Del. Liz Guzmán

Maddy summaryHB 858 changes the state holiday observed on the second Monday in October from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day. This policy affects state government operations, including public offices and schools, which typically close for legal holidays. The bill formally redesignates the holiday by replacing the current name and historical reference with Indigenous Peoples' Day. It does not alter the date or create new government obligations, only updating the official designation of an existing holiday.

Surplus real property; prioritization of disposition for affordable and middle-income housing. Requires the Department of General Services to determine whether, following an offer of surplus property to the chief administrative officer of the locality within which the surplus property is located, as well as to any economic development entity for such locality, such surplus property is suitable for the development of affordable housing, as defined by the bill. If the Department so determines, the bill provides that such property shall be offered for at least 90 days exclusively to eligible organizations, as defined by the bill, for the purpose of developing affordable housing, provided that the terms of the disposition include a recorded covenant to provide affordable housing for at least 30 years. The bill also requires the chief administrative officer of each locality to prepare and maintain an inventory of all real property within its jurisdiction to which the locality holds fee simple title and that the locality has determined to be feasible for the development of affordable and middle-income housing. If the governing body of a locality chooses to dispose of such a property, such property shall be offered for at least 90 days exclusively to public or private entities, for the purpose of developing affordable and middle-income housing, through purchase, lease, exchange, or donation in return for a recorded covenant to provide affordable housing for at least 30 years.

Maximum number of judges in each judicial district. Increases from five to six the maximum number of authorized general district court judges in the Twelfth Judicial District. The bill also increases from six to seven the maximum number of authorized juvenile and domestic relations district court judges in the Twelfth Judicial District. This bill is a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts.

Line of Duty Act; sheriffs and deputy sheriffs. Provides that a sheriff or deputy sheriff shall be eligible for Line of Duty Act benefits. Under current law, sheriffs or deputy sheriffs are only eligible for Line of Duty Act benefits in the City of Richmond.

Electric utilities; small portable solar generation devices. Permits any electric utility customer to own and operate a small portable solar generation device, defined in the bill as a nationally certified, plug-in solar photovoltaic device with a maximum power output of no more than 1,200 watts at a single premise that is not designed to be interconnected with the electric grid and is intended primarily to offset part of the customer's electricity consumption. The bill prohibits an investor-owned utility, municipal utility, or electric cooperative from imposing interconnection requirements, charging any fee related to the device, or requiring that the customer obtain the utility's approval before installing or using the device. Under the bill, no electric utility or electric cooperative shall be liable for damage or injury caused by a small portable solar generation device.

Board of Pharmacy; compounding pharmacies; use of bulk drug substances; recordkeeping. Establishes additional requirements for when pharmacists may use bulk drug substances in compounding and specifies prohibitions on pharmacist use of (i) bulk drug substances that were withdrawn or removed from the market for reasons of safety and effectiveness or were covered by an investigational new drug application and not approved and (ii) compounded drug products that are essentially a copy of commercially available drug products. The bill permits the Board of Pharmacy to request records of all compounded drug products and requires pharmacists to furnish such records within 48 hours of such request or within a reasonable time as determined by the Board. The bill also permits the Board of Pharmacy to submit any information related to investigations, disciplinary proceedings, or inspection of a licensee to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.

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 90 days' written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's calculated allowance, not to exceed three percent, and states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year. The bill 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 requires a locality adopting an anti-rent gouging ordinance to establish an anti-rent gouging board to establish rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance or delegate such duties and functions to an existing local board, department, or agency. The bill also requires the anti-rent gouging board to establish a fair return on investment rent increase exemption to the annual anti-rent gouging allowance where necessary to offset increased operating expenses. Finally, the bill provides that a locality shall establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in its ordinance.