Correctional facilities; use of isolated confinement.Prohibits the use of isolated confinement in state correctionalfacilities and juvenile correctional centers, defined in the billas confinement of a prisoner or juvenile to a cell, alone or withanother prisoner or juvenile, for 20 hours or more a day for an adultor for 17 hours or more a day for a juvenile, other than for thepurpose of providing medical or mental health treatment. The bill provides for exceptions for when isolated confinement may be permittedin state correctional facilities and juvenile correctional centers.The bill also requires the Board of Corrections to promulgate andestablish standards placing limits on the use of isolated confinementin local correctional facilities that are consistent with the standardsapplicable to state correctional facilities.
Coal combustion residuals impoundment; Giles and Russell Counties; closure. Requires the owner or operator of any coal combustion residuals (CCR) unit, defined in the bill to include a coal ash pond or landfill, at the Glen Lyn Plant and the Clinch River Plant in Giles and Russell Counties, respectively, to close such CCR unit by removing all of the CCR for (i) recycling, known as encapsulated beneficial use, or (ii) deposition in a permitted and lined landfill that meets certain federal standards. The measure requires that any owner or operator beneficially reuse such removed CCR if doing so is anticipated to reduce costs. Such a closure project shall be completed within 15 years of the start of excavation and shall be accompanied by an offer by the owner or operator to provide connection to a municipal water supply for every residence within one-half mile or, if such connection is not feasible, to provide water testing for any such residence. The bill provides that if the owner or operator moves the CCR off-site, it shall develop a transportation plan in consultation with any county, city, or town in which the CCR units are located and any county, city, or town within two miles of the CCR units for any truck transportation that minimizes the effects on adjacent property owners and surrounding communities. The bill requires the owner or operator of a CCR unit to accept and review on an ongoing basis sufficiently detailed proposals to beneficially reuse any CCR that are not already subject to a removal contract. The bill requires that any entity conducting the closure or corrective action work (a) identify options for utilizing local workers, (b) consult with the Commonwealth's Chief Workforce Development Officer on opportunities to advance the Commonwealth's workforce goals, and (c) give priority to the hiring of local workers. The bill requires the CCR unit owner or operator to submit two biennial reports beginning October 1, 2023, and continuing until closure of or corrective action at all of its CCR units is complete. One report describes closure plans, progress, a detailed accounting of the amounts of CCR that have been beneficially reused and the amount of CCR that have been landfilled, the utilization of transportation options, water monitoring results, and other aspects of the closure process; the other report contains the beneficial reuse proposals that the owner or operator has received and its analysis of such proposals. The measure provides that all costs associated with closure of a CCR unit shall be recoverable through a rate adjustment clause authorized by the State Corporation Commission (the Commission), provided that (1) when determining the reasonableness of such costs, the Commission shall not consider closure in place of the CCR unit as an option and (2) the annual revenue requirement recoverable through a rate adjustment clause shall not exceed $40 million on a Virginia jurisdictional basis for the Commonwealth in any 12-month period, provided that any under-recovery amount of revenue requirements incurred in excess of $40 million in a given 12-month period shall be deferred and recovered through the rate adjustment clause over up to three succeeding 12-month periods. The bill provides that costs may begin accruing on July 1, 2020, but no approved rate adjustment clause charges shall be included in customer bills until July 1, 2022; any such costs shall be allocated to all customers of the utility in the Commonwealth as a non-bypassable charge, irrespective of the generation supplier of any such customer; and any such costs that are allocated to the utility's system customers outside of the Commonwealth that are not actually recovered from such customers shall be included for cost recovery from jurisdictional customers in the Commonwealth through the rate adjustment clause. The measure prohibits cost recovery for any fines or civil penalties resulting from violations of federal or state law.
School boards; distribution of excess food. Allows public school boards to distribute excess food to students eligible for the School Breakfast Program or National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or to students who the school board determines are otherwise eligible to receive excess food. A school board is also allowed to develop a policy for distributing excess food, saving it for later, or donating it.
Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Actand Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; required disclosures;lead pipe. Requires the owner of a residential dwelling who hasactual knowledge of the existence of lead pipe in such dwelling unitto provide to a prospective purchaser a written disclosure that theproperty has lead pipe. Such disclosure shall be provided to the purchaser on a form provided by the Real Estate Board on its website. The billalso requires any landlord of a dwelling unit who has actual knowledgeof the existence of lead pipe in such dwelling unit to disclose thatinformation to a prospective tenant. Any tenant who is not providedwith such disclosure may terminate the lease agreement at any time within 60 days of discovery of the existence of lead pipe by providingwritten notice to the landlord. The bill defines "lead pipe" as anypipe or pipe or plumbing fixture, solder, or flux that does not meetthe federal Safe Drinking Water Act definition of "lead free."
Polling place activities; reorganization ofsections; technical amendments. Reorganizes sections relatedto polling place activities and makes related technical amendments.This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Code Commission.
