upon liquid nicotine in open systems, as defined in the bill, at the rate of 20 percent of the wholesale price. The bill applies licensing requirements to manufacturers, distributors, and retail dealers of liquid nicotine and creates new safety requirements related to the advertising, marketing, and labeling of liquid nicotine and nicotine vapor products.
HB 947– Comprehensive plan; vape shops near schools
Requires a locality, during any amendment to its comprehensive plan that takes place after July 1, 2024, to incorporate into its comprehensive plan strategies to limit vape shops near schools for the purpose of reducing use of nicotine vapor products by youth.
HB 1018 – Powers of investigators; enforcement of certain tobacco laws.
Authorizes investigators with the Office of the Attorney General to seize cigarettes that are unlawfully sold, possessed, distributed, transported, imported, or otherwise held and to accompany and participate with special agents of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board or other law-enforcement officials engaging in an enforcement action involving counterfeit and unstamped cigarettes.
HB 1036 – Local tax authority; nicotine vapor products
Authorizes localities by ordinance to impose a sales and use tax on nicotine vapor products, defined in the bill to include liquid nicotine in closed and open systems, as such terms are defined in the bill, and includes directives for the administration and enforcement of any such ordinance. The bill also directs the Department of Taxation to consult with localities, the Virginia Association of Counties, and the Virginia Municipal League for implementing and administering such local taxation of nicotine vapor products.
HB 1069 and SB 550– Liquid nicotine and nicotine vapor products; certification and directory; penalties
Requires every manufacturer of liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor products that are sold in the Commonwealth to certify to the Attorney General that (i) the manufacturer has received a marketing authorization or similar order for the liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or (ii) (a) the liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product was marketed in the United States as of August 8, 2016, or (b) the manufacturer submitted a premarket tobacco product application for the liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product to the FDA on or before September 9, 2020, and such application either remains under review by the FDA or a final decision on the application has not otherwise taken effect. The bill requires a manufacturer to submit such a form for each liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product that such manufacturer sells in the Commonwealth. Under the bill, any manufacturer that falsely represents any of the information required by the certification requirement is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor for each false representation.
The bill requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain a directory that lists all liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product manufacturers and liquid nicotine and nicotine vapor products for which current and accurate certification forms have been submitted. The bill requires the Attorney General to remove or exclude from such directory any such product that is not in compliance and to notify the manufacturer of such noncompliance. The bill allows a 10-business-day period for a manufacturer to establish compliance. The bill requires that any such products that are removed from the list be removed from retail sale within 21 days or become subject to seizure and requires a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retail dealer to notify each purchaser of a removed product that it has been removed from the directory at the time of delivery of such product. The bill entitles such a purchaser to a refund of the purchase price and creates a cause of action to recover such refund.
The bill prohibits the sale, distribution, importation, or offer for sale of any liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product that is not listed in the directory. The bill provides for a civil penalty of $1,000 per day for each product offered for sale in violation of the bill’s provisions until the offending product is removed from the market or until the offending product is properly listed on the directory.
The bill requires any person that receives, stores, sells, handles, or transports liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor products to preserve all records relating to the purchase, sale, exchange, receipt, or transportation of all liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor products for a period of three years. The bill provides that all such records are subject to audit or inspection at any time by any duly authorized representative of the Attorney General. Any person who violates the recordkeeping provisions of the bill is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Additionally, the bill provides that the Department of Taxation, the Attorney General, any other law-enforcement agency of the Commonwealth, or any federal law-enforcement agency conducting a criminal investigation involving the trafficking of liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor products may access at any time such records. The bill requires the Department of Taxation to impose a penalty of $1,000 for each day that a person fails or refuses to allow or cooperate with an audit, inspection, or investigation of such records.
The bill authorizes the Attorney General, any attorney for the Commonwealth, or the attorney for any city, county, or town to cause an action to enjoin any violation of the provisions of the bill. The circuit courts are authorized by the bill to (i) issue temporary or permanent injunctions to restrain and prevent violations of the provisions of the bill and (ii) order forfeiture on any property seized for such a violation. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to issue a civil investigative demand.
Under the bill, any retailer and wholesaler that sells or distributes any liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product in the Commonwealth is subject to scheduled or unscheduled compliance checks carried out by the Attorney General for enforcement purposes.
The bill requires the Attorney General to provide an annual report to the General Assembly regarding the status of the directory, manufacturers and products included in the directory, and revenues and expenditures related to and enforcement activities undertaken pursuant to the requirements of the bill.
Finally, the bill makes a violation of its provisions a prohibited practice under the Consumer Protection Act.
HB 1090 – Prohibiting purchase or possession of tobacco products, etc.; persons under 21 years of age
Increases the civil penalty from $100 to $500 for a first violation, $200 to $1,000 for a second violation, and $500 to $2,500 for a third or subsequent violation by an individual or by a separate retail establishment that, for products other than a bidi, (i) sells to, distributes to, purchases for, or knowingly permits the purchase by any person less than 21 years of age, knowing or having reason to believe that such person is less than 21 years of age, any tobacco product, nicotine vapor product, alternative nicotine product, or hemp product intended for smoking or (ii) sells a tobacco product, nicotine vapor product, alternative nicotine product, or hemp product intended for smoking to any individual who does not demonstrate, by producing a driver’s license or similar photo identification issued by a government agency, that the individual is at least 21 years of age.
HB 1099 – Heated tobacco; taxation
Redefines “cigarette” for state cigarette tax purposes to include any product containing nicotine that is intended to be burned or heated under ordinary conditions of use. Under current law, heated tobacco products are distinct from cigarettes for the purpose of taxation. The bill also subjects such cigarettes intended to be heated to an excise tax of 2.25 cents per cigarette on and after July 1, 2021. Under current law, heated tobacco products are subject to the tobacco products tax at such rate.
