Del. Alfonso Lopez

Department of Conservation and Recreation; leasing of land. Changes the process by which the Department of Conservation and Recreation may lease certain lands from one that is subject to the consent and approval of the Governor and the General Assembly to one that is subject to the written recommendation of the Department of General Services to the Governor and the written approval of the Governor, and excludes the sale of such land from such process. The bill also authorizes only certain activities for which the Department may lease land and requires that information about leasing activities be included in an annual report to the General Assembly.

Local green banks. Authorizes a locality,by ordinance, to establish a green bank to promote the investmentin clean energy technologies in its locality and provide financingfor clean energy technologies, defined in the bill. The bill establishescertain powers and functions of a green bank, including developingrules and procedures, financing and providing loans for clean energyprojects, and stimulating demand for renewable energy. The bill requiresthe green bank to be a public entity, quasi-public entity, or nonprofitentity and requires the locality to hold a hearing and publish noticein a newspaper of general circulation prior to establishing the greenbank.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;landlord charges for security deposits, insurance premiums for damageinsurance, and insurance premiums for renter's insurance; filingof information regarding resident agent appointed by nonresidentproperty owner. Prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenantto pay a security deposit, insurance premiums for damage insurance,and insurance premiums for renter's insurance prior to the commencementof the tenancy that exceed the amount of two months' periodic rent.The bill permits a landlord, however, to add a monthly amount asadditional rent to recover additional costs of such damage insuranceor renter's insurance premiums. The bill also removes provisions allowing a landlord to permit a tenant to provide damage insurance coveragein lieu of the payment of a security deposit. Finally, the bill requiresnonresident property owners to file the name and office address ofthe agent appointed by such nonresident property owner in the officeof the clerk of the State Corporation Commission. Under current law,such information must be filed in the office of the clerk of thecourt in which deeds are recorded in the county or city in whichthe property lies.

Historic resources; acquisition and lease of land. Exempts additional land acquisition activities of the Department of Historic Resources (the Department) and the Board of Historic Resources (the Board) from review by the Department of General Services and authorizes the Department and Board to undertake additional leasing and property acquisition activities related to battlefield properties, designated landmarks, and other properties of historic significance.

Rappahannock State Scenic River designation.Adds a 79-mile portion of the Rappahannock River located in Caroline,King George, Westmoreland, Essex, and Richmond Counties to the RappahannockState Scenic River, a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System.

Small renewable energy projects; energy storage.Includes in the definition of a "small renewable energy project"certain energy storage facilities and projects that include storagefacility components. Such facilities are eligible for special permitting,review, and inspection requirements. The bill directs the Departmentof Environmental Quality to promulgate initial regulations to implementthe provisions of the bill by January 1, 2022.

Paid sick leave. Requires employers to provide certain employees paid sick leave. An employee is eligible for paid sick leave under the bill if the employee is an essential worker and works on average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month. The bill provides for an employee to earn at least one hour of paid sick leave benefit for every 30 hours worked. An employee shall not use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick leave in a year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. The bill provides that earned paid sick leave may be used for (i) an employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an employee's need for preventive medical care or (ii) care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or care of a family member who needs preventive medical care. The bill prohibits employers from taking certain retaliatory actions against employees related to leave. The bill provides for a hardship waiver for employers that demonstrate that providing paid sick leave threatens the financial viability of the employer, jeopardizes the ability of the employer to sustain operations, significantly degrades the quality of the employer's business operations, or creates a significant negative financial impact on the employer. The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to promulgate regulations that (a) identify workers as essential based on the categories listed in the bill; (b) include reasonable requirements for recordkeeping, confidentiality, and notifying employees of their rights under provisions of the bill; (c) establish complaint, investigation, and enforcement procedures that include fines, not to exceed $500, for violations of provisions of the bill; (d) establish requirements for compensation and accrual of paid sick leave for employees employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis; and (e) include procedures and requirements for an employer to qualify for a hardship waiver. The provisions of the bill do not apply to a retail business with fewer than 25 employees.

Department of Motor Vehicles; privilegedinformation. Limits the release of Department of Motor Vehicles(DMV) privileged information to government entities and law-enforcementagencies for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement unless (i) the subject of the information provides consent or (ii) the requesting agency presents a lawful judicial order, judicial subpoena, or judicial warrant. The bill requires the DMV to notify the subject of therequest that such a request was made and the identity of the entitythat made the request. The bill requires any entity receiving privileged information from the DMV to enter into a written agreement withthe DMV prior to such release of such information and prohibits anyentity from rereleasing any such DMV information to any third partyunless explicitly permitted to do so in the entity's agreement withthe DMV. The bill contains requirements for any such written agreementbetween the DMV and the Department of State Police.

Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Fundand Program established. Establishes the Get Skilled,Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Fund and requires the Virginia Community College System to establish the G3 Program for the purpose of providing financial assistance from the Fund to certain low-income and middle-income Virginia students who are enrolled in an educational program at an associate-degree-granting public institution of higher educationthat leads to an occupation in a certain high-demand field. The billcontains provisions for student eligibility, financial assistanceaward amounts, and data reporting.

Nutrient credits; use by facility with certainstormwater discharge permit. Authorizes a facility that has beenissued a Virginia Pollution Discharge Elimination System (VPDES)permit regulating stormwater discharges to acquire, use, and transfernutrient credits for compliance with any waste load allocation establishedas an effluent limitation in its VPDES permit so long as the creditsmeet several requirements. Current law allows only a facility registeredunder the Industrial Stormwater General Permit to use nutrient creditsfor such purpose.