Provides that any determination by the State Corporation Commission that an energy efficiency program is not in the public interest shall include with its final order the work product and analysis conducted by the staff of the Commission in making that determination. The measure requires that if the Commission reduces the proposed budget for a program or portfolio of programs, its final order shall include an analysis of the impact such budget reduction has upon the cost-effectiveness of such program or portfolio of programs. An order by the Commission (i) finding that a program or portfolio of programs is not in the public interest or (ii) reducing the proposed budget for any program or portfolio of programs shall adhere to existing protocols for extraordinarily sensitive information. The measure provides that any utility petitioning the Commission for approval of one or more rate adjustment clauses for energy efficiency programs shall include a proposed budget for the design, implementation, and operation of the energy efficiency programs. The bill requires that any rate adjustment clause approved for an energy efficiency program remain in effect until the utility exhausts the approved budget for the energy efficiency program.
Authorizes the circuit court for a town with a population of 3,500 or less to appoint either three, five, or seven residents of the locality to the board of zoning appeals. Current law requires appointment to local zoning boards of appeals of either five or seven residents of the locality.
Provides that prior to offering surplus property for sale to the public, the Department of General Services (the Department) shall notify the chief administrative officer of the locality within which the property is located as well as any economic development entity for such locality of the pending disposition of such property. The bill provides that the chief administrative officer or local economic development entity shall have up to 180 days from the date of such notification to submit a proposal to the Department for the use by the locality or the local economic development entity of such property in conjunction with a bona fide economic development activity. The bill requires the Department to review such proposal and provides that if the Department determines that such proposal is viable and could benefit the Commonwealth, the Department may negotiate with the chief administrative officer or the local economic development entity for the sale of such property to the locality or economic development entity. This bill is identical to
Provides that the course on the Virginia Driver's Manual required for certain persons who have failed the driver knowledge examination three times may be conducted in a classroom or through a secure computer-based medium, provided that the computer-based medium has acceptable security features designed to ensure that the certificate of completion is issued to the same person who took the course.
Requires that any contract between a carrier and its intermediary pursuant to which the intermediary has the right or obligation to conduct audits of participating pharmacy providers and any provider contract between a carrier and a participating pharmacy provider or its contracting agent pursuant to which the carrier has the right or obligation to conduct audits of participating pharmacy providers contain certain terms and provisions relating to audits that will apply in the absence of fraud. The terms and provisions (i) require at least 14 days' written notice before conducting the initial audit for each audit cycle; (ii) prohibit the initiation or scheduling of an onsite audit during the first five calendar days of any month or on a Monday; (iii) prohibit an onsite audit of a particular pharmacy location on behalf of a particular carrier more than once in a 12-month period; (iv) require each pharmacy to be audited under the same standards and parameters as every other similarly situated pharmacy; (v) require any audit issues that involve clinical or professional judgment to be conducted by a pharmacist who has available for consultation a pharmacist licensed by the Commonwealth; (vi) require each audit to be conducted by a field agent who possesses the requisite knowledge and experience in pharmacy practice; (vii) require audits to be conducted in the Commonwealth in compliance with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations; (viii) require prescriptions to be considered valid prescriptions if they are compliant with the then-current Board of Pharmacy rules and regulations and have been successfully adjudicated upon a clean claim submission; (ix) require electronic records and documentation to be acceptable for auditing under the same terms, conditions, and validation and for the same purposes as their paper analogs; (x) permit a pharmacy to use the historical records of a hospital, physician, or other authorized practitioner of the healing arts for drugs or medicinal supplies written and transmitted by any documented means of communication for purposes of validating the pharmacy record with respect to orders or refills of a legend or narcotic drug; (xi) require validation and documentation at the time of dispensing of appropriate days' supply and drug dosing to be based on manufacturer guidelines and definitions or, in the case of topical products or titrated products, based on the professional judgment of the pharmacist in communication with the patient or prescriber; (xii) require a pharmacy's usual and customary price for compounded medications to be considered the reimbursable cost unless the pricing methodology is published in the provider contract and signed by both parties or their agents; (xiii) prohibit a carrier or its intermediary from making charge backs or seeking recoupment from a pharmacy, or assessing or collecting penalties from a pharmacy, until the time period for filing an appeal to an initial audit report has passed or until the appeals process has been exhausted, whichever is later; (xiv) establish requirements for a preliminary audit report; (xv) require a pharmacy to be allowed at least 60 calendar days following receipt of the preliminary audit report in which to produce documentation to address any discrepancy found during an audit or to file an appeal; (xvi) establish time periods during which a final audit report containing claim level information for any discrepancy found and total dollar amount of claims subject to recovery is required to be delivered to the pharmacy or its pharmacy corporate office; (xvii) prohibit a carrier or its intermediary from recovering from the pharmacy payment of claims that is identified through the audit process to be the responsibility of another payer; (xviii) prohibit recoupment of amounts paid to a pharmacy for any claim to be made solely on the basis of a prescriber's or patient's lack of response to a request made by a carrier or its intermediary; (xix) require a carrier or its intermediary to issue its initial audit findings in conformity with the laws of the Commonwealth; and (xx) prohibit a carrier or its intermediary from retroactively denying a claim in certain circumstances.
