Trade and Commerce

Passed

P HB1094

Virginia Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act. Authorizes the Governor, upon finding that during a disaster a supplier is selling necessary goods or services at such an unconscionable price that it presents an imminent and substantial danger to the public welfare by creating public panic, to issue 30-day emergency orders requiring the supplier to reduce the price to the prevailing price in the local market.
Patron - Amundson

P HB1103

Virginia Consumer Protection Act; choice of remedies. Provides that a person who accepts a cure offer under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act may not bring another legal action that is substantially based on the same allegations of fact on which the action under the Act was based.
Patron - Athey

P SB77

Virginia Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act. Provides that the duration of a "time of disaster," which currently is the shorter of the period of a declared state of emergency or the 30 days following the natural disaster or other occurrence that resulted in the Governor's or President's declaration of the state of emergency, may be extended to include the 30 days that follow an extension or renewal of the state of emergency. It is unlawful for a supplier, during the time of disaster, to sell necessary goods and services at an unconscionable price within the area for which a state of emergency has been declared.
Patron - Watkins

P SB717

Purchase of service handguns; retired state law-enforcement officers. Allows any state-level law-enforcement officer who retires after 20 years of state service to purchase his service handgun for $1, even if a portion of his service was with another state agency.
Patron - Stolle

Failed

F HB238

Virginia Racing Commission; local referendum on racetrack or satellite facility. Provides that no local referendum for approval of a racetrack or satellite facility shall be held more often than every seven years in the same county, city, or town. Currently this time period is three years.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HB396

Enterprise zones. Provides that the combined state and local sales and use tax rate in an enterprise zone shall be 2.5 percent and authorizes localities to increase the local license tax thresholds from $50,000 and $100,000 to $250,000 and $500,000, respectively. Revenues from the 2.5 percent sales and use tax shall be distributed as follows: 1 percent shall be distributed in the same manner as the local sales and use tax, 1 percent shall be distributed to the general fund of the state treasury, and 0.5 percent shall be distributed to the Transportation Trust Fund.
Patron - McEachin

F HB500

Consumer reports. Requires each national consumer reporting agency to furnish to any consumer, upon request and at no charge, two complete consumer reports per calendar year. Currently, federal law requires such agencies to provide consumers with one free consumer report annually.
Patron - Armstrong

F HB766

Identity theft; security freezes; penalty. Authorizes any consumer to freeze access to his credit report. If a consumer has placed a freeze on his credit report, a consumer reporting agency is prohibited from releasing the credit report, or any information in it, without the consumer's express authorization. The measure provides a means by which a consumer can release his report, permanently, temporarily, or to a specific third party. Consumer reporting agencies may charge a consumer up to $10 for each freeze, removal of the freeze, or temporary lift of the freeze for a period of time, and a fee of no more than $12 for a temporary lift of a freeze for a specific party. A violation is a prohibited practice under the Consumer Protection Act. This bill was incorporated into HB 1508.
Patron - Sickles

F HB1511

Credit report security freeze; credit header information; penalties. Authorizes an individual to freeze access to his credit report. If a consumer has placed a freeze on his credit report, a consumer reporting agency is prohibited from releasing the credit report, or any information in it, without the consumer's express authorization. The measure provides a means by which a consumer can release his report, permanently, temporarily, or to a specific third party. Certain disclosures are exempt from the freeze. The measure also limits the release of credit header information to persons who would have a permissible purpose to obtain a consumer's credit report under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. "Credit header" refers to nonpublic identifying information in a consumer's credit file, including a consumer's social security number. Violations are a prohibited practice under the Consumer Protection Act. This bill was incorporated into HB 1508.
Patron - Plum

F SB218

Identity theft; security freezes; civil penalty. Authorizes any consumer under the age of 18 or over the age of 65 who is living in a nursing facility or other institution to freeze access to his credit report. If a consumer has placed a freeze on his credit report, a consumer reporting agency is prohibited from releasing the credit report, or any information in it, without the consumer's express authorization. The measure provides a means by which a consumer can release his report, permanently, temporarily, or to a specific third party. Consumer reporting agencies may charge a consumer up to $10 for each freeze, removal of the freeze, or temporary lift of the freeze. A person violating the requirements is liable to an injured person for the greater of actual damages or $1,000, and reasonable costs and attorney fees.
Patron - Quayle

F SB295

Identity theft; security freezes; penalty. Authorizes any consumer to freeze access to his credit report. If a consumer has placed a freeze on his credit report, a consumer reporting agency is prohibited from releasing the credit report, or any information in it, without the consumer's express authorization. The measure provides a means by which a consumer can release his report, permanently, temporarily, or to a specific third party. Consumer reporting agencies may charge a consumer up to $25 for each freeze or removal. Certain disclosures are exempt from the freeze. A violation is a prohibited practice under the Consumer Protection Act.
Patron - Cuccinelli

Carried Over

C HB425

Home Care Consumer and Worker Protection Act. Provides protection for home health care services consumers and providers by ensuring that both parties are well-informed regarding their status as employees, independent contractors, and employers; civil penalties.
Patron - Nutter

C HB523

Antifreeze bittering agent. Requires that any engine coolant or antifreeze that is manufactured or sold within the Commonwealth that contains more than 10 percent ethylene glycol, include not less than 30 parts per million, and not more than 50 parts per million, denatonium benzoate as a bittering agent in order to render the coolant or antifreeze unpalatable.
Patron - Oder

C HB908

Enterprise zone real property investment grants; mixed-use percentage. Changes from 30 percent to 20 percent the amount of floor space in a mixed-use building that must be devoted to commercial, office, or industrial use in an enterprise zone.
Patron - Oder

C HB1508

Credit reports; security breaches. Requires consumer reporting agencies to provide individuals with monthly access to their credit reports for a fee of up to $2 per report, for up to 12 reports per year. Additional reports would be available for a fee of $8. The measure also requires data collectors that keep personal information on individuals to notify a Virginia resident when there has been a breach of the security of the data. The notice shall include a description of the categories of information that were acquired by an unauthorized person and a toll-free number that the individual may use to learn what types of information were maintained about the individual. An individual receiving such a notice may obtain, at no cost, consumer credit reports beginning two months following the breach of security and continuing on a quarterly basis for two years thereafter.
Patron - Plum

C HB1510

Personal Information Privacy Act; restricted use of social security numbers. Adds several other restrictions to the use of social security numbers (SSNs), including use of SSNs on the Internet, the sale, trade or other disclosure of SSNs, and the refusal to do business with an individual who refuses to disclose his SSN under certain circumstances.
Patron - Plum

C SB177

Enterprise zone job creation grant program; grant eligible position. Deletes from the definition of "grant eligible position" language that currently excludes retail, local service, and restaurant establishments.
Patron - Locke

C SB178

Enterprise zone real property investment grants; mixed-use percentage. Changes from 30 percent to 20 percent the amount of floor space in a mixed-use building that must be devoted to commercial, office, or industrial use in an enterprise zone. The provisions of the bill would apply to properties placed in service on or after July 1, 2006.
Patron - Locke

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