Summary: Property; duties of real estate settlement agents. Provides that the State Corporation Commission may share information collected from a settlement agent or agency regarding any errors and omissions or malpractice insurance policy or surety bond with any party to the real estate transaction in connection with the actions of such agent or agency arising out of a settlement.

Summary: Charitable gaming; permit requirement; permissible locations; use of proceeds; suspensions and revocations. The bill modifies the list of organizations that may conduct charitable gaming and requires such organizations to obtain a permit from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; however, the bill exempts certain organizations from the permit application and audit fees. The bill removes provisions that allowed an organization to exclude from its gross receipts proceeds from instant bingo, pull tabs, seal cards, and Texas Hold'em. The bill specifies the locations at which an organization may conduct bingo, network bingo, instant bingo, pull tabs, or seal cards. The bill prohibits the holding of a permit by a supplier or manufacturer that commits certain violations or offenses after July 1, 2021. The bill prohibits the Charitable Gaming Board from adjusting the percentage of gross receipts that an organization must use for religious, charitable, community, or educational purposes or for certain real property expenses until a study is completed by a joint subcommittee created in the bill.

Summary: Department of Veterans Services; Military Spouse Liaison; position created. Establishes the position of Military Spouse Liaison (the Liaison) in the Department of Veterans Services to conduct outreach and advocate on behalf of military spouses in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Liaison to report by December 1 of each year through the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services to the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, the Governor, and the General Assembly on the work of the Liaison and any legislative recommendations. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.

Summary: State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act; disclosure requirements; industrial development authorities and economic development authorities. Requires the executive director and members of each industrial development authority and economic development authority, as created by the Industrial Development and Revenue Bond Act, in a locality with a population in excess of 25,000 or in a region serving more than one locality that, in the aggregate, has a population in excess of 25,000 to file a Statement of Economic Interests (SOEI) with the clerk of the local governing body as a condition to assuming office and thereafter annually on or before February 1. Current law requires all executive directors and members of industrial development authorities and economic development authorities, as created by the Industrial Development and Revenue Bond Act, to file a SOEI.

Summary: Property Owners' Association Act; Condominium Act; use of electronic means for meetings and voting. Allows meetings of property owners' associations, boards of directors, unit owners' associations, executive boards, and committees to be held entirely or partially by electronic means, provided that the board of directors or executive board, as applicable, has adopted guidelines for the use of electronic means for such meetings. The bill requires that such guidelines ensure that persons accessing such meetings are authorized to do so and that persons entitled to participate in such meetings have an opportunity to do so. The bill grants authority for determining whether any such meeting may be held entirely or partially by electronic means to the board of directors or executive board, as applicable. Under current law, if a meeting of a board of directors or executive board is conducted by telephone conference or video conference, at least two members of the board of directors or executive board, as applicable, are required to be physically present at the meeting place included in the meeting notice. The bill amends the definition of "electronic means" to provide that meeting conducted by electronic means includes a meeting conducted via teleconference, videoconference, Internet exchange, or other electronic methods. The bill allows members of property owners' associations or unit owners' associations to vote at meetings of such associations by absentee ballot, and allows such members to vote in person, by proxy, or by absentee ballot by electronic means, provided that the board of directors or executive board, as applicable, has adopted guidelines for such voting. Finally, the bill provides that if a vote, consent, or approval required to be obtained by secret ballot is accomplished through electronic means, the electronic means shall protect the identity of the voter, and that if the electronic means cannot protect the identity of the voter, another means of voting shall be used.

Summary: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; tenant remedies for exclusion from dwelling unit, interruption of services, or actions taken to make premises unsafe. Provides that a general district court shall enter an order upon petition by a tenant that his landlord has (i) removed or excluded the tenant from the dwelling unit unlawfully, (ii) interrupted or caused the interruption of an essential service to the tenant, or (iii) taken action to make the premises unsafe for habitation. The bill allows entry of a preliminary order ex parte to require the landlord to allow the tenant to recover possession of the dwelling unit, resume any such interrupted essential service, or fix any willful actions taken by the landlord or his agent to make the premises unsafe for habitation if there is good cause to do so and the tenant made reasonable efforts to notify the landlord of the hearing. The bill requires that any ex parte order entered shall further indicate a date for a full hearing on the petition that is no later than 10 days from the initial hearing date. Finally, the bill provides that, at a full hearing on such petition and upon proper evidence presented, the tenant shall recover actual damages, the greater of $5,000 or four months' rent, and reasonable attorney fees.