Updates and modernizes the Virginia Stock Corporation Act (the Act) to conform to many provisions of the 2016 revision of the Model Business Corporation Act produced by the Corporate Laws Committee of the American Bar Association's Business Law Section. The Act is amended to, among other things, (i) provide corporations greater authorization to combine with or convert into noncorporate entities, whether domiciled in Virginia or in another jurisdiction; (ii) provide that a combination or conversion with a business entity that would expose a shareholder to personal liability for the entity's liabilities requires the prior consent of each affected shareholder; (iii) define "expenses" as including reasonable expenses of any kind, including attorney fees; (iv) specify that notices to a corporation be delivered to the corporation's secretary; (v) add an article that establishes processes a corporation may follow to correct a failure to properly authorize a corporate actor an over-issuance of shares; (vi) confirm that a corporation's designation of an exclusive forum for resolution of internal corporate claims trumps any other provision in the Act that permits the action to be brought in another forum; (vii) authorize the articles of incorporation to provide whether shareholders have the right to cumulate their votes in the election of directors; (viii) require that the plaintiff in a derivative suit be a shareholder at the time he made the requisite demand on the corporation to take suitable action, as well as at the time of the commencement of, and during, the proceeding; (ix) clarify that if a shareholder demand for a derivative suit is rejected and a derivative suit is commenced, the plaintiff's right of discovery is limited to facts that are alleged with particularity in the complaint; (x) permit the appropriate circuit court to remove a director who has defrauded the corporation, grossly abused his power, or intentionally inflicted harm to the corporation; (xi) provide officers with protection from liability to the extent that they relied in good faith on the advice or performance of others; (xii) spell out the relief that a court can grant in a proceeding by a director or officer for advance, reimbursement, or indemnity; (xiii) establish a process by which a corporation may abandon an amendment or restatement of its articles of incorporation after it has been adopted by shareholders but prior to its effective date; (xiv) reduce the amount of detail that is required to be included in the articles of amendment regarding the shareholder vote to approve an amendment of the articles of incorporation; (xv) establish requirements for approval of a plan of domestication or conversion by the holders of outstanding shares of each class and series voting as separate voting groups; (xvi) permit a domestic corporation to convert to a type of eligible entity, including a nonstock corporation, partnership, or limited liability company, other than only a limited liability company as is currently permitted; (xvii) limit the appraisal rights on the sale of substantially all assets to a sale to an interested person; (xviii) provide appraisal rights on a conversion to any unincorporated entity; and (xix) permit a corporation to impose reasonable restrictions on the confidential use and distribution of financial statements and other records that a shareholder receives in the exercise of inspection rights. The measure incudes technical changes. Several provisions have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2020.
Updates the town's boundary description. Other changes replace outdated provisions regarding the timing of town council elections and the mayor's duties. This bill is identical to
Establishes the Virginia Prevention of Sex Trafficking Fund to be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services for the purpose of promoting awareness of and preventive training and education relating to sex trafficking. The bill requires persons convicted of misdemeanor violations of prostitution, aiding prostitution, and using vehicles to promote prostitution to pay a $100 fee and persons convicted of certain felony violations of abduction with the intent to extort money or for immoral purpose, placing or leaving wife for prostitution, or felony violations of the laws pertaining to commercial sex trafficking or prostitution offenses, with the exception of violations of crimes against nature, to pay a $500 fee. Such fees are to be paid into the Virginia Prevention of Sex Trafficking Fund. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Provides that if a motor vehicle manufacturer or factory branch discontinues, sells, or transfers its right to manufacture a line-make of motor vehicles, and the acquiring manufacturer or factory branch does not honor an existing franchise agreement with motor vehicle dealers in Virginia, such discontinuation, sale, or transfer shall constitute a termination of the franchise and such motor vehicle dealers shall be entitled to compensation pursuant to Virginia law. The bill provides that a manufacturer or distributor's right to first refusal in the event of a proposed sale or transfer of a dealership does not apply if such sale or transfer is not to a dealer licensed anywhere in the United States as a dealer holding a franchise from any manufacturer or to a distributor licensed as a manufacturer or distributor in the Commonwealth unless the exercise of such right of first refusal by a manufacturer or distributor with a program promoting minority dealers would lead to a minority dealer having a majority ownership of a dealership. The bill exempts certain manufacturers and distributors from the limitations on the right of first refusal.
Provides that a delivery permittee is only required to collect the taxes due to the Commonwealth and remit any excise taxes monthly to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (the Authority) and any sales taxes to the Department of Taxation for each delivery the permittee makes if such taxes have not already been paid. The bill specifies that delivery permittees must keep records of all deliveries for a period of at least two years and, in addition to current recordkeeping requirements, requires delivery permittees to keep records of the brands of wine and beer delivered and the signatures of the purchasers to whom the wine and beer is delivered. The bill provides that delivery permittees are only required to submit a monthly report to the Authority for any month during which a permittee makes a delivery for which the permittee is required to collect and remit excise taxes due to the Authority. The bill allows deliveries by such permittees to be performed by an independent contractor of the permittee, provided that (i) the permittee has entered into a written agreement with the independent contractor establishing that the permittee shall be vicariously liable for certain administrative violations committed by the independent contractor and (ii) only one individual takes possession of the beer, wine, or farm wine during the course of the delivery.
Approved by Governor-Chapter 704 (effective 7/1/19)
Requires a locality, as part of the local legislative approval process or as a condition of approval of a site plan, to require an owner, lessee, or developer of real property to enter into a written agreement to decommission solar energy equipment, facilities, or devices upon certain terms and conditions, including right of entry by the locality and financial assurance. This bill is identical to
