CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS' GENERAL POWERS & DUTIES
Failed Legislation
HOUSE BILL 1750
Attorney for the Commonwealth; full-time status.
Patron: R. Creigh Deeds
Summary: Provides that the Compensation Board shall not consent to the
conversion to full-time status of attorneys for the Commonwealth unless
the sum of the three-year average arrest figures, the three-year average
weighted arrest figures and caseload figures of the attorney for the Commonwealth
for the circuit court and all lower courts of the locality as compiled by
the Supreme Court is greater than 2,500.
HOUSE BILL 1900
Lobbying; constitutional officers and their deputies and employees.
Patron: Johnny S. Joannou
Summary: Broadens the definition of local government employee, for lobbying
registration purposes, to include local constitutional officers and their
deputies and employees. Under current law, the chief administrative officer
of each local government is required to register with the Secretary of the
Commonwealth and file a lobbying registration statement if any local government
employees will act as lobbyists on its behalf. The bill does not change
current provisions that exempt from the registration requirements locally
elected officials acting in their official capacity or local government
employees whose job duties do not regularly include influencing or attempting
to influence legislative or executive action.
HOUSE BILL 2006
Attorneys' fees; civil rights violations by Commonwealth.
Patron: A. Donald McEachin
Summary: Allows a plaintiff attorney's fees against the Commonwealth
if a court finds that the Commonwealth deprived any person of his due process
or equal protection guarantees and specifically includes any action on the
part of the government which (i) discriminates against any person on the
basis of his race, religion, or gender, or (ii) violates the fundamental
right and duty of a parent to direct the upbringing and education of the
parent's child.
HOUSE BILL 2207
Law-enforcement officers' procedural guarantees.
Patron: Jackie T. Stump
Summary: Includes sheriffs' deputies within the law-enforcement officers'
statutory procedural guarantees.
Note: VALECO and the Sheriffs Association have consistently opposed
such attempts to vitiate the appointment and removal powers of constitutional
officers.
HOUSE BILL 2257
Workplace issues.
Patron: Barnie K. Day
Summary: Grants localities and school boards authority to seek to improve
communications and address workplace issues for local government and school
board employees by gathering information directly from employees regarding
such issues as benefits, compensation, policies and procedures governing
the workplace, communications, and general morale. The locality and school
board may use the information to guide future personnel policy directions.
HOUSE BILL 2265
Labor and employment; governmental employee associations.
Patron: L. Karen Darner
Summary: Permits employees of the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions,
or any governmental agency of any of them to form associations for the purpose
of discussing their interests with their employing agencies, whenever such
agencies agree to engage in such discussions. Current law permits these
governmental employees to form such associations for the purpose of promoting
their interests before their employing agencies.
Note: This bill passed both houses but was vetoed by Governor Gilmore,
who indicated that a statutory right to "discuss" effectively
implied the right to negotiate terms and conditions of employment in violation
of longstanding Virginia policy. "Although this legislation is permissive,"
the Governor stated, "the potential for inconsistency and confusion
will only lead to a more adversarial relationship between local government
managers and their employees."
HOUSE BILL 2465
Employer liability.
Patron: Beverly T. Sherwood
Summary: Provides that an employer is immune from liability for releasing
information about a current or former employee's job performance, conduct
or reasons for separation if the information is requested by the person's
prospective or current employer and the employer is not acting in bad faith.
An employer is presumed to be acting in good faith and is considered to
be acting in bad faith only if it can be shown by clear and convincing evidence
that the information was knowingly false and deliberately misleading. An
employer who relies on information disclosed by another employer is immune
from civil liability stemming from any action relating to the employer's
negligence relating to the hiring or failure to hire the employee. The bill
provides that in an action against an employer for providing or relying
on information about a current or former employee's job performance, attorneys'
fees may be awarded to the prevailing party.
SENATE BILL 953
Disclosure of information regarding employee or former employee.