Summary: Sports betting; technical amendments. Clarifies the types of events on which sports betting is allowed. The bill clarifies that a permit issued to a casino operator shall not count toward the maximum of 12 permits that the Director of the Virginia Lottery can issue and makes technical amendments related to the interaction between sports betting law and casino gaming law.

Summary: Virginia Freedom of Information Act; meetingsheld through electronic communication means during a state of emergency.Allows a public body, or a joint meeting thereof, to meet by electroniccommunication means without a quorum of the public body physicallyassembled at one location when a locality in which the public bodyis located has declared a local state of emergency, provided that(i) the catastrophic nature of the declared emergency makes it impracticableor unsafe to assemble a quorum in a single location and (ii) thepurpose of the meeting is to provide for the continuity of operations of the public body or the discharge of its lawful purposes, duties,and responsibilities. Under current law, public bodies may only meetin such manner when the Governor has declared a state of emergency,and only for the purpose of addressing the emergency. Finally, thebill requires public bodies meeting through electronic communicationmeans during a local or state declaration of a state of emergencyto (a) make arrangements for public access to such meeting throughelectronic communication means, including videoconferencing if alreadyused by the public body, and (b) provide the public with the opportunityto comment at such meetings when public comment is customarily received.

Summary: Charitable gaming; regulations; Texas Hold'em poker games. Clarifies that the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has specific authority to approve and regulate operators of both Texas Hold'em poker games and Texas Hold'em poker tournaments. The bill provides that a qualified organization may conduct both Texas Hold'em poker games and tournaments, but at no time shall a qualified organization be permitted to conduct more than three such games or tournaments simultaneously. Current law is unclear as to whether such organization may conduct Texas Hold'em poker games in addition to Texas Hold'em poker tournaments.

Summary: Department of Veterans Services; initiativesto reduce unemployment among veterans; comprehensive transition program.Requires the Department of Veterans Services to develop a comprehensiveprogram to assist military service members, veterans, and their spousesin making a successful transition from military to civilian life in Virginia. The program promotes strategies and services for connectingtransitioning service members, veterans, and spouses to local, regional,state, and federal employment resources in Virginia, including (i)skills and workforce assessments and (ii) internship and apprenticeship programs. The bill also requires that the program prioritize assistanceto military service members, veterans, and their spouses who havenot sought services from or do not qualify for services under certainfederal programs administered by the Commonwealth.

Summary: Charitable Gaming Board; regulations; electronic pull tabs. Prohibits the Charitable Gaming Board from promulgating regulations that prohibit the use of multiple video monitors or touch screens on an electronic pull tab device and provides that the use of electronic pull tab devices utilizing multiple video monitors or touchscreens shall be limited to one player at a time.

Summary: Alcoholic beverage control; sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption. Allows distillers that have been appointed as agents of the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (the Authority), mixed beverage restaurant licensees, and limited mixed beverage restaurant licensees to sell mixed beverages for off-premises consumption and deliver such mixed beverages to consumers subject to requirements set forth in the bill. The bill allows the Board to summarily revoke a licensee's privileges to sell and deliver mixed beverages for off-premises consumption for noncompliance with the requirements set forth in the bill or applicable provisions of current law. The bill also allows farm winery licensees to sell pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption. The bill directs the Authority to convene a work group to study the sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption and report its findings to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2021. The provisions of the bill sunset on July 1, 2022. This bill incorporates SB 1388.

Summary: Virginia Public Procurement Act; construction contracts; subcontractor workforce requirements. Requires all public bodies in a locality with a population in excess of 25,000 and covered institutions, defined in the bill, to include in every construction contract of more than $500,000 certain provisions related to the outsourcing of subcontracted work, which a contractor shall agree to during the performance of such contract. Such provisions mandate that a contractor shall only utilize subcontractors that certify in writing to the contractor that they will outsource no more than 10 percent of the cost of the work subcontracted for, excluding the provision of materials, with specified exceptions.

