Utility easements; location of broadband and other communications facilities. Declares that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that (i) easements for the location and use of electric and communications facilities may be used to provide or expand broadband or other communications services; (ii) the use of easements to provide or expand broadband or other communications services is in the public interest; (iii) the installation, replacement, or use of public utility conduit, including the costs of installation, replacement, or use of conduit of a sufficient size to accommodate the installation of infrastructure to provide or expand broadband or other communications services, is in the public interest; (iv) the use of easements to provide or expand broadband or other communications services (a) does not constitute a change in the physical use of the easement, (b) does not interfere with, impair, or take any vested or other rights of the owner or occupant of the servient estate, (c) does not place any additional burden on the servient estate other than a de minimis burden, if any; (iv) has value to the owner or occupant of the servient estate greater than any de minimis impact; and (v) the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services within easements, appurtenant or gross, are merely changes in the manner, purpose, or degree of the granted use as appropriate to accommodate a new technology. The measure further provides that (1) absent any express prohibition on the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services in an easement that is contained in a deed or other instrument by which the easement was granted, the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services within any easement shall be deemed, as a matter of law, to be a permitted use within the scope of every easement for the location and use of electric and communications facilities and (2) subject to compliance with any express prohibitions in a written easement, any incumbent utility or communications provider may use an easement to install, construct, provide, maintain, modify, lease, operate, repair, replace, or remove its communications equipment, system, or facilities, and provide communications services through the same, without such incumbent utility or communications provider paying additional compensation to the owner or occupant of the servient estate or to the incumbent utility, provided that no additional utility poles are installed. The measure provides that, in cases of a prescriptive easement, such easement is deemed to exist and that any incumbent utility or communications provider may use a prescriptive easement to install, construct, provide, maintain, modify, lease, operate, repair, replace, or remove its communications equipment, system, or facilities, and provide communications services through the same, without such incumbent utility or communications provider paying additional compensation to the owner or occupant of the servient estate or to the incumbent utility, provided that no additional utility poles are installed.
Department of Transportation; electronic speed indicator signs; U.S. Route 17. Requires the Commissioner of Highways to place at least six permanent electronic speed indicator signs on U.S. Route 17 near particular intersections in Fauquier County. This bill is identical to SB 557.
Electric utilities; right to shop. Authorizes individual retail customers of electric energy to purchase electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy from any licensed competitive supplier of electric energy, including any incumbent electric utility. Currently, such customers may purchase electric power from such suppliers, other than an incumbent electric utility that is not the incumbent electric utility serving the exclusive territory in which the customer is located, only if their incumbent electric utility does not offer an approved tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy. The measure also provides that a cooperative utility customer eligible to take service under a tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy is prohibited from purchasing electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy from a licensed supplier, except such customer is authorized to continue purchasing renewable energy pursuant to the terms of a power purchase agreement in effect on the date the cooperative serving it filed with the Commission such tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy for the duration of such agreement. The provisions of the bill will not become effective unless reenacted by the 2021 Session of the General Assembly.
Public schools; lock-down drills; frequency;exemptions. Requires every public school at which sixth gradeis the highest grade taught to hold at least one lock-down drillafter the first 60 days of the school session and every public schoolat which seventh grade or any grade above seventh grade is taughtto hold at least two lock-down drills after the first 60 days ofthe school session, in addition to the two lock-down drills requiredto be held during the first 20 days of the school session at eachsuch school. Current law requires each public school to hold at leasttwo lock-down drills after the first 20 days of the school session.The bill requires kindergarten students to be exempt from mandatoryparticipation in lock-down drills during the first 60 days of theschool session and requires the principal at each relevant school to implement such exemption by either (i) conducting teacher-onlydrills or otherwise providing suitable training for kindergartenteachers or (ii) notifying each parent of a kindergarten studentat least five school days in advance of each planned lock-down drilland permitting each such parent to opt his child out of participationin such lock-down drill.
Health insurance credits for retired school division employees other than teachers. Requires school divisions to provide a health insurance credit of $1.50 per year of service to non-teacher employees of a local school division with at least 15 years of total creditable service. In addition, localities may elect to provide such individuals an additional health insurance credit of up to $1 per month for each year of creditable service. However, the bill provides that the additional benefits for retired school division employees other than teachers shall not be paid to any such employee prior to July 1, 2021.This measure does not apply to any local school division employee who retired on disability prior to July 1, 2020, if this measure would reduce the monthly credit currently payable to such former member. Eligible employees who retired prior to July 1, 2020, and did not receive a health insurance credit prior to that date will only receive the $1.50 per year of service health insurance credit prospectively.
