Rep. Mark Sickles

Unemployment compensation; increase weekly benefit amounts; report. Provides that, for unemployment compensation claims effective on or after January 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly benefit amount shall be $52 higher than the current weekly benefit amount, as denoted in the table in the printed bill. The bill directs the Commission on Unemployment Compensation, in consultation with the Virginia Employment Commission, to convene a work group to study making annual adjustments to individual weekly benefit amounts based on the average weekly wage. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation. This bill is identical to SB 1056.

Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2028. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. Funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning January 1, 2027. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, not to exceed 120 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program.

Department of Taxation; accounts receivable; collection. Directs the Department of Taxation, Department of Accounts, and Office of the Attorney General to analyze the pervasiveness of outstanding accounts receivable due to the Commonwealth and collection efforts related to such receivables. The Department of Taxation shall report on the findings and recommendations of such analysis and submit such report to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and House Committee on Appropriations by November 1, 2025.

Phase I and Phase II Utilities; energy efficiency upgrades; low-income residents; report. States that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to reduce, wherever feasible and cost-effective, heating-related costs of living for low-income residents. The bill requires Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power to make best, reasonable efforts to provide by December 31, 2030, prescriptive efficiency measures, as defined in the bill, and related efficiency improvements to at least 30 percent of the qualifying households, as defined in the bill, identified by such utilities, provided that the State Corporation Commission determines that such upgrades are in the public interest. The bill requires such utilities to report to the Commission its activities, plans, and filings regarding the bill's provisions no later than January 1, 2027, annually thereafter, and in any recurring filing that the Commission deems appropriate. This bill is identical to SB 1342.

Drinking water; Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program established. Creates the Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program to reduce excessive levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in public drinking water derived from the Occoquan Reservoir. The bill requires certain facilities to monitor for PFAS on or before October 1, 2025, using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Method 1633 or an alternative method approved by the EPA. The bill requires any such facility to report all results to the Department of Environmental Quality no later than the tenth day of the next month after the month in which the result is reported by the laboratory and to include in such report all PFAS analytes measured by the test method. The bill requires by July 1, 2027, for any facility that measures exceedances in its discharge of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PFAS in drinking water promulgated on or before January 1, 2025, the Department, for an individual Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit if the facility discharges directly to surface waters, or a major publicly owned treatment works, for an indirect discharger, to modify the applicable discharge permit to require that the facility's discharge not exceed that MCL. The bill requires the modified permit to provide a compliance schedule that requires compliance with such level as soon as possible but no later than July 1, 2029. The bill exempts from its provisions any industrial discharger not listed in the bill, any publicly owned treatment works or drinking water treatment plant, or a municipal solid waste facility but provides that any public water system may follow the requirements of the bill for the purpose of planning for compliance with the MCL for PFAS in finished water. The bill clarifies that its provisions will not limit the authority of the Department or the owner or operator of any publicly owned treatment works to which any user discharges wastewater to require monitoring or reporting or otherwise regulate the discharge of any PFAS chemicals or other pollutants under other applicable legal authority.

Elections; political campaign advertisements; synthetic media; penalty. Prohibits electioneering communications containing synthetic media, as those terms are defined in the bill, from being published or broadcast without containing the following conspicuously displayed statement: "This message contains synthetic media that has been altered from its original source or artificially generated and may present conduct or speech that did not occur." The bill creates a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for a violation of such prohibition and, for a willful violation, a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill permits any registered voter who receives an electioneering communication in violation of this requirement to institute an action for preventative relief to prohibit the publication or dissemination of such electioneering communication, including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction. This bill is identical to SB 775.

Collective bargaining by public employees; exclusive bargaining representatives. Repeals the existing prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees. The bill creates the Public Employee Relations Board, which shall determine appropriate bargaining units and provide for certification and decertification elections for exclusive bargaining representatives of state employees and local government employees. The bill requires public employers and employee organizations that are exclusive bargaining representatives to meet at reasonable times to negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The bill repeals a provision that declares that, in any procedure providing for the designation, selection, or authorization of a labor organization to represent employees, the right of an individual employee to vote by secret ballot is a fundamental right that shall be guaranteed from infringement. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 917.

Life insurance; health insurance; unfair discrimination; pre-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of human immunodeficiency virus. Prohibits any person from refusing to insure, refusing to continue to insure, or limiting the amount or extent of life insurance or accident and sickness insurance coverage available to an individual or charge an individual a different rate for the same coverage based solely on the status of such individual as having received pre-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus.

Real property tax; exemption for religious buildings; rebuilding structure. Provides that the property tax exemption for property used for religious worship shall include property on which a church or other building for religious worship is being replaced or rebuilt. The property owner shall demonstrate the intention to use such structure exclusively for religious worship or for the residence of the minister of any church or religious body, as well as certain other requirements provided in the bill. This bill applies to tax years on and after January 1, 2023.

Elections administration; duties of local electoral board; certification of election; grounds for removal; civil penalty. Provides that the certification of the results of an election is a clear ministerial duty of the local electoral boards and that a member of the local electoral board who neglects or refuses to perform such duty in accordance with law shall be subject to removal proceedings by the State Board of Elections and assessed a penalty not exceeding $1,000. The bill also authorizes the State Board of Elections to intervene and carry out the duties related to election certification in the event a local electoral board fails or refuses to do so.