Del. J.R. Henson

Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.

Virginia Consumer Protection Act; prohibitedpractices; mandatory fees disclosure. Prohibits a supplier in connection with a consumer transaction from advertising, displaying,or offering any pricing information for goods or services withoutprominently displaying the total price, which shall include all mandatoryfees or charges other than taxes imposed.

Public high schools; personnel; college andcareer specialist required. Requires each school board to employat least one college and career specialist, as defined in the bill,in each public high school in the local school division. The billprovides that each such individual shall be employed in additionto and not as a replacement for the required school counselor positions,specialized student support positions, or support services positions.

Affordable dwelling unit ordinances; accessibleunits. Provides that any locality that has adopted an affordabledwelling unit ordinance may require under such ordinance that a set percentage of the units built by a developer are compliant withthe appropriate requirements of the American National Standards forBuilding and Facilities for Type A units or with any other standards adopted as part of regulations promulgated by the U.S. Departmentof Housing and Urban Development providing accessibility and usabilityfor persons with a physical disability.

Electric utilities; energy efficiency programs; duty to implement the Energy Policy of the Commonwealth; RPS program requirements; competitive procurement. Provides that "in the public interest" for the purpose of assessing energy efficiency programs means that the State Corporation Commission determines that the program is cost-effective and directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding no later than December 31, 2025, to establish a single, consistent cost-effectiveness test for use in evaluating proposed energy efficiency programs.The bill provides (i) that "total electric energy" for purposes of the RPS Program requirements does not include energy sold to certain customers purchasing 100 percent renewable energy and (ii) that in any RPS program compliance year, any electric energy that was generated in the previous calendar year from certain nuclear generating plants, or any zero-carbon electric generating facilities, including small modular nuclear reactors and green hydrogen facilities, will reduce the utility's RPS Program requirements by an equivalent amount.The bill provides that the Commission and its staff have the affirmative duty to ensure the Commonwealth implements the Energy Policy of the Commonwealth at the lowest reasonable cost, taking into account all cost-effective demand-side management options and the security and reliability benefits of the regional transmission entity to which each incumbent electric utility has joined.The bill requires that for certain required petitions by Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia for approvals to construct, acquire, or purchase the generating capacity using energy derived from sunlight or onshore wind, at least 35 percent of such generating capacity is from the purchases of energy from solar or onshore wind facilities owned by persons other than such utilities. Current law requires 35 percent of such generating capacity to be from the purchases of energy from solar or onshore wind facilities owned by persons other than such utilities.

Electric utilities; notice required for customer return to service. Decreases the required written notice period to 90 days for certain electric energy customers to return to service by an investor-owned utility after purchasing electric energy from other suppliers. Currently, such electric energy customers must provide five years' written notice to return to service by Dominion Energy Virginia or three years' written notice to return to service by Appalachian Power.

Expeditious resolution of complaints relatingto certain student transportation safety issues. Requires eachlocality and the Department of Transportation, as applicable, toexpeditiously respond to and assist in the resolution of, to themaximum extent practicable, any complaint received by or on behalfof any public elementary or secondary school student relating tosuch student's safety on the streets, roads, sidewalks, and crosswalkssurrounding school property as such student arrives to or departs from school and permits, for the purposes of complying with suchrequirement, any school board to enter into a memorandum of understandingwith the locality or the Department, as applicable, for the establishmentof a protocol or the designation of an ombudsman for the resolutionof such complaints.

First-time homebuyer tax credit. Createsa tax credit for taxable years 2024 through 2028 for individualsor married couples filing jointly who sell residential real propertythat is the taxpayer's primary residence and is located in the Commonwealthto a first-time homebuyer, as defined by the bill. Such credit willbe equal to two percent of the sales price of the property, not toexceed $5,000.

Public high schools; personnel; career coachrequired. Requires each school board to employ at least one careercoach in each public high school in the local school division whoseduties are required to include assisting students with securing internships, externships, and credentialing opportunities as required by the Profileof a Virginia Graduate, providing students with information on apprenticeship programs, and connecting students to career opportunities. The billprovides that each such individual shall be employed in additionto and not as a replacement for the required school counselor positions,specialized student support positions, or support services positions.

Public school staffing ratios; specializedstudent support positions. Increases the number of specialized student support positions required to be employed by each local schoolboard from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000students in the local school division. Such specialized student supportpositions include school social workers, school psychologists, schoolnurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts,and other licensed health and behavioral positions.