Joe Morrissey

Issues

• HJ 17 Restoration of Rights

  Constitutional amendment (first resolution); restoration of civil rights. Authorizes the General Assembly to provide by general law for the restoration of civil rights for persons convicted of felonies who have completed service of their sentence including any period or condition of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The present Constitution provides for restoration of rights by the Governor. The proposed amendment retains the right of the Governor to restore civil rights and adds the alternative for restoration of rights pursuant to general law.

• HJ 23 Employment First Initiative

  Employment First initiative; report.  Requests the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to develop and implement an Employment First initiative for the Commonwealth to increase opportunities for meaningful employment in integrated community settings for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

• HB 113 School Calender

  School calendar.  Makes local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening of the school year and eliminates the post-Labor Day opening requirement and "good cause" scenarios for which the Board of Education may grant waivers of this requirement.

• HB 114 Cigarettes deemed litter

  Littering; cigarettes, civil penalty.  Includes cigarettes specifically in the category of things deemed litter for purposes of criminal punishment for improper disposal of trash. The bill also provides that in lieu of the imposition of the Class 1 misdemeanor criminal penalty, the court may order the defendant to perform community service in litter abatement activities. If the offense involves a cigarette or cigarettes, the court shall order the payment of a $100 civil penalty payable to the Litter Control and Recycling Fund established in § 10.1-1422.01 in addition to the imposition of such community service.

• HB 115 Smoking In Cars With Minors

  Smoking in cars with a minor present; civil penalty.  Makes it unlawful for a person to smoke in a motor vehicle with a child under the age of 13 present; punishable by a civil penalty of $100.

• HB 121 Virginia Housing Trust Fund Authority

  Virginia Housing Trust Fund Authority. Creates the Virginia Housing Trust Fund Authority to administer the Virginia Housing Trust Fund also created by the bill to assist in increasing the capacity of community housing organizations and encourage private sector businesses and individuals to contribute capital to community-based housing organizations and assist them in providing safe, decent, and affordable housing to Virginia citizens. The bill sets the powers and duties of the Authority and its Board of Directors, and the lawful purposes for which the Fund may be used.

• HB 122 Veteran Status on License

  Driver’s licenses; veterans.  Allows military veterans who are at least 21 years old to have their veteran status indicated on their driver’s licenses.

• HB 124 Plastic Bag Tax

  Plastic bag tax.  Imposes a tax of 20 cents ($0.20) on plastic bags used by purchasers to carry tangible personal property purchased in grocery stores, convenience stores, or drug stores. Durable, reusable plastic bags and bags used for ice cream, meat, fish, poultry, leftover restaurant food, newspapers, dry cleaning, and prescription drugs are exempt from the tax. Retailers are allowed to retain five cents ($0.05) of the 20-cent ($0.20) tax or seven cents ($0.07) if the retailer has a customer bag credit program. Failure to collect and remit the tax will result in fines of $250, $500, and $1,000 for the first, second, and third and subsequent offenses, respectively.

• HB 797 Carrying a Concealed Weapon Under the Influence of Alcohol

  Carrying a handgun while under the influence of alcohol or drugs; penalty.  Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person carrying a handgun in a public place while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and prohibits a person from obtaining a concealed handgun permit for five years following such a conviction. The prohibition applies regardless of whether the person is carrying the handgun openly or concealed. Current law makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to carry a concealed handgun in a public place while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but does not speak to openly carrying a handgun while under the influence.

• HB 1122 Locality to Repair Blighted and Derelict Buildings

  Receivership of derelict and blighted buildings. Authorizes a locality to serve as a receiver, appointed by the circuit court, to repair blighted and derelict buildings. Buildings must previously have been determined to be blighted under current spot blight provisions. The owner of the property may redeem the property subject to receivership during the receivership process or prior to sale and will be awarded any profits gained through sale at public auction. This bill was recommended by the Virginia Housing Commission.

• Delegate Morrissey's Co-Patron Bills

  • HB 15 School calendar. Makes local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening of the school year and eliminates the post-Labor Day opening requirement and "good cause" scenarios for which the Board of Education may grant waivers of this requirement. Status: Laid on the table by the House Subcommittee on Teachers and Administrative Action

   

  • HB 83 Mammograms; information on breast density.  Requires the Board of Health to establish guidelines requiring licensed facilities or physicians offices where mammography services are provided to (i) include information on breast density in mammogram letters sent to patients and (ii) in mammogram letters sent to patients who have dense breast tissue, include a notice containing information about the potential effects of dense breast tissue on mammograms and explaining that patients may wish to contact their physicians for additional information.

   

  • HB 183 Medical assistance; coverage for certain children and pregnant women.  Provides that the Board of Medical Assistance Services shall include a provision in the state plan for medical assistance services for medical assistance for otherwise eligible pregnant women during the first five years of lawful residence in the United States. The bill also requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to provide coverage under the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS) Plan for otherwise eligible children and pregnant women during the first five years of lawful residence in the United States.

