Del. Mark L. Keam

Motion picture production tax credit; media related exemptions. Extends from January 1, 2022, to January 1, 2027, the sunset of the motion picture production tax credit and transfers the certifying authority for the credit from the Virginia Film Office to the Virginia Tourism Authority. The bill also extends from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2027, the sunset for certain sales tax exemptions related to film production and distribution. This bill is identical to SB 923.

Minimum staffing ratio for school counselors. Requires local school boards to employ school counselors in accordance with the following ratios, effective with the 2020-2021 school year: in elementary schools, one hour per day per 75 students, one full-time equivalent at 375 students, one hour per day additional time per 75 students or major fraction thereof; in middle schools, one period per 65 students, one full-time equivalent at 325 students, one additional period per 65 students or major fraction thereof; and in high schools, one period per 60 students, one full-time equivalent at 300 students, one additional period per 60 students or major fraction thereof. The bill also requires local school boards to employ one full-time equivalent school counselor position per 325 students in grades kindergarten through 12, effective with the 2021-2022 school year. This bill incorporates HB 398.

ABLE savings trust agreement; Medicaid clawbackprohibition. Provides that the beneficiary of an ABLE savingstrust account may appoint a survivor. In the event of the beneficiary'sdeath, the survivor becomes the new beneficiary of the account ifhe is eligible under federal law to be a beneficiary of an ABLE savingstrust account. The bill provides that if the survivor is ineligible,then any proceeds remaining in the account are distributed to thesurvivor and the account is closed. Under current law, if the beneficiaryof an ABLE savings trust account dies, his state of residence becomesa creditor of the account and may seek payment under federal law for Medicaid benefits provided to the beneficiary while he was alive.The bill prohibits the Commonwealth from seeking estate recoveryor payment from the proceeds of the deceased beneficiary's accountfor benefits provided to him.

Landlord and tenant; damage insurance in lieu of security deposit. Provides that a landlord may permit a tenant to provide damage insurance coverage meeting certain criteria in lieu of the payment of a security deposit. The bill also caps the total amount of any combination of security deposit and rental insurance coverage required by the landlord to twice the amount of the periodic rent payment and provides that a tenant who initially opts to provide damage insurance in lieu of a security deposit may, at any time without consent of the landlord, opt to pay the full security deposit to the landlord in lieu of maintaining a damage insurance policy.

Student journalists; freedom of speech andthe press. Declares that, except in certain limited circumstances,a student journalist at a public middle school or high school orpublic institution of higher education has the right to exercisefreedom of speech and the press in school-sponsored media, includingdetermining the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of school-sponsored media, regardless of whether the media is supported financially by the school board or governing board, supported throughthe use of school or campus facilities, or produced in conjunctionwith a class or course in which the student is enrolled. The billdefines "school-sponsored media" as any material that is prepared, substantially written, published, or broadcast by a student journalistat a public middle school or high school or public institution ofhigher education under the direction of a student media adviser anddistributed or generally made available to members of the studentbody.

English language learner students; guidance, information,programs, and policies. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instructionto (i) develop guidance for school boards to improve the process for theidentification of English language learner students for eligibility for giftedand talented programs and address the underrepresentation of such students insuch programs that includes methods for recognizing and addressing potentialchallenges in such process and facilitating professional development for andcollaboration among the teachers involved in such process, including teachersin English language learner programs and teachers in gifted and talentedprograms; (ii) encourage any school board of a local school division in whichEnglish language learner students struggle to achieve at a high level toprioritize the utilization of the state funds available to the school board toimprove such levels of achievement; and (iii) in consultation with experts whopossess knowledge and experience in assessing the language proficiency andacademic performance of English language learner students, annually collect andreport data on the English proficiency level, program placement, and academiclanguage development, including oral academic language, of each Englishlanguage learner student and appropriate and effective measures for improvingassessments for and the English proficiency of English language learnerstudents. The bill requires the school board in any school division in which 20or more English language learner students in one language classification areenrolled at any grade level in kindergarten through grade five, to provide aone-way or two-way dual language immersion program or early exit or late exittransitional bilingual program for such students, as such programs are definedby the Board of Education pursuant to regulation. The bill requires each schoolboard to provide a content-based or pull-out English as a second languageprogram, as such programs are defined by the Board of Education pursuant toregulation, for all other enrolled English language learner students. The billrequires each school board to adopt policies to (a) support oral and writtencommunication between school board employees and the parents of each enrolledstudent in such parents' native language; (b) pursue community support toaccelerate the literacy and achievement of English language learner students;(c) conduct school satisfaction surveys in the native language of each surveyedindividual, when practicable; and (d) ensure that literacy strategies sent tothe parents of enrolled English language learner students who read below gradelevel are tailored to promote reading proficiency in English and the student'snative language. The bill also requires any Head Start program offered in theCommonwealth to provide the parents of English language learner students withoral and written information to monitor the program's impact on theirchildren's English and native language proficiency and development.

