Sampling of bills to be introduced during special session starting Aug. 18 – Part 1

Governor Ralph Northam has called the Virginia General Assembly into a special session beginning August 18. Here is a sampling of the House Bills to be introduced which include opening the DMV, tax issues, powers of the Governor, school vouchers, and more. The Royal Examiner will take a sampling of the Senate Bills tomorrow.

HB 5001 Motor Vehicles, Department of; customer service centers hours of operation. Introduced by: Mark L. Cole.
Department of Motor Vehicles; open hours. Requires all Department of Motor Vehicles customer service centers to be open and accept walk-in customers six days a week between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. This requirement expires upon the expiration or revocation of all states of emergency declared by the Governor related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

HB 5002 Income tax, state; subtraction for Paycheck Protection Plan loan forgiveness. Introduced by: Joseph P. McNamara
Income tax subtraction for Paycheck Protection Plan loan forgiveness. Establishes an income tax subtraction for forgiveness of indebtedness on a loan received under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act through the Paycheck Protection Plan. The subtraction would be available starting in taxable year 2020.

HB 5006 Tax refunds; waiver of penalties and interest, refunds to taxpayers suffering a job loss, etc. Introduced by: Mark L. Cole
Waiver of penalties and interest; refunds; taxpayers suffering job loss or business closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Waives penalties and interest for six months for taxpayers who suffered a job loss, business closure, or reduction in business operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The waivers apply to (i) sales and use taxes and all local taxes that were due during a period in which the job loss, closure, or reduction in operations occurred and (ii) income taxes for such taxpayers for taxable year 2019. For a taxpayer who made penalty and interest payments prior to the effective date of the act, the Department of Taxation or his locality shall refund such payments to the taxpayer.

HB 5007 Emergency Services and Disaster Law; limitation on duration of executive orders, civil penalty. Introduced by: Mark L. Cole
Emergency Services and Disaster Law; executive orders; limitation on duration of executive orders declaring a state of emergency; civil penalty. Provides that executive orders declaring a state of emergency, and any other executive orders pertaining to such emergency, shall not have any effect beyond 30 days after the date of issuance, unless the General Assembly takes action to grant the Governor additional authority to extend such an order. Under current law, once issued, executive orders are effective until June 30 following the next regular session of the General Assembly. The bill also changes the penalty for a violation of certain executive orders from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a civil penalty of no more than $100 per violation. The bill provides that in no case shall any person be assessed a total of more than $1,000 in penalties for violations of the same executive order.

HB 5011 In-person instruction; education vouchers, etc. – Introduced by: Michael J. Webert
In-person instruction; education vouchers; emergency. Requires, in the event that any school board does not provide the option of in-person instruction as the sole method of instruction for any enrolled student, the parent of any such student who withdraws his child from attendance to receive, upon request, an education voucher in an amount equal to a prorated share of the applicable Standards of Quality per-pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the school division, including the per-pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per-pupil share of special education funding for which the child is eligible, to cover the expenses of providing in-person instruction in an alternative setting. The bill permits the Department of Education to establish rules, regulations, or procedures for the issuance of such education vouchers. The bill contains an emergency clause.

HB 5012 Law-enforcement officers; certain civil actions. Introduced by: Les R. Adams
Law-enforcement officers; certain civil actions. Provides that a law-enforcement officer may bring an action against any person, group of persons, organization, or corporation, or the head of such organization or corporation, to recover damages, together with reasonable costs and attorney fees, (i) sustained by such officer during such officer’s performance of official duties; (ii) for the abridgment or deprivation of such officer’s rights arising out of such officer’s performance of official duties; and (iii) sustained by such officer when such person, group, organization, corporation, or the head of such organization or corporation, submits a knowingly false complaint regarding the conduct of such officer.

HB 5016 Immunizations; authority of the Commissioner of Health; exception. Introduced by: Mark L. Cole
Immunizations; authority of the Commissioner of Health; exception. Eliminates the authority of the Commissioner of Health to require immunization of individuals who object to such administration on religious grounds.

HJ 5001 Constitutional amendment; executive power, state of emergency, special session Introduced by: Tony O. Wilt
Constitutional amendment (first reference); executive power; state of emergency; special session. Limits the authority of the Governor to issue an executive order declaring a state of emergency that restricts, limits, or prohibits otherwise lawful action by a private business, nonprofit entity, or individual for a period more than 45 days in duration without approval by the General Assembly. The Governor is required to convene a special session for the purpose of the General Assembly approving the extension of such executive order beyond the forty-fifth day after its original issuance and if the General Assembly does not approve such extension, the Governor is prohibited from issuing a subsequent executive order in the same form for the same declared emergency. The General Assembly is permitted to extend the executive order to a date requested by the Governor or to a date of the General Assembly’s choosing, but it shall not approve the extension to a date beyond the first full week of the next regular session of the General Assembly, unless such date is requested by the Governor.

HJ 5002 Hydroxychloroquine; use for COVID-19 treatment. Introduced by: Dave A. LaRock
Hydroxychloroquine; use for COVID-19 treatment. Encourages that hydroxychloroquine should be made available for treating COVID-19.