Agriculture Animal Care And Food
Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Small agricultural generators; establishes parameters of a program. [SB-1394]
Small agricultural generators. Establishes the parameters of a program under which small agricultural generators may sell the electricity generated from a small agricultural generating facility to its utility. Effective July 1, 2019, enrollment by eligible agricultural customer-generators in an existing net energy metering program conducted by an electric cooperative will cease, though a cooperative's customers who were participating as eligible agricultural customer-generators before that date are allowed to remain in the net metering program for
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Sponsored by: Sen. John Edwards
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0581) on 03/16/2017
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Gettr Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission; meetings by teleconference. [HB-2316]
Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission; meetings by teleconference. Provides that the remote locations from which additional members of the Commission participate in a Commission meeting that is conducted through electronic communication means shall not be required to be open to the public.
Sponsored by: Rep. Daniel Marshall
Left In General Laws on 02/08/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Cats and dogs; lifetime licenses. [SB-1263]
Cats and dogs; lifetime licenses. Authorizes the governing body of a county or city to provide for a lifetime dog or cat license. The bill also removes the minimum annual tax for a dog or cat, sets the maximum tax for a lifetime license at $50, and limits the fee for a duplicate dog or cat tag to $1.
Sponsored by: Sen. Richard Black
Stricken At Request Of Patron In Agriculture, Conservation And Natural Resources (15-y 0-n) on 01/19/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Small agricultural generators; establishes parameters of a program. [HB-2303]
Small agricultural generators. Establishes the parameters of a program under which small agricultural generators may sell the electricity generated from a small agricultural generating facility to its utility. Effective July 1, 2019, enrollment by eligible agricultural customer-generators in an existing net energy metering program conducted by an electric cooperative will cease, though a cooperative's customers who were participating as eligible agricultural customer-generators before that date are allowed to remain in the net metering program for
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Sponsored by: Rep. R. Steven Landes
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0565) on 03/16/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Va. Fair Housing Law; responsibilities with respect to use of an assistance animal in a dwelling. [SB-1228]
Virginia Fair Housing Law; rights and responsibilities with respect to the use of an assistance animal in a dwelling. Sets out the rights and responsibilities under the Virginia Fair Housing Law (§ 36-96.1 et seq.) with respect to maintaining an assistance animal in a dwelling. The bill establishes a process through which a person with a disability may submit a request for a reasonable accommodation to maintain an assistance animal in a dwelling, including any supporting documentation verifying the disability and disability-related need for an accommodation.
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Sponsored by: Sen. Taylor Mason
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0575) on 03/16/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Cats or dogs; killing of companion animals. [SB-1218]
Killing of dog or cat prohibited; penalty. Prohibits the humane killing of a dog or cat that is a companion animal unless the animal poses an immediate physical threat to a person or is in extreme distress and would suffer further as a result of a delay in seeking veterinary care. The bill makes a violation a Class 2 misdemeanor, with any subsequent violation a Class 6 felony. The bill exempts from the prohibition any veterinarian or other authorized person who euthanizes a companion animal under Chapter 65 (§ 3.2-6500 et seq.) of Title 3.2 (Comprehensive
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Sponsored by: Sen. Jennifer McClellan
Passed By Indefinitely In Finance (16-y 0-n) on 01/31/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Tobacco Board; composition, increases excise tax on bright flue-cured & type 21 dark-fired tobaccos. [HB-2254]
Tobacco Board; composition; assessment. Alters the member nomination process, tax rate, and other functions of the Tobacco Board (the Board). The bill removes the 90-day deadline for submission of industry nominees for a seat on the Board, as well as the requirement that there be two or more nominations for each seat. The bill removes from the Board the power to appoint a secretary and other employees. Finally, the bill raises the excise tax on tobacco from 20 cents to 40 cents per 100 pounds of tobacco harvested and renames it an assessment; authorizes
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Sponsored by: Rep. James Edmunds
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0008) on 02/13/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Sale of dog or cat not obtained from releasing agency or animal rescue. [SB-1204]
Sale of dog or cat not obtained from releasing agency or animal rescue. Authorizes localities to adopt ordinances prohibiting the sale in a business of any dog or cat that was not obtained from a Virginia releasing agency or a nonprofit animal rescue organization.
Sponsored by: Sen. Adam Ebbin
Left In Agriculture, Chesapeake And Natural Resources on 02/21/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Produce safety; farm inspections, civil penalty. [SB-1195]
Produce safety; farm inspections; civil penalty. Prohibits certain farms from violating the federal regulations that set minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables. The bill authorizes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt regulations to carry out the purposes of the law and gives the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services free access at reasonable hours to certain farms to inspect the farms and take samples. The Commissioner also is authorized to seize certain produce
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Sponsored by: Sen. Richard Stuart
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0574) on 03/16/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Companion animals; changes penalty to Class 6 felony for cruelty to animals. [SB-1147]
Cruelty to animals; companion animals; penalty. Changes from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for torturing or willfully inflicting inhumane injury or pain to a companion animal, defined as a domestic or feral dog, domestic or feral cat, nonhuman primate, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit not raised for human food or fiber, exotic or native animal, reptile, or exotic or native bird. Current law requires that the animal die as a direct result of the torture or cruelty and that the companion animal is a dog or cat before the violation
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Sponsored by: Sen. Bill DeSteph
Passed By Indefinitely In Finance (16-y 0-n) on 01/31/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Persons with disabilities; expands definition of "service dog." [HB-2109]
Rights of persons with disabilities; definition of "service dog." Expands the definition of "service dog" to include dogs trained to assist persons with a disability by providing (i) therapeutic contact to help with depression, anxiety, or certain phobias, or to improve physical or cognitive functioning, or (ii) emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship.