Hampton Roads Regional Arena Authority created; financing of a Hampton Roads arena and facility. Creates the Hampton Roads Regional Arena Authority and grants it certain powers relating to construction of an arena and facility. Among those powers is the authority to (i) issue bonds to construct the arena and facility, (ii) receive state sales and use tax revenue that is attributable to the arena and facility, (iii) use such revenue to repay such bonds, and (iv) distribute any excess revenue to any Hampton Roads locality that elects to contribute to the financing of the construction of an arena and facility. The bill provides that the Authority's entitlement to state sales and use tax revenue will expire on the earlier of the maturity date of any bonds it issues related to constructing the arena and facility or July 1, 2060. The powers granted by the bill to the Authority are similar to those granted to the City of Virginia Beach with respect to a sports or entertainment project. The bill repeals existing provisions related to a Hampton Roads Sports Facility Authority. This bill is identical to HB 1102.
Hunting license; senior resident lifetime licensefor hunting bear, deer, and turkey. Directs the Board of Gameand Inland Fisheries to provide a senior resident lifetime huntinglicense that shall include both a basic hunting license and a specialbear, deer, and turkey license. The license shall be available onlyto a resident of the Commonwealth who is 80 years of age or older,shall cost $200, and shall be sold through the Internet.
Prisoners; obtaining certain identification documentation upon release. Requires the Department of Corrections and the sheriff, jail superintendent, or other jail administrator of a local correctional facility to provide to any prisoner who does not already possess a government-issued identification card a special identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles upon his release. Prior to the release of any prisoner after a period of confinement of 90 days or more, if such prisoner does not already possess an original birth certificate or a Social Security card, the bill also requires the Department of Corrections and the sheriff, jail superintendent, or other jail administrator of a local correctional facility to offer to (i) provide the assistance necessary for the prisoner to apply to the appropriate state and obtain an official copy of the prisoner's birth certificate and (ii) provide the assistance necessary for the prisoner to apply to the Social Security Administration and obtain a replacement Social Security card. The bill requires the correctional institutions to establish procedures for (a) securing such special identification cards through the Department of Motor Vehicles, (b) applying for and obtaining official copies of birth certificates or replacement Social Security cards, and (c) forwarding such documentation if it is not obtained prior to the prisoner's release or discharge. Such procedures shall include an offer to provide, or to assist the prisoner with providing, all paperwork necessary for such prisoner to be issued a special identification card, an official copy of a birth certificate, or a replacement Social Security card. The bill further provides that all costs and fees associated with obtaining such identification documentation shall be paid by the prisoner unless the prisoner is determined to be indigent. Current law authorizes local correctional institutions to issue special identification cards prior to the release of any prisoner and requires the prisoner to pay all costs and fees associated with obtaining such card.
Utility Transfers Act; water and sewer utilities.Authorizes a water or sewer public utility acquiring a water or sewersystem to elect to have its rate base established by using the fairmarket value of the system assets instead of the system's depreciatedoriginal cost. Under the procedure established in this bill, thefair market value of the system is the average of three appraisalsconducted by accredited and impartial utility valuation experts,who shall determine the fair market value of the system in compliancewith the uniform standards of professional appraisal practice, employingcost, market, and income approaches to assessment of value. The billprovides that the rate base value of the acquired system assets isthe authorized fees and costs plus the lesser of the purchase pricenegotiated between the acquiring utility and the selling utilityor the fair market value.
Department of Human Resource Management; requiredonline training for LGBTQ cultural competency. Requires theDepartment of Human Resource Management to develop an online trainingmodule addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer(LGBTQ) cultural competency. The bill requires all state employeescommencing or recommencing employment with the Commonwealth on orafter January 1, 2021, to complete such training within 90 days ofcommencing or recommencing such employment and all persons employedwith the Commonwealth on January 1, 2021, to complete such trainingno later than April 1, 2021.
Redevelopment and housing authority; compensationof commissioners. Increases from $150 to $500 per month the maximum compensation that may be paid to a redevelopment and housing authority commissioner.
Department of Education; Holocaust and GenocideEducation Advisory Committee; report. Requires the Departmentof Education to establish and appoint such members as it deems appropriateto a Holocaust and Genocide Education Advisory Committee for thepurpose of (i) assessing the current state of instructional requirements,curricula, standards, and teacher training relating to the Holocaustand other historical genocides and reporting its findings, includingany recommendations for changes to such instructional requirements, curricula, standards, and teacher training, to the Board of Education,the Governor, and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Educationand the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than July1, 2021; and (ii) guiding the Department of Education in developinga robust model curriculum and teacher training module for providingage-appropriate instruction on the Holocaust and other historicalgenocides as a method of providing anti-bias education for publicschool students in the Commonwealth that include case studies and instructional lessons on (a) the historical underpinnings of theHolocaust and other genocides in the context of how lower levelsof hate, ridicule, and dehumanization led to larger acts of violenceand state-sponsored discrimination and violence; (b) the impact ofand the tools for responding to different forms of racism, bigotry,and discrimination; and (c) slavery and other forms of historicaldehumanizing injustice.