HB 1119 – Local government powers; regulation of tobacco, nicotine, and hemp product retail sale locations
Permits localities to regulate by ordinance the location of retail sale locations established after July 1, 2024, that sell tobacco, nicotine, and hemp products. The bill provides that such ordinance may prohibit such retail sale locations within 1,000 linear feet of a public, private, or parochial school
HB 1240 – Sale of nicotine vapor product, alternative nicotine product, hemp product intended for smoking
Increases the civil penalties for the sale, distribution, purchase for, or permitting of the purchase by persons less than 21 years of age and the sale to an individual who does not demonstrate he is at least 21 years of age of any nicotine vapor product, alternative nicotine product, hemp product intended for smoking, or tobacco product other than a bidi from $100 to $500 for a first violation, from $200 to $1,000 for a second violation, and from $500 to $2,500 for a third or subsequent violation.
Employer Mandates
HB 370 – Employment; annual interactive training and education; harassment and workplace discrimination
Requires each employer with 50 or more employees, including the Commonwealth and its agencies, institutions, and political subdivisions, to provide annual interactive training and education regarding harassment and workplace discrimination, as both terms are defined in the bill, by July 1, 2025. The bill includes specific training and education requirements for supervisory and nonsupervisory employees, seasonal and temporary employees who are hired to work for less than six months, and migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. The training and education required under the bill must be provided by an educator or human resources professional with knowledge and expertise in the subject matter and must include a method for employees to electronically save a certificate of completion of such training and education. The bill requires the Department of Labor and Industry to make online courses for the required training available on its website beginning January 1, 2025.
HB 569 – Employment discrimination; employee notification of federal and state statute of limitations
Requires an employer who receives an employee complaint alleging sexual assault, harassment, or any other form of discrimination for which the employee may seek enforcement by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Office of the Attorney General to notify such employee that a charge may be filed with the EEOC or the Office of the Attorney General within 300 days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred. The bill also requires an employer to provide this information as part of any new employee training provided at the commencement of employment or anti-discrimination training provided to an employee.
HB 734 – Delivery network companies; portable benefit accounts
Requires a delivery network company, defined in the bill as a business entity that maintains an online-enabled application or platform used to facilitate delivery services, to contribute an amount equal to four percent of an eligible driver’s earnings in the immediately preceding quarter earned through that delivery network company. Additionally, the eligible driver may make voluntary contributions to the portable benefit account. The bill provides that a delivery driver is eligible for the portable benefit account if the driver earned $1,000 delivering in a quarter. Under the bill, funds in a portable benefit account may be used to (i) compensate for lost income due to (a) an illness or accident, (b) the birth or adoption of a child of the driver, (c) a state of emergency, or (d) an earnings loss; (ii) transfer funds to an individual retirement account; or (iii) cover expenses incurred for premiums for health insurance coverage in the individual market. The bill provides that a portable benefit account is exempt from taxation, and contributions to the portable benefit account are not included in the driver’s gross income. The bill requires the delivery network company to purchase insurance to cover medical expenses and lost income resulting from injuries suffered while the driver was engaged on a delivery network company’s online-enabled application or platform. Additionally, the bill prohibits a delivery network company from discriminating against drivers based on certain classes. The bill provides that delivery drivers are classified as independent contractors, notwithstanding the provision of benefits required by the bill. The bill also provides that jurisdiction in all matters concerning delivery network companies and app-based delivery drivers shall be exclusively vested in the state. Finally the bill provides that its provisions regarding the classification of delivery drivers as independent contractors are not severable.
HB 770 – Retaliatory action against employee prohibited; remedies available
Provides that a violation of certain provisions regarding retaliatory action against employees may be alleged in a court of competent jurisdiction within one year of the employer’s final prohibited retaliatory action. The bill states that in such cases, treble damages may be awarded if such violation was willful.
HB 924 – Transportation network companies; delivery network companies; publishing and disclosure requirement
Requires a transportation network company or delivery network company, defined in the bill, to publish on its public website and associated digital platform information about (i) the portion of each fare, in the aggregate, that goes to the TNC or DNC partner, defined in the bill, and to the transportation network company or delivery network company; (ii) on average, how much TNC partners and DNC partners work and earn; and (iii) the average amount of expenses TNC partners and DNC partners incur in the course of such work. The bill requires a transportation network company or delivery network company to disclose to TNC partners and DNC partners the use of any nonlinear compensation system, defined in the bill, and details about such companies’ deactivation process, defined in the bill, for TNC partners and DNC partners. The bill requires transportation network companies and delivery network companies to provide TNC partners and DNC partners with information regarding the fare and the amount they will be paid and the location or locations to which they will be driving on a trip prior to any requirement to accept or decline such trip.
HB 990 and SB 370– Prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees; wage or salary range
Prohibits a prospective employer from (i) seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee; (ii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is to be paid upon hire; (iii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment; (iv) refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote a prospective employee or otherwise retaliating against a prospective employee for not providing wage or salary history; and (v) failing or refusing to disclose in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity the wage, salary, or wage or salary range. The bill establishes a cause of action for an aggrieved prospective employee or employee and provides that an employer that violates such prohibitions is liable to the aggrieved prospective employee or employee for statutory damages between $1,000 and $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, reasonable attorney fees and costs, and any other legal and equitable relief as may be appropriate. The bill also provides for civil penalties for violations not to exceed $1,000 for a first violation, $2,000 for a second violation, and $4,000 for a third or subsequent violation.
