Del. David Bulova

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Department of Forestry; Office of Farmland Preservation transferred. Transfers from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to the Department of Forestry the Office of Farmland Preservation and its powers and duties and reporting requirements, the Virginia Farm Link Program, the Century Farm Program, and the Virginia Farmland and Forestland Preservation Fund. The bill renames the Office as the Office of Working Lands Preservation. The bill makes technical amendments to effectuate the transfer and requires the Department of Environmental Quality to report to the Department of Forestry by July 1 of each year certain enumerated information about nonpoint source nutrient credits certified in the previous year that involve land use conversion. This bill is identical to SB 616.

Combined sewer overflow outfalls; compliance with regulations; Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Extends from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2026, the date by which certain combined sewer overflow (CSO) outfalls that discharge into the Chesapeake Bay Watershed must be in compliance with Virginia law, the federal Clean Water Act, and the Presumption Approach described in the EPA CSO Control Policy, unless a higher level of control is necessary to comply with a total maximum daily load. This bill is identical to SB 372.

Virginia Recycling Development Center established;report. Establishes the Virginia Recycling Development Centerfor the purposes of furthering the development of markets and processingfor recycled commodities and products, to be run by a Director appointedand supervised by the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources. The bill creates the Virginia Recycling Development Center AdvisoryCommittee, establishes reporting requirements, and creates the RecyclingMarket Development Fund to be used to fund the Center. The bill requiresthe Advisory Committee to make recommendations on the sources ofpotential funding for and detailed qualifying uses of the Fund andreport its recommendations to the Secretary no later than October1, 2024. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2038.

Commending the Honorable L. Kaye Kory.

Public institutions of higher education; admissions applications; legacy admissions and admissions based on donor status prohibited. Prohibits any public institution of higher education from providing any manner of preferential treatment in the admissions decision to any student applicant on the basis of such student's legacy status, defined in the bill, or such student's familial relationship to any donor to such institution. This bill is identical to SB 46.

Marriage lawful regardless of sex, gender, or race of parties; issuance of marriage license. Provides that no person authorized to issue a marriage license shall deny the issuance of such license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of the parties. The bill also requires that such lawful marriages be recognized in the Commonwealth regardless of the sex, gender, or race of the parties. The bill provides that religious organizations or members of the clergy acting in their religious capacity shall have the right to refuse to perform any marriage. This bill is identical to SB 101.

Common interest communities; foreclosure remedy. Prohibits certain bills to enforce a lien from being entertainedif the real estate is the judgment debtor's primary residence andthe judgment is for assessments levied by certain common interestcommunity associations if the amount secured by one or more judgmentsexclusive of interest and costs does not exceed $5,000. The billalso requires such common interest community associations to maintainindividual assessment account records and restricts access to such records to the unit owner of the property subject to such assessments,the governing body of the association, the management agent, if thereis one, and any legal counsel for such association. Finally, thebill requires such associations to maintain records of any recordedlien during the effective duration of such lien. This bill is a recommendationof the Virginia Housing Commission.

Resale Disclosure Act; delivery of resale certificate; remedies. Provides that failure to deliver a resale certificate within 14 days, as required by the Resale Disclosure Act, deems the resale certificate unavailable. The bill grants a purchaser three days from the date of ratification of the contract or the date of receipt of the resale certificate or notice that such certificate is unavailable, as applicable, to cancel the contract. Additionally, the bill (i) excludes from the resale certificate requirements of the Act an initial disposition of a lot to a person who is not acquiring the lot for his own residence and (ii) allows a resale certificate to be delivered to a purchaser's agent. Current law excludes the resale certificate requirements of the Act for any initial disposition, regardless of its intended use, and only allows a resale certificate to be delivered to a purchaser. Finally, the bill mandates the seller to be responsible for all fees associated with the preparation and delivery of the financial update but allows the settlement agent or other requesting party to pay such fees up front, regardless of whether such settlement agent or other requesting party requests to be reimbursed for such fees from the seller.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable OnzleeWare.

Commending Service Employees International Union,Local 32BJ.