Alcoholic beverage control; distiller licenses; Internet orders and shipments. Allows the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to include in its agency agreements with licensed distillers provisions that allow distillers to sell spirits and low alcohol beverage coolers through Internet orders and ship such orders to consumers and licensees within the Commonwealth. The bill imposes certain quantity, carriage, transaction, and labeling requirements on such sales and shipments.

Virginia State Police communication system. Virginia State Police communication system. Removes obsolete language relating to the teletype system formerly used by the Virginia State Police. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Code Commission.

Opioid Abatement Authority and Fund; board of directors; allocation of funds. Increases from 11 to 15 the number of members of the board of directors of the Opioid Abatement Authority by increasing from one to five the representatives of the addiction and recovery community. The bill also delineates the allocation of the unrestricted portion of deposits to the Opioid Abatement Fund.

Public-Private Competition Act. Creates the Public-Private Competition Act, which prohibits public bodies from engaging in any commercial activity, defined in the bill to mean any activity that can be performed by an existing private business. The bill creates an exemption for commercial activities that public bodies are required to perform pursuant to the Constitution of Virginia. The bill also repeals the Competitive Government Act, which requires the Governor to (i) conduct a study at least once every two years to examine whether at least three commercial activities being performed by state employees at state agencies and institutions are being accomplished in the most cost-efficient and effective manner and (ii) outsource any commercial activity for which the study determines that outsourcing may result in reduced costs or otherwise provide a measurable benefit to the Commonwealth.

Felony homicide; certain drug offenses; penalties. Provides that a person is guilty of felony homicide, which constitutes second degree murder and is punishable by confinement of not less than five nor more than 40 years, if the underlying felonious act that resulted in the killing of another involved the manufacture, sale, gift, or distribution of a Schedule I or II controlled substance to another person and such other person's use of the controlled substance results in his death, regardless of the time or place death occurred in relation to the commission of the underlying felony. The bill provides that venue for a prosecution of this crime shall lie in the locality where the underlying felony occurred, where the use of the controlled substance occurred, or where death occurred. The bill also provides that if a person gave or distributed a Schedule I or II controlled substance only as an accommodation to another individual who is not an inmate in a community correctional facility, local correctional facility, or state correctional facility, or in the custody of an employee thereof, and not with intent to profit thereby from any consideration received or expected nor to induce the recipient of the controlled substance to use or become addicted to or dependent upon such controlled substance, he is guilty of a Class 5 felony. Felony homicide; certain drug offenses; penalties. Provides that a person is guilty of felony homicide, which constitutes second degree murder and is punishable by confinement of not less than five nor more than 40 years, if the underlying felonious act that resulted in the killing of another involved the manufacture, sale, gift, or distribution of a Schedule I or II controlled substance to another person and such other person's use of the controlled substance results in his death, regardless of the time or place death occurred in relation to the commission of the underlying felony. The bill provides that venue for a prosecution of this crime shall lie in the locality where the underlying felony occurred, where the use of the controlled substance occurred, or where death occurred. The bill also provides that if a person gave or distributed a Schedule I or II controlled substance only as an accommodation to another individual who is not an inmate in a community correctional facility, local correctional facility, or state correctional facility, or in the custody of an employee thereof, and not with intent to profit thereby from any consideration received or expected nor to induce the recipient of the controlled substance to use or become addicted to or dependent upon such controlled substance, he is guilty of a Class 5 felony.

Board of Health; fee for Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth. Removes the requirement that the Board of Health prescribe a reasonable fee to cover the administrative cost and preparation of a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth.