HB 1098 – Unpaid family bereavement leave; civil penalty
Requires that an employer that employs 50 or more employees provide eligible employees, defined in the bill, with up to 10 days of unpaid family bereavement leave in any 12-month period to (i) attend the funeral or funeral equivalent of a covered family member; (ii) make arrangements necessitated by the death of a covered family member; (iii) grieve the death of a covered family member; or (iv) be absent from work due to (a) a miscarriage, (b) an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure, (c) a failed adoption match or an adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party, (d) a failed surrogacy agreement, (e) a diagnosis that negatively impacts pregnancy or fertility, or (f) a stillbirth. The bill requires the employee to provide notice of his intent to take the leave if reasonable and practicable and provides that an employer may require reasonable documentation of the death or event. The bill requires the employer to restore the employee’s position following the leave, to continue to provide coverage for the employee under any health benefit plan, and to pay the employee any commission earned prior to the leave. The bill prohibits the employer from taking retaliatory action against the employee for taking family bereavement leave. The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to enforce its provisions and provides for civil penalties for violations of its requirements.
HB 1258 – Employee protections; discipline for political activity or affiliations prohibited
Prohibits an employer from (i) directing the political activity or affiliations of an employee; (ii) discharging, disciplining, or discriminating against an employee for such employee’s lawful engagement or refusal to engage in any political activity or affiliations; and (iii) refusing to hire, employ, or license an individual on the basis of such individual’s political activity or affiliations. The bill provides exceptions to these requirements where an employer believes that such actions are required by statute, regulation, or other mandate, where a professional services contract permits an employer to limit the off-duty activities of an individual, and in the case of a religious exemption. A violation of the provisions of the bill may be subject to a civil action within one year of the employer’s prohibited retaliatory action.
SB 185 – E-Verify program; every employer to enroll in program by January 1, 2025
Requires every employer to enroll in the E-Verify program by January 1, 2025, and to use the program for each newly hired employee who is to perform work within the Commonwealth. Under current law, only state agencies and certain employers with contracts with state agencies are required to use the program. The bill also requires the Attorney General to request the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, once each calendar quarter, to provide a list of agencies and employers that are enrolled and participate in the E-Verify program and to make such list available on the Attorney General’s website.
SB 485 – Employee protections; employer-sponsored meetings on political matters; civil action
Prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee (i) because such employee declines to attend or participate in an employer-sponsored meeting or receive an employer’s communications conveying an opinion about political matters, as defined in the bill; (ii) as a means of inducing an employee’s attendance at such meeting or receipt of such communications; or (iii) because the employee reports a suspected violation of the bill’s provisions. The bill permits an employee alleging a violation of the bill’s provisions to bring an action in civil court within 90 days after such violation occurs for appropriate relief, including injunctive relief, reinstatement, compensation for lost wages, benefits, and other remuneration, interest, and reasonable attorney fees and costs.
Transportation
HB 505 – Commercial driver’s license work group; DMV to convene a work group to develop & implement strategy
Department of Motor Vehicles; commercial driver’s license work group. Directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to convene a work group to develop and implement a statewide strategy to incentivize and promote the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses to qualified applicants in the Commonwealth.
HB 844 and SB 353– Commercial driver’s licenses and commercial learner’s permits; definitions; commercial driver
Conforms the definition of commercial motor vehicle to federal regulations; codifies the entry-level driver training system required by federal regulations; and removes contradictory provisions. The bill also prohibits the issuance or continued validity of commercial driver’s licenses and commercial learner’s permits after a drug or alcohol violation by the applicant, licensee, or permittee. This bill includes technical amendments.
Paid Leave
HB 256 and SB 507– Health care providers & grocery store workers; employers to provide paid sick leave, effective date
Requires employers to provide paid sick leave to health care providers and grocery store workers. Under current law, employers are only required to provide paid sick leave to certain home health workers. The bill removes requirements that workers work on average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month to be eligible for paid sick leave. The bill provides that certain health care providers may waive their right to accrue and use paid sick leave and provides an exemption for employers of certain other health care providers. The bill requires the Department of Labor and Industry to develop guidelines for retail employers that sell groceries to provide sick leave and to publish such guidelines by December 1, 2024. The provisions of the bill other than the requirement for the Department of Labor and Industry to develop guidelines have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.
HB 348 – Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties
Expands provisions of the Code that currently require one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked for home health workers to cover all employees of private employers and state and local governments. The bill requires that employees who are employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis accrue paid sick leave in accordance with regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. The bill provides that employees transferred to a separate division or location remain entitled to previously accrued paid sick leave and that employees retain their accrued sick leave under any successor employer. The bill allows employers to provide a more generous paid sick leave policy than prescribed by its provisions. Employees, in addition to using paid sick leave for their physical or mental illness or to care for a family member, may use paid sick leave for their need for services or relocation due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.
The bill provides that certain health care workers who work no more than 30 hours per month may waive the right to accrue and use paid sick leave. The bill also provides that employers are not required to provide paid sick leave to certain health care workers who are employed on a pro re nata, or as-needed, basis, regardless of the number of hours worked. The bill requires the Commissioner to promulgate regulations regarding employee notification and employer recordkeeping requirements.
The bill authorizes the Commissioner, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation. The Commissioner may institute proceedings on behalf of an employee to enforce compliance with the provisions of this bill. Additionally, an aggrieved employee is authorized to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid sick leave and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer’s violation. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.
HB 737 and SB 373– Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements, civil action
Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2027. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. Funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning January 1, 2026. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee’s average weekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program.
Consumer Protection/Privacy
HB 707 – Consumer Data Protection Act; protections for children
Prohibits a data controller from processing personal data of a known child (i) for the purposes of targeted advertising, the sale of such personal data, or profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning a consumer; (ii) for any processing purpose other than the processing purpose that the controller disclosed at the time such controller collected such personal data or that is reasonably necessary for and compatible with such disclosed purpose unless such processing is reasonably necessary to provide an online service, product, or feature; or (iii) for any processing purpose without first obtaining consent from the child’s parent or legal guardian.
The bill prohibits a data controller from collecting precise geolocation data from a known child unless: (a) such precise geolocation data is reasonably necessary for the controller to provide such online service, product, or feature; (b) the controller provides to the known child a signal indicating that such controller is collecting such precise geolocation data; and (c) the controller obtains consent from the child’s parent or legal guardian.