Sponsored by: Rep. L. Kaye Kory
Left In Health, Welfare And Institutions on 02/07/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Farm use vehicles, certain; registration exemption, highway distance limitations. [HB-2239]
Registration exemption for certain farm use vehicles; highway distance limitations. Increases from 50 to 75 miles the maximum travel distance allowable for travel to obtain supplies or from one part of the owner's land to another by a vehicle used for agricultural or horticultural purposes in order to qualify for exemption from the requirements to obtain a registration certificate, license plates, or decals and pay a registration fee. The bill also increases from 50 to 75 miles the maximum travel distance allowable by vehicles used for seasonal
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Sponsored by: Rep. C. Matthew Fariss
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0538) on 03/16/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Dogs and cats; regulation of sale. [HB-2116]
Sale of dog or cat not obtained from releasing agency or animal rescue. Authorizes localities to adopt ordinances prohibiting the sale in a business of any dog or cat that was not obtained from a Virginia releasing agency or a nonprofit animal rescue organization.
Sponsored by: Rep. Mark Keam
Left In Agriculture, Chesapeake And Natural Resources on 02/07/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Industrial hemp; removes all restrictions on production, including licensing and regulations. [HB-2028]
Industrial hemp production; authorization. Removes all restrictions on the production of industrial hemp, including licensing and regulations.
Sponsored by: Rep. Steve Heretick
Left In Appropriations on 02/08/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Food products; sale at farmers market, farm, or home. [HB-2030]
Food products; sale at farmers market, farm, or home. Exempts a producer of food, including milk, products made from milk, and poultry, from regulations of the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services so long as the sale of such food by the producer is made directly to the end consumer; the sale is conducted at a farmers market or through a home or farm; the food product contains no uninspected meat other than poultry; and the producer informs the end consumer that the food product is not certified, regulated, or inspected.
Sponsored by: Rep. Nicholas Freitas
Failed To Report (defeated) In Agriculture, Chesapeake And Natural Resources (6-y 15-n) on 02/01/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Va. Fair Housing Law; responsibilities with respect to use of an assistance animal in a dwelling. [HB-2006]
Virginia Fair Housing Law; rights and responsibilities with respect to the use of an assistance animal in a dwelling. Sets out the rights and responsibilities under the Virginia Fair Housing Law (§ 36-96.1 et seq.) with respect to maintaining an assistance animal in a dwelling. The bill establishes a process through which a person with a disability may submit a request for a reasonable accommodation to maintain an assistance animal in a dwelling, including any supporting documentation verifying the disability and disability-related need for an accommodation.
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Sponsored by: Rep. Kathleen Murphy
Governor: Acts Of Assembly Chapter Text (chap0729) on 03/24/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Farm products; crime to maliciously damage or destroy. [HB-1954]
Damaging or destroying farm products. Makes it a crime to maliciously damage or destroy any farm products, including any crops, and requires the court to determine the market value of the products when awarding restitution. The bill provides that a violation is punishable as a Class 6 felony if the value of the product is $400 or more and as a Class 1 misdemeanor if the value is less than $400. Current law makes certain damage or destruction a crime only if the person committing the act knows that the farm products are grown for testing or research
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Sponsored by: Rep. Michael Webert
Left In Courts Of Justice on 02/07/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Dogs; running at large on another landowner's property, penalty. [HB-1900]
Dogs running at large; civil penalty. Prohibits dog owners from allowing dogs to run at large on the property of another after the landowner has given notice to the dog owner to keep the dog off of the property. The bill provides for a civil penalty of $100 per dog enforced by animal control, conservation police, and other law-enforcement officers for each violation. Notice may be given verbally, in writing, with signs, or with blue tree markings.
Sponsored by: Rep. William Howell
Read Third Time And Defeated By House (47-y 48-n) on 02/06/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Aquaculture; protection of use in an agricultural zone. [HB-1897]
Zoning; aquaculture in agricultural zone; preexisting use. Provides that any aquaculture use that was established on property that was zoned as an agricultural district at the time, but later was rezoned to disallow agriculture, is a valid nonconforming use of the property. The bill also amends a 2014 Act of Assembly that expanded the definition of agricultural products to provide that the act was declaratory of existing law.
Sponsored by: Rep. Robert Bloxom
Left In Counties, Cities And Towns on 02/07/2017
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Virginia 2017 Regular Session
Product safety; flame retardants, penalty. [HB-1861]
Product safety; flame retardants; regulations; fund; civil penalty. Prohibits the manufacture or sale in the Commonwealth, beginning July 1, 2018, of upholstered furniture intended for residential use or any product that is intended to come into close contact with a person younger than 12 years of age if such upholstered furniture or product contains any flame-retardant chemical listed in the bill. The bill requires the manufacturer of any prohibited product to notify sellers of the prohibition by March 31, 2018, and requires a manufacturer to recall
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Sponsored by: Rep. Alfonso Lopez
Left In Agriculture, Chesapeake And Natural Resources on 02/07/2017