Del. Patrick Hope

Virginia African Diaspora Advisory Board. Establishes the Virginia African Diaspora Advisory Board to advise the Governor on ways to improve economic and cultural links between the Commonwealth and African nations, with a focus on the areas of commerce and trade, agriculture, art, education, and government. The Board is composed of 18 nonlegislative citizen members, of whom at least 15 must be persons who identify as part of the African diaspora, to be appointed by the Governor. The Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry, Commerce and Trade, and Education or their designees serve as ex officio members.

Sexual abuse of animals; penalty. Providesthat any person who knowingly (i) engages in sexual contact withan animal; (ii) causes another person by force, threat, or intimidationto engage in sexual contact with an animal; (iii) advertises, solicits,offers, sells, purchases, or possesses an animal with the intentthat the animal be subject to sexual contact; (iv) permits sexualcontact with an animal to be conducted on any premises under hisownership or control; (v) produces, distributes, publishes, sells,transmits, finances, possesses with the intent to distribute, publish,sell, or transmit, or makes any attempt to produce, distribute, publish,sell, transmit, or finance an obscene item depicting a person engagedin sexual contact with an animal is guilty of a Class 6 felony. Thebill also provides that any person convicted of sexual abuse of ananimal may be prohibited from possessing, owning, or exercising controlover any animal for a period of up to five years and may be orderedto attend an appropriate treatment program or obtain psychiatricor psychological counseling.

Creation of Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman. Creates the Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman (the Office). The bill enumerates the duties and powers of the Office, which include (i) providing information, as appropriate, to inmates, family members, representatives of inmates, Department of Corrections (the Department) employees and contractors, and others regarding the rights of inmates; (ii) monitoring conditions of confinement and assessing compliance with applicable federal, state, and local rules, regulations, policies, and best practices as related to the health, safety, welfare, and rehabilitation of inmates; (iii) providing technical assistance to support inmate participation in self-advocacy; (iv) providing technical assistance to local governments in the creation of correctional facility oversight bodies, as requested; (v) establishing a statewide uniform reporting system to collect and analyze data related to complaints received by the Department and data related to (a) deaths, suicides, and suicide attempts in custody; (b) physical and sexual assaults in custody; (c) the number of inmates placed in solitary confinement; (d) the number of facility lockdowns lasting longer than 24 hours; (e) the number of staff vacancies at each facility; (f) the inmate-to-staff ratios at each facility; (g) staff tenure and turnover; and (h) the number of in-person visits to inmates that were made and denied at each facility; (vi) establishing procedures to gather stakeholder input into the Office's activities and priorities, which must include, at a minimum, an annual 30-day period for receipt of and Office response to public comment; (vii) inspecting each state correctional facility at least once every three years and at least once every year for any maximum security facility and any facility where the Office has found cause for more frequent inspection or monitoring; and (viii) issuing publicly periodic facility inspection reports and an annual report with recommendations on the state correctional facilities and a summary of data and recommendations arising from any complaints investigated and resolved.The bill also establishes a Corrections Oversight Committee, which is responsible for selecting the Department of Corrections Ombudsman. The bill additionally outlines the Office's authority to conduct inspections of each Department or Board of Local and Regional Jails facility and requires the submission of an annual report to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the House Committee on Public Safety, and the Director of the Department.

Study; JLARC; effects of gun violence on communities;report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissionto study the social, physical, emotional, and economic effects ofgun violence on communities across the Commonwealth.

Elections; removal of officers; recall elections;petition. Provides for the removal of certain elected officersand officers appointed to elected offices by recall referendum. Thebill requires a petition for recall be signed by 30 percent of thetotal number of votes cast at the last election for the office forwhich a recall is sought.

Telework expenses tax credit. Reinstatesthe telework expenses tax credit for taxable years 2022 through 2031.The previous version of the credit expired on January 1, 2019. Thebill removes requirements that were in place under the previous versionof the credit, such as requiring the employee and employer to signa telework agreement. The bill also eliminates a previous requirementthat credit claimants apply for and reserve credits in advance andinstead directs the Department of Taxation to develop proceduresfor claiming the credit.

Electric cooperatives; board of directors; accessto meetings; required disclosures. Requires that each Virginiaelectric cooperative hold direct elections for its board of directors,either in person or by mail, or by electronic communication meansif authorized by its articles of incorporation, and prohibits proxyvoting. The bill requires that meetings of the board of directorsbe open to members of the cooperative, viewable both in person andthrough online streaming, and that recordings of the meetings beposted on an official website for viewing by members of the cooperative,with certain exceptions for confidential matters. Thebill also requires the board of directors of an electric cooperativeto make certain disclosures to its members annually. These disclosuresmust include the cooperative's position on legislative and regulatoryissues, the amount of money spent on lobbying by the cooperative,and the names of lobbying organizations that the cooperative supportsand be posted online or distributed through a member publication.

Assisted living facilities; involuntary dischargeof a resident. Provides that an assisted living facility shallnot involuntary discharge a patient except (i) in cases in whichthe resident's condition presents an immediate and serious risk tothe health, safety, or welfare of the resident or others and emergencydischarge is necessary to protect the health, safety, or welfareof the resident or others; (ii) for nonpayment of contracted charges;or (iii) for failure of the resident to substantially comply withthe terms and conditions of the lease agreement between the residentand the assisted living facility. The bill requires an assisted livingfacility to take steps to prevent the involuntary discharge, requiresan assisted living facility to provide at least 30 days' notice ofthe involuntary discharge, and requires the assisted living facilityto provide a discharge plan for the resident prior to involuntary discharge. The bill also requires the Department of Social Servicesto establish a process by which a resident or the resident's representativemay appeal the decision of the assisted living facility to involuntarilydischarge a resident to the Department and requires the Departmentto conduct a review to determine whether the assisted living facilityhas complied with the requirements of the bill.

Prohibition of killing contests. Prohibitscontests and competitions that offer cash or prizes for the captureor killing of coyotes or fur-bearing animals.

Tree canopy credits; forest stands. Requiresthat localities that have adopted a tree canopy ordinance providetree cover credit for high conservation value forest stands if a sitedeveloper provides a stand assessment before creating developmentplans. The bill also allows localities with such ordinances to provideadditional credit if the pre-identified forest stands achieve environmental,ecological, and wildlife conservation objectives of the locality.