Additionally, the bill requires each data controller that, on or after January 1, 2025, offers any online service, product, or feature directed to consumers whom such controller has actual knowledge are children to conduct a data protection assessment for such online service, product or feature that addresses (1) the purpose of such online service, product, or feature,; (2) the categories of known children’s personal data that such online service, product, or feature processes,; and (3) the purposes for which such controller processes known children’s personal data with respect to such online service, product, or feature.
HB 744 – Consumer protection; automatic renewal or continuous service offers
Requires a supplier making automatic renewal or continuous service offers that automatically renew after more than 30 days and extend the automatic renewal or continuous service offer for more than a period of 12 months to notify the consumer of the option to cancel no less than 30 days and no more than 60 days before the cancellation deadline or the end of the current contract term.
HB 821 and SB 432– Consumer Data Protection Act; protections for children
Requires a controller or processor to obtain verifiable parental consent, defined in the bill, prior to registering any child with the operator’s product or service or before collecting, using, or disclosing such child’s personal data and prohibits a controller from knowingly processing the personal data of a child for purposes of (i) targeted advertising, (ii) the sale of such personal data, or (iii) profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning a consumer. The bill also amends the definition of child for purposes of the Consumer Data Protection Act to include any natural person younger than 18 years of age.
HB 1280 – Consumer protection; failure to honor service warranty
Prohibits a supplier in connection with a consumer transaction from failing to honor a service warranty of another supplier after acquiring the business of such other supplier. A violation of the provisions of the bill constitutes a violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
HB 1320 and SB 388– Virginia Consumer Protection Act; prohibited practices; mandatory fees disclosure
Prohibits a supplier in connection with a consumer transaction from advertising, displaying, or offering any pricing information for goods or services without prominently displaying the total price, which shall include all mandatory fees or charges other than taxes imposed.
SB 164 – Virginia Consumer Protection Act; prohibited practices, artificial intelligence disclosure.
Prohibits the dissemination or sale of an item created with artificial intelligence technology that contains a videographic or still image intending to depict an actual person or an audio or audio-visual recording intending to depict the voice of an actual person where the creator has not disclosed the use of artificial intelligence technology.
SB 252 – Consumer Data Protection Act; controller privacy notice; cookies; consumer consent
Requires the privacy notice that a controller must provide to consumers to include a method by which a consumer may opt out of the automatic placement of a data file, commonly referred to as a “cookie,” on the consumer’s computer or web browser and a disclosure of the purposes for which the data files are used. The bill prohibits controllers from using cookies, except those that are strictly necessary, without the prior express consent of the consumer and prohibits controllers from preventing access to their services if such consent is not granted. The bill also requires controllers to document and store proof of such consent and make available an easily accessible method by which consumers may withdraw such consent.
SB 353 – Consumer Data Protection Act; protections for children
Prohibits operators, defined in the bill, of websites, online services, or online or mobile applications from collecting or using the personal data of users they know are younger than the age of 18 without consent and prohibits the sale or disclosure of the personal data of such users.
Small Business
HB 716 – Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; disparity study
Requires the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to conduct a disparity study every five years, the next due no later than January 1, 2026. The study shall evaluate the need for enhancement and remedial measures to address the disparity between the availability and the utilization of women-owned and minority-owned businesses.
HB 897 – Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; guidance to small businesses; identification
Requires the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to develop and provide guidance to businesses with newly approved permits and established businesses regarding responsibilities and requirements for maintaining such business that includes information identifying any regularly occurring required report to a state agency and any associated fees, penalties, or waivers.
The bill requires each state agency to annually report any enforcement action taken by the agency against a small business in the previous calendar year that specifies each infraction and the enforcement action taken by the agency. The bill requires the Department to post de-identified aggregated data by state agency and infraction type from such reports on its website.
The bill requires the Department to convene a work group to identify and recommend means to provide relief to small businesses regarding regularly occurring required reports to state agencies. The work group is required to identify each such report and consider (i) if such report can be required less frequently or eliminated; (ii) if the required information has not changed since the previous report, allowing the small business to satisfy the reporting requirement by indicating that there has been no change; (iii) establishing a waiver or lowering the threshold to qualify for an existing waiver; (iv) reducing or eliminating any penalty for noncompliance; and (v) any other means to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses. The Department is required to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by November 1, 2024.
ABC
HB 307 – Alcoholic beverage control; exemption from licensure person who manufactures spirits at residence
Exempts from the licensure requirements of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act any person who, after being granted a permit by the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to keep, store, or possess any still or distilling apparatus for the purpose of distilling alcohol, manufactures at his residence for domestic consumption spirits in an amount not to exceed (i) 100 gallons per year if there are two or more persons 21 years of age or older residing in the residence or (ii) 50 gallons per year if there is only one person 21 years of age or older residing in the residence.
HB 522 and SB 182– Alcoholic beverage control; advertisements
Directs the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to promulgate regulations that prescribe the terms and conditions under which manufacturers, brokers, importers and wholesalers may advertise and promote alcoholic beverages via the Internet, social media, direct-to-consumer electronic communication, or other electronic means.
HB 688 and SB 635– Alcoholic beverage control; sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premise
Repeals the July 1, 2024, sunset on provisions that allow (i) distillers that have been appointed as agents of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, mixed beverage restaurant licensees, and limited mixed beverage restaurant licensees to sell mixed beverages for off-premises consumption and (ii) farm winery licensees to sell pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption. The bill also repeals, effective July 1, 2026, third-party delivery licenses. The bill requires the Authority to convene a work group to review third-party delivery licenses and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 15, 2024.
