Del. Adele McClure

Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gouging provisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing prior to the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlords who are under the ordinance may be required to give at least two months' written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's calculated allowance, described in the bill as the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenant's rent during any 12-month period, in effect at the time of the increase. The bill sets such allowance as equal to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index or seven percent, whichever is less, states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year, and requires the locality to publish such allowance on its website by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined in the bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also allows a locality to establish an anti-rent gouging board that will develop and implement rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance. Finally, the bill provides that a locality may establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in the ordinance.

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

Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices; days and hours of operation. Authorizes the governing body of any county or city establishing voter satellite offices for absentee voting in person to prescribe, by ordinance, the dates and hours of operation for such offices. The bill prohibits any reduction in the dates or hours of operation of such offices to be enacted within 60 days of any general election.

Study; joint committee of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health; challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint committee consisting of five members of the House Committee on Education and three members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health to study the challenges faced by and effective strategies for ensuring the sustainable, long-term success of the five historically black colleges and universities in the Commonwealth–Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg–by discussing, adopting, and recommending to the Governor and the General Assembly for formal recognition and endorsement a comprehensive statewide HBCU Support Plan.

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

Elections; candidates for office; electronic filing of forms, petitions, and notifications with Department of Elections. Requires the Department of Elections to develop and implement an online filing system to accept any form, petition, or notification filed by electronic means by a party official or candidate. The bill requires the State Board of Elections to develop standards for the electronic preparation, production, submission, and transmittal of all forms required of party officials and candidates. The bill also requires the State Board to prescribe all candidate and party forms in both paper and electronic formats. The bill allows for the collection of petition signatures by electronic means and provides formal requirements for signatures on electronic petitions. The bill makes technical amendments to provide uniformity in requirements for all such electronic filings.

Virginia Consumer Protection Act; prohibited practices; mandatory fees disclosure. Prohibits a supplier in connection with a consumer transaction from advertising, displaying, or offering any pricing information for goods or services without prominently displaying the total price, which shall include all mandatory fees or charges other than taxes imposed.

Study; Department of Social Services; Department of Housing and Community Development; unaccompanied minor housing program; report. Directs the Department of Social Services and the Department of Housing and Community Development to convene a work group to study the implementation of an unaccompanied minor housing program. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the relevant committees of the General Assembly no later than December 1, 2024.

Maddy summaryThis House resolution formally commends Captain Thomas Theodore Scambos, a retired U.S. Navy veteran and entrepreneur from Northern Virginia, on the occasion of his 100th birthday. The document outlines his distinguished career, which included serving as a naval aviator, test pilot instructor, and project manager for naval aviation projects, as well as his later work founding a company that developed technology for oil spill cleanup. It directs the Clerk of the House of Delegates to prepare a copy of the resolution to present to Captain Scambos as an expression of appreciation for his service to the nation and his community.

Teacher and support staff compensation; at orabove national average. Requires that public school teachersbe compensated at a rate that is at or above the national averageteacher salary. Under current law, compensation at such rate is aspirational.The bill also requires that public school instructional and noninstructionalsupport staff be compensated at a rate that is at or above the nationalaverage salary for such staff. The bill requires state funding tobe provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficientto fund an annual increase for public school teacher and instructionaland noninstructional support staff salaries such that, no later thanthe 2028-2029 school year, such individuals are compensated at arate that is at or above the respective national average salary.