Del. Patrick Hope

Virginia Energy Plan; Commonwealth Energy Policy.Adopts findings that climate change is an urgent and pressing challenge forVirginia, that swift decarbonization and a transition to clean energy arerequired to meet the urgency of the challenge, and that the Commonwealth willbenefit from being a leader in deploying a low-carbon energy economy. Themeasure states that the Commonwealth recognizes that the following objectiveswill advance the health, welfare, and safety of Virginians: (i) establishingsufficient supply and delivery infrastructure to enable widespread deploymentof distributed energy resources; (ii) maximizing energy efficiency programs inorder to produce electricity cost savings and to create jobs and revenue fromthe energy efficiency service sector; (iii) establishing greenhouse gasemissions reduction goals across Virginia's economy that reach net-zeroemissions by 2050; (iv) requiring that pathways to net-zero greenhouse gasemissions be determined; (v) enabling widespread integration of storagetechnologies into the grid and pairing such storage technologies with renewablegeneration; (vi) mitigating the negative impacts of climate change and theenergy transition on disadvantaged communities and prioritizing investment inthese communities; (vii) developing the carbon-free energy resources requiredto fully decarbonize the electric power supply of the Commonwealth includingdeployment of 30 percent renewables by 2030 and realizing 100 percent carbon-freeelectric power by 2040; and (viii) ensuring that decision-making is transparentand includes opportunities for full participation by the public. The measurealso states that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to (a) accelerate the useand deployment of renewable energy sources such that 30 percent of Virginia'selectricity will be from renewable energy sources by 2030 and 100 percent ofVirginia's electricity will be from carbon-free sources by 2040; (b) promoteresearch and development of carbon-free electric power generation technologies,including advanced nuclear and carbon capture and storage; (c) ensure theavailability of affordable natural gas where established and where it enablesgreenhouse gas reduction; (d) promote beneficial electrification oftransportation, buildings, industry, and agriculture; (e) establish greenhousegas emissions reduction standards across all sectors of Virginia's economy thattarget net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century; (f) enact mandatoryclean energy standards and overall strategies for reaching zero carbon in theelectric power sector by 2040; (g) incorporate requirements for technical,policy, and economic analyses and assessments that identify pathways to zerocarbon that maximize Virginia's economic development and create quality jobs;(h) minimize the negative impacts of climate change and the energy transitionon disadvantaged communities and prioritize investment in these areas; (i)adopt residential and commercial building codes that meet or exceed the currentInternational Building Code standards and encourage construction andretrofitting of buildings to achieve maximum energy savings; and (j) supportthe distributed generation of renewable electricity. The measure also requiresthat the Virginia Energy Plan identify actions consistent with the goals ofachieving a net-zero carbon economy by 2050 and include an inventory of allgreenhouse gas emissions for the four years preceding the issuance of the Plan.

Prohibited discrimination; public accommodations, employment, credit, and housing: causes of action; sexual orientation and gender identity. Creates causes of action for unlawful discrimination in public accommodations and employment in the Virginia Human Rights Act. Currently, under the Act there is no cause of action for discrimination in public accommodations, and the only causes of action for discrimination in employment are for (i) unlawful discharge on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, or childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation by employers employing more than five but fewer than 15 persons and (ii) unlawful discharge on the basis of age by employers employing more than five but fewer than 20 persons. The bill allows the causes of action to be pursued privately by the aggrieved person or, in certain circumstances, by the Attorney General. Before a civil cause of action may be brought in a court of the Commonwealth, an aggrieved individual must file a complaint with the Division of Human Rights of the Department of Law, participate in an administrative process, and receive a notice of his right to commence a civil action. The bill prohibits discrimination in public and private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also codifies for state and local government employment the current prohibitions on discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran. Additionally, the bill (a) prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran; (b) prohibits discrimination in credit on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, disability, and status as a veteran; and (c) adds discrimination on the basis of an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran as an unlawful housing practice. The bill makes technical amendments. This bill incorporates SB 66 and SB 159.