HB 1050 – Alcoholic beverage control; confectionery mixed beverage retail license
Alcoholic beverage control; confectionery mixed beverage retail license. Creates a confectionery mixed beverage retail license that authorizes the licensee to prepare and sell on the licensed premises for on-and-off premises consumption confectionery that contains five percent or less alcohol by volume. The bill provides that any alcohol contained in such confectionery shall not be in liquid form at the time of sale, unless such confectionery is a frozen dessert, as defined in the bill. The bill also sets the state and local license fee for such confectionery license and repeals the provisions of alcoholic beverage control law that created an off-premises wine and beer confectionery license.
HB 1298 – Retail licenses
SB 168 – Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio
Reduces the current 45 percent food-to-beverage ratio for certain mixed beverage licensees. The bill requires that a mixed beverage restaurant, caterer’s, or limited caterer’s licensee meet or exceed the following: (i) for such licensees with monthly food sales of at least $4,000 but less than $10,000, the food-to-beverage ratio shall be 35 percent and (ii) for such licensees with monthly food sales of at least $10,000, there shall be no food-to-beverage ratio requirement imposed.
SB 180 – Alcoholic beverage control
SB 317 – Alcoholic beverage control; farm winery licenses; requirements and privileges
Exempts from certain requirements imposed on farm winery licensees by prior legislation persons that hold a farm winery license that was granted on or before July 1, 2020, and has continuously remained valid and active subsequent to its issuance if requested by such licensee. Such requirements relate to the characteristics of and tasks to be performed on the licensed premises, license qualifications, manufacturing and sale requirements and limitations, and utilization of contract winemaking services.
SB 416 – Alcoholic beverage control; tied house exception
Allows a manufacturer, bottler, broker, importer, or wholesaler to sponsor or provide support, including equipment, staff, financial, and other support, for a special event for which a nonprofit organization has been issued a banquet license and partners with a governmental entity that holds a mixed beverage caterer’s license, provided that the mixed beverage caterer’s license held by the governmental entity is not used in coordination with such special event.
Cannabis
HB 149, SB 391, and SB 529 – Employee protections; medicinal use of cannabis oil
Amends the provision that prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee for such employee’s lawful use of cannabis oil pursuant to a valid written certification issued by a practitioner for the treatment or to eliminate the symptoms of the employee’s diagnosed condition or disease, with certain exceptions, by specifying that such use must conform to the laws of the Commonwealth and by excluding the employees of the Commonwealth and other public bodies from such protections.
HB 448 – Marijuana presumption; driving or operating a motor vehicle, etc., while intoxicated, penalty
Establishes a presumption of intoxication if a person has a blood concentration equal to or greater than 0.004 milligrams of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per liter of blood.
HB 698 and SB 423 – Cannabis control; retail market; penalties
Establishes a framework for the creation of a retail marijuana market in the Commonwealth, to be administered by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. The bill allows the Authority to begin issuing all marijuana licenses on July 1, 2025; however, the bill allows certain pharmaceutical processors to begin operations on July 1, 2024, and allows a limited number of other licensees to begin operations on January 1, 2025.
HJ 63 – Study; Virginia Cannabis Control Authority; creation of a retail cannabis market; report
Requests the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to study the creation of a retail cannabis market in the Commonwealth and draft regulations governing the indoor cultivation, processing, manufacturing, testing, packaging, labeling, distribution, sale, and delivery of cannabis. The resolution requires that such regulations include (i) appropriate application and license fees; (ii) reasonable restrictions on cannabis advertising; (iii) restrictions on product size and potency; (iv) transaction limits; (v) comprehensive enforcement mechanisms; (vi) provisions regarding tax collection and revenue allocation; (vii) provisions regarding participation in the retail marijuana market by persons in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities; and (viii) any other restrictions or requirements necessary to protect public health and safety, prevent diversion, and enforce regulated sales. The resolution requires the Authority to include certain persons in its study and to submit its executive summaries and reports to the General Assembly by the first day of the 2026 Session of the General Assembly.
SB 448 – Cannabis control; retail market; penalties
Establishes a framework for the creation of a retail marijuana market in the Commonwealth, which would be administered by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. The bill allows the Authority to begin issuing marijuana licenses on July 1, 2024, but provides that no marijuana sales may occur prior to January 1, 2025.
Energy
HB 106 – Shared solar programs; amends existing program provisions to apply to Dominion Energy Virginia
Amends existing shared solar program provisions for Dominion Energy Virginia (Phase II Utility). The bill provides that a customer’s net bill for participation in the shared solar program means the resulting amount a customer must pay the utility after the bill credit, defined in relevant law, is deducted from the customer’s monthly gross utility bill. The bill requires the State Corporation Commission to establish a minimum bill, below which a subscriber’s net bill cannot go, that is calculated based on the amount of kilowatt-hours billed by the utility.
The bill also changes the shared solar program capacity to at least 10 percent of each utility’s adjusted Virginia peak load and requires the Commission’s regulations to allow for program participation by all jurisdictional and nonjurisdictional customer classes.
Under the bill, co-location of two or more shared solar facilities is permitted for shared solar program participation if the facilities are located on a single parcel of land or on adjacent parcels of land for facilities up to five megawatts. The bill requires the Commission to (i) establish regulations that prohibit early termination fees and credit reporting for low-income customers, (ii) require net financial savings for subscribers relative to the subscription fee, (iii) require a customer’s affirmative consent before providing customer billing and usage data to a subscriber organization, and (iv) establish customer engagement rules. Under the bill, any net crediting fee imposed by the shared solar program shall not exceed one percent of the bill credit value and shall be charged to the subscriber organization. The bill also provides that a utility is permitted to seek recovery of bill credit costs in its triennial base review only if such costs would result in the utility being unable to meet its revenue requirement after accounting for all avoided costs that can be realized by ratepayers.
