SEE LATEST
SPONSORED LEGISLATION
HB524 - Natural gas pipelines; permit applications.
Amy J. Laufer, Nadarius E. Clark, Rozia A. Henson
Last updated 9 months ago
7 Co-Sponsors
Permit applications for natural gas pipelines; State Water Control Law. Requires applicants for federal licenses or permits for natural gas transmission pipelines with an inside diameter of at least 24 inches to submit a separate application, erosion and sediment control plan, and stormwater management plan to the Department of Environmental Quality concurrently with a Joint Permit Application. Current law requires such application standards for pipelines with an inside diameter of greater than 36 inches. The provisions of the bill apply to any natural gas transmission pipeline project of at least 24 inches in inside diameter that is subject to a certificate of public convenience and necessity under the federal Natural Gas Act and that has not commenced construction by July 1, 2024, notwithstanding any previous certification previously issued or waived by the Department of Environmental Quality or the State Water Control Board. Permit applications for natural gas pipelines; State Water Control Law. Requires applicants for federal licenses or permits for natural gas transmission pipelines with an inside diameter of at least 24 inches to submit a separate application, erosion and sediment control plan, and stormwater management plan to the Department of Environmental Quality concurrently with a Joint Permit Application. Current law requires such application standards for pipelines with an inside diameter of greater than 36 inches. The provisions of the bill apply to any natural gas transmission pipeline project of at least 24 inches in inside diameter that is subject to a certificate of public convenience and necessity under the federal Natural Gas Act and that has not commenced construction by July 1, 2024, notwithstanding any previous certification previously issued or waived by the Department of Environmental Quality or the State Water Control Board.
STATUS
Introduced
HB240 - Income tax, state; contributions to Virginia College Savings Plan accounts, report.
Delores L. McQuinn, Nadarius E. Clark, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler
Last updated 9 months ago
10 Co-Sponsors
Income tax; contributions to Virginia College Savings Plan Income tax; contributions to Virginia College Savings Plan accounts; report. Increases the maximum individual income tax deduction for amounts paid or contributed to a prepaid tuition contract or college savings trust account entered into with the Virginia College Savings Plan from $4,000 to $7,500 in taxable year 2024, $11,000 in taxable year 2025, and $15,000 for taxable year 2026 and thereafter. Such amount shall be adjusted for changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) beginning in taxable year 2024. The deduction is limited to $4,000 for taxpayers with federal adjusted gross income that is greater than $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons filing a joint return. The bill also creates an individual or corporate deduction, as applicable, of up to $4,000 for the amount a child day center or child day program paid or contributed to a customer's or client's prepaid tuition contract or college savings trust account entered into with the Virginia College Savings Plan. The bill also provides a nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for 35 percent of expenses incurred by a business during the taxable year for contributions into a Virginia College Savings Plan account owned by an employee of the business. If the employee receiving the contribution is a qualified employee, as defined in the bill, the bill specifies that the credit shall not exceed $500 annually for each such employee. If the employee receiving the contribution is a qualified employee who is not highly compensated, as defined in the bill, the bill specifies that the credit shall not exceed $1,000 annually for each such employee. The bill provides that the total amount of tax credits available for a calendar year shall not exceed $5 million and that any unused tax credit may be carried over for five years.
STATUS
Introduced
HB256 - Health care providers & grocery store workers; employers to provide paid sick leave, effective date.
Candi Mundon King, Irene Shin, Bonita Grace Anthony
Last updated 9 months ago
19 Co-Sponsors
Paid sick leave; health care providers and grocery store workers. 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.
STATUS
Introduced
HB745 - Mattress stewardship program; established, report, civil penalty.
Amy J. Laufer, Nadarius E. Clark
Last updated 9 months ago
2 Co-Sponsors
Mattress stewardship program established; civil penalty. Prohibits the disposal of a mattress, as defined in the bill, in a landfill or an incinerator beginning January 1, 2028, and requires producers of mattresses sold at retail in the Commonwealth or a representative organization acting on a producer's behalf to submit a plan for the establishment of a mattress stewardship program. Such mattress stewardship program plan shall establish an assessment for all mattresses sold in the Commonwealth and a network of convenient and free collection sites for postconsumer mattresses, defined in the bill, that will facilitate higher rates of recycling and materials recovery for postconsumer mattresses. The bill establishes annual reporting requirements for mattress producers or representative organizations and establishes a Mattress Stewardship Program Advisory Board to advise on the proper implementation and sustainability of the mattress stewardship program. The bill also establishes the powers and duties of the Department of Environmental Quality as they relate to the bill and civil penalties for improper mattress disposal and violations of the mattress stewardship program.
STATUS
Introduced
HB1462 - Firearm in unattended motor vehicle; civil penalty.
Amy J. Laufer, Phil M. Hernandez, Katrina E. Callsen
Last updated 6 months ago
6 Co-Sponsors
Firearm in unattended motor vehicle; civil penalty. Provides that no person shall leave, place, or store a handgun in an unattended motor vehicle, as defined in the bill, when such handgun is visible to any person who is outside such motor vehicle. The bill provides that any person violating such prohibition is subject to a civil penalty of no more than $500 and such unattended motor vehicle may be subject to removal for safekeeping.
STATUS
Vetoed
HB1000 - Environmental Justice Task Force; establishes, report.
