Homestead exemption; bankruptcy exemptions. Makes various changes to homestead exemptions, including providing that the official schedule of property claimed exempt filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court in a bankruptcy proceeding constitutes a sufficient writing to exempt such real and personal property from creditor process. The bill also provides that a householder may hold exempt from creditor process real or personal property that the householder or his dependent uses as a principal residence not exceeding $25,000 in value. The bill requires that the dollar amounts of the homestead exemption shall be adjusted triennially based on the United States Average Consumer Price Index.
Sale of certain property by locality to adjoining landowners. Provides that, in any instance in which a parcel of real estate is (i) located within an undeveloped common area in a subdivision, (ii) located in a subdivision with a homeowners' association that has been previously dissolved, and (iii) tax delinquent, a locality may, after giving at least 30 days of notice to adjacent property owners, choose to offer for sale such tax delinquent property in whole or in part to adjacent property owners prior to any public auction of the tax delinquent property. The locality may waive any liens associated with the property in order to facilitate the sale and may further waive payment of any past taxes, penalties, and interest with regard to any new owner.
Solar energy projects; national standards. Authorizes a locality to include in its zoning ordinance provisions to incorporate generally accepted national environmental protection and product safety standards for the use of solar panels and battery technologies for solar photovoltaic (electric energy) projects. The bill contains an enactment clause that applies such generally accepted national standards to any such projects in the Commonwealth, notwithstanding any other provision of law, general or special.
Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority; membership. Decreases from five to four the number of members of the Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority appointed by the Mayor of the City of Richmond and adds to the Authority one member of the City Council of the City of Richmond appointed by the president of the Council. This bill is identical to HB 538.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; labor organizations. Repeals enactments adopted in 2018 as part of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) funding bills related to bidders, offers, contractors, and subcontractors to WMATA projects located in the Commonwealth participating with labor organizations. This bill is identical to HB 1635.
Absentee voting; deadline for returning absentee ballot. Provides that any absentee ballot that is returned to the general registrar after the closing of the polls on election day but before noon on the third day after the election and postmarked on or before the date of the election shall be counted if the voter is found entitled to vote. This bill contains technical amendments and is identical to SB 455.
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Grant Program; creation. Creates the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Grant Program to make grant payments to an eligible pharmaceutical manufacturer that makes a capital investment of at least $1 billion at a facility in Rockingham County and creates at least 152 new full-time jobs at the facility. The pharmaceutical manufacturer would be eligible for an aggregate of $7.5 million in grants paid out over a three-year period if it meets such performance parameters. The bill also makes available, subject to appropriation, $2.525 million to a comprehensive community college and baccalaureate public institution of higher education in or near Rockingham County to support the workforce development needs of the manufacturer and other research and development companies in the area. This bill is identical to SB 610.
Department of Social Services; central registry; electronic requests and responses. Allows requests for and responses to searches of the central registry of founded complaints of child abuse and neglect maintained by the Department of Social Services to be sent electronically.
Comprehensive harm reduction programs; public health emergency; repeal sunset. Repeals the sunset on the program established in 2017 that allows the Commissioner of Health to establish and operate local or regional comprehensive harm reduction programs during a declared public health emergency that include a provision for the distribution of sterile hypodermic needles and syringes and the disposal of used hypodermic needles and syringes. This bill is identical to HB 378.
Involuntary admission or certification of eligibilityorder; appeals. Clarifies provisions governing appeals of ordersfor involuntary admission or for certification as eligible for admissionto a training center and provides that in cases in which a personis released during the pendency of an appeal, the appeal shall bein accordance with provisions for testing the legality of detention.
Sample ballots; color of paper of unofficialsample ballots. Removes the restriction on unofficial sampleballots being printed on yellow paper. With this bill, unofficialsample ballots are prohibited only from being printed on white paper.The bill contains technical amendments for clarity and readability.
Local school boards; lead testing; report; parental notification. Requires each local school board's plan to test and remediate certain potable water sources to be consistent with guidance published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Health. The bill requires each local school board to submit such testing plan and report the results of any such test to the Department of Health. The bill also requires local school boards to take all necessary steps to notify parents if testing results indicate lead contamination that exceeds 10 parts per billion. The bill is identical to SB 392.