The bill specifies that the Commission shall update its shared solar program consistent with the requirements of the bill by January 1, 2025, and shall require each utility to file any associated tariffs, agreements, or forms necessary for implementing the program by July 1, 2025. Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Energy to convene a stakeholder work group to determine the amounts and forms of project incentives for (a) projects located on rooftops, brownfields, or landfills; (b) projects that are dual-use agricultural facilities; or (c) projects that satisfy another category as established by the Department and to submit a written report to the Chairs of the House Committee on Commerce and Energy and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor no later than November 30, 2024.
HB 117 and SB 346– Net energy metering; solar interconnection, cost recovery
Provides that an electric distribution company shall pay 33 cents ($0.33) per kilowatt-hour per day for the costs of lost electricity production for any and all delays beyond the regulatory notice period required by State Corporation Commission related to net energy metering. The bill requires that, for the purposes of net energy metering, an eligible customer-generator shall bear all reasonable costs of equipment required at the eligible customer-generator’s premises for the interconnection to the supplier’s electric distribution system, including commercially reasonable costs of additional controls, tests, or liability insurance. Additionally, the bill allows for cost recovery by Phase I and Phase II Utilities for electric distribution grid transformation projects that support the interconnection of generating facilities using energy derived from sunlight that are owned or contracted by eligible customer-generators, subject to the Commission finding those costs to be reasonable and prudent in accordance with existing law.
HB 119 – Electric utilities; clarifies definition of energy efficiency programs
Adds electrification to the definition of “energy efficiency program” for the purposes of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act, provided that the electrification measures reduce total onsite energy consumption and, to the maximum extent practical, seek to utilize federally authorized customer rebates for heat pump technology.
HB 402 – Electric utilities; retail competition for purchase and sale of electric energy, etc.
Electric utilities; retail competition; flexible load amounts. Provides that, for the purposes of retail competition for the purchase and sale of electric energy, certain large individual retail customers shall be permitted to purchase any portion of their electric energy, up to 100 percent, from a retail supplier licensed to sell retail electric energy in the Commonwealth, thereby providing for the purchase of flexible load amounts between a retail supplier and an incumbent electric utility.
HB 403 – Electric utilities; temporary power purchase agreements.
Provides that if the State Corporation Commission determines that, due to transmission constraints, a public utility is not able to furnish electric service sufficient to meet the current and reasonably anticipated requirements of a customer located in such public utility’s service territory, such customer shall be permitted to enter into a temporary power purchase agreement with a third party that shall be authorized to own and operate a facility generating zero-carbon electricity located on such customer’s site to serve part or all of such customer’s electric service requirements. Under the bill, such authorization shall extend for at least six years.
HB 469 and SB 152 – Electric utilities; retail competition, aggregated competitive purchasers
Creates a limited exception to the requirement that the State Corporation Commission must find that a petition for certain competitive purchasers to aggregate their demands to become qualified to purchase retail electric energy is consistent with the public interest in order for the Commission to approve such petition. The bill provides that a customer seeking such approval may remunerate the utility for any adverse effects to the incumbent utility or its remaining utility customers contrary to the public interest as determined by the Commission. The bill also provides that such customers shall not be denied permission to procure retail electric energy from a competitive supplier and that such remuneration fee shall be recalculated by the Commission on a triennial basis from when a customer commences a competitive service agreement.
HB 638 and SB 230– Electric utilities; energy efficiency programs, duty to implement the Energy Policy, etc.
Provides that “in the public interest” for the purpose of assessing energy efficiency programs means that the State Corporation Commission determines that the program is cost-effective and directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding no later than December 31, 2025, to establish a single, consistent cost-effectiveness test for use in evaluating proposed energy efficiency programs.
The bill provides (i) that “total electric energy” for purposes of the RPS Program requirements does not include energy sold to certain customers purchasing 100 percent renewable energy and (ii) that in any RPS program compliance year, any electric energy that was generated in the previous calendar year from certain nuclear generating plants, or any zero-carbon electric generating facilities, including small modular nuclear reactors and green hydrogen facilities, will reduce the utility’s RPS Program requirements by an equivalent amount.
The bill provides that the Commission and its staff have the affirmative duty to ensure the Commonwealth implements the Energy Policy of the Commonwealth at the lowest reasonable cost, taking into account all cost-effective demand-side management options and the security and reliability benefits of the regional transmission entity to which each incumbent electric utility has joined.
The bill requires that for certain required petitions by Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia for approvals to construct, acquire, or purchase the generating capacity using energy derived from sunlight or onshore wind, at least 35 percent of such generating capacity is from the purchases of energy from solar or onshore wind facilities owned by persons other than such utilities. Current law requires 35 percent of such generating capacity to be from the purchases of energy from solar or onshore wind facilities owned by persons other than such utilities.
HB 950 – Energy efficiency standards; more stringent energy efficiency requirements
Allows a locality by ordinance to create and require stretch codes, as defined in the bill, as energy efficiency standards that are in addition to or more stringent than those in the Uniform Statewide Building Code, and use them as an alternative means of compliance with a locality’s building requirements. The bill requires periodic review of the codes and allows the locality to make amendments.
HB 976 – Electric utilities; State Corporation Commission; energy policy of the Commonwealth
Requires the State Corporation Commission to ensure that the Commonwealth implements the energy policy of the Commonwealth, as defined by relevant law, at the lowest reasonable cost, taking into account all cost-effective demand-side management options and the security and reliability benefits of the regional transmission entity that each incumbent electric utility has joined. The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that plans, petitions, or proposals from utilities that do not ensure such implementation at the lowest reasonable cost are not in the public interest.
