Professional & Occupational Reg., Dept. of; deregulation of residential building energy analysts.
Summary
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; deregulation of residential building energy analysts. Repeals certain provisions of the Code related to the regulation and licensure of residential building energy analysts and makes it a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act to perform for compensation without insurance coverage valued at no less than $100,000 or in a manner otherwise inconsistent with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines any inspection or evaluation of any of the readily accessible components of a residential building, such as appliances, water heaters, insulation materials, HVAC units, or electrical components, and provide recommendations to reduce the energy consumption or improve the efficiency of such components.
Bill status
died
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 8, 2025
Last action Jan 22, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
General Laws and Technology Substitute
·
5 edits
MODERATE
This bill amends Virginia Code sections related to home inspections, real estate disclosures, and consumer protection practices, while repealing regulations on residential building energy analysts. The primary substantive change is the addition of a new prohibited practice requiring residential building energy analysts to carry insurance of at least $100,000 and follow EPA guidelines when performing energy analyses for compensation. The bill also updates the effective date for certain provisions from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2025 (no change) and adds a new Chapter 23.2 violation to the list of prohibited practices.
Scope change
The bill expands consumer protection requirements by adding specific insurance and regulatory compliance requirements for residential building energy analysts, while maintaining the existing framework for home inspections and real estate disclosures.
REQUIREMENT
Added requirement that residential building energy analysts must carry insurance of at least $100,000 and follow EPA guidelines when performing compensated energy analyses
Added violation of Chapter 23.2 to the list of prohibited practices in consumer transactions
TIMELINE
Updated effective date notation from 'Effective until July 1, 2025' to 'Effective July 1, 2025' for the prohibited practices section
DEFINITION
Removed the repealed Article 5 sections (§§ 54.1-1144, 54.1-1145, and 54.1-1146) that defined residential building energy analysis
Added new definition of 'residential building energy analysis' in the prohibited practices section to clarify what activities are covered by the new insurance requirement
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
2
Jan 22, 2025
Committee
Failed to report from General Laws and Technology with substitute (7-Y 8-N)
upper
Jan 8, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Bill DeSteph
RRepublican
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