Del. Kathy Tran

Virginia taxable income; deductions; EnergyStar certified water heater. Provides a deduction for the purchaseof any water heater for residential use that is Energy Star certified equal to the lesser of 20 percent of the actual price paid or $500,beginning in taxable year 2022. The bill limits to taxable years beginning before January 1, 2022, the current provisions allowingindividuals to deduct from their taxable personal income an amountequal to 20 percent of the sales taxes paid, up to $500, for an electricheat pump hot water heater that yields an energy factor of at least1.7 and an advanced gas or oil water heater that has an energy factorof at least 0.65.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); taxation; property tax exemption; surviving spouses of soldiers killed in the line of duty. Amends the Constitution of Virginia by allowing localities to exempt from taxation the real property of any surviving spouse of any member of the armed forces of the United States who was killed in the line of duty with a line of duty determination as determined by the United States Department of Defense who occupies the real property as his or her principal place of residence. Under current law, the exemption is only available to the surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces who was killed in action.

Secretary of Administration; state agencies; telecommuting and alternative work schedules policy; application to otherwise qualified persons with a disability. Provides that the statewide telecommuting and alternative work schedule policy established by the Secretary of Administration and such policies developed by each state agency, as required by the statewide policy, shall specify that it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for a state agency to refuse to allow an otherwise qualified person with a disability to telecommute or participate in alternative work schedules as a form of reasonable accommodation. The bill also requires the Secretary to convene an interagency work group to identify model policies from both the public and private sector, to be made publicly available for all businesses in the Commonwealth, that enable persons with disabilities to participate in the Commonwealth's workforce through telecommuting and alternative work schedules. Finally, the bill (i) prohibits state agencies from including the number of otherwise qualified persons with a disability who are allowed to telecommute as a form of reasonable accommodation in annual percentage targets for the number of positions eligible for telecommuting or alternative work schedules and (ii) requires state agencies, in their report to the Secretary on the status and efficiency of telecommuting and participating in alternative work schedules and with regard to specific related budget requests, to separately identify such required information and data for (a) otherwise qualified persons with a disability who telecommute as a form of reasonable accommodation and (b) all other eligible employees.

Department of Transportation; data on wildlifecarcass removal sites. Directs the Department of Transportationto collect and publish annually on its website the sites of wildlifecarcass removals from interstate, primary, and secondary roads completed upon the direction of or pursuant to a contract with the Departmentor the Commonwealth. The bill has a delayed effective date of July1, 2023.

Long-term care insurance; rate increases; notice requirements. Requires an insurer of long-term care insurancepolicies to notify its customers and applicants in writing of theinsurer's filing for a rate increase with the State Corporation Commissionwithin 60 days of making such filing. Under the bill, if the Commissionhas approved a rate increase, an insurer of long-term care insurancepolicies must notify its customers and applicants in writing of therate increase at least 90 days before the effective date of the rateincrease. The bill includes several requirements for each of thesenotices, requires the Commission to consider the public interest in approving any such rate increase, and prohibits using a rate increaseto pay for losses incurred by an insurance company or its shareholdersor to pay shareholder dividends.

Commonwealth Transportation Board; statewideplan. Directs the Commonwealth Transportation Board to developa statewide plan for the allocation of certain funds from the federalInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and to identify projects thatcan be funded through competitive grants through the Act. The billrequires the Board to conduct a risk-based assessment of vulnerabilitiesof transportation assets and systems in the Commonwealth to weatherevents and natural disasters.

Towing fees. Applies the existing fee limitationsfor towing, storage, and safekeeping of passenger cars removed, towed,or stored from private property without the consent of the ownerto all vehicles towed pursuant to a lawful request for towing bya law-enforcement officer or other uniformed employee of a law-enforcementagency who specifically is authorized to make such request. The billauthorizes the hookup and initial towing fee to be up to 2.5 timesthe amount authorized for other tows when the vehicle being towedis involved in a crash or traffic incident and is located so as toimpede the orderly flow of traffic. The bill requires towing andrecovery operators responding to a request for towing by a law-enforcementofficer to provide to the owner or operator of the vehicle beingtowed a written explanation of fees charged by the towing and recoveryoperator. The bill provides that such fee limits shall not apply ifa local governing body has established different fee limits by ordinance.

Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund; established; report. Establishes the Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund to providegrants for projects that reduce vehicle crashes involving wildlifeand improve habitat connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.High priority projects as set forth in the Wildlife Corridor ActionPlan will be funded. The Director of the Department of Wildlife Resourcesis directed to submit a report to the Governor and the General Assemblyby November 1 of each year concerning funding of the Fund and awardof grants from the Fund.

Exhaust systems; excessive noise. Prohibitsany individual from operating a motor vehicle with a gross weightof 10,000 pounds or less with an exhaust system that emits noise equivalentto noise in excess of 85 decibels measured from a distance of 50 feet.The bill also allows the governing body of any county, city, or town located within the Northern Virginia Planning District to provideby ordinance that no person shall operate any motor vehicle on a highway or on public or private property within 500 feet of any residential district unless such motor vehicle is equipped with an exhaust systemof a type installed as standard equipment, or comparable to thatdesigned for use on that particular vehicle or device as standardfactory equipment, in good working order and in constant operationto prevent excessive noise. The bill also requires the Superintendentof State Police to promulgate regulations for the inspection of motorvehicles to ensure that no motor vehicle is equipped with a guttedmuffler, muffler cutout, or straight exhaust or any mechanical orelectronic device that creates or amplifies noise emitted by themotor vehicle that is louder than the noise emitted by such motor vehicle as originally manufactured.

Dissemination of information regarding unpermitted discharges; de minimis impact. Modifies the current requirementthat the Department of Environmental Quality disseminate information about certain unpermitted discharges to require dissemination ofall unpermitted discharges unless the discharge is determined tohave a de minimis impact on the beneficial uses of state waters.The Department is directed to develop guidance for determining whenan impact is de minimis by October 1, 2022.