HB 1027 – Energy policy of the Commonwealth; state authority; legislative declaration
Declares that affordable, reliable, and secure energy resources are important to the health, safety, and welfare of the Commonwealth’s citizens and provides that the Commonwealth has a duty to defend the production and supply of affordable, reliable, and secure energy from external regulatory interference. Under the bill, if the State Corporation Commission or an electric utility, as defined in the bill, receives notice of any federal regulation that may threaten the production or supply of affordable, reliable, and secure energy within the Commonwealth, the Commission or such electric utility shall inform the Office of the Attorney General of such regulation within 30 days of the receipt of such notice. The bill requires the Office of the Attorney General to take any action necessary to defend the Commonwealth’s interest in the production and supply of affordable, reliable, and secure energy, including filing an action in court or participating in administrative proceedings.
HB 1334 – Energy Innovation Program; established
Establishes the Energy Innovation Program to foster the development of innovative energy projects by allowing Program participants to provide grid services or other beneficial energy measures. Under the Program, a participant, after obtaining State Corporation Commission approval, is not required to comply with specific state statutes and regulations pertaining to the generation, transmission, or distribution of electric energy for sale, except for those laws and regulations that are required for worker safety, public safety, or environmental protection, for a period of five years. The bill includes provisions for application requirements, an approval process, Program exit procedures, a test period extension process, suspension or revocation of Commission approval, consumer protections, Commission investigations, and recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
SB 137 – Electric utilities; SCC to ensure energy policy at lowest reasonable cost
Requires the State Corporation Commission to ensure that the Commonwealth implements the energy policy of the Commonwealth, as defined by relevant law, at the lowest reasonable cost, taking into account all cost-effective demand-side management options and the security and reliability benefits of the regional transmission entity that each incumbent electric utility has joined. The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that plans, petitions, or proposals from utilities that do not ensure such implementation at the lowest reasonable cost are not in the public interest.
SB 271 – Net energy metering
Provides that no contract, lease, or arrangement by which a third party owns, maintains, or operates an electrical generating facility on an eligible-customer generator’s property shall constitute the sale of electricity or cause the customer-generator or the third party to be considered an electric utility by virtue of participating in net energy metering. The bill prohibits an eligible customer-generator or eligible agricultural customer-generator from being required to provide proof of liability insurance or to purchase additional liability insurance as a condition of interconnection. The bill exempts eligible customer-generators and eligible agricultural customer-generators that operate a battery storage device of capacity commensurate with and equal to or greater than that of the electrical generating facility and in conjunction with the electrical generating facility from standby charges. The bill provides that any eligible customer-generator or eligible agricultural customer-generator may participate in demand response, energy efficiency, or peak reduction from dispatch of onsite battery service, provided that the compensation received is in exchange for a distinct service that is not already compensated by net metering credits for electricity exported to the electric distribution system or compensated by any other utility program or tariff.
SB 565 – Energy efficiency programs; incremental annual savings
Provides that it is in the public interest and the policy of the Commonwealth to deploy demand-side management programs and energy efficiency measures throughout the Commonwealth to achieve the greatest possible reductions in energy consumption. The bill permits the State Corporation Commission to increase or decrease an investor-owned electric utility’s combined rate of return based on the utility’s success in complying with energy efficiency program targets in existing law. Additionally, the bill states that “in the public interest,” for the purpose of assessing energy efficiency programs, means that the Commission determines that the program is cost-effective. The bill directs the Commission to promulgate regulations no later than December 31, 2024, establishing a single, consistent cost-effectiveness test for use in evaluating proposed energy efficiency programs. Finally, the bill requires the Commission to consider, as a factor in establishing performance based adjustments to the combined rate of return for an electric utility, the utility’s compliance with energy efficiency standards and to update ongoing proceedings to consider this factor no later than December 31, 2024. The provisions of the bill apply to any Commission proceeding that commenced on or after January 1, 2024.
Miscellaneous
HB 100 – Child labor offenses; increases civil penalties
Increases from $10,000 to $25,000 the civil penalty for each violation of child labor laws that results in the employment of a child who is seriously injured or dies in the course of employment. The bill also increases from $1,000 to $2,500 the civil penalty for each other violation of child labor laws and provides that such civil penalty shall not be less than $500.
HB 160 – Veterans; workplace poster for benefits and services
Directs the Department of Labor and Industry, in consultation with the Department of Veterans Services, to create a poster describing benefits and services available to veterans and allows employers to request and display such poster in the workplace. The bill enumerates a minimum group of resources the poster shall include, including (i) Department of Veterans Services’ programs, contact information, and website address; (ii) substance abuse and mental health treatment resources; (iii) educational, workforce, and training resources; (iv) tax benefits; (v) eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits; (vi) legal services; and (vii) the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Crisis Line.
HB 474 – Restroom Access Act; civil liability
Requires a retail establishment that does not have a public restroom but has an employee toilet facility to allow any customer with an eligible medical condition, defined in the bill as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, or any other medical condition that requires immediate access to a toilet facility, to use such employee toilet facility during normal business hours if certain conditions are met. A customer who suffers loss as a result of a violation may bring an action to recover damages not to exceed $100.
HB 484 – Consumer fireworks; authorizes use, penalties
Authorizes the use of consumer fireworks in the Commonwealth and distinguishes by definition consumer fireworks from display fireworks and permissible fireworks. The bill defines “consumer fireworks” as small fireworks devices (i) containing restricted amounts of pyrotechnic composition designed primarily to produce visible or audible effects by combustion and (ii) complying with certain federal regulations regarding composition and labeling. The bill also provides that the storage and transportation of consumer fireworks are to be considered the same hazard class as the storage and transportation of 1.4G explosives under the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (SFPC) and Uniform Statewide Building Code. The bill excludes from the provisions of the SFPC, unless prohibited by a local ordinance, (a) the sale of permissible or consumer fireworks; (b) any person using, igniting, or exploding permissible or consumer fireworks on residential or agricultural property with the consent of the owner of such property; or (c) such permissible or consumer fireworks when they are being transported from a locality where they were legally obtained to a locality where they are legally permitted. Current law only excludes sale of permissible fireworks or the use of such fireworks on private property. The bill also directs 10 percent of the sales and use tax revenue generated by the local sales and tax use on the sale of consumer or permissible fireworks to be allocated to a special fund used solely for providing funding for first responders, as defined in the bill. The bill contains technical amendments.