Misdemeanor sexual offenses where the victim is a minor; statute of limitations. Increases the statute of limitations for prosecuting misdemeanor violations where the victim is a minor from one year after the victim reaches the age of majority to five years after the victim reaches the age of majority if the offender was an adult at the time of the offense and more than three years older than the victim for the following misdemeanor violations: carnal knowledge of detainee by employee of bail bond company, sexual battery, attempted sexual battery, infected sexual battery, sexual abuse of a child age 13 or 14 by an adult, and tongue penetration by adult of mouth of child under age 13 with lascivious intent. This bill is identical to SB 724.
Local tax exemption; solar energy equipment. Changes the local property tax exemption for solar energy projects from an 80 percent exemption for the life of the project to a step down scale of an 80 percent exemption in the first five years, 70 percent in the second five years, and 60 percent for all remaining years in service. The change applies to solar energy projects that are either (i) projects greater than 20 megawatts and less than 150 megawatts for which an initial interconnection request form has been filed with an electric utility or a regional transmission organization after January 1, 2015, and first in service on or after January 1, 2017, and (ii) projects equaling more than five megawatts and less than 150 megawatts for which an initial interconnection request form has been filed on or after January 1, 2019. The bill provides that if a locality assesses a revenue share on a project, the step down scale shall not apply. The bill extends the sunset date after which new projects may not qualify for the exemption from January 1, 2024, to July 1, 2030, and is identical to HB 1434.
Health insurance; short-term limited-durationmedical plans. Prohibits carriers from issuing in the Commonwealthany short-term limited-duration medical plan with a duration thatexceeds three months or that can be renewed or extended, or if theplan's issuance would result in a covered person being covered bya short-term limited-duration medical plan for more than three monthsin any 12-month period. The measure prohibits a carrier from issuinga short-term limited-duration medical plan during an annual openenrollment period. The measure also requires carriers to rebate premiumsfrom short-term limited-duration medical plans when the medical lossratio for such plans is less than 85 percent.
School board member compensation; City of Winchester. Authorizes the City of Winchester to compensate its school boardmembers with an annual salary not to exceed $4,500.
Local disposable plastic bag tax. Authorizesany locality to impose a tax of five cents per bag on disposableplastic bags provided to consumers by certain retailers, with certainbags being exempt from the tax. Revenues from the local tax wouldbe collected by the Tax Commissioner and distributed monthly to thelocality imposing the tax to be used by such locality for the mitigationof pollution and litter. The bill requires each locality imposingthe tax by ordinance to provide a certified copy of the ordinanceto the Tax Commissioner at least six months prior to the date thetax is to become effective. The bill also allows every retailer thatcollects the tax to retain one cent of the five-cent tax.
Expanded polystyrene food service containers; prohibition; civil penalty. Prohibits the dispensing by a food vendor of prepared food to a customer in a single-use expanded polystyrene food service container, as defined in the bill. The bill requires certain chain restaurants to stop using such containers by July 1, 2023, and sets the date for compliance by all food vendors as July 1, 2025. The bill exempts certain institutions, including correctional facilities and public schools, from the definition of "food vendor" and provides a process by which a locality may grant consecutive one-year exemptions to individual food vendors on the basis of undue economic hardship. The bill provides a civil penalty of not more than $50 for each day of violation, to be collected in a civil action brought by the Attorney General or the relevant locality. The penalties collected are to be deposited in the Litter Control and Recycling Fund or to the treasury of the relevant locality, as appropriate. A portion of the penalties deposited in the Fund are to be used for public information campaigns to discourage the sale and use of expanded polystyrene products. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality to post to its website information on compliance and the filing of complaints. This bill incorporates HB 1046 and HB 1347.
Sexual assault nurse examiners; place of practice. Requires every hospital to report quarterly to the Department ofHealth information regarding the number of certified sexual assaultnurse examiners employed by the hospital and the location, includingstreet address, and contact information for the location at whicheach certified sexual assault nurse examiner provides services. Thebill also requires the Department of Health to make information regardingthe availability of certified sexual assault nurse examiners in theCommonwealth, including the name of each hospital at which a certifiedsexual assault nurse examiner is employed, the location, includingstreet address, of such hospital, and the contact information forsuch hospital, available on the Department's website.
