Del. Briana Sewell

Maddy summaryHR 816 is a non-binding resolution that formally commends the Washington Commanders professional football team. It does not create new laws, impose costs, or affect any specific group of people. The bill serves solely as a ceremonial gesture of recognition by the U.S. House of Representatives. It passed unanimously by voice vote in the House on February 21, 2025, and has no practical policy impact.

Department of Housing and Community Development; Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; affordable housing; criminal record screening model policy. Requires the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, with input from a stakeholder group convened by the Department of Housing and Community Development, to develop a criminal record screening model policy for admitting or denying an applicant for affordable housing covered under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's guidance on the application of the federal Fair Housing Act and maintain such model policy on its website. The bill prohibits a landlord of an affordable housing unit from basing an adverse action, in whole or in part, on an applicant's criminal or arrest record unless the landlord does so in accordance with the criminal record screening model policy developed by the Department of Housing and Community Development and posted on its website and provides the applicant with a written copy of such policy. The provisions of the bill other than the creation of the stakeholder group have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026.

Virginia Center for Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention; creation. Creates the Virginia Center for Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention within the Department of Criminal Justice Services. The bill states that the Center will serve as the primary resource for research, best practices, and strategies for the implementation of firearm violence intervention, community-based intervention, and group violence intervention programs designed to reduce violence in communities. The bill also requires that the Center evaluate state and community based violence intervention programs and policies that receive funding through the Center, apply for and accept federal grants, and provide technical assistance. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.

Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements; civil action. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2028. Under the program, benefits are paid to covered individuals, as defined in the bill, for family and medical leave. Funding for the program is provided through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning January 1, 2027. The bill provides that the amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, not to exceed 120 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage. The bill caps the duration of paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year and provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program.

Department of Taxation; accounts receivable; collection. Directs the Department of Taxation, Department of Accounts, and Office of the Attorney General to analyze the pervasiveness of outstanding accounts receivable due to the Commonwealth and collection efforts related to such receivables. The Department of Taxation shall report on the findings and recommendations of such analysis and submit such report to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and House Committee on Appropriations by November 1, 2025.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; enforcement by localities. Provides that if a condition exists in a rental dwelling unit that constitutes a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or with any provision of law that, if not promptly corrected, constitutes a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of tenants or occupants of the premises, a locality may institute an action for injunction and damages to enforce the landlord's duty to maintain the rental dwelling unit in a fit and habitable condition, provided that (i) the property where the violation occurred is within the jurisdictional boundaries of the locality and (ii) the locality has notified the landlord who owns the property, either directly or through the managing agent, of the nature of the violation and the landlord has failed to remedy the violation to the satisfaction of the locality within a reasonable time after receiving such notice.

Drinking water; Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program established. Creates the Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program to reduce excessive levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in public drinking water derived from the Occoquan Reservoir. The bill requires certain facilities to monitor for PFAS on or before October 1, 2025, using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Method 1633 or an alternative method approved by the EPA. The bill requires any such facility to report all results to the Department of Environmental Quality no later than the tenth day of the next month after the month in which the result is reported by the laboratory and to include in such report all PFAS analytes measured by the test method. The bill requires by July 1, 2027, for any facility that measures exceedances in its discharge of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PFAS in drinking water promulgated on or before January 1, 2025, the Department, for an individual Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit if the facility discharges directly to surface waters, or a major publicly owned treatment works, for an indirect discharger, to modify the applicable discharge permit to require that the facility's discharge not exceed that MCL. The bill requires the modified permit to provide a compliance schedule that requires compliance with such level as soon as possible but no later than July 1, 2029. The bill exempts from its provisions any industrial discharger not listed in the bill, any publicly owned treatment works or drinking water treatment plant, or a municipal solid waste facility but provides that any public water system may follow the requirements of the bill for the purpose of planning for compliance with the MCL for PFAS in finished water. The bill clarifies that its provisions will not limit the authority of the Department or the owner or operator of any publicly owned treatment works to which any user discharges wastewater to require monitoring or reporting or otherwise regulate the discharge of any PFAS chemicals or other pollutants under other applicable legal authority.

Collective bargaining by public employees; exclusive bargaining representatives. Repeals the existing prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees. The bill creates the Public Employee Relations Board, which shall determine appropriate bargaining units and provide for certification and decertification elections for exclusive bargaining representatives of state employees and local government employees. The bill requires public employers and employee organizations that are exclusive bargaining representatives to meet at reasonable times to negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The bill repeals a provision that declares that, in any procedure providing for the designation, selection, or authorization of a labor organization to represent employees, the right of an individual employee to vote by secret ballot is a fundamental right that shall be guaranteed from infringement. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 917.

Private companies providing public transportation services; employee protections. Requires the governing body or transportation district commission of any county or city that contracts with a private company to provide transportation services to (i) require such company to provide any employee of such company providing such services compensation and benefits that are, at a minimum, equivalent to the compensation and benefits provided to a public employee, as defined in the bill, with a position requiring equivalent qualifications and years of service; (ii) provide transportation services through such company's own employees; and (iii) if such transportation district commission, county, or city subsequently elects to provide its own system of public transportation, adopt an ordinance or resolution providing for collective bargaining, ensure all employees of such private company are offered employment with such subsequent public transportation system without loss of compensation or benefits, and ensure the recognition of any lawful collective bargaining representative of such private company's employees. This bill is identical to SB 919.

Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act; landlord obligations. Requires a landlord to provide a copy of any written rental agreement and the statement of tenant rights and responsibilities within 10 business days of the effective date of the written rental agreement; current law requires a landlord to provide such copies within one month of such effective date. The bill outlines required notice language to be included by the landlord in the rental agreement and provides that failures of the landlord to provide notice shall not affect the validity of the rental agreement.The bill also requires a fee disclosure statement to be provided on the first page of the written rental agreement under the Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act. The bill applies to rental agreements that are entered into, extended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2025.