HB 633 – Labor trafficking; forced labor or service; penalties
Provides that any person who knowingly provides or obtains the labor or services of a person by means of (i) force, threats of force, physical restraint, or threats of physical restraint to that person or another person; (ii) serious harm, as defined in the bill, or threats of serious harm to that person or another person; (iii) the abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process, as defined in the bill; or (iv) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause the person to believe that if that person did not perform such labor or services that person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint is guilty of labor trafficking. The bill also provides that any person who knowingly benefits from participation in a venture that has engaged in labor trafficking is guilty of receiving money from labor trafficking. The bill provides that a violation of labor trafficking or receiving money from labor trafficking is punishable as a Class 4 felony; however, any adult who commits an act of labor trafficking or receiving money from labor trafficking with a person under the age of 18 is guilty of a Class 3 felony. The bill also creates a civil cause of action against individuals who engage in labor trafficking or who receive money from labor trafficking and adds labor trafficking and receiving money from labor trafficking to provisions of the Code defining racketeering and as a barrier crime from caring for children or the elderly or disabled, among other provisions listed in the bill.
HB 782 and HB 1329– Virginia Human Rights Act; dual-filed civil actions
Clarifies timelines for dual-filing complaints alleging unlawful discrimination under the Virginia Human Rights Act and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The bill allows either the complainant or the respondent for any charge of discrimination to request a notice of the right to file a civil action after the Commission has closed its file on such charge of discrimination.
HB 954 – Virginia Human Rights Act; prohibits discrimination on the basis of citizenship or immigration
Adds citizenship or immigration status to the classes protected from unlawful discrimination in the Virginia Human Rights Act.
HB 1035 – Places of public accommodation; possession and administration of epinephrine
Permits every place of public accommodation, defined in relevant law as all places or businesses offering or holding out to the general public goods, services, privileges, facilities, advantages, or accommodations, to make epinephrine available for administration and permits any employee of such place of public accommodation who is authorized by a prescriber and trained in the administration of epinephrine to possess and administer epinephrine to a person present in such place of public accommodation believed in good faith to be having an anaphylactic reaction. Current law limits such permission to every public place, defined in relevant law as any enclosed, indoor area used by the general public, and any employee of such public place.
HB 1165 – Rights of persons with disabilities; definitions
Adds definitions related to the rights of persons with disabilities to relevant law. The bill defines “path of travel,” “place of public accommodation,”” “public entity,” “private entity,” and “readily achievable.” The bill requires places of public accommodation to ensure that barriers to accessibility are removed when the removal is readily achievable.
HB 1216 – Employee Child Care Assistance Program and Fund; established
Establishes the Employee Child Care Assistance Program and Fund to provide matching funds to in order to incentivize employers to contribute to the child care costs of their employees. To participate in the program, an employer is required to enter into an agreement with its employee and an eligible mixed-delivery provider, defined in the bill, to make child care contributions to the eligible mixed-delivery provider on behalf of the employee, and the Department of Education will issue a state match directly to such eligible mixed-delivery provider or to a third-party administrator. The bill provides that the state match shall not exceed 100 percent of the employer contribution made by an employer on behalf of an employee whose annual gross wages are equal to or less than the local median household income, defined in the bill, and shall not exceed 80 percent of the employer contribution made by an employer on behalf of an employee whose annual gross wages are greater than the local median household income. The bill requires that 25 percent of the Fund be used to provide state matching funds for employees of small businesses.
HB 1301 – Virginia Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act; definitions
Provides that for the purposes of the Virginia Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act, “consumer transaction” includes transactions involving the advertisement, sale, lease, license, or offering for sale, lease, or license of employment services to be provided or procured for business purposes. The bill also amends the definition of “time of disaster” to mean the longer of (i) the period of time when a state of emergency declared by the Governor or the President of the United States as the result of a disaster, emergency, or major disaster is in effect or (ii) 30 days after the occurrence of the disaster, emergency, or major disaster that resulted in the declaration of the state of emergency. Under current law, the definition of “time of disaster” means the shorter of the time periods specified in clauses (i) and (ii).
SB 214 – Corporation, limited liability company, etc.; service of garnishment summons
Requires a summons for garnishment against a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, financial institution, or other entity authorized to do business in the Commonwealth to be served on the garnishment designee, as that term is defined in the bill, of such corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, financial institution, or other entity, unless such garnishment designee is also the judgment debtor. The bill also provides alternative methods of service if the judgment creditor certifies that such corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, financial institution, or other entity has no garnishment designee, such garnishment designee cannot be found at the designated address, or such garnishment designee is also the judgment debtor.
SB 350 – Virginia Human Rights Act; right to sue
Permits a complainant who has not received a notice of the right to file a civil action from the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Law or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as requested after 180 days have passed from the date the complaint was filed to commence a timely civil action in an appropriate general district or circuit court having jurisdiction over the person who allegedly unlawfully discriminated against the complainant.
SB 570 – Virginia Human Rights Act; definitions of “person” and “employer.”
Waives the Commonwealth’s sovereign immunity to a civil action under the definition of “person” in relevant law and makes the waiver retroactive to July 1, 2020. The bill also expands the definition of “employer” as it relates to the requirement to provide reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities under the Virginia Human Rights Act to include any government or political subdivision, or agent of such government or political subdivision, employing more than five employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. The bill also reduces the number of employees from 15 to six for the definition of employer of domestic workers.
SB 634 – State Corporation Commission; powers and duties
Provides that in proceedings before the State Corporation Commission, the Commission shall consider public safety, the economy of the Commonwealth, the promotion of workforce development for residents of the Commonwealth, and the maintenance of fair labor standards for workers employed by public service companies and their contractors.
