Del. Alfonso Lopez

Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; established; report. Creates the Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank to finance clean energy projects, greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects, and other qualified projects through the strategic deployment of public funds in the form of grants, loans, credit enhancements, and other financing mechanisms. The Bank is governed by a 12-member Board of Directors, consisting of nine nonlegislative citizen members and three ex officio members with voting privileges, who include the Director of the Department of Energy, the Chief Executive Officer of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority, and the State Treasurer or their designees. The bill provides that the nonlegislative citizen members are to be appointed as follows: four members by the Senate Committee on Rules, four members by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and one member by the Governor, each of whom are required to have expertise in real estate, finance, or project development or legal expertise in zero-emission or low-emission energy generation, infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, storm water management, or housing. The bill contains provisions for (i) the appointment of a president and the hiring of staff, (ii) the powers and duties of the Bank, (iii) lending practices, (iv) a strategic plan, (v) an investment strategy, (vi) public outreach requirements, (vii) audits, (viii) exemptions from taxes and from personnel and procurement procedures, and (ix) reporting requirements.

Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund; projects; low-income geographic areas; nature-based solutions. Provides that the Department of Conservation and Recreation shall give additional weight to projects located in low-income geographic areas and projects that incorporate nature-based solutions when distributing loans or grants from the Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund to particular local governments.

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.

Consultation with federally recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth; permits and reviews with potential impacts on environmental, cultural, and historic resources. Requires the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Historic Resources, and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to establish policies and procedures for consulting with federally recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth when evaluating certain permits and reviews relating to environmental, cultural, or historic resources that potentially impact those federally recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Secretary of the Commonwealth to designate an Ombudsman for Tribal Consultation to facilitate communication and consultation with federally recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth and requires the Ombudsman to develop by September 1, 2024, a list of localities in which federally recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth shall be consulted to effectuate the provisions of the bill. The bill codifies Executive Order 82 (2021).

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;Department of Housing and Community Development; mandatory fees.Requires advertisements for rental units and rental agreements toinclude any mandatory fees that will be charged to a tenant in excessof the rent. The bill directs the Department of Housing and CommunityDevelopment to collect data regarding the type and amount of mandatoryfees tenants are required to pay and to include such data in itsannual report to the General Assembly.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; tenant's remedies for exclusion from dwelling unit due to condemnation. Provides that the landlord shall be liable to the tenant for actual damages and reasonable attorney fees if the tenant gave notice to the landlord during the tenancy that his dwelling unit was in violation of an applicable building code, such violation posed a substantial risk to the health, safety, and welfare of a tenant, and such violation resulted in the tenant being excluded from his dwelling unit due to such unit being condemned. The bill includes exceptions to such liability, including negligence by the tenant, an act of God, and termination due to certain fire damage.

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.

First offense drug program; previous misdemeanor marijuana conviction. Allows any person to participate in the first offender drug program even if such person was previously convicted of an offense related to misdemeanor possession of marijuana or who has had a previous dismissal of a misdemeanor offense for possession of marijuana pursuant to the program. Current law prohibits any person with a previous marijuana conviction from participating in the program. This bill is identical to SB 362.

Juveniles; evidence of trafficking, sexual abuse, or rape by the alleged victim prior to or during the commission of the alleged offense; treatment and rehabilitation. Requires a juvenile and domestic relations district court, when determining whether to retain jurisdiction of a juvenile defendant during a transfer hearing, to consider any evidence that such juvenile was a victim of felonious sexual assault or trafficking by the alleged victim prior to or during the commission of the alleged offense and that such alleged offense was a direct result of the juvenile being a victim of such felonious sexual assault or trafficking. The bill also requires that a study and report prior to a transfer hearing include any relevant information supporting an allegation that such juvenile was a victim of felonious sexual assault or trafficking by the alleged victim. The bill also creates a procedure for a juvenile to present such evidence in mandatory transfer cases that under current law require the juvenile and domestic relations district court to transfer the case to the circuit court and provides that upon a finding that the alleged offense was a direct result of the juvenile being a victim of such felonious sexual assault or trafficking, the juvenile and domestic relations district court can instead conduct a transfer hearing to determine whether to keep the case in juvenile court. The bill also creates a similar procedure allowing a juvenile to present such evidence in certain cases where current law requires the juvenile and domestic relations district court to transfer the case to circuit court if the attorney for the Commonwealth gives notice of an intent to proceed with such transfer. Also, in juvenile cases that are tried in circuit court, the bill allows the court to set aside a guilty verdict and instead render the juvenile delinquent if prior to the final order or within 21 days of such order, the court receives evidence that the juvenile was a victim of such felonious sexual assault or trafficking. Lastly, the bill states that it is the intent of the General Assembly that these juveniles be viewed as victims and provided treatment and services in the juvenile system.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; definition of "caregiver"; remote participation in meetings by persons with disabilities and caregivers; remote voting. Provides that for purposes of determining whether a quorum is physically assembled, an individual member of a public body who is a person with a disability or a caregiver, defined in the bill, and uses remote participation counts toward the quorum as if the individual was physically present. The bill also provides that the participation policy adopted by a public body, as required by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, shall not prohibit or restrict any individual member of a public body who is participating in an all-virtual meeting or who is using remote participation from voting on matters before the public body. As introduced, the bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council. This bill is identical to SB 85.