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 a 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 provides that if the electronic means cannot protect the identity of the voter, another means of voting shall be used. This bill is identical to HB 1816.

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 touchscreens 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. This bill is identical to HB 1943.

Summary: Alcoholic beverage control; sale and deliveryof mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption.Allows distillers that have been appointed as agents of the Boardof Directors (the Board) of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage ControlAuthority (the Authority), mixed beverage restaurant licensees, andlimited mixed beverage restaurant licensees to sell mixed beveragesfor off-premises consumption and deliver such mixed beverages to consumerssubject to requirements set forth in the bill. The bill allows theBoard to summarily revoke a licensee's privileges to sell and delivermixed beverages for off-premises consumption for noncompliance withthe requirements set forth in the bill or applicable provisions ofcurrent law. The bill also allows farm winery licensees to sell pre-mixedwine for off-premises consumption. The bill directs the Authorityto convene a work group to study the sale and delivery of mixed beveragesand pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption and report its findingsto the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the SenateCommittee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2021.The provisions of the bill sunset on July 1, 2022. This bill incorporatesSB1388 and is identical to HB 1879.

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) in the case of a deed of trust conveying owner-occupied residential real estate, prohibiting a trustee of such deed of trust from selling such property in a foreclosure sale without receiving an affidavit signed by the party that provided notice of the sale to the owner confirming that such notice was sent to the owner, with a copy of such notice attached to the affidavit; (v) in the case of a deed of trust conveying owner-occupied residential real estate, 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 have a delayed effective date of October 1, 2021. This bill is identical to HB 2175.

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 in as-is condition for a term of three years upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed by the parties, including, without limitation, Smyth County's responsibility for building or infrastructure refurbishments and operational expenses. The bill also corrects tax map references from a 2019 conveyance of property in Smyth County. This bill is identical to HB 2098.

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. This bill is identical to HB 1900.

Summary: Sports betting. Directs the Virginia Lottery (the Lottery) in issuing permits to operate sports betting platforms to give substantial and preferred consideration to any applicant that provides any of the following: (i) a description of any equity interest owned by minority individuals or minority-owned businesses, (ii) a detailed plan to achieve increased minority equity investment, (iii) a description of all efforts made to seek equity investment from minority individuals or minority-owned businesses, or (iv) a plan detailing efforts made to solicit participation of minority individuals or minority-owned businesses in the applicant's purchase of goods and services related to the sports betting platform or to provide assistance to a historically disadvantaged community or historically black colleges and universities located within the Commonwealth.The bill clarifies the types of events on which sports betting is allowed and provides that a permit issued to a casino operator shall not count toward the maximum of 12 permits that the Director of the Lottery can issue. The bill makes technical amendments related to the interaction between sports betting law and casino gaming law. This bill is identical to HB 1847.

Summary: Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; required disclosures; repetitive risk loss structure; flood risk information form. Requires the Real Estate 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. This bill is identical to HB 2320.

Summary: Marijuana; legalization; retail sales; penalties. Eliminates criminal penalties for simple possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by persons 21 years of age or older, modifies several other criminal penalties related to marijuana, and imposes limits on dissemination of criminal history record information related to certain marijuana offenses. The bill creates the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (the Authority), the Cannabis Oversight Commission, the Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council, the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board and Fund, and the Virginia Cannabis Equity Business Loan Program and Fund and establishes a regulatory and licensing 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 numerous provisions of the bill are subject to reenactment by the 2022 Session of the General Assembly. This bill incorporates SB 1243 and is identical to HB 2312. See S. B. 1406 Chapter PDF text:https://lis.virginia.gov/000/chapter 550.pdf  

Summary: Active military or a military spouse; prohibits discrimination in public accommodations, etc. Prohibits discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and housing on the basis of a person's military status, defined as a member of the uniformed services of the United States or a reserve component thereof or a spouse or other dependent of the same. The bill also prohibits terms in a rental agreement in which the tenant agrees to waive remedies or rights under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act prior to the occurrence of a dispute between the landlord and the tenant. This bill is identical to HB 2161.

Summary: Opioid Abatement Authority; established, report. 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 relating to claims regarding the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, or sale of opioids and any other funds received on the Fund's behalf that would be used to provide grants and loans to Virginia agencies and certain localities for the purpose of treating, preventing, or reducing opioid use disorder and the misuse of opioids or otherwise abating or remediating the opioid epidemic in the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to HB 2322.

Summary: Alcoholic beverage control; designated outdoor refreshment area license. Renames the "local special events" license as the "designated outdoor refreshment area" license. The bill allows the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to increase the frequency and duration of events held under such license after adoption of an ordinance by a locality requesting such increase in frequency and duration. 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 designated outdoor refreshment area licenses issued pursuant to a local ordinance. This bill is identical to HB 2266.