Health insurance; cost-sharing payments for prescription insulin drugs. Prohibits health insurance companies and other carriers from setting an amount exceeding $30 per 30-day supply that a covered person is required to pay at the point of sale in order to receive a covered prescription insulin drug. The measure also prohibits a provider contract between a carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy from containing a provision (i) authorizing the carrier's pharmacy benefits manager or the pharmacy to charge, (ii) requiring the pharmacy to collect, or (iii) requiring a covered person to make a cost-sharing payment for a covered prescription insulin drug in an amount that exceeds such limitation. This bill incorporates HB 1403.

Early childhood care and education; licensing. Requires the Board of Education to establish a statewide unified public-private system for early childhood care and education in the Commonwealth to be administered by the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Department of Education. The bill transfers the authority to license and regulate child day programs and other early child care agencies from the Board of Social Services and Department of Social Services to the Board of Education and Department of Education. The bill maintains current licensure, background check, and other requirements of such programs. Such provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021. The bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a plan for implementing the statewide unified early childhood care and education system and requires the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education to enter into a cooperative agreement to coordinate the transition. The bill also requires the Board of Education to establish, no later than July 1, 2021, a uniform quality rating and improvement system designed to provide parents and families with information about the quality and availability of certain publicly funded early childhood care and education providers and to publish the initial quality ratings under such system in the fall of 2023. This bill is identical to SB 578.

Electric utilities; retail competition. Shortens from five years to three years the period that a customer who switches from an investor-owned electric utility to a licensed competing supplier is barred from returning as a customer of the utility. The measure provides that if a single person purchases electric energy from a licensed supplier and such electric energy is composed of a percentage of renewable energy equal to or greater than the percentages of the renewable energy portfolio standard program goals as of January 1, 2020, and no less than the percentage of renewable energy that the licensed supplier is required to provide pursuant to any renewable energy portfolio standard that is subsequently established, such person will constitute a single retail customer, notwithstanding that service is provided to noncontiguous sites. Under current law, for the purposes of purchasing energy from a licensed competing supplier, noncontiguous sites are considered individual retail customers and cannot be aggregated to meet the energy demand threshold regardless of common ownership or control. The measure provides that for cooperative customers the lockout period remains five years and noncontiguous sites are still considered individual retail customers. The measure also allows individual retail customers of an electric utility to purchase electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy from any licensed supplier. The measure eliminates the condition that permits such purchases only if the electric utility serving the applicable exclusive service territory does not offer a tariff for 100 percent renewable energy. Finally, the measure directs the State Corporation Commission to update its consumer protection regulations relating to the availability of service through licensed suppliers.

Public institutions of higher education; eligibility for in-state tuition. Provides that any student is eligible for in-state tuition who (i) attended high school for at least two years in the Commonwealth and either (a) graduated on or after July 1, 2008, from a public or private high school or program of home instruction in the Commonwealth or (b) passed, on or after July 1, 2008, a high school equivalency examination approved by the Secretary of Education; (ii) has submitted evidence that he or, in the case of a dependent student, at least one parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis has filed, unless exempted by state law, Virginia income tax returns for at least two years prior to the date of registration or enrollment; and (iii) registers as an entering student or is enrolled in a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. The bill states that students who meet these criteria shall be eligible for in-state tuition regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, except students with currently valid visas issued under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F), 1101(a)(15)(H)(iii), 1101(a)(15)(J) (including only students or trainees), or 1101(a)(15)(M). Information obtained in the implementation of the provisions of the bill shall only be used or disclosed to individuals other than the student for purposes of determining in-state tuition eligibility. This bill incorporates HB 1138 and is identical to SB 935.