Bonita Grace Anthony, Nadarius E. Clark, Amy J. Laufer
Last updated 9 months ago
4 Co-Sponsors
Environmental Justice Task Force; report. Establishes the Environmental Justice Task Force for the purpose of furthering environmental justice in the Commonwealth, consisting of the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Secretary of Transportation, or their designees. The bill requires the Task Force to advise the Governor and state agencies of the Commonwealth on environmental justice issues, particularly as such issues relate to minority and low-income communities. The bill directs the Task Force to report its findings and conclusions to the Governor and General Assembly by November 1, 2024, regarding its activities.
STATUS
Introduced
HB1429 - Tangible personal property tax; exemption for indoor agriculture equipment and machinery.
Amy J. Laufer, Lee Ware
Last updated 6 months ago
2 Co-Sponsors
Tangible personal property tax; indoor agriculture equipment and machinery. Specifies that farm machinery, farm equipment, and farm implements used by an indoor, closed, controlled-environment commercial agricultural facility are a class of farm machinery and farm implements that a locality may exempt from personal property taxation.
STATUS
Passed
HB269 - Provisional (Career Switcher) License; special education.
Delores L. McQuinn, Nadarius E. Clark, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler
Last updated 6 months ago
10 Co-Sponsors
Board of Education; Provisional (Career Switcher) License; special education. Requires the Board of Education to amend its relevant regulation to permit any career switcher who seeks a teaching endorsement preK through grade 12, including any career switcher who seeks a teaching endorsement in special education, to pursue a Provisional (Career Switcher) License through the career switcher alternate route to licensure program in accordance with all of the requirements set forth in such regulation, provided that the individual completes at least 60 percent of the endorsement requirements for special education general curriculum K-12 as part of Level I preparation and the remainder of such requirements as part of Level II and Level III preparation. Board of Education; Provisional (Career Switcher) License; special education. Requires the Board of Education to amend its relevant regulation to permit any career switcher who seeks a teaching endorsement preK through grade 12, including any career switcher who seeks a teaching endorsement in special education, to pursue a Provisional (Career Switcher) License through the career switcher alternate route to licensure program in accordance with all of the requirements set forth in such regulation, provided that the individual completes at least 60 percent of the endorsement requirements for special education general curriculum K-12 as part of Level I preparation and the remainder of such requirements as part of Level II and Level III preparation.
STATUS
Passed
HB1277 - Child care; background checks.
Amy J. Laufer, Carrie Emerson Coyner, Nadarius E. Clark
Last updated 6 months ago
7 Co-Sponsors
Child care; background checks. Allows applicants for employment and applicants to serve as volunteers to work in certain child day centers, family day homes, and family day systems pending the results of a full background check, provided that (i) the applicant has received qualifying results on a fingerprint-based background check through the Central Criminal Records Exchange or the Federal Bureau of Investigation and (ii) the applicant is supervised at all times by a person who received a qualifying result on a full background check within the past five years. Child care; background checks. Allows applicants for employment and applicants to serve as volunteers to work in certain child day centers, family day homes, and family day systems pending the results of a full background check, provided that (i) the applicant has received qualifying results on a fingerprint-based background check through the Central Criminal Records Exchange or the Federal Bureau of Investigation and (ii) the applicant is supervised at all times by a person who received a qualifying result on a full background check within the past five years.
STATUS
Passed
HB1181 - Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program and Fund; established.
Amy J. Laufer, Sam Rasoul, Katrina E. Callsen
Last updated 9 months ago
8 Co-Sponsors
Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program and Fund; firearm and ammunition tax. Establishes the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program (the Program) and redirects funds from the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund (the Fund) to support such program. The bill requires the Program be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services (the Department) to distribute grants to localities and organizations for the purpose of improving public health and safety by supporting effective violence reduction initiatives in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence, particularly homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults. The bill provides that funds may also be used to finance the hiring of counselors in public elementary and secondary schools and research initiatives that have the objective of reducing gun violence. Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program and Fund; firearm and ammunition tax. Establishes the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program (the Program) and redirects funds from the Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund (the Fund) to support such program. The bill requires the Program be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services (the Department) to distribute grants to localities and organizations for the purpose of improving public health and safety by supporting effective violence reduction initiatives in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence, particularly homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults. The bill provides that funds may also be used to finance the hiring of counselors in public elementary and secondary schools and research initiatives that have the objective of reducing gun violence. The bill provides that the Department shall issue grants on a competitive basis. As a condition of receiving a grant, a locality or organization must commit a cash or in-kind contribution equivalent to the amount of the grant, with waivers allowed for good cause, and report on its progress toward achieving the grant's objectives. The bill requires the Department to provide public access to such reports. The bill imposes a five percent tax on the sale of any firearm or ammunition, with all revenue from the tax accruing to the Fund. Under the bill, firearm and ammunition sales to state or local agencies or law-enforcement officers are exempt from such tax.
STATUS
Introduced
BIOGRAPHY
INCUMBENT
Representative from Virginia district HD-055
COMMITTEES
Virginia House
BIRTH
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ABOUT
Unfortunately I am not able to access the full biography from the link provided. However, here is a summary of key details about Amy J. Laufer's biography: Amy J. Laufer is a former educator and school administrator. She holds degrees in elementary education and educational leadership, and worked primarily in Florida's public school system. Laufer served as an assistant principal and principal for over a decade. In 2018, Laufer ran as a Democrat for Florida House District 66. She campaigned on issues like public education, healthcare, the environment and gun safety. Though unsuccessful in her state legislature bid, Laufer continues to be engaged in local politics and grassroots activism. She resides in New Smyrna Beach, Florida with her husband and two children. Laufer is an active school and community volunteer. I aimed to provide a concise summary of Laufer's background without reproducing copyrighted material from the source. Let me know if you need any clarification or have additional questions.read less
OFFICES HELD
Virginia House from Virginia
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