Voter registration; registration of Departmentof Motor Vehicles customers; automatic update. Provides thatthe information gathered by the Department of Motor Vehicles fora person who indicates that he is already registered to vote isto be automatically transmitted to the Department of Elections forthe purpose of updating an existing voter registration record. Undercurrent law, a person must be presented with the option to declineto have his information transmitted to the Department of Electionsbefore such information may be transmitted.
Human trafficking investigators; licensing bythe Department of Criminal Justice Services. Authorizes the Departmentof Criminal Justice Services to register and issue licenses for humantrafficking investigators. The bill provides that a human traffickinginvestigator is a private investigator who is GSA compliant and engagesin the business of, or accepts employment to make, investigationsto obtain information on sex trafficking or severe forms of traffickingas defined in the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000and in the federal Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.
Candidates for office; challenges to qualificationsor eligibility; timeliness. Requires challenges to a person'seligibility to appear on the ballot on the basis that such persondid not meet all qualifications or fulfill all requirements for candidacyto be made at least 60 days before the date of the election. Candidateswho are nominated at a primary election cannot be later challengedon the basis of facts that were present prior to the primary electionand could have been raised in a challenge to such candidate's eligibilityfor the primary ballot.
Advertisement of legal notices; website. Allows a locality to advertise legal notices on the locality's websiteinstead of, or in addition to, publishing such notices in a newspaperhaving general circulation in the locality.
Electric utilities; customer energy choice;notice required for customer return to service. Removes certainrestrictions on the ability of individual retail customers of electricenergy within the Commonwealth, regardless of customer class, topurchase electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energyfrom any supplier of electric energy licensed to sell retail electricenergy within the Commonwealth. The bill also decreases the requiredwritten notice period from five years to six months for certain electricenergy customers to return to service by Dominion Energy Virginiaafter purchasing electric energy from other suppliers.
License plate readers; penalties. Providesrequirements for the use of license plate readers, defined in thebill, by law-enforcement agencies. The bill requires such agenciesto enter into an agreement with the license plate reader owner orother responsible non-law-enforcement entity to operate a data trust,defined in the bill, to store the data collected by a license platereader and requires any such law-enforcement agency to apply to thedata trust for access to such data. The bill limits the use of licenseplate readers to scanning, detecting, and identifying license platenumbers for the purpose of identifying vehicles involved in certaincrimes.
Health insurance; coverage for diabetes.Requires that each insurer providing coverage for diabetes shallinclude benefits for FDA-approved insulin, continuous blood glucosemonitoring, and regular foot care and eye care exams in additionto equipment, supplies, and self-management training and education.The bill allows for such self-management training and education tobe provided either in-person outpatient or through telemedicine. Under the bill, such coverage for self-management training and educationshall include up to three outpatient visits upon an individual receivingan initial diagnosis of diabetes and up to two medically necessaryvisits to a qualified provider upon a significant change in the patient'ssymptoms or medical condition. The bill also repeals certain provisionsof law related to cost-sharing for insulin and provides that thecoverage required by the bill shall be exempt from any deductibleor cost-sharing payment requirement. The provisions of the bill applyto insurance policies, contracts, and plans issued for delivery,reissued, extended, or amended on and after January 1, 2025.
Siting of energy facilities; approval by theState Corporation Commission. Establishes a procedure under whichan electric utility or independent power provider (applicant) is able to obtain approval for a certificate from the State CorporationCommission for the siting of an energy facility rather than fromthe governing body of a locality. Under the bill, applicants areauthorized to submit an application to the Commission if (i) thelocality fails to timely approve or deny an application; (ii) theapplication complies with certain requirements for Commission approval,but a host locality denies the application; or (iii) the localityamends its zoning ordinance after it has notified the applicant that its requirements are compatible with the requirements for Commissionapproval, and the amendment imposes additional requirements thatare more restrictive. The bill provides that an applicant who isissued a certificate by the Commission for an energy facility isexempt from obtaining approvals or permits, including any land useapprovals or permits under the regulations and ordinances of thelocality. The bill applies to anysolar energy facility with a capacity of 50 megawatts or more, anywind energy facility with a capacity of 100 megawatts or more, andany energy storage facility with a nameplate capacity of 50 megawattsor more and an energy discharge capability of 200 megawatt hours or more.
Local government; standardization of publicnotice requirements for certain meetings, hearings, or intended actions. Standardizes the frequency with which and length of time in whichnotices of certain meetings, hearings, and other intended actionsof localities must be published. The notice provisions included inthe bill are organized into three groups: (i) publication requiredat least seven days before a meeting, hearing, or intended action;(ii) publication required twice, with the first notice appearing no more than 28 days before and the second notice appearing no lessthan seven days before a meeting, hearing, or intended action; and(iii) publication required three times, with the first notice appearingno more than 35 days before and the third notice appearing no lessthan seven days before the meeting, hearing, or intended action.The bill also standardizes descriptive information in such noticesrelated to (a) proposing, amending, or repealing ordinances; (b)local budget adoption; and (c) zoning ordinances and planning-relatedactions.
Zoning; certified recovery residence. Requiresthat a locality's zoning ordinances for all purposes shall considera certified recovery residence in which individuals with substanceuse disorder reside as residential occupancy by a single family.The bill specifies that no conditions more restrictive than thoseimposed on residences occupied by persons related by blood, marriage,or adoption shall be imposed on such certified recovery residence.
Net energy metering; solar interconnection;cost recovery. Provides that an electric distribution companyshall pay $1 per kilowatt per day for the costs of lost electricityproduction for any and all delays beyond the regulatory notice periodrequired by State Corporation Commission related to net energy metering. The bill requires that, for the purposes of net energy metering,an eligible customer-generator shall bear all reasonable costs ofequipment required at the eligible customer-generator's side of the meter forthe interconnection to the supplier's electric distribution system,including reasonable and prudent costs of additional controls, tests,or liability insurance. Additionally, the bill allows for cost recovery by Phase I and Phase II Utilities for electric distribution gridtransformation projects that support the interconnection of generatingfacilities using energy derived from sunlight that are owned or contractedby eligible customer-generators, subject to the Commission findingthose costs to be reasonable and prudent in accordance with existinglaw.
Disqualification from office under Section 3of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; affidavitof eligibility for candidates for elective office; removal from officefor current officeholders. Provides that any person who is foundto have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United Statesor to have given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof shall be disqualifiedfrom holding any office of the Commonwealth or of its governmentalunits in accordance with Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment tothe Constitution of the United States. Persons holding office whoare so disqualified may be removed by a writ of quo warranto, exceptthat a member of the General Assembly may be removed by the housein which he sits. The bill requires any candidate for any electiveoffice to submit an affidavit of eligibility attesting that suchcandidate is eligible to hold elective office under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
