Project labor agreements; prevailing wage; collective bargaining for employees of local governments. Provides that state agencies, when engaged in procuring products or services or letting contracts for construction, manufacture, maintenance, or operation of public works, paid for in whole or in part by state funds, shall neither require nor prohibit bidders to enter into or adhere to agreements with one or more labor organizations on the public works projects. The bill removes requirements for the payment of prevailing wage for work performed on public works contracts for state agencies. In addition, the bill removes the authority for a locality, by a local ordinance or resolution, to recognize any labor union or other employee association as a bargaining agent of any public officers or employees or to collectively bargain or enter into any collective bargaining contract with any such union or association or its agents.
Del. Tony Wilt
Sponsored bills
Commending the Virginia Manufacturers Association.
Group health benefit plans; sponsoring associations; formation of benefits consortium. Provides that sponsoring associations, including self-funded multiple employer welfare arrangements, mayprovide health benefit plans for small employers in the form of atrust benefit consortium, subject to certain requirements. The billincludes conditions for qualifying as a sponsoring association, requirementsfor the formation of a trust benefits consortium, and provisionsto establish a board of trustees. Under the bill, such trust benefitsconsortium is subject to the federal Employee Retirement Income SecurityAct of 1974 (ERISA) and U.S. Department of Labor regulations and suchtrust shall not include certain words or terms in its name that areuniquely descriptive of insurance companies or business, and a statementto this effect is required to be included on the first page of thehealth benefit plan documents. A benefits consortium or sponsoringassociation is exempt from the requirements of the Virginia Life,Accident and Sickness Insurance Guaranty Association and exempt fromannual license taxes under the bill.
Lane filtering; motorcycles. Authorizesthe operator of a two-wheeled motorcycle to pass another vehiclethat is stopped or traveling at no more than 10 miles per hour inthe same lane, provided that there are at least two lanes of travelin each direction, such motorcycle does not exceed a speed of 20miles per hour, and the operator executes such passing safely.
Pensions; hazardous duty pay. Provides thatservice in the Fire and Rescue Department of the Virginia Air NationalGuard shall be treated as service in a hazardous position for purposesof the hazardous duty supplement or increased retirement multiplierin the State Police Officers' Retirement System, in the VirginiaLaw Officers' Retirement System, or as a local law-enforcement officereligible for similar benefits. The bill applies to creditable serviceearned before July 1, 2022, but only allows additional benefits tobe paid prospectively.
Electric utilities; shared solar programs. Expandsthe current shared solar program to include participation by PhaseI Utilities. The bill introduces incentives for shared solar programsthat are located on rooftops, brownfields, or landfills, are dual-useagricultural facilities, or meet any other category of incentivethat the Department of Energy may establish. The bill authorizesthe State Corporation Commission to establish a program cap on theamount of capacity for Phase I Utilities' shared solar programs. Provisions of the bill shall be implemented by the State Corporation Commissionby December 31, 2022. The bill permits both jurisdictional and nonjurisdictional customers to participate in a shared solar program and creates astakeholder group to address interconnection issues and propose changesvia petition to the Commission by January 1, 2023. The bill alsoallows utilities to recover the costs of incentives established bythe bill.
Charitable gaming; exemptions from certain requirementsfor specified organizations. Exempts qualified organizationsthat reasonably expect, on the basis of prior charitable gaming annual results or any other quantifiable method, to realize grossreceipts of $15,000 or less from all charitable gaming other than raffles, conducted on a total of no more than seven days per calendaryear, from the requirements to (i) notify the Department of Agricultureand Consumer Services (the Department) of their intention to conductsuch charitable gaming or (ii) comply with the regulations of theCharitable Gaming Board. Under current law, only qualified organizationsthat reasonably expect to realize gross receipts of $40,000 or lessfrom raffles in any 12-month period are exempt from these requirements.The bill provides that any qualified organization may sell instantbingo, pull tabs, or seal cards that are dispensed by mechanicalequipment only, provided that the sale is limited to two events ofno more than 14 days each per calendar year. Under current law, onlyathletic associations or booster clubs or band booster clubs maysell instant bingo, pull tabs, or seal cards at a single event ina calendar year. Finally, the bill prohibits the Department fromrequiring a qualified organization that realizes annual gross receiptsof $15,000 or less to file a report of its receipts and disbursements.
Board of Education; policy on sexually explicitinstructional material. Requires the Board of Education to establish,and each local school board to comply with, a policy to require each public elementary or secondary school to (i) notify the parent ofany student whose teacher reasonably expects to provide instructionalmaterial that includes sexually explicit content, (ii) permit theparent of any student to review instructional material that includessexually explicit content upon request, and (iii) provide, as analternative to instructional material and related academic activitiesthat include sexually explicit content, nonexplicit instructionalmaterial and related academic activities to any student whose parentso requests.
Public health emergency; emergency orders andregulations; limitations. Provides that any emergency order orregulation adopted by the Board of Health shall be valid for no morethan 45 days and that such order may be extended by the Board fora subsequent period of 45 days, provided that the Board providesnotice and receives public comment on the order or regulation proposedto be extended, but that in no case shall such emergency order or regulation be valid for more than 18 months from the effective dateof the initial order or regulation. The bill also provides that inany case in which the Commissioner of Health exercises the authorityof the Board to enact an emergency order or regulation, such orderor regulation shall be valid for no more than 45 days from the effectivedate of the order or regulation unless the Board adopts an orderor regulation to such effect. Thebill also limits the duration of an emergency temporary standardadopted by the Safety and Health Codes Board to 45 days and providesfor an extension of such emergency temporary standard for a subsequentperiod of 45 days, provided that the Board provides notice and receivespublic comment on the emergency temporary standard proposed to beextended. However, no emergency temporary order shall be valid fora period of more than six months.
Compensation of local jails for cost of incarceration. Provides that the Department of Corrections shall compensate localjails for the cost of incarceration of convicted felons, calculated from the date of mailing of the final order, at the rate of $12 per inmate per day for the first 60 days, at the rate of $40 per inmateper day during the period of more than 60 but not more than 90 days,and for the actual cost of incarceration as calculated in the jailreport prepared annually by the Compensation Board for more than90 days. Currently, such compensation rates are provided for in thegeneral appropriation act.