Del. Alfonso Lopez

Commending Debra Collins.

Health insurance; limit on cost-sharing paymentsfor prescription drugs under certain plans. Requires each carrier that offers a health plan in either the individual or small groupmarket to ensure that at least 50 percent of all health plans offeredby the carrier, or at least one health plan if the carrier offersfewer than two health plans, in each rating area and in each of thebronze, silver, gold, and platinum levels of coverage in the individualand small group market conform with the following: (i) a plan thatoffers a silver, gold, or platinum level of coverage limits a person'scost-sharing payment for prescription drugs covered under the planto an amount that does not exceed $100 per 30-day supply of the prescriptiondrug and (ii) a plan that offers a bronze level of coverage limitsa person's cost-sharing payment for prescription drugs covered underthe plan to an amount that does not exceed $150 per 30-day supplyof the prescription drug. The bill provides that such limits applyat any point in the benefit design, including before and after any applicable deductible is reached. The bill requires that any plansoffered to meet its requirements are (a) clearly and appropriatelynamed to aid the consumer or plan sponsor in the plan selection processand (b) marketed in the same manner as other plans offered by thehealth insurance carrier. The provisions of the bill apply with respectto health plans entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on orafter January 1, 2025.

Study; JLARC; Department of Juvenile Justice;report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission,in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of Public Safetyand Homeland Security and the Office of the Secretary of Health andHuman Resources, to conduct a study to determine the feasibilityand benefits of transferring responsibility for the Department ofJuvenile Justice from the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; reimbursement rates for Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers withDisabilities; work group; report. Directs the Department of MedicalAssistance Services to convene a work group of relevant stakeholdersto assess and make recommendations related to reimbursement ratesfor the federal Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlerswith Disabilities. The bill requires the work group to report itsrecommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health,Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education andHealth by November 1, 2024.

Collective bargaining by public employees; labor organization representation. Repeals the existing prohibitionon collective bargaining by public employees. The bill creates thePublic Employee Relations Board, which shall determine appropriatebargaining units and provide for certification and decertificationelections for exclusive bargaining representatives of state employeesand local government employees. The bill requires public employersand employee organizations that are exclusive bargaining representativesto meet at reasonable times to negotiate in good faith with respectto wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. Thebill repeals a provision that declares that, in any procedure providingfor the designation, selection, or authorization of a labor organizationto represent employees, the right of an individual employee to voteby secret ballot is a fundamental right that shall be guaranteed from infringement.

Virginia Green Infrastructure Bank; created.Creates the Virginia Green Infrastructure Bank, an authorityto promote and catalyze investment in qualified projects that reducegreenhouse gas emissions, assist climate-impacted communities, andpromote environmental justice. The bill requires the Bank to be governedby a board of directors with the authority to hire a president and create a nonstock corporation to carry out the powers and dutiesof the bank.

The Virginia African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Latino, and Indigenous Education Advisory Board; establishment.

Misdemeanor; maximum term of confinement.Reduces from 12 months to 364 days the maximum term of confinementin jail for a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill contains technical amendments.

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.

Net energy metering; solar interconnection; cost recovery. Provides that an electric distribution company shall pay 33 cents ($0.33) per kilowatt-hour per day for the costs of lost electricity production for any and all delays beyond the regulatory notice period required by the State Corporation Commission related to net energy metering. The bill requires that, for the purposes of net energy metering, an eligible customer-generator shall bear all reasonable costs of equipment required at the eligible customer-generator's premises for the interconnection to the supplier's electric distribution system, including commercially reasonable costs of additional controls, tests, or liability insurance. Additionally, the bill allows for cost recovery by Phase I and Phase II Utilities for electric distribution grid transformation projects that support the interconnection of generating facilities using energy derived from sunlight that are owned or contracted by eligible customer-generators, subject to the Commission finding those costs to be reasonable and prudent in accordance with existing law.