The Second week of the 2024 Legislative Session kicked off to a quick start. Committees and subcommittees are beginning to hear bills. The upcoming weeks will see frenetic action as both the House and Senate ramp up to address all of their respective bills before Crossover, February 13th, which is the last day for bills to be considered in the chamber where they originated.
During the Senate session on Wednesday, Senator Tammy Brankley Mulchi (R-Mecklenburg) was sworn in. Sen. Mulchi was elected in a special election following the retirement of longtime Senator Frank Ruff (R-Clarksville). Her swearing in brings the total partisan balance in the State Senate to 21-19 with Democrats in the majority.
Friday marked the last day for legislators to submit legislation for this session. The total number of bills introduced is 2,464. Democrats have a narrow majority in both the House and Senate and Governor Younkin is a Republican, therefore this legislative session will require compromise and bipartisanship from both the Governor and the leaders in the General Assembly to accomplish their goals because of the power split here in Virginia.
Full Breakdown of Legislation
Below you will find a breakdown of legislation that was acted on over the last week. Your Virginia Retail Federation team will continue to keep you informed throughout the 2024 Session on all issues that impact your business.
Sales Tax Holiday | Minimum Wage | Tipped Wage | Employer Mandates | ORC/Larceny | ABC | Cannabis | Workers Comp | Transportation | Product Ban | Tobacco | Miscellaneous
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Sales Tax Holiday
HB 25 and SB 116 - Retail sales and use tax holiday; establishes an annual tax holiday that takes place in August.
- Senate version passed the Senate 37-Y 0-N (there is now a sunset of 2030 in this version).
- House version reported from House Finance Committee 12-Y 0-N and is now on the House Floor.
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.
Minimum Wage
HB 1 and SB 1– Minimum wage; increases wage to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025
- House version reported from Labor and Commerce Committee on a party line vote of 12-Y 10-N, and was referred to House Appropriations
- Senate version reported from Commerce and Labor Committee on a party line vote of 9-Y 6-N, and was referred to Senate Finance and Appropriations
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.
Tipped Wage
HB 335 – Employment; determining wage of tipped employee
- House Labor and Commerce Subcommittee recommended reporting 5-Y 3-N
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.
Employer Mandates
HB 370 – Employment; annual interactive training and education; harassment and workplace discrimination
- House Labor and Commerce Subcommittee recommended laying on the table (defeated) 7-Y 1-N
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.
ORC/Larceny
HB 399 – Larceny; punishment for conviction of second or subsequent misdemeanor, penalty
- House Courts Criminal Law Subcommittee recommended laying on the table (defeated) 5-Y 3-N
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.
SB 77 – Larceny; punishment for conviction of fourth or subsequent misdemeanor, penalty
- Senate Courts of Justice Committee passed by indefinitely (defeated) 8-Y 7-N
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.
ABC
SB 182– Alcoholic beverage control; advertisements
- Reported from Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services 15-Y 0-N
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.
SB 168 – Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio
- Reported from Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services 15-Y 0-N
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.
Cannabis
HB 149 Employee protections; medicinal use of cannabis oil
- House Labor and Commerce Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendments 8-Y 0-N
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.
Workers Comp
HB 205 – Workers’ compensation; prompt payment, limitation on claims
- House Labor and Commerce Subcommittee recommends reporting 8-Y 0-N
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.
Transportation
SB 353– Commercial driver’s licenses and commercial learner’s permits; definitions; commercial driver
- Reported from Senate Transportation with amendment 15-Y 0-N
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.
Product Ban
HB 47 – Invasive plant species; requirements for retail sales
- House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Subcommittee recommends reporting 6-Y 4-N
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
- Reported from Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources with Amendment 10-Y 1-N
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.
Tobacco
SB 550– Liquid nicotine and nicotine vapor products; certification and directory; penalties
- Reported from Senate Commerce and Labor with a substitute 14-Y 1-N and referred to Senate Finance and Appropriations
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.
Miscellaneous
HB 160 – Veterans; workplace poster for benefits and services
- House Labor and Commerce Subcommittee recommends reporting 8-Y 0-N
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.