Summary: Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority;Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment established; workforceand higher education alignment. Directs the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to establish an Office of Educationand Labor Market Alignment (the Office) to coordinate data analysison workforce and higher education alignment and translate data topartners. The Office shall provide a unified, consistent source ofinformation or analysis for policy development and implementationrelated to talent development and shall partner with the State Councilof Higher Education for Virginia, institutions of higher education,the Virginia Employment Commission, GO Virginia, and other relevantentities to offer resources and expertise related to education andlabor market alignment.

Summary: Environmental justice; interagency working group; report. Establishes the Interagency Environmental Justice Working Group as an advisory council in the executive branch of state government to further environmental justice in the Commonwealth and directs each of the Governor's Secretaries to designate at least one environmental justice coordinator to represent the secretariat as a member of the Working Group. The bill provides that the Working Group shall expire on July 1, 2031.

Summary: Housing Bill of Rights; housing protections; foreclosures; manufactured housing. Provides for various protections for homeowners and tenants of manufactured home parks, including (i) restricting the circumstances under which a court may order a person's primary residence to be sold to enforce a judgment lien; (ii) requiring localities to incorporate into their comprehensive plans strategies to promote manufactured housing as a source of affordable housing; (iii) requiring the Director of Housing and Community Development to develop a statement of tenant rights and responsibilities explaining in plain language the rights and responsibilities of tenants under the Virginia Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act; (iv) prohibiting a trustee from selling a property in a foreclosure sale without receiving an affidavit signed by the party that provided the notice confirming the notice was sent to the owner, with a copy of such notice attached to the affidavit; (v) increasing the notice period for a foreclosure sale from 14 to 60 days and requiring such notice to provide the grantor with information regarding housing counseling; and (vi) requiring the landlord of a manufactured home park to provide tenants who own their manufactured home information about housing assistance and legal aid organizations. The bill also requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to convene a stakeholder group to assist in the development of the statement of tenant rights and responsibilities. The provisions of the bill related to the specifics of the notice that is required before a trustee can sell a property in a foreclosure sale has a delayed effective date of October 1, 2021.

Summary: Virginia Freedom of Information Act; proprietaryrecords and trade secrets; carbon sequestration agreements. Excludesfrom the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedomof Information Act proprietary information, voluntarily providedby a private business under a promise of confidentiality from a publicbody, used by the public body for a carbon sequestration agreement.The bill requires the private business to specify the records forwhich protection is sought before submitting them to the public bodyand to state the reasons why protection is necessary.

Summary: Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; definitions; small business. Redefines "small business" for the purpose of programs for the Department of Small Business and SupplierDiversity to allow a cooperative association organized pursuant toChapter 3 (Cooperative Associations) of Title 13.1 as a nonstockcorporation to qualify as a small business if it is at least 51 percentindependently controlled by one or more members who are U.S. citizensor legal resident aliens and, together with affiliates, has 250 orfewer employees or average annual gross receipts of $10 million orless averaged over the previous three years. The bill also redefines "small business" for the purpose of programs for the Virginia Public Procurement Act to allow a cooperative association organized pursuantto Chapter 3 (Cooperative Associations) of Title 13.1 as a nonstockcorporation to qualify as a small business if it is controlled byone or more members who are U.S. citizens or legal resident aliensand, together with affiliates, has 250 or fewer employees or averageannual gross receipts of $10 million or less averaged over the previousthree years.

