General Laws committee advances eviction diversion, cocktails-to-go and landlord-tenant protections on crossover day

The Virginia General Laws Committee met on crossover day and re-referred one bill and reported a block of bills to the floor, moving measures on eviction diversion, cocktails-to-go, landlord-tenant screening protections, contractor recovery thresholds and economic development reporting.

The committee’s action advances bills that affect renters and landlords, liquor retail practices, licensed contractors and state economic development reporting at a busy point in the session. Some measures passed unanimously; others carried closer margins after amendments or substitutes.

The committee re-referred Senate Bill 801 (patron: Sen. Favola) to the House Committee on Health and Human Services after a motion and voice vote. The meeting then approved a block of bills reported from General Laws and the House, including Senate Bill 785 (real estate license transfer fee prohibition), Senate Bill 834 (ABC tied house exceptions cleanup), Senate Bill 1059 (contractor transaction recovery fund inflation-adjustment and bracket readjustments) and Senate Bill 1089 (Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority reporting change). Those bills were reported by the committee 19–0.

The committee also reported Senate Bill 830 (Sen. Locke), which would convert a pilot eviction-diversion program into a statewide program by making adoption permissive rather than mandatory. The Virginia Housing Commission recommended the change. That bill reported 19–1.

Senate Bill 811 (Sen. Rouse), a repeal of the sunset on the cocktails-to-go authority, was reported with a substitute that clarifies the program’s intent and operational language. The substitute clarifies that customers must both order and receive a meal before being allowed to order and receive a cocktail to go. "Customers must order and receive at least 1 meal to be allowed to order and receive a cocktail to go," Delegate Kreesick said while describing the technical change. The substitute reported 18–2.

Senate Bill 815 (Sen. Rouse), addressing landlord screening and adverse actions against prospective tenants based on certain dismissed, nonsuited or expunged unlawful detainer records, was amended to limit the protection to larger non–"mom and pop" landlords (owners with four or more units or 10% ownership). The amendment made the Senate bill identical to House Bill 1872 (Delegate Hernandez). After the amendment, the bill reported 12–8.

The committee closed business with procedural motions and scheduled to reconvene later in the week. Committee members said the meeting was intended to shorten late-night work next week and to clear the docket ahead of remaining crossover deadlines.

Votes at a glance

- SB 801 (Favola): Motion to re-refer to Health and Human Services; outcome: re-referred (voice vote). - SB 785 (suitor/line) / HB 1653 (Thomas): Prohibit Real Estate Board fee for license transfers within a firm; committee outcome: reported 19–0. - SB 834 (Favola) / HB (identical): ABC tied house exceptions cleanup; committee outcome: reported 19–0. - SB 1059 (Hackworth) / HB 1707 (identical): Contractor transaction recovery fund — inflation adjustments and bracket readjustments; committee outcome: reported 19–0. - SB 1089 (Craig) / HB 1567 (Wiley): VEDP Authority must include most recent available Auditor of Public Accounts examination report in operational plan annual report; removes requirement to include audited financial statements for the prior fiscal year; committee outcome: reported 19–0. - SB 830 (Locke) / HB 1623 (McClure): Convert pilot eviction diversion program to permissive statewide program (recommendation of Virginia Housing Commission); committee outcome: reported 19–1. - SB 811 (Rouse) / HB 2058 (Kreesick): Repeal sunset on cocktails-to-go; substitute clarifies customers must order and receive a meal to be eligible; committee outcome with substitute: reported 18–2. - SB 815 (Rouse) / HB 1872 (Hernandez): Prohibit adverse action by landlords against prospective tenants for certain dismissed/nonsuited/expunged unlawful detainer records; amended to apply to owners with four or more units or 10% ownership; committee outcome as amended: reported 12–8.

All vote tallies above are the committee roll-call results recorded during this meeting. Where a bill was described as "identical" to a House bill, that reflects how sponsors presented the legislation to the committee in this session.