Trade and Commerce

Passed

P HB148

Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002. Amends the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 by requiring local public entities to have independent design professionals or other professionals to provide independent analysis of the project prior to proceeding under the Act.
Patron - Hargrove

P HB231

Virginia Consumer Protection Act; admissibility of cure offers. Permits a supplier to introduce a cure offer into evidence in a proceeding for damages under the Consumer Protection Act if the cure offer is delivered prior to the filing of the supplier's initial responsive pleading. If the damages awarded in the proceeding do not exceed the value of the cure offer, the supplier will not be liable for the person's attorneys' fees and court costs. A cure offer is an offer to remedy a loss claimed to be suffered as a result of a consumer transaction, which includes an additional amount of at least 10 percent or $500, whichever is greater; however, the minimum additional amount need not exceed $4,000. This bill is identical to SB 324.
Patron - Athey

P HB390

Virginia Health Spa Act; requirement for bond or letter of credit. Provides that a health spa contract with a term that exceeds one year is to be counted as multiple contracts for purposes of determining the required amount of bond or letter of credit, with each full and any partial year of the term of a contract being counted as a separate contract. This bill applies only to health spa contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2005. This provision does not apply if the number of multi-year contracts that a health spa has in effect is fewer than 10 percent of all of its contracts.
Patron - Amundson

P HB503

Firearms; purchase of handguns of certain officers. Permits the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Department of Forestry to allow its retiring officers to purchase their handguns.
Patron - Keister

P HB548

Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA). Amends UCITA to incorporate changes adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). The bill clarifies that (i) insurance services transactions are not covered by UCITA even if computers are used; (ii) the consumer protection law that would have governed in the absence of UCITA still governs; (iii) end-user licenses cannot prohibit or limit lawful public discussion; and (iv) the laws of fraud, misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices, as they deal with failure to disclose defects, still apply. The bill also (a) deletes the default rules for license duration and the number of permitted users when the contract is silent and returns the defaults to the common law; (b) provides that there is no implied warranty with respect to subjective characteristics; and (c) provides that the implied warranties and obligations concerning noninterference, noninfringement and merchantability do not apply to free software. Finally, the bill makes certain technical amendments that reorganize a few sections of UCITA to make it easier to read and more consistent with NCCUSL's final version of the uniform law. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science.
Patron - May

P HB686

Price gouging. Prohibits suppliers from selling, leasing, or licensing necessary goods and services during times of disaster at an unconscionable price. To determine whether a price increase is unconscionable, the court must consider, among other factors, whether the price charged by the supplier during the time of disaster grossly exceeded the price at which the same or similar goods or services were readily obtainable in the trade area during the 10 days prior to the time of disaster. A violation constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, though aggrieved persons will not be able to bring a private cause of action. This bill incorporates HB 971 and is identical to SB 242.
Patron - Rapp

P HB689

Virginia Telephone Privacy Protection Act; telephone solicitation. Expands the definition of a "telephone solicitation call" to include solicitation calls made to any wireless telephone with a Virginia area code. A telephone solicitor is prohibited from calling a telephone number that has been placed on the federal Do Not Call Registry. The bill provides that the use of a version of the federal Do Not Call Registry obtained no more than three months prior to the date of the telephone solicitation is an affirmative defense to an action alleging a violation of the Telephone Privacy Protection Act. The bill requires telephone solicitors to play a prerecorded identification message that states the name and telephone number of the person on whose behalf the telephone solicitation call was being made, whenever a live person is not available within two seconds of completing the greeting. This bill is identical to SB 344.
Patron - Morgan

P HB1302

Sales and purchases of firearms in contiguous states. Repeals provisions regulating sales of firearms to residents of contiguous states and purchase of firearms by Virginia residents in contiguous states. This bill incorporates HB 353 and HB 1086.
Patron - Lingamfelter

P HB1424

Personal Information Privacy Act; date of birth on checks. Prohibits a person who accepts checks in the transaction of business from recording, or requesting or requiring a person to record, a date of birth upon the check as a condition of accepting the check. The section does not affect collection of a birth date for reasons unrelated to accepting the check, nor does it block a requirement that the payor provide his year of birth.
Patron - Dudley

P SB167

Virginia Racing Commission; satellite facilities. Increases the number of satellite facilities that the Virginia Racing Commission may authorize from six to 10.
Patron - Stolle

P SB242

P SB324

P SB344

Failed

F HB256

Gift cards and gift certificates; Virginia Consumer Protection Act. Requires a supplier that sells gift cards or gift certificates to consumers to provide a disclosure of its policies related thereto to consumers. The disclosure may be furnished to the consumer in writing at the time of purchase, be made by means of a sign placed in a conspicuous public area of the premises of the supplier so as to be readily noticeable and readable by the consumer, be on the bill of sale, or be on the back of the gift card. The disclosure shall include the conditions, charges, or fees relating to the gift card or gift certificate, including but not limited to any expiration date, diminution in value over time, or up-front fees. Charitable organizations are not required to provide such disclosures. Failure to provide the disclosure is a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
Patron - Jones, D.C.