Law-enforcement civilian oversight bodies. Removes the Law-enforcement civilian oversight bodies. Removes the authority of a locality to establish a law-enforcement civilian oversight body. Under current law, law-enforcement civilian oversight bodies may (i) receive, investigate, and issue findings on complaints from civilians regarding conduct of law-enforcement officers and civilian employees; (ii) investigate and issue findings on incidents, including the use of force by a law-enforcement officer, death or serious injury to any person held in custody, serious abuse of authority or misconduct, allegedly discriminatory stops, and other incidents regarding the conduct of law-enforcement officers or civilian employees; (iii) make binding disciplinary determinations in cases that involve serious breaches of departmental and professional standards; (iv) investigate policies, practices, and procedures of law-enforcement agencies and make recommendations regarding changes to such policies, practices, and procedures; (v) review all investigations conducted internally by law-enforcement agencies and issue findings regarding the accuracy, completeness, and impartiality of such investigations and the sufficiency of any discipline resulting from such investigations; (vi) request reports of the annual expenditures of law-enforcement agencies and make budgetary recommendations; (vii) make public reports on the activities of the law-enforcement civilian oversight body; and (viii) undertake any other duties as reasonably necessary for the law-enforcement civilian oversight body to effectuate its lawful purpose to effectively oversee the law-enforcement agencies as authorized by the locality.

Possession of firearms or other weapons on school property. Removes preschools and licensed child day centers that are not operated at the residence of the provider or of any of the children from the list of schools where possessing a firearm or other weapon on school property or on a school bus is prohibited.

Celebrating the life of James Anthony Sisk.

Elections; conduct of election; ranked choice Elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; primaries for elected offices. Permits parties to decide to hold a primary for any office by ranked choice voting and changes from discretionary to mandatory the provision that the State Board of Elections promulgate regulations for their proper and efficient administration.

Transit Ridership Incentive Program. Changes from a maximum of 25 percent to a minimum of 25 percent the percentage of Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) funds required to be used to support the establishment of programs to reduce the impact of fares on low-income individuals. This change expires on July 1, 2024. The bill also requires at least 25 percent of TRIP funds to be used to support regional transit initiatives and provides that the Commonwealth Transportation Board has the discretion to allocate the remaining funds available as authorized by law and based on the programs and initiatives submitted during the application process. Transit Ridership Incentive Program. Changes from a maximum of 25 percent to a minimum of 25 percent the percentage of Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) funds required to be used to support the establishment of programs to reduce the impact of fares on low-income individuals. This change expires on July 1, 2024. The bill also requires at least 25 percent of TRIP funds to be used to support regional transit initiatives and provides that the Commonwealth Transportation Board has the discretion to allocate the remaining funds available as authorized by law and based on the programs and initiatives submitted during the application process.

Celebrating the life of William Lee Allen, Sr.

Unemployment compensation and workers' compensation; testing for the use of nonprescribed controlled substances. Requires, for an applicant for unemployment benefits for whom the only suitable work available is in an occupation that regularly requires drug testing, the applicant, as a condition of eligibility, to provide the Virginia Employment Commission with the results of a drug test that is negative for the use of a nonprescribed controlled substance. The bill also requires, under the Workers' Compensation Act, in order to determine the cause of a workplace accident that harmed an employee, an employer to require post-accident drug testing for the use of a nonprescribed controlled substance of any employee whose conduct could have contributed to the accident. The bill also prohibits an insurer from providing premium discounts for a drug-free workplace to an employer unless the employer has policies in place requiring such post-accident drug testing.

Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; business permitting program; estimates of time required of a small business for permitting. Requires the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, in consultation with regulatory agencies, to make a reasonable estimation of the time required of a small business to compile information and submit an application for the comprehensive permit and for each permit not included in the comprehensive permitting program. The bill requires the Department to include in the estimation an aggregated time required estimation for each type of business and to publish the estimations on its website and update its information as necessary based on information from regulatory agencies with regard to policy and regulatory changes affecting permitting.

Land use valuation for real estate devoted to forest use; creation of Forest Sustainability Fund. Creates the Forest Sustainability Fund, to be administered by the State Forester. Localities that have adopted a use value assessment and taxation program for real estate devoted to forest use are eligible to apply for an allocation from the Fund. Awards are proportionally based upon the amount of revenue forgone in the previous fiscal year by localities due to the use value program.