Employment; prohibited retaliatory action.Prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, threatening,discriminating against, penalizing, or taking other retaliatory actionagainst an employee regarding the employee's compensation, terms,conditions, location, or privileges of employment because the employee(i) reports a violation or suspected violation of any federal orstate law or regulation to a supervisor or to any governmental bodyor law-enforcement official; (ii) is requested by a governmentalbody or law-enforcement official to participate in an investigation,hearing, or inquiry; (iii) refuses to engage in a criminal act thatwould subject the employee to criminal liability; (iv) refuses an employer's order to perform an action that the employee believes,which belief has an objective basis in fact, violates any federalor state law or regulation and the employee informs the employerthat the order is being refused for that reason; or (v) providesinformation to or testifies before any governmental body or law-enforcementofficial conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into anyalleged violation by the employer of federal or state law or regulation.A person who alleges a violation of this chapter may bring a civilaction seeking injunctive relief, reinstatement, and compensation for lost wages, benefits, and other remuneration.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; process for competitive negotiation; including employment of persons with a disability as a factor in evaluating proposals. Provides that, except with regard to contracts for architectural, professional engineering, transportation construction, or transportation-related construction services, a public body may include a proposer's employment of persons with disabilities to perform the specifications of the contract as a factor in evaluating a proposal.

Workers' compensation; occupational disease presumption; correctional officers. Adds correctional officers and full-time sworn members of the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles to the list of public safety employees who are entitled to a presumption that certain infectious diseases are compensable occupational diseases.

Elections; same-day registration; in-personabsentee and election day voting. Provides an exception to theclosing of registration records for any person who (i) is qualifiedto register to vote, (ii) is unregistered or registered in a localityin which the person no longer resides but is otherwise entitledto vote by absentee ballot, (iii) desires to vote absentee in personat the time that they present themselves to be registered, and (iv) provides proof of residency. The bill also permits same-day registrantsto vote absentee and provides an excuse for election day absentee voting for such voters. The bill requires all voters who registerto vote under the provisions of this bill to fill out an absenteeapplication, including the required oath, in order to vote. Thisbill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.

Absentee voting; postage prepaid on return envelope. Requires the envelope provided to an absentee voter for the return of the absentee ballot to include prepaid postage. The provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2021 Session of the General Assembly.

Minimum wage; tipped employees; classification. Prohibits an employer from classifying an individual as a tippedemployee if the individual is prohibited by applicable federal orstate law or regulation from soliciting tips.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; allocation of funds. Provides that increases in service approved by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board shall not be included in the calculation of the annual increase in total operating expenses included in an approved WMATA budget.