Patron: Frederick M. Quayle
Summary: Provides that an employer acting in good faith may not be held
liable for disclosing information about job performance or the reason for
termination of employment of an employee or former employee to a prospective
employer of the employee or former employee if the request was made in writing
and the information released is documented in the employee's personnel file.
There is a rebuttable presumption of good faith unless a preponderance of
the evidence shows the employer acted with malice, intentionally or recklessly
disclosed false information, or disclosed information that is protected
under a nondisclosure agreement. Several states have similar provisions
for job references.
SENATE BILL 987
Historic courthouse preservation zone tax credits.
Patron: Frederick M. Quayle
Summary: Establishes a tax credit for business firms conducting qualifying
commercial uses within historic courthouse preservation zones. A locality
may apply to the Department of Taxation for designation of the area within
1,000 feet of a circuit courthouse that was built prior to 1900 as a "historic
courthouse preservation zone." A business within a zone is eligible
for designation as a qualifying commercial use if the local government certifies
that the business is located in a structure in the zone that satisfies the
architectural standards for an Old and Historic District. The annual tax
credit for any qualifying commercial use is the lesser of $20,000 or one
third of its state tax liability. The tax credits are nonrefundable, but
unused credits may be carried forward for up to 10 years. The credits are
available for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2000, but before
January 1, 2005.
SENATE BILL 1020
Disclosure of information regarding employee or former employee; state
and local law-enforcement agency job applicants.
Patron: Charles J. Colgan
Summary: Provides that an employer acting in good faith may not be held
liable for disclosing to a state or local law-enforcement agency, information
about job performance or the reason for termination of employment of an
employee or former employee if (i) the employee or former employee is seeking
employment as a law-enforcement officer with such law-enforcement agency,
(ii) the request is made in writing, and (iii) the information released
is documented in the employee's personnel file. There is a rebuttable presumption
of good faith unless a preponderance of the evidence shows the employer
acted with malice, intentionally or recklessly disclosed false information,
or disclosed information that is protected under a nondisclosure agreement.
Provides that the Compensation Board shall not consent to the conversion
to full-time status of attorneys for the Commonwealth unless the sum of
the three-year average arrest figures, the three-year average weighted arrest
figures and caseload figures of the attorney for the Commonwealth for the
circuit court and all lower courts of the locality as compiled by the Supreme
Court is greater than 2,500.
SENATE BILL 1110
Collective bargaining.
Patron: Edward L. Schrock
Summary: Revises the law relating to the prohibition against collective
bargaining by public employees. No government entity is vested with or possesses
any authority to acknowledge or sanction, formally or informally, any labor
union, local affiliate of a labor union or other employee group, organization
or association as an advocate or speaker for or representative of a bargaining
agent of any public employees or to bargain collectively or enter into any
collective bargaining contract with a union or association or the agents
of these groups with respect to any matter concerning public employment.
Collective bargaining means, for purposes of this law, devising collective
bargaining legislation and lobbying for the enactment of such legislation;
organizing employees to be represented by a union employee group, organization
or association; negotiating employment conditions; participating in impasse
mediation, fact-finding, and arbitration of employment disputes; filing
and processing employee grievances and appeals of such grievances; research
on terms and conditions of teacher employment; litigating claims relating
to unfair labor practices; monitoring and seeking to influence legal and
judicial developments affecting union and employee rights, privileges, and
responsibilities; publishing documents, pamphlets, and other written materials
on events and developments related to collective bargaining, such as union
governance costs, conventions, conference committee reports; and providing
programs to train labor dispute negotiators and union leaders. The statute
permitting the forming of associations to promote the interests of government
employees before the employing agency is modified to note that this authorization
does not extend to activities defined as collective bargaining.
Further Information
Alan Albert: 757/624-3055 (Norfolk), 804/697-1368 (Richmond)
E-mail: aalbert@maysval.com
Anne Leigh Kerr: 804/697-1465
E-mail: alkerr@maysval.com
© 1999 Virginia Association of Local Elected Constitutional Officers.
This report may not be reproduced without the written permission of the
copyright holder.
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