Del. David Reid

Parking Lot Solar Development Program and Fund; report. Directs the Department of Energy, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to establish by January 1, 2025, a Parking Lot Solar Development Program for the purpose of encouraging development of distributed parking lot solar projects up to one megawatt in size in the Commonwealth. The bill also creates the Parking Lot Solar Development Fund for the purposes of (i) funding solar renewable energy credit values at an updated 10-year levelized incentive level through the renewable energy certificate market using a solar financing model as described in the bill, (ii) implementing and administering the Parking Lot Solar Development Program, and (iii) implementing and administering an alternative auction site that sets a fixed price for solar renewable energy credits not sold in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Department, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to engage in a stakeholder consultation to evaluate the current costs of solar installations and incentive levels across market segments and study benefits to grid security and reliability, ratepayers, and environmental goals of the Commonwealth by December 1, 2024, and every five years thereafter. The bill also directs the Commission to consult with agencies and stakeholders to develop an online mapping database of potential parking lot solar sites for development in the Commonwealth by December 1, 2024. Finally, the bill requires the Department, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to submit an annual report to the General Assembly regarding the implementation of the Parking Lot Solar Development Program for the preceding fiscal year by November 1, 2025.

Income tax; Foreign Service retirement benefits subtraction. Establishes for certain individuals receiving ForeignService retirement benefits an income tax subtraction of such benefitsup to $5,000 in taxable year 2024, up to $10,000 in taxable year2025, up to $15,000 in taxable year 2026, and up to $20,000 in taxableyear 2027 and each taxable year thereafter. The bill defines ForeignService retirement benefits as any retirement income received byan individual for employment in the Foreign Service of the UnitedStates and as an eligible member of the Foreign Service Retirementand Disability System or the Foreign Service Pension System.

Commissioner of Highways; Highway CorporationAct to Public-Private Transportation Act. Directs the Commissionerof Highways to evaluate ways to reduce tolls and implement distance-basedtolling by transferring any roadway within the Commonwealth operatedpursuant to the Virginia Highway Corporation Act of 1988 to the Public-PrivateTransportation Act of 1995. The bill establishes a process wherebythe Commissioner may execute a new comprehensive agreement with the operator of the roadway to operate under the PPTA, if such transferwould be in the public interest, as defined in the bill. The billexpires on December 31, 2025.

Virginia Teacher Residency Training Corps established.Establishes the Virginia Teacher Residency Training Corps for thepurposes of attracting and retaining public elementary and secondaryschool teachers in school divisions in the Commonwealth by awardingscholarships to students seeking to obtain teaching degrees and certificationsat participating institutions and requiring such students upon completionof their degree or certificate to fill teaching positions for oneyear for each year of scholarship receipt at a high-need school,as defined pursuant to federal law. The bill also creates the Virginia Teacher Residency Training Corps Scholarship Fund and Program forthe purpose of funding such scholarships at the participating institutionsof Longwood University, Norfolk State University, Radford University,and Virginia Commonwealth University. Finally, the bill establishes the 12-member Virginia Teacher Residency Training Corps Commissionto administer the Program and directs the Commission to begin meetingon or after September 1, 2024, and to establish the parameters forthe Program and award the first scholarships prior to the beginningof the 2025-2026 academic year.

Reimbursement of expenses incurred in respondingto terrorism hoax incident, bomb threat, malicious activation of firealarm, or false emergency communication to emergency personnel. Allowsa locality that has an ordinance requiring any person over 18 yearsof age convicted of false emergency communication to emergency personnelto reimburse such locality at the time of sentencing or in a separatecivil action to bill a flat fee of $2,500 or a minute-by-minute accountingof actual costs incurred. The bill also allows a locality that hasan ordinance requiring any person under 18 years of age convictedof false emergency communication to emergency personnel to reimbursesuch locality at the time of sentencing or in a separate civil actionto bill a flat fee of $2,500 or a minute-by-minute accounting of actualcosts incurred, not to exceed $2,500. Current law allows a flat feeof $250 or a minute-by-minute accounting of actual costs incurred,in an amount not to exceed $2,500.

Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaignfunds; complaints, hearings, civil penalty, and advisory opinions.Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or hiscampaign committee to personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversionof contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at thedissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that acontribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if thecontribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment,obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking,holding, or maintaining public office but allows a contribution to be used forthe ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holdingelective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate'schild care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity.The bill provides that any person subject to the personal use ban may requestan advisory opinion from the State Board of Elections on such matters. The billdirects the State Board of Elections to adopt emergency regulations similar tothose promulgated by the Federal Election Commission to implement theprovisions of the bill and to publish an updated summary of Virginia campaignfinance law that reflects the State Board of Elections' and Attorney General'sguidance on the provisions of such law that prohibit the personal use ofcampaign funds and any new regulations promulgated by the State Board ofElections.

Content manufacturing tax credit. Removes the sunset for the motion picture tax credit, which currently is set to expire after taxable year 2026, and expands and redesignates the tax credit as the content manufacturing tax credit. The bill increases the total amount of credits that can be allocated to taxpayers to $46.5 million beginning in fiscal year 2024; however, should less than $100 million worth of certain new investments, as described by the bill, occur in Virginia by January 1, 2027, the cap will be reduced to $10 million per fiscal year. The bill also amends the definition of the "qualifying expenses" eligible for the content manufacturing tax credit to mean certain amounts spent in connection with the production of an eligible project filmed in the Commonwealth. The bill defines "eligible project" to be the production of a motion picture or an episodic television series.

Virginia Firefighting Personnel and Equipment Grant Program. Establishes the Virginia Firefighting Personnel and Equipment Grant Program for the purpose of providing grants to localities to hire additional firefighters and to improve their firefighting and emergency medical services. The Department of Fire Programs shall administer the Program, and two types of grants shall be made from the Program. The first shall provide grants to localities to increase the number of firefighters. Such grants shall be made for up to three years and shall be used by localities for programs to (i) hire new, additional full-time firefighters; (ii) convert part-time or volunteer firefighters to full-time firefighters; or (iii) recruit and retain volunteer firefighters. The other type of grant shall be provided to localities for improving firefighting and emergency medical services. Authorized uses of grant funds include acquiring firefighting and emergency medical services vehicles and equipment and modifying facilities. For both grants, the funds shall not be used to supplant any funds currently provided by the Commonwealth or by the locality and shall be used to increase the total amount of funds available for the provision of firefighting or  emergency medical services.The Department shall report annually, beginning November 1, 2025, to the Governor and the General Assembly information regarding a list of grants, the amount of each approved grant, information on the performance assessment system that the bill directs the Department to create, an evaluation of each grant based on such system, and any other criteria deemed relevant by the Department.

Short-term rentals; registration; civil penalty. Directs the Department of Taxation to establish a registry of short-term rental properties and require accommodations providers and intermediaries to register. Under the bill, an accommodations provider shall provide to the Department its name and the address of each property it offers for short-term rental. The bill states that the Department shall issue each such accommodations provider a unique numerical identifier for each such property. Furthermore, an accommodations intermediary shall provide the Department with its name and the contact information for the individual responsible for liaising with state and local officials regarding noncompliant short-term rental listings. The bill states that as a condition of listing a short-term rental on its platform, an accommodations intermediary shall require each accommodations provider to provide such provider's name and the unique numerical identifier and specific address for each short term-rental offered. Under the bill, such information, as well as information regarding receipts and taxes paid, shall be provided to the Department by the accommodations intermediary on a quarterly basis.The bill states that the Department shall provide the commissioner of the revenue for each locality with access to the registry and information contained therein. The commissioner of the revenue shall notify an accommodations intermediary of any short-term rental on its platform that is not lawfully authorized to be offered on its platform, and the accommodations intermediary shall remove any such listing from its platform. Under the bill, any accommodations intermediary who does not remove such a listing from its platform shall be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000, to be paid into the Virginia Housing Trust Fund.

Income tax subtractions; Virginia NationalGuard military pay. Creates an income tax subtraction for military pay received by an individual for active service in the VirginiaNational Guard during either (i) an out-of-state deployment or (ii)a state of emergency declared by the Governor.