F HB353

Sale and purchase of firearms. Provides that any resident of the Commonwealth who may lawfully purchase a rifle or shotgun in the Commonwealth may purchase a rifle or shotgun in another state provided the sale meets the lawful requirements of each such state, meets all lawful requirements of any federal statute, and is made by a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector. The bill also provides that any importer, manufacturer, dealer or collector licensed to sell rifles or shotguns in this Commonwealth may sell such firearms to a resident of another state provided the sale meets the lawful requirements of each state as well as the requirements of any federal statute pertaining thereto. Currently such sales and purchases are limited to contiguous states. This bill is incorporated into HB 1302.
Patron - Bryant

F HB586

Virginia Consumer Protection Act; cure offers for consumer disputes involving motor vehicle purchases. Defines "cure offer" as a written offer of one or more things of value made by a supplier who is a licensed motor vehicle dealer, and the offer is delivered to a person, or the person's attorney, claiming to have suffered a loss as a result of a consumer transaction for the purchase of a motor vehicle from the supplier. A cure offer must be reasonably calculated to remedy a loss claimed by the person, and it must include a minimum additional amount equaling 10 percent of the value of the cure offer or $500, whichever is greater, as compensation for inconvenience, fees, expenses, or other costs that such person may incur in relation to such loss. However, the minimum additional amount need not exceed $2,500. The bill prohibits the admission of a cure offer in any proceeding initiated under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act unless the cure offer is delivered by a supplier to the person, or the person's attorney, claiming loss prior to the filing of the supplier's initial responsive pleading in such proceeding. If a verdict is rendered in favor of the claimant, the cure offer shall be admissible for the purpose of the court's determination as to whether the supplier is liable for the claimant's attorney's fees and court costs. The supplier shall not be liable for such person's attorney's fees and court costs unless the actual damages found to have been sustained and awarded, without consideration of attorney's fees and court costs, exceed the value of the last cure offer that was not accepted by the person claiming the loss. This bill is incorporated into HB 231.
Patron - Janis

F HB971

F HB1046

F HB1070

Enterprise zones; sub-zones. Authorizes enterprise zones to include sub-zones as deemed appropriate by the county, city, or town in which the enterprise zone is located. The bill also permits each of the three enterprise zone designations to contain one noncontiguous sub-zone; however, a joint enterprise zone may consist of the joint zone area and one additional noncontiguous zone area in each of the adjacent jurisdictions that submitted the application for the joint enterprise zone.
Patron - Armstrong

F HB1235

Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act; civil actions; standards for reasonable attorney's fees. Provides factors that a court must take into account in determining whether attorney's fees are reasonable in an action brought for violation of the Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act.
Patron - Griffith

Carried Over

C HB599

Enterprise zone designations. Adds five enterprise zones to the number the Governor may designate, for a total of 65. The bill also requires the new zones to be designated in localities that have no enterprise zones as of July 1, 2004. The bill also increases the $16 million cap to $18 million, effective July 1, 2006.
Patron - Dudley

C HB694

Biodiesel fuel; minimum content. Requires all diesel fuel sold or offered for sale in the Commonwealth for use in internal combustion engines to contain 2.0 percent biodiesel fuel by volume. "Biodiesel fuel" is a combustible liquid fluid fuel from agricultural plant oils or animal fats. The mandate becomes effective when the annual capacity in the Commonwealth for the production of biodiesel fuel exceeds five million gallons, but in no event before June 30, 2006. The requirement shall not apply to fuel used in motors located at a nuclear electric generating plant unless approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patron - Morgan

C HB753

Personal Information Privacy Act; restricting the use of social security numbers. Amends the Personal Information Privacy Act to prohibit (i) intentionally communicating or otherwise making available, in any manner, an individual's social security number to the general public; (ii) printing an individual's social security number on any card required for the individual to access or receive products or services provided by the person or entity; (iii) requiring an individual to transmit his social security number over the Internet unless the connection is secure or the social security number is encrypted; (iv) requiring an individual to use his social security number to access an Internet website, unless a password or unique personal identification number or other authentication device is also required to access the site; (v) requiring an individual to provide his social security number to access or receive goods or services, unless required by state or federal law; and (vi) printing an individual's social security number on any materials that are mailed to the individual, unless state or federal law requires the social security number to be on the document to be mailed. The bill provides an exemption for those situations in which a social security number has been and is being continuously used if the user provides an annual disclosure and a cost-free opportunity to discontinue use to the number holder. The bill allows using the social security number if its use is required by law or for internal verification or administrative purposes. Health insurance companies have until January 1, 2005, to comply for renewing subscribers. The bill also requires that insurance plans for state employees assign an identification number that is not a covered employee's social security number. Finally, the bill amends the Virginia Consumer Protection Act to prohibit a supplier from using a consumer's social security number when the consumer requests that his driver's license number be used. Current law requires that a supplier only provide an alternate number if the consumer so requests in writing. This bill provides consumers with another option other than providing their social security numbers and writing to the supplier for a new number.
Patron - May

C HB1067

Enterprise zone designations. Allows any enterprise zone to consist of three noncontiguous zones while a joint enterprise zone between localities may consist of the joint zone plus two noncontiguous areas.
Patron - Armstrong

C SB64

Enterprise zone tax credits. Allows enterprise zone tax credits to be used for mixed-use real property. The bill also permits owners who rehabilitate or expand real property to treat a tenant of such property as having incurred the expenses of rehabilitation or expansion, and amends the definition of a permanent full-time position.
Patron - Martin

C SB65

Enterprise Zone Act. Increases the maximum real property investment tax credit from $125,000 per small qualified zone resident in any five-year period to $125,000 per zone resident per facility placed in service. The new maximum credit amount only applies to expanded, rehabilitated, or newly constructed real property that is placed in service in taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2003.
Patron - Martin

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