Del. Marcus Simon

Status offenders; willful and material violation of court order or terms of probation; notice; orders of disposition for violation. Removes the option for a court to order that a status offender be detained in a secure facility for a willful and material violation of a court order or term of probation.

Access to firearms; cohabitants; civil penalty. Makes it unlawful for an individual residing or cohabitating with any person who such individual knows or has reason to believe is prohibited from possessing or transporting a firearm to allow such person access to any firearm. The bill requires such individual to store such firearm in a manner that is inaccessible to such co-resident. If an individual violates any provision of the bill and the co-resident uses such firearm during the commission of a crime, such individual will be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500, except for any crime committed against such individual. The bill further provides that an individual who lawfully possesses a firearm is not in violation of the provisions of the bill if he carries the firearm on or about his person or exercises control of the firearm.

Law-enforcement officer; duty to render aid;duty to report wrongdoing by another law-enforcement officer. Requires any law-enforcement officer on duty who witnesses another personsuffering from a serious bodily injury or a life-threatening conditionto render aid and makes it a duty to report acts of wrongdoing, definedin the bill and including bias-based profiling, committed by anotherlaw-enforcement officer on duty. Any law-enforcement officer whofails to render such aid or report such wrongdoing committed by anotherlaw-enforcement officer shall be subject to disciplinary action,including dismissal, demotion, suspension, or transfer of the law-enforcementofficer. The bill also expands the definition of "bias-based profiling,"a practice banned for sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, other local law-enforcement officers, and State Police officers in the performance of their official duties, to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Common-law crime of suicide. Abolishes thecommon-law crime of suicide. Suicide is currently a common-law crimein Virginia, although there is no statutorily prescribed punishment.

Study; staffing levels, employment conditions,and compensation at the Virginia Department of Corrections; report.Continues the joint committee of the House Committee on Health, Welfareand Institutions; the House Committee on Public Safety; the SenateCommittee on the Judiciary; and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitationand Social Services established by House Joint Resolution 29 (2020)to study staffing levels, employment conditions, and compensationat the Virginia Department of Corrections. The resolution directsthe joint committee to conclude its work by November 30, 2021, andto report its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Study; joint subcommittee to study comprehensivecampaign finance reform; report. Establishes a joint subcommitteeto study comprehensive campaign finance reform in the Commonwealth.In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee is tasked with examiningthe costs of campaigning in the Commonwealth, the effectiveness ofthe Commonwealth's present disclosure laws and their enforcement,the constitutional options available to regulate campaign finances,and the desirability of specific revisions in the Commonwealth'slaws, including the implementation of contribution limits, all withthe aim of promoting the integrity of, and public confidence in,the Commonwealth's campaign finance system.

Electric utility regulation; purchasing from competitive suppliers. Authorizes individual retail customers of electric energy to purchase electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy from any licensed competitive supplier of electric energy, including any incumbent electric utility. Currently, such customers may purchase electric power from such suppliers, other than an incumbent electric utility that is not the incumbent electric utility serving the exclusive territory in which the customer is located, only if their incumbent electric utility does not offer an approved tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy. The measure also provides that a cooperative utility customer eligible to take service under a tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy is prohibited from purchasing electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy from a licensed supplier, except such customer is authorized to continue purchasing renewable energy pursuant to the terms of a power purchase agreement in effect on the date the cooperative serving it filed with the Commission such tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy for the duration of such agreement. The measure requires that, within three months after the enactment of this act or within three months after beginning to offer a 100 percent renewable energy product to residential customers, whichever is later, licensed competitive suppliers that offers 100 percent renewable energy to residential customers in the service territory of Dominion Energy Virginia or Appalachian Power, to submit a proposal to the State Corporation Commission for consideration and approval to offer discounted service to low-income customers. The measure requires such proposal to include a 100 percent renewable product to be offered to a minimum number of low-income customers at a rate ten percent lower than the incumbent electric utility’s standard residential rate for non-renewable supply service for a minimum initial term of twelve months.

Electric utilities; triennial review; ratesof return. Provides that the State Corporation Commission, in any triennial review proceeding, including the first triennial review proceeding conducted after January 1, 2021, for Dominion EnergyVirginia, may use any methodology it finds consistent with the publicinterest to determine fair rates of return on common equity for the utility's generation and distribution services. In any such triennialreview, regardless of whether the utility earned above or below itsauthorized rate of return during the test period under review, theCommission also may order any increases or decreases to the utility'srates for generation and distribution that it deems necessary andappropriate, as long as the resulting rates provide the utility with the opportunity to (i) fully recover its costs of providing its servicesand (ii) earn an authorized rate of return.

Electric utilities; customer credit reinvestmentoffsets. Eliminates customer credit reinvestment offsets underwhich a utility is allowed, upon request, to reduce or eliminateamounts of overearnings that otherwise would be required to be creditedto customers by applying a customer credit reinvestment offset forexpenses on new solar and wind generation facilities and electricdistribution grid transformation projects.

Legislative Staff Development Fund. Establishes the Legislative Staff Development Fund (Fund) to encourage and support the professional development of legislative staff. The bill defines "legislative staff" as salaried staff of a member of the House of Delegates, Senate of Virginia, or the Division of Legislative Services. The bill increases the annual lobbyist registration fee for for-profit entities from $100 to $400 and directs the $300 increase to be deposited into the Fund for the purposes described in the bill. Under the bill, any moneys remaining in the Fund at the end of each fiscal year that have not been expended for the purposes described in the bill shall revert to the general fund and be used exclusively to fund the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council. The bill has a delayed effective date of May 1, 2022.