   

  • HB 271 Substance Abuse Recovery Support Services Grant Program established.  Establishes the Substance Abuse Recovery Support Services Grant Program. The bill requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to annually issue a request for proposals for grants to providers of recovery support services in the Commonwealth and to convene a work group of stakeholders, including providers of recovery support services, to develop the request for proposals and to evaluate applications and determine awards of grants and the amount of such awards. The bill also requires the Auditor of Public Accounts to administer an operational and programmatic performance audit focusing on the agencies providing public substance abuse prevention and treatment services in the Commonwealth for the purpose of providing a cost savings assessment of public substance abuse services in the Commonwealth and providing information to the Governor and the General Assembly related to opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness and implement cost savings measures in the delivery of public substance abuse prevention and treatment services in the Commonwealth, with a focus on potential improvements resulting from inclusion of private and nonprofit providers of recovery support and peer support services. Any monetary savings realized from the implementation of recommendations of the performance audit shall be applied to the Substance Abuse Recovery Support Services Grant Program.

   

  • HB 491 Receivership of derelict and blighted buildings. Authorizes a locality to serve as a receiver, appointed by the circuit court, to repair blighted and derelict buildings. Buildings must previously have been determined to be blighted under current spot blight provisions. The owner of the property may redeem the property subject to receivership during the receivership process or prior to sale and will be awarded any profits gained through sale at public auction. This bill was recommended by the Virginia Housing Commission.

   

  • HB 656 Parental notification; student discipline. Requires parental notification whenever school administrators begin an investigation into a potential violation of any school board policy. Such notification may be made by phone or email, or any other reasonable method, as determined by the school board.

   

  • HB 790 Virginia Housing Partnership Revolving Fund. Renames the Virginia Housing Partnership Revolving Fund to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. The bill provides that 20 percent of the moneys deposited in the Fund in any fiscal year shall be used by the Department for grants for the construction of new or rehabilitation of existing housing units, rental assistance to individuals and families experiencing homelessness, and other appropriate assistance to facilitate the achievement of housing stability. Under the bill, moneys in the Fund are derived from 10 percent of the annual general fund revenue collections that are in excess of the official estimates in the general appropriation act and 10 percent of any unreserved general fund balance at the close of each fiscal year whose reappropriation is not required in the general appropriation act. The Fund also consists of such other sums as may be made available to it from any other source, public or private, and shall include federal grants solicited and received for the specific purposes of the Fund. The bill contains technical amendments.

   

  • HB 864 Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB); composition.  Changes the composition of the CTB. One member will be appointed from each of Virginia's congressional districts (as they were on January 1, 2012) and four more will be at-large appointees: one representing seaports, one representing aviation, one representing railroads, and one representing mass transit. The three ex officio members remain unchanged.

   

  • HB 922 Real property tax exemption for disabled veterans.  Provides that the tax exemption for the primary residence of a disabled veteran, a disabled veteran and his spouse, or a surviving spouse of a disabled veteran includes real property (i) held in a revocable inter vivos trust over which the veteran, the veteran and his spouse, or the surviving spouse hold the power of revocation; (ii) held in an irrevocable trust under which a veteran alone or in conjunction with his spouse possesses a life estate or an estate for joint lives, or enjoys a continuing right of use or support; or (iii) held by a veteran alone or in conjunction with his spouse as tenant or tenants for life or joint lives. The bill also provides that the exemption for the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran includes property held in any of these ways. Finally, the bill establishes a formula for pro rating the amount of the exemption in the event there are owners in addition to the disabled veteran.

   

  • HB 1063 School calendar. Makes local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening of the school year and eliminates the post-Labor Day opening requirement and "good cause" scenarios for which the Board of Education may grant waivers of this requirement.

   

  • HB 1106 Behavior analysts; licensure by Board of Medicine.  Gives the Board of Medicine authority to license behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts. The bill also requires the Board to promulgate emergency regulations within 280 days of enactment and contains an emergency clause.

   

  • HB 1254 Unemployment benefits for symphony orchestra performers.  Provides that an individual is not eligible for unemployment benefits based on services consisting of performing or training with a symphony orchestra. The provision applies to weeks of unemployment commencing during periods between successive orchestra seasons when there is a reasonable assurance that the individual will perform in the ensuing orchestra season.

   

  • HB 1273 Access to oral chemotherapy medications; classification.  Prescribed, orally administered medications necessary for the treatment of cancer shall be available on a basis no less favorable than coverage provided for intravenously administered or injected anticancer medications, regardless of formulation or benefit category determination by the insurer, corporation, or health maintenance organization. Prescribed, orally administered anticancer medications are currently available from health insurers, health care subscription plans, and health maintenance organizations whose pharmaceutical benefit category determination provides coverage. This classification will apply to the state employees' health insurance plan and to the local choice health program.

   

  • HJ 145 Preeclampsia Month in Virginia.  Designates May, in 2012 and in each succeeding year, as Preeclampsia Awareness Month in Virginia. 

  • HJ 179 Commending Lawrence G. Sprader

   

  • HJ 192 Celebrating the life of Sophie Ann Relson Salley

   

  • HJ 193 Celebrating the life of Mary Lou Decossaux 

   

  • HJ 201 Commending the Honorable William Kyle Barlow

   

  • HJ 213 Commending Dr. Philip J. Schwarz

   

  • HJ 219 Celebrating the life of Mary Ann Gaudette Buffington

   

  • HJ 238 Commending Dr. Linwood H. Rose

   

  • HJ 240 Commending Girl Scouts of the United States of America

   

  • HJ 278 Commending Donna M. Blatecky

   

  • HJ 309 Commending Bishop Charlene Payne Kammerer

   

  • HJ 337 Commending Bon Secours St. Mary's Hospital on the occasion of its 45th anniversary

   

  • HJ 340 Celebrating the life of the Reverend Glenwood Paris Roane, Sr