Del. Michelle Maldonado

Public service companies; pole attachments;cable television systems and telecommunications service providers. Requires a public utility, as defined in the bill, to establish and adhere to pole attachment practices and procedures that comply with certain requirements, including determining whether an attachment request is complete before reviewing such request on its merits, complying with certain timelines, and providing notice of a rearrangement to affected existing attachers. The bill provides that a public utility shall not apportion to a telecommunications service provider or cable television system the cost of replacing a red-tagged pole, as defined in the bill, provided that such utility may apportion to such provider or system the incremental cost of a taller or stronger pole that is necessitated solely by the new facilities of such provider or system. The bill authorizes the State Corporation Commission to enforce its provisions and requires the Commission to resolve disputes involving pole access within 90 days and concerning certain other matters within 120 days. This bill is identical to SB 713.

Public elementary and secondary schools; programs of instruction; mental health education; curriculum guidelines; instruction required. Requires each public elementary, middle, and high school to provide at each grade level, in addition to health instruction, an additional age-appropriate course of instruction on mental health. The bill directs the Board of Education to develop mental health curriculum guidelines for an age-appropriate, sequential mental health curriculum for each grade level and requires such curriculum guidelines to include instruction on (i) general themes of social and emotional learning, including self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, relationship skills, and social awareness; (ii) the signs and symptoms of common mental health challenges; (iii) mental health wellness and healthy strategies for coping with stress and negative feelings, including conflict resolution skills; (iv) the importance of and guidance on seeking assistance from an adult or mental health professional, including information on services offered within the school or the local school division; (v) the prevalence of mental health challenges and the importance of overcoming common stigmas surrounding such mental health challenges; (vi) the importance of mental health to a student's overall well-being, including physical health and academic success; and (vii) at such grade levels as the Board deems appropriate, the connection between mental health and substance use disorders and the safe use of and risks of abuse of prescription drugs. The bill permits the Board to consult with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and other mental health experts in developing such curriculum guidelines and requires the Board to submit such guidelines to the State Board of Health for approval. The bill requires the Board to review and update by the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year the health Standards of Learning for each grade level to include such instruction on the mental health curriculum guidelines.

Contract actions; medical debt. Provides that in any action, including those brought by the Commonwealth, upon any contract to collect medical debt, as defined in the bill, such an action is barred if not commenced within three years from the due date applicable to the first invoice for a health care service unless the contract with a hospital or health care provider is for a payment plan that allows for a longer period of time for the collection of debt by the hospital or health care provider. The bill specifies that such limitation shall not apply to medical debt arising from services provided by programs administered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services.

Energy efficiency programs; incremental annualsavings. Provides that it is in the public interest and the policyof the Commonwealth to deploy demand-side management programs andenergy efficiency measures throughout the Commonwealth to achievethe greatest possible reductions in energy consumption. The billpermits the State Corporation Commission to increase or decreasean investor-owned electric utility's combined rate of return basedon the utility's success in complying with energy efficiency programtargets in existing law. Additionally, the bill states that "in thepublic interest" for the purpose of assessing energy efficiency programsmeans that the Commission determines that the program is cost-effective.Finally, the bill directs the Commission to promulgate regulationsno later than December 31, 2025, establishing a single, consistent cost-effectiveness test for use in evaluating proposed energy efficiency programs.

Public institutions of higher education; Hunger-FreeCampus Grant Program established; report. Establishes the Hunger-FreeCampus Grant Program (the Program) to address student food insecurityat public institutions of higher education. The bill provides thatthe Program shall be managed by the State Council of Higher Educationfor Virginia and available for participation by public institutions of higher education; however, participation in the Program shallbe optional for such institutions. Under the bill, if a public institutionof higher education satisfies certain criteria set out in the bill,including creating initiatives on campus to address student foodinsecurity, it shall be designated as a "Hunger-Free Campus" andthe Council shall award a grant to such institution. A public institutionof higher education that receives a grant under the bill shall utilizethe funds to support on-campus efforts and initiatives to eliminatestudent food insecurity at such institution. The bill requires theCouncil to submit a report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committeeon Education and Health and the House Committee on Education no laterthan two years after the establishment of the Program.

Annual retail sales and use tax holiday. Establishes an annual retail sales and use tax holiday that takes place on the first full weekend in August beginning on July 1, 2025, through July 1, 2030. During such weekend, state retail sales and use tax will not apply to certain (i) school supplies, (ii) clothing and footwear, (iii) qualified products designated as Energy Star or WaterSense, (iv) portable generators, or (v) hurricane preparedness equipment. This bill is identical to SB 116.

Prescription of opioids; sickle cell anemia.Exempts prescribers from certain requirements of the PrescriptionMonitoring Program related to prescribing opioids if the opioid isprescribed to a patient for pain management related to sickle cellanemia.

Public school staffing ratios; teachers; Englishlanguage learner students. Requires state funding to be providedpursuant to the general appropriation act to support divisionwideratios of English language learner students in average daily membershipto full-time equivalent teaching positions as follows: (i) for eachEnglish language learner identified as proficiency level one or two,one position per 20 students; (ii) for each English language learneridentified as proficiency level three or four, one position per 40 students; and (iii) for each English language learner identifiedas proficiency level five or in monitor status, one position per100 students. Current law requires state funding to be provided pursuantto the general appropriation act to support one such teaching positionper 50 English language learner students, regardless of the identifiedEnglish proficiency level of such students.

Manufactured home parks; resident rights.Provides that a rental agreement with a term of one year or more will not be automatically renewed if the tenant notifies the landlord60 days prior to the expiration date of such tenant's intent to notrenew the agreement. The bill permits a tenant to not renew a rentalagreement due to a change in terms of the agreement by the landlordif such tenant notifies the landlord of his intent to not renew therental agreement within 30 days of receiving the notice of the changein terms. The bill allows a landlord to include in a written rentalagreement a late fee, not to exceed 10 percent of the amount of therent due and owed, for unpaid rental payments. The bill increasesfrom 60 days or more to less than one year the term of a rental agreementthat may be terminated by written notice at least 60 days prior tothe termination date of the agreement. Finally, the bill removes theright of a landlord to evict a tenant for two or more violationsof any rule or provision of the rental agreement occurring withina six-month period.

Compensation of court-appointed counsel. Raises the limitation of fees that court-appointed counsel can receive for representation on various offenses in district and circuit courts. The bill also limits the fees charged for the cost of court-appointed counsel or public defender representation to persons determined to be indigent to an amount no greater than the amount such person would have owed if such fees had been assessed on or before June 30, 2024. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025. This bill is identical to SB 356.