Del. Rob Bloxom

School principals; incident reports. Requires that school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense and report to the parents of any minor student who is the specific object of such act that the incident has been reported to law enforcement. Under current law, principals are required to make such reports only for such acts that may constitute a felony offense. The bill provides, as an exception to the requirement to report any written threats against school personnel while on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity, that a principal is not required but may report to the local law-enforcement agency any such incident committed by a student who has an individualized education plan. This bill is identical to SB 36.

Judge; Second Judicial Circuit; resident judge in Counties of Accomack and Northampton. Requires that one judge from the Second Judicial Circuit be a resident and domiciliary of the County of Accomack or Northampton and preside regularly in the Counties of Accomack and Northampton.

Investor-owned water and water and sewer utilities; ratemaking proceedings. Requires the State Corporation Commission, in any ratemaking proceeding for an investor-owned utility authorized to furnish water or water and sewer service initiated after January 1, 2022, to evaluate such utility on a stand-alone basis and, for purposes of establishing any revenue requirement and rates, utilize such utility's actual end-of-test period capital structure and cost of capital without regard to the cost of capital, capital structure, or investments of any other entities with which such utility may be affiliated. If the Commission finds that the debt to equity ratio of the actual end-of-test period capital structure of such utility is unreasonable, the bill authorizes the Commission to utilize a debt to equity ratio that it finds to be reasonable. The bill requires the Commission, in all proceedings initiated after January 1, 2022, in which the Commission reviews the rates and associated earnings of an investor-owned utility authorized to furnish water or water and sewer service, to conduct such review utilizing the same cost of capital and capital structure adopted in the utility's most recent rate case in which such rates were set, without regard to any later changes in the cost of capital or capital structure. This bill is identical to SB 500.

Land use valuation for real estate devoted toforest use; creation of Forest Sustainability Fund. Creates theForest Sustainability Fund, to be administered by the State Forester.Localities that have adopted a use value assessment and taxationprogram for real estate devoted to forest use are eligible to applyfor an allocation from the Fund. Awards are proportionally basedupon the amount of revenue forgone in the previous fiscal year bylocalities due to the use value program.

Veteran-owned small businesses; waiving of fees. Directs the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, in conjunction with the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, to examine the waiving of fees associated with permits necessary to establish a small business for veteran-owned small businesses. This bill is identical to SB 572.

Department of Motor Vehicles; permanent farm use placard. Requires an owner or lessee of a vehicle claiming a farm use exemption from the registration, licensing, and decal requirements for a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to obtain a nontransferable permanent farm use placard from the Department of Motor Vehicles and to display the farm use placard on the vehicle at all times. The bill requires the applicant to provide specified information about the vehicle and its usage, pay a $15 fee, and certify that the vehicle is insured. The provisions of the bill requiring the owner or lessee of a farm vehicle to obtain and display a farm use placard have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2023. This bill incorporates HB 33 and is identical to SB 186.