Electric utility regulation; environmental goals. Establishes a schedule by which Dominion Energy Virginia and American Electric Power are required to retire electric generating units located in the Commonwealth that emit carbon as a by-product of combusting fuel to generate electricity and by which they are required to construct, acquire, or enter into agreements to purchase generating capacity located in the Commonwealth using energy derived from sunlight or onshore wind. The measure replaces the existing voluntary renewable energy portfolio standard program (RPS Program) with a mandatory RPS Program that applies to electric utilities and licensed competitive suppliers. Under the mandatory RPS Program, utilities and suppliers are required to produce their electricity from 100 percent renewable sources by 2045 for Dominion Energy Virginia and any retail supplier operating in the service territory of Dominion Energy Virginia and by 2050 for American Electric Power and any retail supplier operating in the service territory of American Electric Power. A utility or supplier that does not meet its targets is required to pay a specific deficiency payment or purchase renewable energy certificates. The proceeds from the deficiency payments are to be deposited into an account administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, which is directed to distribute specific percentages of the moneys to job training and renewable energy programs in historically economically disadvantaged communities, energy efficiency measures, and administrative costs. The measure directs the Department of Environmental Quality to incorporate into regulations previously adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board certain provisions establishing a carbon dioxide cap and trade program to reduce emissions released by electric generation facilities. Such provisions are required to comply with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule. The measure authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The measure requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and to be distributed without further appropriation to the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund, to the Department of Housing and Community Development for low-income energy efficiency programs, for administrative expenses, and for statewide climate change planning and mitigation activities. The measure continues the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund as the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund for the purpose of creating a low-interest loan program to help inland and coastal communities that are subject to recurrent flooding. Among other things, the measure also (i) requires, by 2035, American Electric Power and Dominion Energy Virginia to construct or acquire 400 and 2,700 megawatts of energy storage capacity, respectively; (ii) establishes an energy efficiency standard under which each investor-owned incumbent electric utility is required to achieve incremental annual energy efficiency savings that start in 2022 at 0.25 percent of the average annual energy retail sales by that utility in 2019 and increase those savings annually. Beginning in 2026 and every three years thereafter, the Commission is required to adjust the required energy efficiency goals for the successive three years. and thereafter when energy efficiency savings of at least two percent of the average annual energy retail sales by that utility in the three preceding calendar years are required; (iii) exempts large general service customers from energy savings requirements; (iv) revises the incentive for electric utility energy efficiency programs; (v) provides that if the Commission finds in any triennial review that revenue reductions related to energy efficiency measures or programs approved and deployed since the utility's previous triennial review have caused the utility to earn more than 50 basis points below a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services or, for any test period commencing after December 31, 2012, for Dominion Energy Virginia and after December 31, 2013, for American Electric Power, more than 70 basis points below a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services, the Commission shall order increases to the utility's rates for generation and distribution services necessary to recover such revenue reductions; (vi) establishes requirements regarding the development by Dominion Energy Virginia of qualified offshore wind projects having an aggregate rated capacity of not less than 5,200 megawatts by January 1, 2034, and provides that in constructing any such facility, the utility shall (a) identify options for utilizing local workers; (b) identify the economic development benefits of the project for the Commonwealth, including capital investments and job creation; (c) consult with relevant governmental entities, including the Commonwealth's Chief Workforce Development Officer and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, on opportunities to advance the Commonwealth's workforce and economic development goals, including furtherance of apprenticeship and other workforce training programs; and (d) give priority to the hiring of local workers, including workers from historically economically disadvantaged communities: (vii) requires each utility to include, and the Commission to consider, in any application to construct a new generating facility the social cost of carbon, as determined by the Commission, as a benefit or cost, whichever is appropriate; (viii) removes provisions that authorize nuclear and offshore wind generating facilities to continue to be eligible for an enhanced rate of return on common equity during the construction phase of the facility and the approved first portion of its service life of between 12 and 25 years in the case of a facility utilizing nuclear power and for a service life of between five and 15 years in the case of a facility utilizing energy derived from offshore wind; (ix) removes a provision that declares that planning and development activities for new nuclear generation facilities are in the public interest; (x) increases the limit from 5,000 megawatts to 16,100 megawatts on those solar and onshore wind generation facilities that are declared to be in the public interest and increases the limit from 16 megawatts to 5,000 megawatts on those offshore wind generation facilities that are declared to be in the public interest; (xi) amends the net energy metering program by increasing the maximum capacity of renewable generation facilities of participating nonresidential eligible customer-generators from one to three megawatts, increases the cap on the capacity of generation from facilities from the customer's expected annual energy consumption to 150 percent of such amount, increases each utility's systemwide cap from one percent of its adjusted Virginia peak-load forecast for the previous year to six percent of such amount, five percent of which is available to all customers and one percent of which is available only to low-income customers; (xii) establishes the Percentage of Income Payment Program (PIPP), which caps the monthly electric utility payment of low-income participants at six percent, or, if the participant's home uses electric heat, 10 percent, of the participant's household income and sets forth eligibility criteria for participation in PIPP, establishes the PIPP Fund to pay electric utility providers the balance of low-income participants' accounts and to fund energy efficiency and weatherization initiatives, and provides directives to the Department of Housing and Community Development regarding the administration of PIPP; (xiii) requires each investor-owned utility to consult with the Clean Energy Advisory Board in how best to inform low-income customers of opportunities to lower electric bills through access to solar energy (xiv) requires the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to prepare a report to the House and Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and to the Governor's Advisory Council on Environmental Justice that ensures that the implementation of this act does not impose a disproportionate burden on minority or historically economically disadvantaged communities (xv) requires the Secretary of Natural Resources and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, in consultation with the State Corporation Commission and the Council on Environmental Justice and appropriate stakeholders, shall report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2022, any recommendations on how to achieve 100 percent carbon free electric energy generation by 2050 at least cost for ratepayers; and (xvi) provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that the State Corporation Commission, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, Virginia Council on Environmental Justice, and other applicable state agencies, in the development of energy programs, job training programs, and placement of renewable energy facilities, shall consider those facilities and programs being to the benefit of low-income geographic areas and historically economically disadvantaged communities that are located near previously and presently permitted fossil fuel facilities or coal mines.