Summary: Virginia Public Procurement Act; local arbitration agreements. Allows a participating locality, for any procurement solicitation or contract exceeding $10,000 for goods and services,to require the bidder or offeror to disclose certain informationregarding pre-dispute arbitration clauses, defined in the bill, in employment, civil rights, and consumer disputes, and provides thata locality may consider the policies and practices related to arbitrationof each bidder and offeror. The bill also provides that a participatinglocality shall require the bidder or offeror to provide written orelectronic submissions to allow the locality to ascertain (i) whetherthe bidder or offeror requires persons with whom it is in a work relationshipor prospective work relationship to sign or otherwise enter intoa contract containing a pre-dispute arbitration clause that wouldcover an employment or civil rights dispute and (ii) whether thebidder or offeror requires consumers to sign or otherwise enter intoa contract containing a pre-dispute arbitration clause that wouldcover a consumer or civil rights dispute as a condition of purchasingproducts or services, downloading mobile applications, or using websites.The bill authorizes a participating locality to cancel, terminate,or suspend, in whole or in part, the contract of any contractor thathas violated a provision of the bill and to declare the contractorineligible for further contracts with such locality for up to fiveyears.

Summary: Property; flood risk information form. Requires the Real Estate Board (the Board) to make available on its website a flood risk information form, the details of which are outlined in the bill. The bill also provides that an owner of residential real property located in the Commonwealth who has actual knowledge that the dwelling unit is a repetitive risk loss structure, as defined in the bill, shall disclose such fact to the purchaser on a form provided by the Real Estate Board on its website. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.

Summary: Marijuana; legalization; retail sales; penalties. Eliminates criminal penalties for simple possession of marijuana, modifies several other criminal penalties related to marijuana, and provides for an automatic expungement process for those convicted of certain marijuana-related crimes. The bill creates the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (the Authority) and establishes a regulatory structure for the cultivation, manufacture, wholesale, and retail sale of retail marijuana and retail marijuana products, to be administered by the Authority. The bill contains social equity provisions that, among other things, provide support and resources to persons and communities that have been historically and disproportionately affected by drug enforcement. The bill has staggered effective dates and allows retail marijuana sales to begin on January 1, 2024. Certain provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2022 Session of the General Assembly. This bill incorporates SB 1243. See S. B. 1406 Rehabilitation Substitute PDF text:https://lis.virginia.gov/000/cannabisbillsub.pdf See S. B. 1406 Judiciary Substitute PDF Text:https://lis.virginia.gov/000/cannabisbillsub2.pdfSee S. B. 1406 Engrossed PDF Text:https://lis.virginia.gov/000/CannabisBillEngrossed.pdf

Summary: Prohibited discrimination; status as active military or a military spouse. Prohibits discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and housing on the basis of a person's status as active military or a military spouse.

Summary: Grants from the Commonwealth's Development Opportunity Fund; waiver or reduction of capital investment and local match requirement. Provides that, for grants from the Commonwealth's Development Opportunity Fund, capital investment and local match requirements may be reduced or waived based on the creation of telework jobs that pay an average wage of at least 1.2 times the Virginia minimum wage.

Summary: Alcoholic beverage control; operation of government stores; sale of low alcohol beverage coolers. Prohibits the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority from selling in government stores low alcohol beverage coolers not manufactured by licensed distillers. Under current law, the Board may sell any low alcohol beverage coolers in government stores. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.

Summary: Disposition of property previously used by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services as the Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute. Authorizes the Governor to lease a portion of property previously used by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services as the Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute to Smyth County for a term of three years. The bill also corrects tax map references contained in Chapter 678 of the Acts of Assembly of 2019, which also involved conveyances of property in Smyth County.

Summary: Establishing an Opioid Abatement Authority. Establishes the Opioid Abatement Authority. The Authority, with the assistance of the Office of the Attorney General, would administer the Opioid Abatement Fund, which would receive moneys from settlements, judgments, verdicts, and other court orders, or related agreements, concerning claims regarding the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, or sale of opioids that would be used to provide grants and loans to Virginia agencies and certain localities for the purpose of treating, preventing, and reducing opioid use disorder and the misuse of opioids in the Commonwealth.

Summary: Alcoholic beverage control; local special events license. Allows the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to increase the frequency, duration, and designated area of events held under a local special events license upon the request of a locality after adoption of an ordinance allowing such increases. Under current law, localities are limited to holding 16 events per year under such license, with each event lasting no more than three consecutive days, except during the effective dates of any rule, regulation, or order that is issued by the Governor or State Health Commissioner to meet a public health emergency and that effectively reduces allowable restaurant seating capacity. The bill also increases the state and local license fees for local special events licenses issued pursuant to a local ordinance.