RICHMOND — After hours of back and forth at the end of a 45-day legislative session, House and Senate negotiators struck a deal on new ethics reforms and brought the 2015 General Assembly session to a close.
The new ethics rules would cap gifts from lobbyists and anyone seeking a business relationship with the state at $100, including meals and travel. That would be a per-gift cap, not an aggregate.
The change, and other new ethics rules, would apply to every elected official in the state
The bill creates a nine-member ethics council to advise elected officials and to review their disclosure reforms before they’re released to the public, allowing for changes. The council will also pre-approve travel if there’s a question as to whether it is connected closely enough to a public official’s job to merit an exemption in the cap.
The council would not have investigatory powers, something Gov. Terry McAuliffe requested. He would appoint three members and the House and Senate would appoint three each, with representation from the Democratic and Republican parties and several retired judges included.
The bill “strikes an appropriate balance,” Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. “Tommy” Norment Jr. said Friday night. There are a number of “safe harbors,” Norment said, allowing free travel or meals beyond the cap without pre-approval from the commission when it’s clearly for job-related purposes.
The rules deal largely with lobbyist gifts in the wake of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s conviction on federal corruption charges. They don’t change the state’s campaign finance rules, which, among other things, allow unlimited donations from individuals and corporations.
State Sen. John Watkins, a Powhatan Republican who is retiring this year, said it remains to be seen whether these new rules will prevent unethical behavior without also tripping up honest politicians. The bill won’t go into effect until Jan. 1, in part to give the federal appeals court time to rule in McDonnell’s case, Watkins said.
The government’s definition of “honest services,” which McDonnell was convicted of selling to a wealthy businessman, “hopefully will be honed down some” through that process, Watkins said.
The ethics bill votes capped what started out as a busy day at the legislature, then turned into a slow waiting game as House and Senate negotiators went back and forth over the ethics package. The legislature also passed new day care regulations Friday, new campus sexual assault rules and a major reform of the state’s liquor monopoly.
Each bill now heads to McAuliffe for his signature.
The new sexual assault rules walk a fine line between existing federal regulations and a desire among state lawmakers to loop law enforcement into any reported assault, even if the victim doesn’t want an investigation.
They settled on a handful of new rules under House Bill 1930, which passed both chambers unanimously:
*Universities will have to have written agreements with unaffiliated counseling or advocacy groups to give victims someone to talk to who is not connected to the school.
*If a victim tells faculty or other university employees about an attack, that will be reported up to the school’s Title IX coordinator, a federally mandated position. That coordinator will convene a committee that will include campus police but not, as in a previous version of this bill, other local police.
*The committee will review the case, and may run a background check on the accused assailant. If it decides that the victim’s safety, or the safety of other people, is at risk, it can override a victim’s desire not to report the crime to police and forward case details — including the victim’s name — to law enforcement.
*If the committee doesn’t notify law enforcement, it must notify the local commonwealth’s attorney of the case, but without revealing the victim’s identity.
Separate legislation, Senate Bill 1193, would require schools to place a notation on a former student’s transcript if he or she is suspended or kicked out for a violation of the school’s code of conduct, or if he or she withdraws during an investigation.
It can be removed if the student is later proven innocent. The bill once focused on sexual assaults or felonies, but was changed to include campus codes of conduct. The bill requires the notation to specifically describe the violation.
As for the day care rules, they stem from a Washington Post investigation last year that uncovered a number of child deaths in day cares and “family day homes,” which are small unlicensed facilities. House Bill 1570 doesn’t go as far as some advocates wanted, but it would:
*Require new fingerprint background checks for day care and day home employees and volunteers, starting in July 2017.
*Lower the number of children a day home operator can care for without having a state license from six children to five, starting in July 2016. The bill does not require operators to count their own children in that, as was once proposed. Homes would be exempt from this requirement if all the children in the home are related to the operator by blood or marriage.
*Day homes that accept federal subsidies must comply with all federal regulations, but won’t necessarily have to be licensed and inspected by the state, as was once proposed.
*- A conviction of any crime included in the state’s sex offender registry would bar someone from operating a day care or day home.
Del. Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg, said the bill doesn’t go far enough, and doesn’t give the state the ability to shut down problem facilities.
“It just lowers the licensing requirement by one kid,” he said.
The General Assembly also approved major reforms for the state’s liquor monopoly, including a change in the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. Starting in 2018 it would go from a three-member board of political appointees, each one making at least $120,000 a year, to a five-member board that pays about $18,000 a year.
Those changes were made in part on Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s recommendation, but won’t take effect until he leaves office. Board members would also have to satisfy some minimum requirements on business or legal experience.
The board and CEO, also appointed by the governor, could only be fired for cause under these reforms, which is another change.
Also Friday the legislature:
*Voted to tighten state procurement rules by banning order-splitting – when state agencies, or colleges or local governments split a contract or purchase order into several pieces to avoid the competitive bidding requirement. The bill also sets rules for awarding contracts for services, such as engineering or architecture, that run over several years.
*Voted to extend the retirement age for judges from age 70 to 73, but with some caveats that were hammered out Friday. The measure would apply to all Supreme Court and Court of Appeals judges. But when it comes to circuit, general, and juvenile and domestic relations judges, only those appointed to terms that begin on or after July 1 will be affected.
*Created a new framework for family members to access electronic records — email, social media accounts and the like — after a person’s death, or for people to block that access after death. Senate Bill 1450 “creates a framework where none existed before,” sponsoring state Sen. Mark Obenshain said.
*Passed a bill that forbids employers from requiring employees to give up their social media passwords.
*Voted to tighten the rules under which police can board noncommercial vessels, clarifying via House Bill 1298 that reasonable suspicions is required to stop a boat, other than to inspect hunting, fishing and other licenses.
Fain can be reached by phone at 757-525-1759. Ress can be reached at 757-247-4535.
