June 30, 2017 | Uncategorized
Tomorrow, the new laws passed by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor this session will go into effect. A summary of all of them is available here:
http://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/idc/idc17.pdf
However, I’ve highlighted a couple that may be of interest below:
•State Budget
The budget includes no tax increases, eliminates all of the Governor’s fees such as the restaurant inspection fee and shellfish inspection fee; all the while providing a 3% salary increase for state employees and faculty, a 2% raise for all state-supported local employees, and a 2% raise for all teachers.
•Right to re-sale electronic tickets
We passed legislation that requires online ticket issuers to not impede individuals from re-selling their electronic tickets to professional concerts, sports events, and theatrical productions—no matter the ticketing platform the individual chooses to re-sell them on.
•Left-lane drivers
The General Assembly passed legislation that fines drivers $100 who fail to drive on the right side of the highway.
•Bullying
Under new legislation, public school principals will be required to notify the parents of any student involved in a bullying case within five days, including the status of the investigation.
•Opioids
The General Assembly passed a number of new laws to fight the opioid epidemic: including the establishment of a needle exchange program and increased access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone.
•Colleges
Legislation passed mandates that public colleges and universities must report to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia the value of investments every year. Legislation also requires that schools must also give notice of any proposals to increase tuition and fees.
•Blaze Pink
A new law allows hunters to wear blaze pink instead of blaze orange hunting apparel when required during firearms deer hunting season or the special season for hunting deer with a muzzle-loading rifle.